# 1934 Seanad

The 1934 Seanad was the part of the Seanad of the Irish Free State (1922–1936) in office after the 1934 Seanad election until its abolition in 1936. Elections to the Seanad, the Senate of the Oireachtas (parliament of the Irish Free State) took place on a triennial basis, with senators elected in stages. The 1934 Seanad included members elected at the 1925, 1928, 1931 and 1934 Seanad elections. It sat as a second chamber to the 8th Dáil elected at the 1933 general election.
The Seanad of the Irish Free State was not numbered after every election, with the whole period later considered the First Seanad. Under the Constitution (Amendment No. 24) Act 1936, the Seanad was abolished, and for a time the Oireachtas became a unicameral legislature. The last sitting of the Seanad was on 19 May 1936, with the amendment signed on 29 May 1936. In 1937, on the adoption of the Constitution of Ireland, a new Seanad Éireann was established, with elections to follow general elections to Dáil Éireann, with each new Seanad numbered. An election to the 2nd Seanad took place in March 1938.

## Composition of the 1934 Seanad

There were a total of 60 seats in the Free State Seanad. In 1934, 22 Senators were elected. The Seanad election in 1925 was a popular election. However, at the 1928 and subsequent elections, the franchise was restricted to Oireachtas members.
23 Senators had been elected at the 1931 Seanad election, 17 Senators had been elected at the 1928 Seanad election and 19 Senators had been elected at the 1925 Seanad election.
The following table shows the composition by party when the 1934 Seanad first met on 12 December 1934.
| Party | Party | Seats |
| | Fine Gael | 22 |
| | Fianna Fáil | 19 |
| | Labour | 7 |
| | Independent | 12 |
| Total | Total | 60 |

## Cathaoirleach

At the first meeting on 12 December 1934, there was a contest for the position of Cathaoirleach. James J. MacKean was absent for the vote but all other members were present. William Hickie chaired the election. The two candidates were the outgoing Cathaoirleach, Thomas Westropp Bennett (Fine Gael), and the Fianna Fáil candidate, Michael Comyn. Neither of the two candidates voted and so fifty-six senators voted in the election. This resulted in a tie of twenty-eight votes each. Westropp Bennett received the votes of all twenty-one members of Fine Gael and seven independents. Comyn received the votes of his eighteen Fianna Fáil colleagues, the seven Labour Party senators, and three independents (Edward Bellingham, Thomas Linehan and Laurence O'Neill). Hickie then gave his casting vote for Westropp Bennett saying he would have done so had he had the opportunity in the division.
The following week, Comyn defeated the outgoing Leas-Chathaoirleach, Michael F. O'Hanlon of Fine Gael, by twenty-six votes to twenty-five.
On 11 March 1936, David Robinson was elected unanimously as Leas-Chathaoirleach following the appointment of Comyn to the Circuit Court.

## List of senators

* Note: The entries for Senators who were elected or appointed to fill vacancies are shown in italics
| Name | Party | Entered Office | Term | Notes |
| Henry Barniville | Fine Gael | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| Sir Edward Bellingham | Independent | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| William Cummins | Labour | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| James Dillon | Fine Gael | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| Michael Fanning | Fine Gael | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| Thomas Foran | Labour | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| Sir William Hickie | Independent | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| Cornelius Kennedy | Fine Gael | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| Thomas Linehan | Independent | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| Joseph O'Connor | Fine Gael | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| J. T. O'Farrell | Labour | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| Michael F. O'Hanlon | Fine Gael | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| James Parkinson | Fine Gael | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| Thomas Toal | Fine Gael | Elected in 1925 | 12 years | |
| Kathleen Clarke | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1928 | 9 years | |
| Joseph Connolly | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1928 | 9 years | |
| Seán Milroy | Fine Gael | Elected in 1928 | 9 years | |
| Séumas Robinson | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1928 | 9 years | Resigned on 11 December 1935 |
| William O'Sullivan | Fine Gael | Elected in 1931 | 6 years | |
| Michael Comyn | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | Appointed as a judge of the Circuit Court on 24 February 1936 |
| John Counihan | Fine Gael | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| James G. Douglas | Independent | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| Michael Duffy | Labour | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| Thomas Farren | Labour | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| Hugh Garahan | Fine Gael | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| Sir John Griffith | Independent | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| Seán MacEllin | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| Ross McGillycuddy | Independent | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| James J. MacKean | Fine Gael | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| John MacLoughlin | Fine Gael | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| Daniel MacParland | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| Maurice George Moore | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| Laurence O'Neill | Independent | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| Brian O'Rourke | Fine Gael | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| William Quirke | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| David Robinson | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| Michael Staines | Fine Gael | Elected in 1931 | 9 years | |
| Sir Edward Coey Bigger | Independent | Elected in 1934 | 3 years | |
| John Philip Bagwell | Independent | Elected in 1934 | 6 years | |
| Patrick Baxter | Fine Gael | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Thomas Westropp Bennett | Independent | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Ernest Blythe | Fine Gael | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| James Boyle | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Samuel Lombard Brown | Independent | Elected in 1934 | 6 years | |
| Kathleen Browne | Fine Gael | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| James Charles Dowdall | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Eamonn Duggan | Fine Gael | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Séamus Fitzgerald | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Oliver St. John Gogarty | Fine Gael | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Denis Healy | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| T. V. Honan | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Andrew Jameson | Independent | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Thomas Johnson | Labour | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Thomas Kennedy | Labour | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Raphael Keyes | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Patrick Lynch | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Pádraic Ó Máille | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Thomas Ruane | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Richard Wilson | Fine Gael | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | |
| Jennie Wyse Power | Fianna Fáil | Elected in 1934 | 9 years | Joined Fianna Fáil in advance of the 1934 Seanad election |

## Changes

| Date | Loss | Loss | Gain | Gain | Note |
| 11 December 1935 | | Fianna Fáil | | | Resignation of Séumas Robinson |
| 24 February 1936 | | Fianna Fáil | | | Michael Comyn appointed as a judge of the Circuit Court |