The Second Dáil () was
Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919 to 1922, Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed
Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elected at the
1921 elections, but with only members of
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 Gr ...
taking their seats. On 7 January 1922, it ratified the
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...
by 64 votes to 57 which ended the
War of Independence
This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence.
List
See also
* Lists of active separatist movements
* List of civil wars
* List of ...
and led to the establishment 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 ...
on 6 December 1922.
1921 Election
Since 1919, those elected for
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 Gr ...
at the
1918 general election had
abstained from the
House of Commons and established
Dáil Éireann as a parliament of a self-declared
Irish Republic, with members calling themselves
Teachtaí Dála or TDs. In December 1920, in the middle of the Irish War of Independence, the British Government passed the
Government of Ireland Act, which enacted
partition by establishing two
home rule
Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wi ...
parliaments in separate parts of Ireland. These provisions arose out of discussions held at the
Irish Convention held in 1917, from which Sinn Féin had abstained. In May 1921 the
first elections to the
House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the
House of Commons of Southern Ireland were held, by means of the
single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
. On 10 May 1921, the Dáil passed a resolution that the elections scheduled to take place later in the month in both parts of the country would be "regarded as elections to Dáil Éireann".
In the elections for Southern Ireland, all seats were uncontested, with Sinn Féin winning 124 of the 128 seats, and Independent Unionists winning the four seats representing the
Dublin University
The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Du ...
. In the
election for Northern Ireland, the
Ulster Unionist Party won 40 of the 52 seats, with Sinn Féin and the
Nationalist Party winning 6 seats each. Of the six seats won by Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland, five were held by people who had also won seats in Southern Ireland; therefore when the Second Dáil met, there were 125 Sinn Féin TDs.
[The five TDs elected for two constituencies were ]Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to:
* Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician
* Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and ...
, Éamon de Valera, Arthur Griffith
Arthur Joseph Griffith ( ga, Art Seosamh Ó Gríobhtha; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that pro ...
, Seán Milroy
Seán Milroy (1877 – 30 November 1946) was an Irish revolutionary and politician, who took part in the 1916 Easter Rising and served in the Second Dáil during the War of Independence and afterwards in the Seanad of the Irish Free State.
Bio ...
and Eoin MacNeill.
The Second Dáil responded favourably to the proposal from King
George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother ...
on 22 June 1921 for a
Truce
A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state ac ...
, which became effective from noon on 11 July 1921. This was upheld by nearly all of the combatants while the months-long process of arranging a
treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal per ...
got under way. The Truce allowed the Dáil to meet openly without fear of arrest for the first time since September 1919, when it had been banned and driven underground.
The Treaty
During the Second Dáil the Irish Republic and the British Government of
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...
agreed to hold peace negotiations. As
President of Dáil Éireann (, or literally First Minister)
Éamon de Valera was the highest official in the Republic at this time but was notionally only the
head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...
. In August 1921, to strengthen his status in the negotiations, the Dáil amended the
Dáil Constitution to grant him the title ''
President of the Republic'', and he thereby became
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
. The purpose of this change was to impress upon the British the Republican doctrine that the negotiations were between two sovereign states with delegates accredited by their respective heads of state: the British king and the Irish president.
On 14 September 1921, the Dáil ratified the appointment of
Arthur Griffith
Arthur Joseph Griffith ( ga, Art Seosamh Ó Gríobhtha; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that pro ...
,
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to:
* Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician
* Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and ...
,
Robert Barton
Robert Childers Barton (14 March 1881 – 10 August 1975) was an Anglo-Irish politician, Irish nationalist and farmer who participated in the negotiations leading up to the signature of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. His father was Charles William Bar ...
,
Eamonn Duggan and
George Gavan Duffy as envoys
plenipotentiary
A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the wor ...
for the peace conference in England. Of the five, Collins, Griffith and Barton were members of the cabinet. These envoys eventually signed the
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...
on 6 December. Between the Truce and the signing of the Treaty the Second Dáil only sat on 10 days, and did not discuss in detail the options available to it. The debate on the Treaty started on 14 December, and continued for thirteen days of debate until 7 January 1922. On that date, the Dáil approved the treaty by 64 in favour to 57 against. The Treaty Debates were the first publicly reported debate on what
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 Gr ...
felt that it had achieved and could achieve. In the vote, the deputies who represented more than one constituency were each only permitted to vote once, but this would not have changed the outcome. As the leader of the anti-Treaty minority de Valera resigned as President. He allowed himself to be nominated again, but was defeated on a vote of 60–58. He was succeeded as president by Arthur Griffith. The anti-Treaty deputies continued to attend the Dáil, with de Valera becoming the first
Leader of the Opposition in the Dáil.
The ratification specified by the Treaty was by "a meeting summoned for the purpose of the members elected to sit in the House of Commons of Southern Ireland". The Dáil vote did not fulfil this because four unionists were absent and one Northern Ireland member was present. The requisite approval came at a separate meeting on 14 January 1922 attended by the unionists and boycotted by anti-Treaty TDs. The meeting on 14 January also approved a
Provisional Government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...
led by Collins, which ran in parallel to Griffith's Dáil government and with overlapping membership. This meeting was not of the House of Commons of Southern Ireland itself, but merely of "the members elected to sit in" it. The
Government of Ireland Act 1920 required the Commons to be summoned by the
Lord Lieutenant and its members to take an
oath of allegiance to the king, whereas the meeting on 14 January was summoned by Griffith and the members present did not take an oath.
Supersession and Republican continuation
Under the terms of the Treaty, a
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
was to be elected to draft a
Constitution for the Irish Free State to take effect by 6 December 1922. The assembly would also serve as a "Provisional Parliament" to hold the Provisional Government
responsible. This election was
held on 16 June pursuant to both a
resolution by the Second Dáil on 20 May
and a
proclamation
A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
by the Provisional Government on 27 May.
The Dáil resolution also approved a pact agreed by Collins and de Valera in a vain attempt to prevent the Treaty split leading to
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
.
The pact was to have at the election "a National Coalition Panel for this
Third Dáil
The Third Dáil was elected at the general election held on 16 June 1922. This election was required to be held under the Anglo-Irish Treaty signed on 6 December 1921. It first met on 9 September and until 6 December 1922, it was the Provision ...
, representing both Parties in the Dáil, and in the Sinn Féin Organisation".
On 8 June 1922, the Second Dáil "adjourned to Friday, 30th June, 1922". The pact negotiators envisaged that the Second Dáil would meet on 30 June and formally appoint the Third Dáil as its successor.
The Provisional Government proclamation called for an election "pursuant to the provisions of" of the
Irish Free State (Agreement) Act, 1922 (passed by the Westminster Parliament in April) and naming 1 July 1922 for the first meeting of the Provisional Parliament.
The
outbreak of Civil War hostilities on 28 June meant the 30 June meeting did not happen and the 1 July meeting was repeatedly postponed by the Provisional Government until 9 September.
By then, Collins and Griffith were dead and the Dáil government and Provisional Government had been merged under
William 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 Ire ...
. The preamble to the 9 September meeting cited the 27 May proclamation but not the 20 May resolution.
On 6 December the Constitution and Free State came into effect, the Provisional Government became the Free State's
Executive Council and the Provisional Parliament became the lower house of the Free State's
Oireachtas (parliament). The Civil War lasted until May 1923.
De Valera during the Civil War, and other republican theorists in later years, argued
that the Second Dáil remained in existence as the legitimate parliament of a continuing Irish Republic. Whereas, in the
Westminster system, a
dissolution of parliament
The dissolution of a legislative assembly is the mandatory simultaneous resignation of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy, the new assemb ...
always precedes a general election and terminates the term of the existing parliament and the next meeting of newly elected members is considered to be the start of a new parliament, this convention was explicitly broken by the transition from the
First Dáil to the Second Dáil (which effectively opted for the Continental European system where the term of the old Parliament continues all the way until the first meeting of the new one, albeit without adopting the Continental European nomenclature that a dissolution merely triggers a snap election without ending the old Parliament's term), and implicitly by the transition provisions agreed in May–June 1922.
In both cases, TDs wanted to guard against a
breach in continuity which would happen if the old Dáil had been dissolved but the envisaged election then failed to occur because of a deteriorating security situation. The fact that no explicit transfer of authority took place allowed republicans to claim the Second Dáil remained in existence and that the new constituent assembly/provisional parliament was illegitimate and its name "Third Dáil" a misnomer. If the Third Dáil was illegitimate, then so was the Free State constitution enacted by it, and the Free State itself. On this basis anti-Treaty TDs
abstained from taking seats in the Third Dáil. A few symbolic secret meetings of the continuing "Second Dáil" were attended by anti-Treaty TDs, the first in October 1922 appointing a republican government under de Valera.
In 1924 de Valera formed
Comhairle na dTeachtaí to replenish the diminishing numbers of Second-Dáil TDs elected in 1921 with Sinn Féin abstentionists returned at the general elections of 1922 and
of 1923.
T. Ryle Dwyer characterised this as recognising the Second Dáil as the de jure authority, Comhairle na dTeachtai as the "de jure de facto" authority, and the Free State Oireachtas as the "de facto de facto" authority.
In 1925 an
IRA">nti-TreatyIRA convention withdrew its allegiance from the republican government to its own
Army Council.
Second Dáil TDs had taken an
oath of fidelity to the Irish Republic, and Sinn Féin regarded those who implicitly or explicitly endorsed the Treaty or Free State constitution as having violated this oath and thereby vacated their seats. In 1926 de Valera founded
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 ...
to take a more pragmatic opposition than Sinn Féin to the Free State, and the following year the party abandoned abstentionism by entering the
Free State Dáil.
Fianna Fáil TD
Seán Lemass famously described it in March 1928 as "a slightly constitutional party".
De Valera
came to power in 1932 and in 1937 proposed
a new Constitution which was
adopted by plebiscite, removing to his own satisfaction any remaining reservations about the state's legitimacy. In December 1938, seven of those elected in 1921 who continued to regard the Second Dáil as the last legitimate Dáil assembly, and that all other surviving members had disqualified themselves by taking the oath of allegiance, gathered at a meeting with the
IRA Army Council under
Seán Russell, and signed over what they believed was the authority of the Government of Dáil Éireann to the Army Council until such a time as a new Dáil could once again be democratically elected by all the people of Ireland in all 32 counties.
[The seven were John J. O'Kelly, George Noble Plunkett, ]William Stockley
William Frederick Paul Stockley (29 June 1859 – 22 July 1943) was an Irish academic, Sinn Féin politician and Teachta Dála (TD).
Early life
W. F. P. Stockley was born in Templeogue, County Dublin, and was educated at Rathmines School. He ...
, Mary MacSwiney
Mary MacSwiney (pronounced 'MacSweeney'; ga, Máire Nic Shuibhne; 27 March 1872 – 8 March 1942) was an Irish politician and educationalist. In 1927 she became deputy leader of Sinn Féin when Éamon de Valera resigned from the presidency of ...
, Brian O'Higgins, Tom Maguire and Cathal Ó Murchadha
Cathal Ó Murchadha (; born Charles Murphy; 16 February 1880 – 28 April 1958) was an Irish politician and republican.
Early life
He was born in 7 Albert Place East, Dublin, and was the third of 7 boys, he was the only one that married. His ...
. Henceforth, the IRA Army Council perceived itself to be the legitimate government of the
Irish Republic.
Official Sinn Féin in 1969–70 and
Provisional Sinn Féin in 1986 abandoned abstentionism and began a gradual recognition of the legitimacy of the modern Irish state; the smaller
Republican Sinn Féin retains the view that the Second Dáil was the last legitimate Irish legislature.
See also
*
Members of the 2nd Dáil
There were two elections in Ireland on 24 May 1921, as a result of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 to establish the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. A resolution of Dáil Éireann on 10 May 1 ...
*
History of Ireland
The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 33,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of homo sapiens to around 10,500 to 7,000 BC. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Quaterna ...
*
First Dáil
Footnotes
References
External links
* Oireachtas website:
*
Debates by year
*
Members since 1919
Records of Dáil Éireann 1919–1922from
Digital Repository of Ireland
The Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) is a digital repository for Ireland's humanities, social science and cultural heritage data. It was designed as an open access infrastructure that allows for interactive use and sustained growth. Three ins ...
Treaty debates on-lineUniversity College Cork
{{DEFAULTSORT:Second Dail
History of Ireland (1801–1923)