The September 1927 Irish general election to the

6th Dáil 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

was held on Thursday, 15 September, following the dissolution of the

5th Dáil Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash th ...

on 25 August. The 6th Dáil met on 11 October 1927 to nominate the President of the Executive Council and Executive Council 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 ...

for appointment by the Governor-General. Outgoing president

W. T. Cosgrave William Thomas Cosgrave (5 June 1880 – 16 November 1965) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as the president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932, leader of the Opposition in both the Free State and Ir ...

was re-appointed leading a new minority government of

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 ...

with the support of the Farmers' Party.

Campaign

The second general election of 1927 was caused by the uncertain political arithmetic within Dáil Éireann. Only three votes separated the two largest parties, Cumann na nGaedheal and

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 Christia ...

, and the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

was very unstable. When, during August, Fianna Fáil entered the Dáil, it gave its support to the Labour Party's

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

in the Cumann na nGaedheal government and to replace it with a Labour-led coalition with Labour leader Thomas Johnson as President of the Executive Council. The Labour Party was supported by Fianna Fáil and the

National League Party The National League was a political party in Ireland. It was founded in 1926 by William Redmond (Irish politician, born 1886), William Redmond and Thomas O'Donnell (Irish nationalist politician), Thomas O'Donnell in support of the Anglo-Ir ...

. On the other hand, the Cumann na nGaedheal government had the backing of the Farmers' Party and most of the Independent TDs. When the vote was taken, John Jinks, a National League TD, failed to attend. The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Thomas J. O'Connell, was away in Canada at the time and also was unable to participate in the crucial vote. As a result, the vote was a dead heat and the Ceann Comhairle voted with the government. The motion failed. On 25 August, Cumann na nGaedheal won two by-elections.

called a general election on 27 August in the hope of securing an increased majority. Cumann na nGaedheal fought the election on its record in government so far. They recruited four TDs who had supported Cosgrave in the vote of confidence to stand as candidates for the party: Bryan Cooper ( Dublin County), John Daly ( Cork East),

Myles Keogh Myles Walter Keogh (25 March 1840 – 25 June 1876) was an Irish soldier. He served in the armies of the Papal States during the war for Italian unification in 1860, and was recruited into the Union Army during the American Civil War, serving ...

( Dublin City South) and

Vincent Rice Vincent Rice (21 April 1875 – 27 May 1959) was an Irish politician and lawyer. A native of County Monaghan, he was educated at St Mary's College, Dundalk and attended University College Dublin. He entered King's Inns in 1900, and became a b ...

(Dublin City South). Fianna Fáil campaigned on a promise of self-sufficiency. The Labour Party had done well on its last outing and was hoping, and was predicted, to win extra seats, in spite of internal divisions. The Farmers' Party represented the needs of agricultural labourers.

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 G ...

, weakened after de Valera had split to form Fianna Fáil, had been reduced to five seats in the June 1927 election, and did not contest the September 1927 election, due to lack of financial assets.

Result

Voting summary

Seats summary

Government formation

Cumann na nGaedheal formed the 4th Executive Council of the Irish Free State, a minority government, with the support of the Farmers' Party and Independent TDs, with

serving again as President of the Executive Council. The leader of the Farmers' Party served as a Parliamentary Secretary. In 1930, the Executive Council would resign following the loss of a vote on legislation. The

5th Executive Council of the Irish Free State Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

was formed soon after with the same composition.

Changes in membership

First time TDs

* William Aird * Seán Brady * Robert Briscoe * Edmond Carey * Michael Connolly * Eamonn Cooney *

Peter de Loughry Peter de Loughry (or Deloughry; 1883 – 23 October 1931) was an Irish nationalist and politician, who was a leadership figure in Kilkenny city in the early 20th century. Background De Loughry married Winifred Murphy in 1911. Winifred would sh ...

Patrick Gorry Patrick Joseph Gorry (14 July 1896 – 23 October 1965) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. A farmer, he was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Leix–Offaly constituency at the September 1927 gener ...

* Stephen Jordan *

William Kent William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, bu ...

* Arthur Matthews * Joseph Mongan * Daniel O'Leary *

Martin Sexton Martin Sexton Born March 2, 1966 is an American singer-songwriter and music producer. Early life Born in 1966, Sexton grew up in Syracuse, New York, the tenth of twelve children in a working class Irish-American family. He acquired his first ...

* Richard Walsh

Outgoing TDs

The Labour Party leader, Thomas Johnson, lost his seat in the election and retired from politics. *

Austin Stack Augustine Mary Moore Stack (7 December 1879 – 27 April 1929) was an Irish republican and politician who served as Minister for Home Affairs from 1921 to 1922. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1918 to 1927. Early life Stack was born in Ball ...

(Retired) *

Kathleen Clarke Kathleen Clarke (; ga, Caitlín Bean Uí Chléirigh; 11 April 1878 – 29 September 1972) was a founder member of Cumann na mBan, a women's paramilitary organisation formed in Ireland in 1914, and one of very few privy to the plans of the East ...

(Lost seat) * John Jinks (Lost seat) * Thomas Johnson (Lost seat) *

Timothy Quill Timothy Quill (9 May 1901 – 10 June 1960) was an Irish Labour Party politician, farmer and a figure in the history of the cooperative movement in Ireland. He was a founder of the City of Cork Co-operative Society (also serving as the societ ...

(Lost seat) * J. J. Walsh (Retired)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1927-09 Irish general election

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

General election, 1927b General election, 1927b General elections in the Republic of Ireland 6th Dáil Irish general election