June 1927 Irish general election

9 June 1927
153 seats in Dáil Éireann[lower-alpha 1] 77 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	68.1% 6.8pp
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 Carlow–Kilkenny Clare Dublin County Last election 63 seats, 39.0% N/A 14 seats, 10.6% Seats before 60 N/A 15 Seats won 47[lower-alpha 1] 44 22 Seat change 16 44 8 Popular vote 314,703 299,486 143,849 Percentage 27.4% 26.2% 12.6% Swing 11.6% New party 2.0%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   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 before 15 2 47 Seats won 11 8 5 Seat change 4 8 39 Popular vote 101,955 83,598 41,401 Percentage 8.9% 7.3% 3.6% Swing 3.2% New party 23.8%
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 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 2011.

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[lower-alpha 1]	–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[lower-alpha 2]	–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[lower-alpha 1]	0	100	1,177,797	100	—
Electorate/Turnout						1,730,177	68.1%	—

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

Notes

References