The 1923 Irish general election to elect the 4th Dáil was held on Monday, 27 August, following the dissolution of the

Third Dáil The Third Dáil was elected at the general election held on 16 June 1922. This election was required to be held under the Anglo-Irish Treaty signed on 6 December 1921. It first met on 9 September and until 6 December 1922, it was the Provisio ...

on 9 August 1923. It was the first general election held since the establishment of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

on 6 December 1922. The election was held shortly after the end of the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

in May 1923. Many of the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

TDs, who represented the losing anti-

Treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations An international organization or international o ...

side, were still imprisoned during and after the election and had committed to not participating in the Dáil if elected. The 4th Dáil assembled at

Leinster House Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...

on 19 September to nominate the President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the

for appointment by the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; "Society of the Gaels") was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. In 1933 it merged with smaller groups to form the Fine Gael party. Origins In 1922 the pro-Treaty G ...

, the successor to the Pro-Treaty wing of

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

, won the election and formed the government.

Legal background

It was the first general election fought since the establishment of the Irish Free State and the adoption of the Constitution of the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922. It was contested under the

Electoral Act 1923 The Electoral Act 1923 was a law in Ireland which established the electoral law of the Irish Free State and provided for parliamentary constituencies in Dáil Éireann. Franchise Article 14 of the Constitution of the Irish Free State adopted o ...

, which increased the seats in the Dáil from 128 to 153, and introduced a franchise of all citizens over the age of 21, without distinction of sex. Lax electoral practices were tightened up by The Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act 1923.

Result

Most parties made gains, in part because the total number of seats in the Dáil was increased by 25 from 128 to 153.

Voting summary

Seats summary

Government formation

The Republican TDs continued to abstain from the Dáil. Therefore, Cumann na nGaedheal had a majority of seats which were taken in the Dáil and formed the 2nd Executive Council of the Irish Free State on 19 September 1923.

First time TDs

Frank Aiken Francis Thomas Aiken (13 February 1898 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish revolutionary and politician. He was chief of staff of the Anti-Treaty IRA at the end of the Irish Civil War. Aiken later served as Tánaiste from 1965 to 1969 and Minister ...

* Patrick Baxter *

Dan Breen Daniel Breen (11 August 1894 – 27 December 1969) was a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. In later years he was a Fianna Fáil politician. Background Breen was born in Grang ...

Frank Cahill Frank Cahill (born 7 May 1922 - 10 June 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton Football Club, Carlton and Western Bulldogs, Footscray in the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL). Personal ...

* John James Cole * Margaret Collins-O'Driscoll * Cornelius Connolly * Edward Doyle *

Peadar Doyle Peadar Seán Doyle (died 4 August 1956) was an Irish politician. An engineer by profession, his son Seán was killed by British forces at Kilmashogue in the Dublin Mountains on Sunday, 19 September 1920. Doyle was first elected to Dáil Éirea ...

Seán Gibbons Séan Francis Gibbons (31 May 1883 – 19 April 1952) was an Irish politician who sat as Cumann na nGaedheal Teachta Dála (TD) in the 1920s and as a Fianna Fáil TD in the 1930s. He later became a Senator, and was Cathaoirleach (chairperson) of ...

Kathleen Lynn Kathleen Florence Lynn (28 January 1874 – 14 September 1955) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician, activist and medical doctor. Lynn was so greatly affected by the poverty and disease among the poor in the west of Ireland that, at 16, she decid ...

* Patrick McFadden * James Myles * Michael Shelly * Paddy Smith

Outgoing TDs

* Joseph Whelehan (Retired)

References

Notes

Sources

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish General Election, 1923 1923 elections in Europe 1923 in Irish politics General election, 1923 1923 4th Dáil August 1923 events

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...