The government of the 1st Dáil was the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

of the unilaterally declared

Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( or ) was a Revolutionary republic, revolutionary state that Irish Declaration of Independence, declared its independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdict ...

. At the 1918 Westminster election, candidates for

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

stood on an abstentionist platform, declaring that they would not remain in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

but instead form a unicameral, revolutionary parliament for Ireland called

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

. The first meeting of the

First Dáil First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

was held on 21 January 1919 in the Round Room of the Mansion House in Dublin and made a

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. It also approved the

Dáil Constitution The Constitution of Dáil Éireann (), more commonly known as the Dáil Constitution, was the constitution of the 1919–22 Irish Republic. It was adopted by the First Dáil at its first meeting on 21 January 1919 and remained in operation until ...

. Under Article 2 of this Constitution, there would be a

ministry of Dáil Éireann The ministry of Dáil Éireann () was the cabinet of the 1919–1922 Irish Republic during the Irish War of Independence. The ministry was originally established by the Dáil Constitution adopted by the First Dáil on 21 January 1919, after i ...

led by a President, with five Secretaries leading government departments. There were two ministries of Dáil Éireann during the First Dáil. The 1st ministry (22 January to 1 April 1919) was led by

Cathal Brugha Cathal Brugha (; born Charles William St John Burgess; 18 July 1874 – 7 July 1922) was an Irish republican politician who served as Minister for Defence from 1919 to 1922, Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann in January 1919, the first presid ...

and lasted for 69 days; it was formed when a large number of those elected for Sinn Féin were in prison. The 2nd ministry (1 April 1919 to 26 August 1921) was 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 an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

, leader of Sinn Féin, and lasted for 878 days.

1st ministry

The 1st ministry was a temporary cabinet headed by

, because

, the leader of

, was in prison at the time.

2nd ministry

On 1 April 1919, the 1st ministry resigned. On a motion proposed by

and seconded by

Pádraic Ó Máille Pádraic Ó Máille (23 February 1878 – 19 January 1946) was an Irish politician. He was a founder member of Sinn Féin and of the Conradh na Gaeilge in Galway. He was a member of the Irish Volunteers from 1917 to 1921. He was born in Kilmil ...

was declared elected as

President of Dáil Éireann The president of Dáil Éireann ( ), later also president of the Irish Republic, was the leader of the revolutionary Irish Republic of 1919–1922. The office was created in the Dáil Constitution adopted by Dáil Éireann, the parliam ...

(). The Constitution was amended to allow for up to nine members of the ministry, as well as the President. The following day, he formed the 2nd ministry. Countess Markievicz became the first Irish female Cabinet minister. She served until 26 August 1921, and the next woman appointed to cabinet was Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, who was appointed as Minister for the Gaeltacht in 1979. De Valera travelled to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in June 1919, and by letter requested that Arthur Griffith be appointed as Deputy President in his absence and that Ernest Blythe take a place at cabinet. De Valera resumed his position in the Dáil on 25 January 1921.

Resignation of ministry

In May 1921, the Dáil passed a resolution declaring that

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland would be used as the election for the

Second Dáil The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

. The members of the 2nd Dáil first met on 16 August 1921. The outgoing ministry did not resign immediately. On 26 August 1921,

resigned as president. De Valera was then re-elected, taking the new title of President of the Republic, and formed the 3rd ministry of Dáil Éireann.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Government Of The 1st Dail 1st Dáil Government 01 1918 establishments in Ireland 1919 disestablishments in Ireland Cabinets established in 1918 Cabinets disestablished in 1919

1st ministry

2nd ministry

Resignation of ministry

See also

References