The 2nd Seanad was in office in 1938. An election to Seanad Éireann, the Senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), took place in March 1938, following the coming into operation of the Constitution of Ireland in December 1937. The senators served until the close of poll for the 3rd Seanad, in July 1938.
| 2nd Seanad | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
 | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Seanad Éireann | ||||
| Jurisdiction | Ireland | ||||
| Meeting place | Leinster House | ||||
| Term | 27 April 1938 – 22 July 1938 | ||||
| Government | 1st Government of Ireland | ||||
| Members | 60 | ||||
| Cathaoirleach | Seán Gibbons (FF) | ||||
| Leas-Chathaoirleach | Pádraic Ó Máille (FF) | ||||
| Leader of the Seanad | William Quirke (FF) | ||||
Designation edit
The Seanad of the Irish Free State was abolished by the Constitution (Amendment No. 24) Act 1936, with its last meeting on 19 May 1936. The Free State Seanad was elected in stages and thus considered to be in permanent session. Although there were five Seanad elections held before its abolition, the First Seanad includes the entire period from 1922 to 1936.
A new Seanad Éireann was established under the 1937 Constitution, with elections following general elections to Dáil Éireann. To indicate continuity with its Free State predecessor, the first Seanad elected after 1937 is numbered as the Second Seanad. The election to the 2nd Seanad was elected under Article 53 of the Constitution, which provided that on the coming into operation of the Constitution, which took place on 29 December 1937, a general election for the Seanad would take place as if there had been a dissolution of the Dáil.[1]
Composition of the 2nd Seanad edit
There are a total of 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 were elected on five vocational panels, 6 were elected from two university constituencies and 11 were nominated by the Taoiseach.
The following table shows the composition by party when the 2nd Seanad first met on 27 April 1938.
Origin Party
|
Vocational panels | NUI | DU | Nominated | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admin | Agri | Cult & Educ | Ind & Comm | Labour | |||||||
| Fianna Fáil | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 20 | ||
| Fine Gael | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | ||
| Labour Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Independent | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 22 | ||
| Total | 7 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 60 | ||
List of senators edit
- Note: The entries for Senators who were elected or appointed to fill vacancies are shown in italics
Changes edit
| Date | Panel | Loss | Gain | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 May 1938 | Nominated by the Taoiseach | Independent | Douglas Hyde elected as President of Ireland[3] | |||
| 10 May 1938 | Nominated by the Taoiseach | Independent | Patrick Keohane nominated to replace Douglas Hyde[4] | |||
| 17 June 1938 | Administrative Panel | Fine Gael | Richard Mulcahy elected to the 10th Dáil at the 1938 general election[2] | |||
References edit
- ^ Constitution of Ireland, Article 53.
- ^ a b "Announcement of Casual Vacancy in Seanad – Seanad Éireann (2nd Seanad) – Vol. 21 No. 5". Oireachtas Debates. 6 July 1938. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Uachtarán na hEireann do Thogha – Seanad Éireann (2nd Seanad) – Vol. 21 No. 2". Oireachtas Debates. 11 May 1938. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Seanadóir d'Ainmniú – Seanad Éireann (2nd Seanad) – Vol. 21 No. 2". Oireachtas Debates. 11 May 1938. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
External links edit
- "2nd Seanad". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
- "2nd Seanad". Oireachtas Debates. Retrieved 18 December 2023.