The 1923 Irish general election to elect the

4th Dáil The 4th Dáil was elected at the 1923 general election on 27 August 1923 and met on 19 September 1923. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of the Irish Free State, are known as TDs. It w ...

was held on Monday, 27 August, following the dissolution of the

Third Dáil Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

on 9 August 1923. It was the first general election held since 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 ...

on 6 December 1922. The election was held shortly after the end of the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

in May 1923. Many of the Republican TDs, who represented the losing anti-

Treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

side, were still imprisoned during and after the election and had committed to not participating in the Dáil if elected. The 4th Dáil assembled at

Leinster House Leinster House () is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Duke of Leinster, Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it has been a complex of buildings which houses Oirea ...

on 19 September to nominate the President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the

for appointment by 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, ...

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; ) was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. It was named after the original Cumann na nGaedheal organisation which merged with the Dungannon Clubs and the National Co ...

, the successor to the Pro-Treaty wing of

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

, won the election and formed the government. Despite falling 14 seats of an outright majority, the opposition Republican TDs refused to take their seats, giving CnG effective control of the chamber and allowing it to form what amounted to a majority government.

Legal background

It was the first general election fought since the establishment of the Irish Free State and the adoption of the Constitution of the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922. It was contested under the

Electoral Act 1923 The Electoral Act 1923 was a law in Ireland which established the electoral law of the Irish Free State and provided for parliamentary constituencies in Dáil Éireann. Franchise Article 14 of the Constitution of the Irish Free State adopted ...

, which increased the seats in the Dáil from 128 to 153, and introduced a franchise of all citizens over the age of 21, without distinction of sex. Lax electoral practices were tightened up by The Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act 1923.

Result

Most parties made gains, in part because the total number of seats in the Dáil was increased by 25 from 128 to 153.

Voting summary

Seats summary

Government formation

The Republican TDs continued to abstain from the Dáil. Therefore, Cumann na nGaedheal had a majority of seats which were taken in the Dáil and formed the 2nd Executive Council of the Irish Free State on 19 September 1923.

Changes in membership

First time TDs

Frank Aiken Francis Thomas Aiken (13 February 1898 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish revolutionary and politician. He was Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army, chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), Anti-Treaty IRA at the end of the I ...

* Patrick Baxter *

Dan Breen Daniel Breen (11 August 1894 – 27 December 1969) was a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. In later years he was a Fianna Fáil politician. Background Breen was born in Grange ...

* Frank Cahill * John James Cole * Margaret Collins-O'Driscoll * Cornelius Connolly * Edward Doyle * Peadar Doyle *

Seán Gibbons Séan Francis Gibbons (31 May 1883 – 19 April 1952) was an Irish politician who sat as Cumann na nGaedheal Teachta Dála (TD) in the 1920s and as a Fianna Fáil TD in the 1930s. He later became a Senator, and was Cathaoirleach (chairperson) of ...

* Kathleen Lynn * Patrick McFadden * James Myles * Michael Shelly * Paddy Smith

Retiring TDs

* Gerald Fitzgibbon *

Joseph Whelehan Joseph B. Whelehan (19 May 1882 – 29 October 1968) was an Irish politician, scout leader and teacher. He was born in Tyrrellspass, County Westmeath, the son of grocery shopkeeper Michael Whelehan and Jane Gavin. He was married in Tuam in April ...

Legal background

Result

Voting summary

Seats summary

Government formation

Changes in membership

First time TDs

Retiring TDs

Defeated TDs

References

Notes

Sources

Citations

Further reading