The Government of the 8th Dáil or the 7th Executive Council (8 February 1933 – 21 July 1937) was the
Executive Council of the Irish Free State formed after the
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held on 24 January 1933. It was led by
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 ...
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 ...
as
President of the Executive Council, who had first taken office in 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 ...
after the
1932 general election. De Valera had previously served as
President of Dáil Éireann
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 ...
, or President of the Republic, from April 1919 to January 1922 during the
revolutionary period of the
Irish Republic
The Irish Republic ( ga, Poblacht na hÉireann or ) was an unrecognised revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by ...
.
The 7th Executive Council lasted for days.
7th Executive Council of the Irish Free State
Nomination of President of the Executive Council
The
8th Dáil
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
first met on 8 February. In the debate on the
nomination of the President of the Executive Council,
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 President Éamon de Valera was proposed, and the motion was approved by 82 votes to 54. He was then appointed as president by
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 ...
Domhnall Ua Buachalla
Domhnall Ua Buachalla (; en, Daniel Richard "Donal" Buckley; 3 February 1866 – 30 October 1963) was an Irish politician and member of the First Dáil who served as third and final governor-general of the Irish Free State and later served as ...
.
Members of the Executive Council
The members of the Executive Council were proposed by the President and approved by the Dáil. They were appointed by the Governor-General on the same day.
Attorney General
Conor Maguire SC was appointed by the Governor-General as
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
on the nomination of the Executive Council.
Parliamentary Secretaries
On 8 February, the Executive Council appointed
Parliamentary Secretaries on the nomination of the President.
Amendments to the Constitution of the Irish Free State
The following amendments to the
Constitution of the Irish Free State
The Constitution of the Irish Free State ( ga, Bunreacht Shaorstát Eireann) was adopted by Act of Dáil Éireann sitting as a constituent assembly on 25 October 1922. In accordance with Article 83 of the Constitution,[Constitution (Removal of Oath) Act 1933
The Constitution (Removal of Oath) Act 1933 (act no. 6 of 1933, previously bill no. 2 of 1932)
was an Act of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State amending the Constitution of the Irish Free State and the Constitution of the Irish Free State (Sao ...]
(3 May 1933): Abolished the Oath of Allegiance and removed requirements that the constitution and laws of the Free State be compatible with the Anglo-Irish Treaty. This involved repealing Section 2 of the Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) Act 1922, as well as altering provisions of the constitution.
*
Amendment No. 20 (2 November 1933): Removed the Governor General's role in recommending appropriations of money to the Dáil on the advice of the Executive Council. This function was transferred directly to the Executive Council. In practice this change was merely symbolic.
*
Amendment No. 21 (2 November 1933): Removed provisions granting the Governor General the right to veto bills or reserve them "for the King's pleasure" by referring them to London.
*
Amendment No. 22 (16 November 1933): Abolished the right of appeal to the Privy Council.
*
Amendment No. 26 (5 April 1935): Made a technical change to Article 3, which dealt with citizenship.
*
Amendment No. 23 (24 April 1936): Abolished the two
university constituencies
A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents the members of one or more universities rather than residents of a geographical area. These may or may not involve plural voting, in which voters ar ...
in the Dáil.
*
Amendment No. 24 (29 May 1936): Abolished
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house).
It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...
.
*
Amendment No. 27 (11 December 1936): Abolished the office of Governor General and removed all reference to the King from the constitution. The functions of the Governor General were transferred to various other branches of government.
Role of King
As well as the constitutional changes above affecting the
status of the British monarch, after the
abdication of Edward VIII
In early December 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire arose when King-Emperor Edward VIII proposed to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and was pursuing the divorce of her secon ...
on 11 December 1936, the Executive Council proposed and passed the
Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936
The Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 (No. 58 of 1936) was an Act of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament). The Act, which was signed into law on 12 December 1936, was one of two passed hurriedly in the aftermath of the Edward VIII a ...
which reduced the role of the King to external functions only. It was followed the following year by the
Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act 1937
The Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937 was an Act of the Oireachtas which retrospectively completed the abolition of the Governor-General of the Irish Free State.
In December 1936, then President of the Executive Council of t ...
, which completed the process of removing the position of Governor-General from Irish law.
Proposal of the Constitution of Ireland
The Executive Council proposed a new
Constitution of Ireland
The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democra ...
which passed final stages in the Dáil on 14 June 1937. In a plebiscite held on 1 July 1937, the same date as a
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, the Constitution was approved with the support of 56.5% of votes cast. It came into force on 29 December 1937.
See also
*
Dáil Éireann (Irish Free State)
Dáil Éireann () served as the directly elected lower house of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1937. The Free State constitution described the role of the house as that of a "Chamber of Deputies". Until 1936 the Free Stat ...
*
Politics of the Republic of Ireland
Ireland is a parliamentary, representative democratic republic and a member state of the European Union. While the head of state is the popularly elected President of Ireland, it is a largely ceremonial position, with real political power bei ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Government of the 8th Dail
Ministries of George V
Ministries of Edward VIII
Government 08
Governments of the Irish Free State
1933 establishments in Ireland
1937 disestablishments in Ireland
Cabinets established in 1933
Cabinets disestablished in 1937
Minority governments
8th Dáil