The 12th Dáil was elected at the 1944 general election on 30 May 1944 and first met on 9 June 1944. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature), of Ireland are known as TDs. It sat with the 5th Seanad as the two Houses of the Oireachtas.
| 12th Dáil | |||||||||||
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| Overview | |||||||||||
| Legislative body | Dáil Éireann | ||||||||||
| Jurisdiction | Ireland | ||||||||||
| Meeting place | Leinster House | ||||||||||
| Term | 9 June 1944 – 12 January 1948 | ||||||||||
| Election | 1944 general election | ||||||||||
| Government | 4th government of Ireland | ||||||||||
| Members | 138 | ||||||||||
| Ceann Comhairle | Frank Fahy | ||||||||||
| Taoiseach | Éamon de Valera | ||||||||||
| Tánaiste | Seán Lemass — Seán T. O'Kelly until 14 June 1945 | ||||||||||
| Chief Whip | Eamon Kissane | ||||||||||
| Leader of the Opposition | Richard Mulcahy | ||||||||||
| Sessions | |||||||||||
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The 12th Dáil was dissolved by President Seán T. O'Kelly on 12 January 1948, at the request of the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera. The 12th Dáil lasted 1,313 days.
Composition of the 12th Dáil
edit| Party | May 1944 | Jan. 1948 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ● | Fianna Fáil | 76 | 76 |
| Fine Gael | 30 | 25 | |
| Clann na Talmhan | 11 | 11 | |
| Labour | 8 | 8 | |
| National Labour Party | 4 | 4 | |
| Clann na Poblachta | 0 | 2 | |
| Independent | 9 | 9 | |
| Ceann Comhairle | — | 1 | |
| Vacant | — | 2 | |
Fianna Fáil, denoted with bullet (●), formed the 4th government of Ireland, a minority government relying on the support of the National Labour Party and Independent TDs.
Graphical representation
editThis is a graphical comparison of party strengths in the 12th Dáil from June 1944. This was not the official seating plan.
Ceann Comhairle
editOn 9 June 1944, Frank Fahy (FF), who had served as Ceann Comhairle since 1932, was proposed by Éamon de Valera and seconded by Richard Mulcahy for the position, and was elected without a vote.[1]
TDs by constituency
editThe list of the 138 TDs elected, is given in alphabetical order by Dáil constituency.[2]
Changes
edit| Date | Constituency | Loss | Gain | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 June 1944 | Galway East | Fianna Fáil | Ceann Comhairle | Frank Fahy takes office as Ceann Comhairle[1] | ||
| 3 October 1944 | Kerry South | Fine Gael | Resignation of Fionán Lynch (FG) on appointment as a Circuit Court judge[3] | |||
| 10 November 1944 | Kerry South | Fianna Fáil | Donal O'Donoghue (FF) wins the seat vacated by Lynch. | |||
| 7 February 1945 | Clare | Fine Gael | Death of Patrick Burke (FG) | |||
| 5 May 1945 | Kerry South | Fianna Fáil | Death of Frederick Crowley (FF) | |||
| 14 June 1945 | Dublin North-West | Fianna Fáil | Election of Seán T. O'Kelly (FF) as president of Ireland | |||
| 19 July 1945 | Wexford | Labour | Death of Richard Corish (Lab) | |||
| 10 October 1945 | Mayo South | Fianna Fáil | Resignation Micheál Clery (FF) on appointment as County Registrar of Dublin[4] | |||
| 4 December 1945 | Clare | Fianna Fáil | Patrick Shanahan (FF) wins the seat vacated by the death of Burke | |||
| 4 December 1945 | Kerry South | Fianna Fáil | Honor Crowley (FF) holds the seat vacated by the death of her husband Frederick Crowley | |||
| 4 December 1945 | Dublin North-West | Fianna Fáil | Vivion de Valera (FF) holds the seat vacated by O'Kelly | |||
| 4 December 1945 | Wexford | Labour | Brendan Corish (Lab) holds the seat vacated by the death of his father Richard Corish | |||
| 4 December 1945 | Mayo South | Clann na Talmhan | Bernard Commons (CnaT) wins the seat vacated by Clery | |||
| 29 March 1946 | Cork Borough | Independent | Resignation of William Dwyer (Ind)[5] | |||
| 14 June 1946 | Cork Borough | Fianna Fáil | Patrick McGrath (FF) wins the seat vacated by Dwyer | |||
| 4 February 1947 | Tipperary | Clann na Talmhan | Death of William O'Donnell (CnaT) | |||
| 2 May 1947 | Dublin County | Fianna Fáil | Death of Patrick Fogarty (FF) | |||
| 10 May 1947 | Waterford | Fianna Fáil | Death of Michael Morrissey (FF) | |||
| 31 July 1947 | Meath–Westmeath | Fine Gael | Independent | Charles Fagan (FG) resigns from party[6] | ||
| 29 October 1947 | Tipperary | Clann na Poblachta | Patrick Kinane (CnaP) wins the seat vacated by the death of O'Donnell | |||
| 29 October 1947 | Dublin County | Clann na Poblachta | Seán MacBride (CnaP) wins the seat vacated by the death of Fogarty | |||
| 29 October 1947 | Waterford | Fianna Fáil | John Ormonde (FF) holds the seat vacated by the death of Morrissey | |||
| 1 January 1948 | Carlow–Kildare | Fine Gael | Death of James Hughes (FG) | |||
| 8 January 1948 | Sligo | Fine Gael | Death of Martin Roddy (FG) | |||
Eamonn Coogan (FG), an outgoing TD for Kilkenny, died after the dissolution of the 12th Dáil, during the 1948 general election campaign.
References
edit- ^ a b "Election of Ceann Comhairle – Dáil Éireann (12th Dáil) – Vol. 94 No. 1". Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 June 1944. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ "TDs & Senators (12th Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
- ^ "Resignation of a Deputy – Dáil Éireann (12th Dáil) – Vol. 95 No. 1". Houses of the Oireachtas. 3 October 1944. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Resignation of a Deputy – Dáil Éireann (12th Dáil) – Vol. 98 No. 1". Houses of the Oireachtas. 10 October 1945. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Resignation of a Deputy – Dáil Éireann (12th Dáil) – Vol. 100 No. 7". Houses of the Oireachtas. 29 March 1946. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Fine Gael member resigns from party". The Irish Times. 1 August 1947. p. 1.