1925 Seanad election

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Hiberno-English Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". An election for 19 of the 60 seats in Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Irish Free State, was held on 17 September 1925. The election was by single transferable vote, with the entire state being used as a 19-seat constituency.

The election saw eight Cumann na nGaedheal members elected (an advance of one compared to its pre-election representation), as well as three Labour Party (a drop of one seat), three Farmers' Party (an advance of two seats), and five others (a drop from seven previous to the election).

There were 76 candidates on the ballot paper, of whom voters ranked by preference at least a few but did not have to rank all of them.[1] Of the two main political parties, the larger (Cumann na nGaedheal) did not formally endorse any candidates, while the other (Sinn Féin, whose TDs were abstentionist) boycotted the election. Voter turnout was low and the outcome was considered unsatisfactory. Subsequently, senators were selected by the Oireachtas rather than the electorate.

Vacancies

The 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State provided for a Seanad of 60 members directly elected. Members would serve 12-year terms, with one-quarter of the house elected every three years. The members would be elected under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote in a single, nationwide, 15-seat contest. As well as this cohort up for election in 1925, four additional Senators were required to vacate their seats: these had been temporarily co-opted to fill casual vacancies that had arisen in previous years.

The 60 Senators were divided into four cohorts of 15, and an at-large election held every three years for one of the cohorts.[2][3]

As part of the initial transitional measures, 30 of the 60 Senators elected in 1922 were selected by the Dáil, of whom the last 15 to secure election formed the cohort whose term would end in 1925, the end of the first triennial period established by the 1922 constitution.[2][4][5]

Candidates

There were three methods of being included on the ballot. Outgoing Senators could nominate themselves for re-election,[6] and all 19 did so.[7] The Seanad could nominate a number of candidates equal to the number of vacancies (19), and the Dáil could nominate twice the number of vacancies (38).[6] Both Dáil and Seanad selections were by single transferable vote and secret ballot.[8] The minimum age for Senators was 35 years.[9]

The Seanad resolved on 30 April to form a committee to decide procedure for its nominations; the committee drafted a resolution in June,[10] which was amended and passed by the Seanad on 19 June.[11] 29 applicants contested the Seanad nominations on 1 July.[12][13][14] Apart from two Labour Party members, the candidates were Independents.[15] 47 of the 60 Senators voted, including 18 of the 19 who were themselves standing for re-election.[14] Donal O'Sullivan, clerk of the Seanad throughout its existence, suggests that these 18 had an incentive to vote for less popular candidates since the nominees would be rivals in the ensuing election.[16] O'Sullivan describes the results as "a very great disappointment ... the list [of successful nominees] could not compare with the list of the ten rejected."[14] Oliver St. John Gogarty made a similar remark in the Seanad itself after the results were announced.[17]

The rejected ten were: David Barry, general manager of the British and Irish Steam Packet Company; Sir Laurence Grattan Esmonde, brother of Senator Thomas Grattan Esmonde, Bart; Lady Gregory; John Horgan; Hugh Law; John McCann, a stockbroker; The McGillicuddy of the Reeks; William Lombard Murphy, son of William Martin Murphy and proprietor of the Irish Independent; Sir John Harley Scott, a Unionist former Mayor of Cork; and J.J. Stafford, a County Wexford businessman.[16][18]

Cumann na nGaedheal, the party which backed the incumbent government, decided not to formally support any candidates as a result of internal divisions. There was tension between ministers, backbenchers, and grassroots members, and between factions of Kevin O'Higgins and W. T. Cosgrave. The 1924 Army Mutiny had shaken the year-old party, and the appointment of public servants to lead the new state's institutions created resentment among those passed over. The parliamentary party held two selection conventions, on 2 and 6 July 1925, and when the leadership's candidates did badly a free vote was offered in the Dáil with all candidates nominally endorsed by the party.[19]

The Dáil nominations were decided on 8 July.[16][20] 57 candidates contested; 101 TDs voted, with one ballot deemed ineligible.[16][21] 52 TDs did not vote, including all 44 abstentionist Sinn Féin TDs, who were ineligible to vote as they had not taken the Oath of Allegiance.[22] TDs supported candidates on party lines.[15] Of the 38 successful nominees, O'Sullivan classifies 21 as supporters of the Cumann na nGaedheal Government, 9 as Independent, 5 as in the Farmers' Party, and 3 as in the Labour Party.[16] Four of the ten candidates rejected by the Seanad were also among the Dáil candidates, with John J. Horgan securing a nomination at the second attempt.[7]

Campaign

The usual Irish local, personal canvassing strategy was impractical across a nationwide constituency, leading to a relatively quiet campaign.[23] While the Farmers' Party and Labour produced newspaper advertisements for their respective slates of candidates, Cumann na nGaedheal did not at a national level formally endorse candidates, even those its TDs had nominated.[24] It presented the election as nonpartisan.[25] It published a booklet, Who's who in the 1925 Senate Election, and did not oppose candidates "put forward by any of the elements that accept the State and Constitution", i.e. other than republicans opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty.[19]

Numerous interest groups produced lists of approved candidates, including doctors, publicans, motorists, ex-servicemen's associations, and the livestock trade.[26] Candidates endorsed by temperance groups fared badly.[25] The Catholic Truth Society circulated, to little effect,[27] a list of outgoing Senators it condemned for not having opposed a controversial motion pertaining to divorce.[28][29]

Sinn Féin, under the leadership of Éamon de Valera, called for a boycott of the election.[30] Sinn Féin had not boycotted the 1923 Dáil election, but rather contested it on an abstentionist platform. De Valera would later lead his Fianna Fáil party, founded in 1926, into the Oireachtas after the June 1927 Dáil election.

Election

The election was by single transferable vote, with the entire Irish Free State forming a single, 19-seat constituency. All citizens over 30 had a vote. Since the voting age for Dáil and local elections was 21, a separate electoral roll was maintained for the Seanad election.[5]

The 76 candidates were arranged alphabetically on a ballot paper Script error: No such module "convert". long and Script error: No such module "convert". wide.[25] The Electoral (Seanad Elections) Act, 1925 was passed to allow the ballot to be presented as four parallel columns of 19 names rather than a single long column of all 76.[31][32]

The low voter turnout was blamed on the Sinn Féin boycott,[30][33] wet weather across the country,[25][30] and the shorter than usual hours of polling.[25] Turnout varied widely, from 8.2% in Mayo North to 43% in Monaghan.[25] Another factor was the large, intimidating ballot paper;[25] O'Sullivan describes it as "a fiasco",[30] saying it was unreasonable to expect voters to "make an intelligent choice of nineteen persons from a list containing seventy-six names, most of which they had never seen or heard of before."[34]

Results

Party FP votes % Seats won
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | Cumann na nGaedheal supporters 126,218 41.3 8
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | Labour Party 46,776 15.3 3
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | Farmers' Party 42,785 14.0 3
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | Independent 65,230 21.3 5
Unknown affiliation 24,692 8.1
Spoilt votes 9,466 –
Total 315,167 100
Electorate/Turnout 1,347,195 23.4
Source: Nohlen & Stöver[35]

Counting

The ballots were initially collected to one centre within each Dáil constituency to count and sort the first-preference votes.[5] This took almost a week.[25] On 25 September, the ballots were sent to Dublin, the totals checked centrally, and redistribution of transfers begun.[5][25] Initially there were 10 count officials, rising to 40 by the end.[36] On 5 October, the first candidate was returned, on the 45th count.[25] Counting continued until 19 October.[25]

Harold Gosnell said that there was more news coverage of the count than of the preceding campaign: "the counting of the ballots under [STV] applied on a national scale attracts wide attention, and the results are sure to reflect the opinions (or lack of them) manifested by the electors".[37]

Details

Although the election was national, many of the candidates relied on local support: 23 gained more than half their first preferences from their own constituency.[38] Thus, STV proved itself both able to elect those with local support and those with thinly-spread dispersed support.

About 12% (37,714) of valid ballots were exhausted, found to be non-transferable when eligible for transfer.[36] (One or more of the preferences marked on the ballots may have been elected, just without the help of that particular vote). Less than 3 percent of the ballots cast were spoiled..[1]

About 260,000 of the 315,000 votes cast were used in the end to elect the 19 winners, an 85 percent rate of effective votes.

Candidates of the two parties contesting the election, the Labour Party and the Farmers' Party, did relatively well.[39] Some interest groups also did well – vintners, ex-servicemen.[40][41] Others did not — doctors,[40] academics, women, and especially Irish language revivalists: all four candidates supported by the Gaelic League lost, including outgoing Senator and future president Douglas Hyde.[41][42] The Irish Times (Sept. 24, 1925) reported that licensed liquor dealers, ex-soldiers, farmers, doctors and businessmen received their due in the election.[2]

Ex-Unionist candidates did not fare well, even though the original design of the Seanad was intended in part to provide enhanced representation for the unionist minority.[43]

The quota (the amount guaranteed to secure election) was 15,286.

Thirteen were elected at the end, when the field of candidates was thinned to the number of remaining open seats in the 65th count, some of them were elected with less than quota.

Results of the 1925 Seanad election[44]
Name County Occupation[r 1] Nomination First-preference
votes 		Final result Final count Party[r 2] Notes
Script error: No such module "sort". Galway Director of various public companies and chairman of the Irish Branch of British Shareholders' Trust Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Baron ffrench
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Surgeon Outgoing Template:Nts Elected w/o quota Template:Ntsh 65
Script error: No such module "sort". Louth Baronet Seanad Template:Nts Elected Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Limerick Farmer Outgoing Template:Nts Elected w/o quota Template:Ntsh 65 (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Medical Doctor Seanad Template:Nts Elected w/o quota Template:Ntsh 65
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Solicitor Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Barrister-at-law Outgoing Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Wexford Farmer Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG) Sought women's vote
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Farmer Outgoing Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Farmers' Party
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Journalist Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Labour Party Wrote under the pen name "Andrew E. Malone"
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Teacher Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Surgeon Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Fruit merchant Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Farmer Outgoing Template:Nts Elected w/o quota Template:Ntsh 65 (pro-CnaG) Supporter of livestock trade
Script error: No such module "sort". Cork Journalist Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Farmer Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Supporter of livestock trade
Script error: No such module "sort". Kildare National school teacher Outgoing Template:Nts Elected Template:Nts Labour Party
Script error: No such module "sort". Kilkenny Iron founder and manufacturer Outgoing Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Cork Secretary-director of public company Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Kilkenny Farmer Dáil Template:Nts Elected Template:Nts Farmers' Party
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Merchant Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG) Of Eason & Son newsagents.[45]
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Grocer and vintner Dáil Template:Nts Elected w/o quota Template:Ntsh 65 Licensed vintners' lobby
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Author Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Died by suicide on 27 October 1925
Script error: No such module "sort". Cork Joiner Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Labour Party
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Trade union official Outgoing Template:Nts Elected Template:Nts Labour Party
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Solicitor Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Journalist Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Tipperary Major-General (retired) Dáil Template:Nts Elected Template:Nts Ex-servicemen's lobby
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Journalist and industrial organiser Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Sought women's vote
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Journalist and barrister-at-law Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Cork Solicitor Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Trade union organiser Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Labour Party
Script error: No such module "sort". Westmeath Lt.-Colonel (retired) Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Ex-servicemen's lobby
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Dean of the Celtic Faculty in the National University of Ireland Outgoing Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin General secretary Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Labour Party
Script error: No such module "sort". Wexford Farmer and businessman Outgoing Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Fellow and tutor of Trinity College Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Wexford Farmer Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Farmers' Party
Script error: No such module "sort". Wicklow Merchant and farmer Dáil Template:Nts Elected Template:Nts (pro-CnaG) Licensed vintners' lobby
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Surgeon Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG) Hospitals' lobby
Script error: No such module "sort". Cork Farmer Outgoing Template:Nts Elected w/o quota Template:Ntsh 65 Farmers' Party
Script error: No such module "sort". Cork Merchant Outgoing Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Mayo Surgeon Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Estate agent Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Surgeon Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Galway Medical doctor and university professor[r 3] Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Laois Wholesale merchant Outgoing Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Longford Merchant Dáil Template:Nts Elected w/o quota Template:Ntsh 65 (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Cavan Farmer Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG) Grandfather of actor T. P. McKenna
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Medical profession Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Clare Proprietor of the Raheen Rural Industries Outgoing Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Gentleman Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG) Created a marquis in the Papal nobility by pope Leo XIII.[46]
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Barrister-at-law Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Secretary and director of public companies Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Business candidate
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Journalist Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Married woman Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Wife of Richard Mulcahy, and sister of James Ryan
Script error: No such module "sort". Tipperary National school teacher (retired) Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Merchant and manufacturer Outgoing Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Galway Professor of Romance Languages in University College Galway Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort".[47] Dublin Architect Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Kildare Cattle salesman and farmer Dáil Template:Nts Elected w/o quota Template:Ntsh 65 (pro-CnaG) Supporter of livestock trade
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Merchant Outgoing Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Irish Secretary Railway Clerks' Association Outgoing Template:Nts Elected Template:Nts Labour Party Railwaymen's candidate
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Manager[r 4] Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin General secretary Dáil Template:Nts Elected Template:Nts Farmers' Party
Script error: No such module "sort". Limerick Merchant Dáil Template:Nts Elected w/o quota Template:Ntsh 65 (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Gentleman Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG) Caught up in the 1924 Irish Army Mutiny[48]
Script error: No such module "sort". Wicklow Cycle manufacturer and motor trader Outgoing Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Kildare Veterinary surgeon and bloodstock breeder Outgoing Template:Nts Elected w/o quota Template:Ntsh 65 (pro-CnaG)
Script error: No such module "sort". Kildare Farmer Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Farmers' Party
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Barrister-at-law Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Nephew of John Edward Pigot, and brother of Edward Pigot
Script error: No such module "sort". Limerick Farmer Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Farmers' Party
Script error: No such module "sort". Waterford Insurance agent Dáil Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Labour Party
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Wholesale merchant Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts
Script error: No such module "sort". Dublin Managing director Seanad Template:Nts Eliminated Template:Nts Motorists' lobby
Script error: No such module "sort". Monaghan Farmer Dáil Template:Nts Elected Template:Nts (pro-CnaG)

Notes

  1. ↑ As listed on the official notice of election
  2. ↑ (pro-CnaG) indicates candidates identified by Coakley as unofficially pro-Cumann na nGaedheal
  3. ↑ In Irish: "Dochtúir leighis agus ollamh ollsgoile"
  4. ↑ In Irish: "Bainisteoird"

Legacy

The shortcomings of the 1925 election created a consensus that a single national constituency was unworkable.[49] Political scientist Harold Foote Gosnell wrote of the election, "the ballot is a confusing one and the size of the constituency makes electioneering difficult."[50]

In 1928, in the lead-up to the next triennial Seanad election, the Oireachtas formed a joint committee to change the selection procedures.[49][51] While some members favoured retaining some form of voting by the general electorate, Fianna Fáil in particular wanted to ensure the Seanad was subordinate to the Dáil by restricting the franchise to Oireachtas members.[52] This was effected by a constitutional amendment enacted on 23 July and an electoral act on 25 October.[31][53][54] Thus, the 1925 election remains the only Seanad popular election.[55]

See also

References

Sources

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Citations

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ a b Coakley, p.233
  3. ↑ Constitution of The Irish Free State: Articles 31 & 32
  4. ↑ Constitution of The Irish Free State: Article 82 §§ (a), (c), & (e)
  5. ↑ a b c d Coakley, p.234
  6. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "If empty".Script error: No such module "template wrapper".
  7. ↑ a b Coakley, p.237
  8. ↑ O'Sullivan, pp.151–52
  9. ↑ Coakley, p.232
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Seanad debates Vol.5 No.10 p.5
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ a b c O'Sullivan, p.153
  15. ↑ a b Coakley, p.236
  16. ↑ a b c d e O'Sullivan, p.154
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Gosnell 1926 p.118
  24. ↑ Coakley, p.242
  25. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Coakley, p.244
  26. ↑ Coakley, p.242–43
  27. ↑ O'Sullivan, p.170–71
  28. ↑ Coakley, p.243
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ a b c d O'Sullivan, p.155
  31. ↑ a b Coakley, p.235
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Coakley, p.245
  34. ↑ O'Sullivan, pp.144–145
  35. ↑ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1016 Template:ISBN
  36. ↑ a b Gosnell 1926 p.119
  37. ↑ Gosnell 1926 p.120
  38. ↑ Coakley, p.250
  39. ↑ Coakley, p.247
  40. ↑ a b Coakley, p.248
  41. ↑ a b O'Sullivan, p.156
  42. ↑ Coakley, p.249
  43. ↑ Coakley, p.256
  44. ↑ Coakley, pp.261–68
  45. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  46. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  47. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  48. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  49. ↑ a b O'Sullivan, p.231
  50. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  51. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  52. ↑ O'Sullivan, pp.232–34
  53. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  54. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  55. ↑ Coakley, p.231–32

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External links

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