The Government of the 10th Dáil or the 2nd Government of Ireland (30 June 1938 – 1 July 1943) was the

government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

formed after the 1938 general election held on 17 June. It was a single-party

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

government led by

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

. Fianna Fáil had been in office since the 1932 general election. The 2nd Government lasted for days.

2nd Government of Ireland

Nomination of Taoiseach

The

members of the 10th Dáil The 10th Dáil was elected at the 1938 general election on 17 June 1938 and first met on 30 June 1938. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. The 10th Dáil is ...

first met on 30 June 1938. In the debate on the nomination of Taoiseach,

Fianna Fáil leader ''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; gd, Fèinne ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young males, often aristocrats, "who had left fosterage but had ...

and outgoing Taoiseach

was proposed. The motion was approved by 75 to 45. De Valera was appointed as Taoiseach by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde ( ga, Dubhghlas de hÍde; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician and diplomat who served as the first President of Ireland from June 1938 t ...

. This was just five days after the inauguration of Hyde as the first President of Ireland on 25 June.

Members of the Government

After his appointment as Taoiseach by the president, Éamon de Valera proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil. They were appointed to office by the president.

Parliamentary Secretaries

On 30 June 1938, the Government appointed Parliamentary Secretaries on the nomination of the Taoiseach.

Constitutional amendments

During the first three years of the term of office of the first

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

, the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

could pass

amendments to the Constitution of Ireland Amendments to the Constitution of Ireland are only possible by way of referendum. A proposal to amend the Constitution of Ireland must first be approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas (parliament), then submitted to a referendum, and finally s ...

without a referendum. This period lasted from 25 June 1938 to 24 June 1941. The

First Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland The First Amendment of the Constitution Act 1939 amended the Constitution of Ireland to extend the constitutional definition of "time of war" to include a period during which a war occurs without the state itself being a direct participant. It ...

was introduced and signed into law on 2 September 1939, allowing the Oireachtas to resolve that a state of emergency exists when an armed conflict exists outside of the state. The Emergency was declared on the same day, and the emergency powers lapsed on 2 September 1946. The

Second Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland The Second Amendment of the Constitution Act 1941 (previously bill no. 40 of 1941) is an amendment of the Constitution of Ireland that was in the form of omnibus legislation affecting a variety of articles on a range of subject matters. It was ...

was signed into law on 30 May 1941 and was an omnibus amendment with 40 separate changes across the text of the Constitution. Both amendments were proposed by the Taoiseach.

References