June 1927 Irish general election

June 1927 Irish general election
← 1923 9 June 1927 Sep 1927 →
153 seats in Dáil Éireann[a]
77 seats needed for a majority
Turnout68.1% Increase 6.8pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
WT Cosgrave, circa 1922 (headshot).jpg
De Valera LCCN2016822004 (headshot).jpg
Tomjohnson (cropped).jpg
Leader W. T. Cosgrave Éamon de Valera Thomas Johnson
Party Cumann na nGaedheal Fianna Fáil Labour
Leader since April 1923 26 March 1926 1914
Leader's seat Carlow–Kilkenny Clare Dublin County
Last election 63 seats, 39.0% N/A 14 seats, 10.6%
Seats won 47 44 22
Seat change Decrease16 Increase44 Increase8
Popular vote 314,703 299,486 143,849
Percentage 27.4% 26.2% 12.6%
Swing Decrease11.6% New party Increase2.0%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Michael Heffernan TD, circa 1910s.png
William Archer Redmond.jpg
JJ O'Kelly, circa 1918 to 1931.jpg
Leader Michael Heffernan William Redmond John J. O'Kelly
Party Farmers' Party National League Sinn Féin
Leader since 1927 1926 1926
Leader's seat Tipperary Waterford N/A
Last election 15 seats, 12.1% N/A 44 seats, 27.4%
Seats won 11 8 5
Seat change Decrease4 Increase8 Decrease39
Popular vote 101,955 83,598 41,401
Percentage 8.9% 7.3% 3.6%
Swing Decrease3.2% New party Decrease23.8%
President of the Executive Council before election

W. T. Cosgrave
Cumann na nGaedheal

President of the Executive Council after election

W. T. Cosgrave
Cumann na nGaedheal

The June 1927 Irish general election was to elect the 5th Dáil held on Thursday, 9 June following the dissolution of the 4th Dáil on 23 May 1927. It was the first election contested by Fianna Fáil, which had been formed a year earlier when Éamon de Valera, leader of the abstentionist Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin, failed to convince the party to take their seats if and when the Oath of Allegiance were abolished. Most of Sinn Féin's TDs, as well as the bulk of its support, shifted to Fianna Fáil. The impact of this shift saw Sinn Féin all but decimated; it was reduced to five seats. This was for many years the end of the party as a major force in the southern part of the island; it would not win more than 10 seats at an election until 2011, by which time it had undergone fundamental transformation. This election cemented Fianna Fáil as a major party; it and Cumann na nGaedheal/Fine Gael remained the two largest parties in Ireland until 2020 when Sinn Féin came first in first preference votes (tied with Fianna Fáil in seats).

The 5th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 23 June to nominate the President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the Irish Free State for appointment by the Governor-General. W. T. Cosgrave was re-appointed leading a government of Cumann na nGaedheal.

Fianna Fáil took the oath of allegiance and its seats in the Dáil on 12 August 1927.[3] Fianna Fáil's decision to take up its seats ended Cumann na nGaedheal's working majority, forcing Cosgrave into a minority government which proved unstable. After government victories in two by-election, Cosgrave sought a dissolution on 25 August and a second election of that year was held in September 1927.

Result

Election to the 5th Dáil – 9 June 1927[4][5][6]
Party Leader Seats ± % of
seats 		First pref.
votes 		% FPv ±%
Cumann na nGaedheal W. T. Cosgrave 47[a] –16 30.7 314,703 27.4 –11.6
Fianna Fáil Éamon de Valera 44 New 28.7 299,486 26.2 New
Labour Thomas Johnson 22 +8 14.4 143,849 12.6 +2.0
Farmers' Party Michael Heffernan 11 –4 7.2 101,955 8.9 –3.2
National League William Redmond 8 New 5.2 83,598 7.3 New
Sinn Féin John J. O'Kelly 5[b] –39 3.3 41,401 3.6 –23.8
Clann Éireann William Magennis 0 New 0 5,527 0.5 New
Blind Men's Party 0 New 0 1,559 0.1 New
Town Tenants' Association 0 0 0 1,012 0.1 –0.1
Independent N/A 16 +3 10.4 153,370 13.4 +5.3
Spoilt votes 31,337 — —
Total 153 0 100 1,177,797 100 —
Electorate/Turnout 1,730,177 68.1% —

Voting summary

First preference vote
Cumann na nGaedheal
 
 27.44%
Fianna Fáil
 
 26.12%
Labour
 
 12.55%
Farmers'
 
 8.89%
National League Party
 
 7.29%
Sinn Féin
 
 3.61%
Others
 
 0.71%
Independent
 
 13.37%

Seats summary

Dáil seats
Cumann na nGaedheal
 
 30.72%
Fianna Fáil
 
 28.76%
Labour
 
 14.38%
Farmers'
 
 7.19%
National League Party
 
 5.23%
Sinn Féin
 
 3.27%
Independent
 
 10.46%

Government formation

When the 5th Dáil first met on 23 June 1927, there were 50 TDs still abstaining. Cumann na nGaedheal formed the 3rd Executive Council of the Irish Free State with the support of the Farmers' Party and 13 Independents. This government proved unstable once Fianna Fáil took their seats.

Changes in membership

First time TDs

Outgoing TDs

Notes

  1. ^ a b Including Michael Hayes, returned automatically for the National University of Ireland 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.[1][2]
  2. ^ Results given for Sinn Féin here are compared to those won by Republicans in the previous election.

References

  1. ^ 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 on 8 April 2021.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "New Deputies take their seats – Dáil Éireann (5th Dáil) – Vol. 20 No. 20". 12 August 1927. Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  4. ^ "5th Dáil June 1927 General Election". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 28 May 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  5. ^ "Dáil elections since 1918". ARK Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  6. ^ Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook. Nomos. pp. 1010–1017. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.