The June 1927 Irish general election was to elect 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 ...

held on Thursday, 9 June following the dissolution of the

4th Dáil Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

on 23 May 1927. It was the first election contested by

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 ...

, which had been formed a year earlier when

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 govern ...

, leader of the

abstentionist Abstentionism is standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abstentionists participate in ...

Anti-Treaty

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 ...

, failed to convince the party to take their seats if and when the Oath of Allegiance were abolished. Most of Sinn Féin's TDs, as well as the bulk of its support, shifted to Fianna Fáil. The impact of this shift saw Sinn Féin all but decimated; it was reduced to five seats. This was for many years the end of the party as a major force in the southern part of the island; it would not win more than 10 seats at an election until 2011, by which time it had undergone fundamental transformation. This election cemented Fianna Fáil as a major party; it and Cumann na nGaedheal/

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

remained the two largest parties in Ireland until 2011. The 5th 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 23 June 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.

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 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 ...

took the oath of allegiance and its seats in the Dáil on 12 August 1927. Fianna Fáil's decision to take up its seats ended Cumann na nGaedheal's working majority, forcing Cosgrave into a minority government which proved unstable. After government victories in two by-election, Cosgrave sought a dissolution on 25 August and a second election of that year was held in September 1927.

Result

Voting summary

Seats summary

Government formation

When the 5th Dáil first met on 23 June 1927, there were 50 TDs still abstaining. Cumann na nGaedheal formed the 3rd Executive Council of the Irish Free State with the support of the Farmers' Party and 13 Independents. This government proved unstable once Fianna Fáil took their seats.

Changes in membership

First time TDs

* Tadhg Crowley * Patrick Boland * Andrew Fogarty * John Jinks * Michael Keyes * Michael Óg McFadden * Thomas Mullins *

Patrick O'Dowd Patrick Joseph O'Dowd (1 March 1892 – 19 June 1968) was an Irish politician and medical practitioner. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Roscommon constituency at the June 1927 general electio ...

Matthew O'Reilly Matthew O'Reilly (1 March 1880 – 13 November 1962) was an Irish politician. A farmer, he was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Meath constituency at the June 1927 general election. He was re-electe ...

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 ...

* Jasper Wolfe

Outgoing TDs

* Cornelius Connolly (Retired) * Patrick McFadden (Lost seat)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1927 06 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, 1927a General election, 1927a General elections in the Republic of Ireland 5th Dáil June 1927 events