The government of the 9th Dáil was successively the 8th Executive Council of the Irish Free State (21 July – 29 December 1937) and the 1st government of Ireland (29 December 1937 – 30 June 1938). They were 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 ...

, first as President of the Executive Council and then as

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 nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

. It was formed after the 1937 general election held on 1 July, the same day the new

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland (, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. It guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected non-executi ...

was approved in a plebiscite.

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

were continuing in office as a single-party government as they had since the 1932 general election. The 8th Executive Council lasted for until the coming into operation of the new constitution and the 1st Government lasted for .

8th executive council of the Irish Free State

Election of President of the Executive Council

The

9th Dáil The 9th Dáil was elected at the 1937 general election on 1 July 1937 and met on 21 July 1937. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of the Irish Free State, are known as TDs. Seanad Éirea ...

first met on 21 July 1937. In the debate on the election of the President of the Executive Council,

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

and outgoing President Éamon de Valera was proposed, and the motion was approved by 82 votes to 52. The election took place under Article 53 of the

Constitution of the Irish Free State The Constitution of the Irish Free State () was adopted by Act of Dáil Éireann sitting as a constituent assembly on 25 October 1922. In accordance with Article 83 of the Constitution,

, as amended by the Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act 1936, which had removed the constitutional role of the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

. It was the only time from December 1922 that the head of government was directly elected by the Dáil only; from December 1922 to December 1936, the nomination of the president of the Executive Council was approved by Dáil for appointment by the Governor-General, and since December 1937, the nomination of the Taoiseach has similarly been approved by the Dáil for appointment by the

president of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

Members of the Executive Council

The members of the Executive Council were proposed by the President after his election and approved by the Dáil for their appointment by him.

Parliamentary secretaries

On 21 July, the Executive Council appointed Parliamentary secretaries on the nomination of the President.

1st government of Ireland

Under Article 56 of the

, the 8th Executive Council of the Irish Free State led by Éamon de Valera of

became the 1st

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...

(29 December 1937 – 30 June 1938). The offices of President of the Executive Council and Vice-President of the Executive Council were abolished, and replaced by the offices of

and

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the second-ranking member of the government of Ireland and the holder of its second-most senior office. It is the equivalent of the deputy prime minister in other parliamentary systems. The Tánaiste is appointed by the P ...

respectively. There was no fresh approval or appointment of the government and no change in the personnel of the Government.

Parliamentary secretaries

Foreign relations

The government signed the

Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement The Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement was signed on 25 April 1938 by Ireland and the United Kingdom. It aimed to resolve the Anglo-Irish Trade War which had been on-going from 1933. Scope The prime minister Neville Chamberlain summarised the 4 possibl ...

with the United Kingdom on 25 April 1938, which brought the

Anglo-Irish trade war The Anglo-Irish Trade War (also called the Economic War) was a retaliatory trade war between the Irish Free State and the United Kingdom from 1932 to 1938. The Irish government refused to continue reimbursing Britain with land annuities from f ...

to a close and transferred the

Treaty Ports Treaty ports (; ) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Qing dynasty of China (before th ...

to Ireland. These were the ports of

Berehaven Castletownbere (), or Castletown Berehaven, is a port town in County Cork, Ireland. It is on the Beara Peninsula by Berehaven Harbour. A regionally important fishing port, the town also serves as a commercial and retail hub for the local hinterl ...

, Cóbh and

Lough Swilly Lough Swilly () in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three glacial fjords ...

which had stayed under the control of the United Kingdom after the establishment of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Government of the 9th Dail Government 09 1937 establishments in Ireland 1938 disestablishments in Ireland Cabinets established in 1937 Cabinets disestablished in 1938 Minority governments 9th Dáil