Government of the 13th Dáil
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The Government of the 13th Dáil or the 5th Government of Ireland (18 February 1948 – 13 June 1951) was the government of Ireland formed after the general election held on 4 February 1948 — commonly known as the First Inter-Party Government — was a government of
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 à ...
, the Labour Party, Clann na Poblachta, Clann na Talmhan and the National Labour Party—and one TD who was an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
, James Dillon (who had resigned from Fine Gael after opposing its
neutral Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
stance in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
). The parties had many different aims and viewpoints, but opposition to
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil â€“ The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil â€“ An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...
overcame difficulties in forming a government;
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 ...
had led a series of single-party Fianna Fáil governments since 1932. The cabinet was made up of representatives of all parties, and ministers were given a great degree of independence. Some key events during the lifetime of the government include the declaration of the Republic of Ireland in 1948 and the crisis surrounding the Mother and Child Scheme in 1951. The 5th Government lasted for days.


5th Government of Ireland


Formation

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil â€“ The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil â€“ An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...
had been in office continuously since 1932, with
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 ...
as head of government (titled as
President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State The president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State ( ga, Uachtarán ar Ard-Chomhairle Shaorstát Éireann) was the head of government or prime minister of the Irish Free State which existed from 1922 to 1937. He was the chairman of t ...
until 1937, and from then as
Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...
). However, after the 1948 general election, the party was six seats short of a majority. At first, it seemed that de Valera would attempt to form a minority government. Negotiations for
confidence and supply In a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply are required for a ruling cabinet to retain power in the lower house. A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of par ...
with the National Labour Party failed when National Labour insisted on a formal coalition; at that time, Fianna Fáil would not enter coalitions with other parties. Nevertheless, it initially appeared that Fianna Fáil was the only party that could realistically form a government. Even though it was short of a majority, Fianna Fáil was by far the largest party in the Dáil, with 37 more seats than the next-largest party,
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 à ...
. However, the other parties realised that between them, they only had only one seat fewer than Fianna Fáil, and if they worked together, they could form a government with the support of at least seven independents. As the second-largest party in the Dáil, it was a foregone conclusion that Fine Gael would head such a coalition. In the normal course of events, Fine Gael leader
Richard Mulcahy Richard James Mulcahy (10 May 1886 – 16 December 1971) was an Irish Fine Gael politician and army general who served as Minister for Education from 1948 to 1951 and 1954 to 1957, Minister for the Gaeltacht from June 1956 to October 1956, ...
would have been the prospective coalition's nominee for Taoiseach. However, Clann na Poblachta leader
Seán MacBride Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 – 15 January 1988) was an Irish Clann na Poblachta politician who served as Minister for External Affairs from 1948 to 1951, Leader of Clann na Poblachta from 1946 to 1965 and Chief of Staff of the IRA from 19 ...
refused to serve under Mulcahy because of his role in carrying out 77 executions under the government 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 ...
in the early 1920s during the Irish Civil War. Accordingly, Mulcahy bowed out in favour of former Attorney General John A. Costello. Costello found himself as leader of a disparate group of young and old politicians, republicans and Free Staters, conservatives and socialists. The government survived for three years, however, through the skill of Costello as Taoiseach and the independence of various ministers.


Nomination of Taoiseach

The
members of the 13th Dáil The 13th Dáil was elected at the 1948 general election on 4 February 1948 and first met on 18 February 1948. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature), of Ireland are known as TDs. The 13th Dà ...
first met on 18 February 1948. In the debate on the nomination of Taoiseach, Fianna Fáil leader and outgoing Taoiseach
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 ...
and John A. Costello of
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 à ...
were both proposed. The nomination of de Valera was defeated by 70 to 75, while the nomination of Costello was approved by 75 to 68. Costello was appointed as Taoiseach by President Seán T. O'Kelly.


Members of the Government

The Ministers of the Government were proposed by the Taoiseach and approved by the Dáil. They were appointed by the president on the same day.


Parliamentary Secretaries

On 24 February 1948, the Government appointed the Parliamentary Secretaries on the nomination of the Taoiseach.


Republic of Ireland

The
Republic of Ireland Act 1948 The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 (No. 22 of 1948) is an Act of the Oireachtas which declared that the description of Ireland was to be the Republic of Ireland, and vested in the president of Ireland the power to exercise the executive authority ...
became law on 21 December 1948. It repealed the Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936, removing any remaining external function of the British monarchy in Ireland. It also declared that the description of the state was the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
. The Act came into operation on Easter Monday, 18 April 1949.


See also

* Dáil Éireann *
Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the fundamental law of Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democracy, is broadly within the traditi ...
*
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 bein ...


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Government Of The 13th Dail Coalition governments of Ireland Governments of Ireland 1948 establishments in Ireland 1951 disestablishments in Ireland Cabinets established in 1948 Cabinets disestablished in 1951 13th Dáil Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations