1937 Irish general election
1 July 1937
138 seats in Dáil Éireann[lower-alpha 1]
70 seats needed for a majority
Turnout76.2% Decrease 5.1pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
De Valera, 1939 (cropped).jpg
W. T. Cosgrave, circa 1930 (cropped).jpg
William Norton circa 1927 to 1932.png
Leader Éamon de Valera W. T. Cosgrave William Norton
Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Labour
Leader since 26 March 1926 September 1934 19 July 1932
Leader's seat Clare Cork Borough Carlow–Kildare
Last election 77 seats, 49.7% 59 seats, 39.6%[lower-alpha 2] 8 seats, 5.7%
Seats before 79 56 8
Seats won 69[lower-alpha 1] 48[lower-alpha 2] 13
Seat change Decrease8 Decrease11 Increase5
Popular vote 599,040 461,171 135,758
Percentage 45.2% 34.8% 10.3%
Swing Decrease4.5% Decrease4.8% Increase4.6%
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[lower-alpha 1] –8 50.0 599,040 45.2 –4.5
Fine Gael W. T. Cosgrave 48[lower-alpha 2] –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[lower-alpha 1] –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

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

  1. 1 2 3 4 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]
  2. 1 2 3 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

  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.
  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. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "9th Dáil 1937: Galway East". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "9th Dáil 1937 General Election". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  6. ↑ "Dáil elections since 1918". ARK Northern Ireland. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  7. ↑ Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook. pp. 1009–1017. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.
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