1923 Irish general election

The 1923 Irish general election was held on 27 August 1923 and was the first general election in the Irish Free State established the previous December. The newly elected members of the 4th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 19 September and the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the Irish Free State were appointed by the Governor-General. The election was held shortly after the end of the Irish Civil War in May 1923. Many of the Republican TDs, who represented the losing anti-Treaty side, were still imprisoned during and after the election and had committed to not participating in the Dáil even if elected. Cumann na nGaedheal, the successor to the Pro-Treaty wing of Sinn Féin, won the election and formed the government.[1]

1923 Irish general election

27 August 1923
All 153 seats in Dáil Éireann 77 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	61.3% 1.2pp
First party Second party   Leader W. T. Cosgrave Éamon de Valera Party Cumann na nGaedheal Republican Leader since April 1923 1917 Leader's seat Carlow–Kilkenny Clare Last election 58 seats 36 seats Seats won 63 44 Seat change 5 8 Popular vote 410,695 288,794 Percentage 39.0% 27.4%   Third party Fourth party   FP Leader Denis Gorey Thomas Johnson Party Farmers' Party Labour Party Leader since 1922 1922 Leader's seat Carlow–Kilkenny Dublin County Last election 7 seats 16 seats Seats won 15 14 Seat change 8 3 Popular vote 127,184 111,939 Percentage 12.1% 10.6%
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 W. T. Cosgrave Cumann na nGaedheal Subsequent President of the Executive Council W. T. Cosgrave Cumann na nGaedheal

Result

4th Irish general election – 27 August 1923[2][3][4]
Party		Leader	Seats	±	% of seats	First Pref votes	% FPv	±%
	Cumann na nGaedheal	W. T. Cosgrave	63[lower-alpha 1]	+5	41.2	410,695	39.0	+0.5
	Republican	Éamon de Valera	44[lower-alpha 1]	+8	28.7	288,794	27.4	+5.6
	Farmers' Party	Denis Gorey	15	+8	9.8	127,184	12.1	+4.3
	Labour Party	Thomas Johnson	14	−3	9.2	111,939	10.6	−10.7
	Businessmen's Party	N/A	2	+2	1.3	9,648	0.9	−1.4
	Cork Progressive Association	N/A	2[lower-alpha 2]	New	1.3	6,588	0.6	New
	National Democratic Party	N/A	0	New	0	4,968	0.5	New
	Dublin Trades Council	P. T. Daly	0	New	0	3,847	0.4	New
	Ratepayers' Association	N/A	0	±0	0	2,620	0.2	−0.2
	Town Tenants' Association	N/A	0	New	0	1,803	0.2	New
	Independent	N/A	13	+4	8.5	85,869	8.1	+0.3
Spoilt votes						40,047	—	—
Total			153	+25	100	1,094,002	100	—
Electorate/Turnout						1,786,318	61.3%	—

Notes

1. Cumann na nGaedheal's results are compared with those of the Pro-Treaty faction of Sinn Féin in the previous general election. Results given for Republicans here are compared to those won by the Anti-Treaty faction of Sinn Féin in the previous election.
2. Andrew O'Shaughnessy and Richard Beamish were elected under the label of Cork Progressive Association, a group associated with the Businessmen's Party.

Cumann na nGaedheal formed the 2nd Executive Council of the Irish Free State.

Most parties made gains, in part because the total number of seats in the Dáil was increased by 25 from 128 to 153. Cumann na nGaedheal were able to form a minority government while Republicans (Anti-Treaty) abstained from taking their seats in the Dáil.

Lax electoral practices were tightened up beforehand by The Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act 1923.[5]

Voting summary

First preference vote Cumann na nGaedheal   38.97% Republican   27.40% Farmers'   12.07% Labour   10.62% Businessman's   0.92% Cork Progressive Association   0.63% Others   1.26% Independent   8.15%

Seats summary

Dáil seats Cumann na nGaedheal   41.18% Republican   28.76% Farmers'   9.80% Labour   9.15% Businessman's   1.31% Cork Progressive Association   1.31% Independent   8.50%

First time TDs

• Frank Aiken
• Patrick Baxter
• Dan Breen
• Frank Cahill
• John James Cole
• Margaret Collins-O'Driscoll
• Cornelius Connolly
• Edward Doyle
• Peadar Doyle
• Seán Gibbons
• Patrick McFadden
• James Myles
• Michael Skelly
• Paddy Smith

Outgoing TDs

• Joseph Whelehan (Retired)

References

Sources

• Department of Local Government and Public Health (July 1924). Memorandum on the conduct of the general election to Dáil Éireann held on the 27th August, 1923 (PDF). Dublin. Retrieved 2 February 2018.

Citations

1. Hopkinson, Michael (1988). Green Against Green: The Irish Civil War. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. p. 262. ISBN 0-7171-3760-0. Despite the absence of many Sinn Féin candidates and workers in jail, the results were surprising good for the Republicans. Cumann na nGaedheal, the newly formed government party, had 63 candidates elected, compared with 44 Republicans.
2. "4th Dáil 1923 General Election". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
3. "Dáil elections since 1918". ARK Northern Ireland. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
4. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, pp1009-1017 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
5. "The Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act 1923". Irish Statute Book. 8 August 1923. Retrieved 28 February 2020.