September 1927 Irish general election

September 1927 Irish general election

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152 of 153 seats in Dáil Éireann 77 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	69.0% 0.9pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader W. T. Cosgrave Éamon de Valera Thomas Johnson Party Cumann na nGaedheal Fianna Fáil Labour Leader since April 1923 26 March 1926 1922 Leader's seat Cork Borough Clare Dublin County (defeated) Last election 27.4% 26.2% 12.6% Seats before 47 43 22 Seats won 61 57 13 Seat change 14 14 9 Popular vote 453,028 411,777 106,184 Percentage 38.6% 35.2% 9.1% Swing 11.2% 9.0% 3.5%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Michael Heffernan William Redmond James Larkin Party Farmers' Party National League Irish Worker League Leader since 1927 1926 1923 Leader's seat Tipperary Waterford Dublin North Last election 8.9% 7.3% New Seats before 11 8 0 Seats won 6 2 1[1] Seat change 5 6 1 Popular vote 74,626 18,990 12,473 Percentage 6.4% 1.6% 1.1% Swing 2.5% 5.7% 1.1%
Percentage of seats gained by each of the five biggest parties, and number of seats gained by smaller parties and independents.
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 September 1927 Irish general election was held on Thursday, 15 September 1927. The newly elected members of the 6th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 11 October when the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the Irish Free State were appointed. The result was a Cumann na nGaedheal minority government.^[1]

Campaign[]

The second general election of 1927 was caused by the uncertain political arithmetic within Dáil Éireann. Only three votes separated the two largest parties, Cumann na nGaedheal and Fianna Fáil, and the government was very unstable. When, during August, Fianna Fáil decided to enter the Dáil, it gave its support to the Labour Party's motion of no confidence in the Cumann na nGaedheal government and to replace it with a Labour-led coalition with Labour leader Thomas Johnson as President of the Executive Council. The Labour Party was supported by Fianna Fáil and the National League Party. On the other hand, the Cumann na nGaedheal government had the backing of the Farmers' Party and most of the Independent TDs. When the vote was taken, John Jinks, a National League TD, failed to attend. The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Thomas J. O'Connell, was away in Canada at the time and also was unable to participate in the crucial vote. As a result, the vote was a dead heat and the Ceann Comhairle voted with the government. The motion failed.

W. T. Cosgrave realised that this situation could not continue and a general election was called in the hope of providing a clear result. Cumann na nGaedheal fought the election on its record in government so far. Fianna Fáil was the new party on the political scene with new policies and the promise of self-sufficiency. The Labour Party had done well on its last outing and was hoping, and was predicted, to win extra seats, in spite of internal divisions. The Farmers' Party represented the needs of agricultural labourers. Sinn Féin had been reduced by the founding of Fianna Fáil from 47 to five seats in the first 1927 election, and did not contest a single seat this time, due to lack of financial assets.

Result[]

Election to the 6th Dáil – 15 September 1927[2][3][4]
Party		Leader	Seats	±	% of seats	First pref. votes	% FPv	±%
	Cumann na nGaedheal	W. T. Cosgrave	62	+15	40.5	453,028	38.7	+11.3
	Fianna Fáil	Éamon de Valera	57	+13	37.3	411,777	35.2	+9.1
	Labour	Thomas Johnson	13	–9	8.5	106,184	9.1	–3.4
	Farmers' Party	Michael Heffernan	6	–5	3.9	74,626	6.4	–2.5
	National League	William Redmond	2	–6	1.3	18,990	1.6	–5.7
	Irish Worker League	James Larkin	1[2]	New	0.7	12,473	1.1	–
	Town Tenants' Association			0	0	832	0.1	0
	Independent	N/A	12	–4	7.8	92,959	7.9	–5.5
Spoilt votes						21,886	—	—
Total			153	0	100	1,192,755	100	—
Electorate/Turnout						1,730,177	69.0%	—

^ Although Jim Larkin won a seat in Dublin North, he was subsequently almost immediately disqualified from the position due to declaring bankruptcy as a result of losing a libel case brought against him by William O'Brien. As a result, a by-election was held for his seat on 3 April 1928. The winner of that by-election was Vincent Rice of Cumann na nGaedheal, who defeated Kathleen Clarke of Fianna Fáil and Larkin who ran again to try to regain his seat.

As stated above, Sinn Féin had won five seats in the first 1927 election, but did not contest a single seat this time. As a result, the number of seats it held decreased from five to zero.

Following the general election, Cumann na nGaedheal was able to form a minority government with the support of the Farmers' Party and other Independent TDs. The Labour Party leader, Thomas Johnson, lost his seat in the election and subsequently retired from politics.

Voting summary[]

Seats summary[]

First time TDs[]

• William Aird
• Seán Brady
• Robert Briscoe
• Edmond Carey
• Michael Connolly
• Eamonn Cooney
• Peter de Loughry
• Patrick Gorry
• Stephen Jordan
• William Kent
• Arthur Matthews
• Joseph Mongan
• Daniel O'Leary
• Martin Sexton
• Richard Walsh

Outgoing TDs[]

• Austin Stack (Retired)
• Kathleen Clarke (Lost seat)
• John Jinks (Lost seat)
• Thomas Johnson (Lost seat)
• Timothy Quill (Lost seat)
• James J. Walsh (Retired)

See also[]

• Members of the 6th Dáil
• Government of the 6th Dáil

References[]