1937 Irish general election

1937 Irish general election
← outgoing members elected members →
138 seats in Dáil Éireann; 70 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	76.2% 5.1pp
	Percentage of seats gained by each of the three major parties, and number of seats gained by smaller parties and independents.
President of the Executive Council before election; Éamon de Valera; Fianna Fáil	President of the Executive Council after election ; Éamon de Valera; Fianna Fáil

The 1937 Irish general election to the 9th Dáil was held on Thursday, 1 July, following the dissolution of the 8th Dáil on 14 June by Ceann Comhairle Frank Fahy on the direction of the Executive Council. The general election took place in 34 parliamentary constituencies throughout the Irish Free State for 138 seats in Dáil Éireann. The number of seats in the Dáil was reduced by 15, from 153 to 138 seats, under the Electoral (Revision of Constituencies) Act 1935.

A plebiscite on whether to approve the new Constitution of Ireland was held on the same day. It was approved with the support of 56.5% of voters and would come into operation on 29 December 1937.

The 9th Dáil met at Leinster House on 21 July 1937 to elect the President of the Executive Council and approve the appointment of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State. Outgoing president Éamon de Valera was re-elected leading a single-party Fianna Fáil government.

Result


Election to the 9th Dáil – 1 July 1937^[5]^[6]^[7]

Party		Leader	Seats	±	% of seats	First pref. votes	% FPv	±%
	Fianna Fáil	Éamon de Valera	69^[a]	–8	50.0	599,040	45.2	–4.5
	Fine Gael	W. T. Cosgrave	48^[b]	–11	34.8	461,171	34.8	–4.8
	Labour	William Norton	13	+5	9.4	135,758	10.3	+4.6
	Independent	N/A	8	–1	5.8	128,480	9.7	+4.7
Spoilt votes						27,824	—	—
Total			138^[a]	–15	100	1,352,273	100	—
Electorate/Turnout						1,775,055	76.2%	—

Voting summary

First preference vote

Fianna Fáil			45.23%
Fine Gael			34.82%
Labour			10.25%
Independent			9.70%

Seats summary

Dáil seats

Fianna Fáil			50.00%
Fine Gael			34.78%
Labour			9.42%
Independent			5.80%

Changes in membership

First time TDs

Re-elected TDs

Defeated TDs

Retiring TDs

Vacancies

Conor Maguire (Resigned on appointment as judge in 1936)

Government formation

Fianna Fáil formed a minority government, the 8th Executive Council of the Irish Free State, with the support of the Labour Party. This became the 1st Government of Ireland on 29 December 1937 on the coming into operation of the Constitution.

Seanad election

After the coming into operation of the Constitution, an election took place under Article 53 of the Constitution for the 2nd Seanad in March 1938.

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Including Frank Fahy, returned automatically for Galway East as outgoing Ceann Comhairle, under Art. 21 of the Constitution, as amended by the Constitution (Amendment No. 2) Act 1927, and s. 2 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1927, adapted under the constituency revision.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]
^ ^a ^b ^c The total number of Fine Gael TDs is compared to the combined total won by Cumann na nGaedheal and the National Centre Party at the previous general election.

References

^ Constitution (Amendment No. 2) Act 1927, s. 1: Re-election at general election of outgoing Chairman of Dáil Eireann (No. 6 of 1927, s. 1). Enacted on 19 March 1927. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
^ Electoral (Amendment) Act 1927, s. 2: Re-election of outgoing Ceann Comhairle (No. 21 of 1927, s. 2). Enacted on 22 May 1927. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
^ Electoral (Revision of Constituencies) Act 1935, s. 4: Constituency of the Ceann Comhairle (No. 5 of 1935, s. 4). Enacted on 27 February 1935. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
^ "9th Dáil 1937: Galway East". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
^ "9th Dáil 1937 General Election". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
^ "Dáil elections since 1918". ARK Northern Ireland. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
^ Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook. Nomos. pp. 1009–1017. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.