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The members of the First Dáil, known as Teachtaí Dála (TDs), were the 101[a] Members of Parliament (MPs) returned from constituencies in Ireland at the 1918 United Kingdom general election. In its first general election, Sinn Féin won 73[a] seats and viewed the result as a mandate for independence; in accordance with its declared policy of abstentionism, its 69[a] MPs refused to attend the British House of Commons in Westminster, and established a revolutionary parliament known as Dáil Éireann. The other Irish MPs — 26 unionists and six[b] from the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) — sat at Westminster and for the most part ignored the invitation to attend the Dáil. Thomas Harbison, IPP MP for North East Tyrone, did acknowledge the invitation, but "stated he should decline for obvious reasons".[1] The Dáil met for the first time on 21 January 1919 in Mansion House in Dublin. Only 27 members attended; most of the other Sinn Féin TDs were imprisoned by the British authorities, or in hiding under threat of arrest. All 101 MPs were considered TDs, and their names were called out on the roll of membership, though there was some laughter when Irish Unionist Alliance leader Edward Carson was described as as láthair ("absent").[2] The database of members of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) includes for the First Dáil only those elected for Sinn Féin.[3]
| 1st Dáil | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 24 of the 27 TDs present at the first Dáil meeting on 21 January 1919, photographed afterwards on the steps of the Mansion House. The caption gives names in Irish. | |||
| Overview | |||
| Legislative body | Dáil Éireann | ||
| Jurisdiction | Irish Republic | ||
| Meeting place | |||
| Term | 21 January 1919 – 10 May 1921 | ||
| Election | 1918 general election | ||
| Government |
| ||
| Members | 105[a] | ||
| Ceann Comhairle | Seán T. O'Kelly — Count Plunkett 22 January 1919 — Cathal Brugha until 22 January 1919 | ||
| President of Dáil Éireann | Éamon de Valera — Cathal Brugha until 1 April 1919 | ||
Composition of the 1st Dáil
edit| Party | Dec. 1918[c] | May 1921[d] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ● | Sinn Féin | 73[a] | 69 |
| Irish Unionist | 22 | — | |
| Irish Parliamentary | 6[b] | 2 | |
| Labour Unionist | 3 | — | |
| Ind. Unionist | 1 | 1 | |
| UUP | — | 23 | |
| Nationalist | — | 4 | |
| Unionist Anti-Partition League | — | 2 | |
| Vacant | — | 4 | |
| Total | 105 | ||
Government party denoted with bullet (●).
Members by constituency
editChanges
editVacancies
editWhen the Sinn Féin executive met on 1 January 1919 to plan for the Dáil's inaugural meeting, it considered appointing substitutes for the imprisoned Sinn Féin TDs who would be unable to attend, but decided against this.[4] When Pierce McCan died on 6 March 1919, his East Tipperary seat was left vacant at Westminster. In April 1919 a Dáil committee considering how to fill the vacancy considered allowing nomination by the Labour Party (which had stood aside in the 1918 election to avoid splitting the nationalist vote)[5] before recommending that the Sinn Féin constituency organisation should nominate.[6] However, in June 1919 the Dáil decided that "it was due to the memory of the late Pierce McCann that his place should not be filled at present".[7] Later vacancies were also left unfilled; when Diarmuid Lynch resigned his seat in 1920, Arthur Griffith said "as the letter of resignation was addressed to the people of South-East Cork, the next step in the matter lay with the South-East Cork Executive of Sinn Fein".[8]
Four TDs represented two separate constituencies: Éamon de Valera, Arthur Griffith, Eoin MacNeill and Liam Mellowes. Ordinarily, this would prompt them to choose one constituency to represent, and to move a writ for a by-election in the other constituency.
| Constituency | Outgoing TD | Party | Reason for vacancy | Date of vacancy | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tipperary East | Pierce McCan | Sinn Féin | Death in prison | 6 March 1919 | [4] | |
| Cork South East | Diarmuid Lynch | Sinn Féin | Resignation | 6 August 1920 | [8] | |
| Cork Mid | Terence MacSwiney | Sinn Féin | Death from hunger strike | 25 October 1920 | [4] | |
| North Wexford | Roger Sweetman | Sinn Féin | Resignation | 27 January 1921 | [9] | |
By-elections
editThe following Westminster by-elections to Irish seats were filled by Unionists who sat at Westminster.
| Winner | Party | Constituency | Date | Outgoing | Party | Reason for vacancy | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh T. Barrie | Irish Unionist | North Londonderry | 4 March 1919 | Hugh Anderson | Irish Unionist | Resignation | The only by-election contested by Sinn Féin, Patrick McGilligan losing.[10] | ||
| George Hanna | Ind. Unionist | East Antrim | 27 May 1919 | Robert McCalmont | Irish Unionist | Appointed commander of the Irish Guards | |||
| William Jellett | Irish Unionist | Dublin University | 28 July 1919 | Arthur Samuels | Irish Unionist | Appointed to the High Court of Justice in Ireland | |||
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b c d e Sinn Féin won 73 of 105 constituencies but four individuals were each elected for two constituencies, so there were 69 Sinn Féin MPs from a total of 101.
- ^ a b A seventh IPP MP, T. P. O'Connor, was elected for the English constituency of Liverpool Scotland.
- ^ December 1918 column shows the state of parties after the 1918 general election.
- ^ May 1921 column shows the state of the parties at the dissolution of the 1st Dáil.
- ^ Arthur Griffith was elected for two constituencies: Cavan East and Tyrone North West.
- ^ Éamon de Valera was elected for two constituencies: Clare East and Mayo East.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Attended the opening session of the First Dáil on 21 January 1919.
- ^ Liam Mellows was elected for two constituencies: Galway East and Meath North.
- ^ Eoin MacNeill was elected for two constituencies: Londonderry City and National University of Ireland.
References
edit- ^ "Roll Call". Dáil Éireann (1st Dáil) debates. Houses of the Oireachtas. 22 January 1919. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ "Irish Republican 'Parliament'". The Irish Times. 22 January 1919. p. 6. Archived from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2020.; Fallon, Donal (21 January 2019). "Opinion: The Democratic Programme of the First Dáil was a radical socialist document". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ "TDs & Senators". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ a b c "Timeline". Dáil 100. Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ Mitchell, Arthur (1995). Revolutionary Government in Ireland: Dáil Éireann, 1919-22. Gill & MacMillan. p. 24. ISBN 9780717114818.
- ^ "East Tipperary Vacancy". Dáil Éireann debate. Oireachtas. 17 June 1919. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ "Report of Select Committee on East Tipperary Vacancy – Dáil Éireann (1st Dáil) – Wednesday, 18 June 1919". Oireachtas. 17 June 1919. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Resignation Of Deputy For South-East Cork". Dáil Éireann debate. Oireachtas. 6 August 1920. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
- ^ Sweetman, R. M. (28 January 1921). "Mr. Roger Sweetman's Position". The Irish Times. p. 4. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ Laffan, Michael (1999). The Resurrection of Ireland: The Sinn Féin Party, 1916–1923. Cambridge University Press. p. 309. ISBN 9781139426299. Retrieved 13 August 2018.