# 12th Dáil

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.
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 3 years, 217 days.

## Composition of the 12th Dáil

| Party | 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

This is a graphical comparison of party strengths in the 12th Dáil from June 1944. This was not the official seating plan.

## Ceann Comhairle

On 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.

## TDs by constituency

The list of the 138 TDs elected, is given in alphabetical order by Dáil constituency.
Members of the 12th Dáil :
| Constituency | Name | Party |
| Athlone–Longford | Thomas Carter | Fianna Fáil |
| Athlone–Longford | Erskine H. Childers | Fianna Fáil |
| Athlone–Longford | Seán Mac Eoin | Fine Gael |
| Carlow–Kildare | Thomas Harris | Fianna Fáil |
| Carlow–Kildare | James Hughes | Fine Gael |
| Carlow–Kildare | Francis Humphreys | Fianna Fáil |
| Carlow–Kildare | William Norton | Labour |
| Cavan | Patrick O'Reilly | Clann na Talmhan |
| Cavan | Tom O'Reilly | Independent |
| Cavan | Michael Sheridan | Fianna Fáil |
| Cavan | Paddy Smith | Fianna Fáil |
| Clare | Patrick Burke | Fine Gael |
| Clare | Thomas Burke | Independent |
| Clare | Éamon de Valera | Fianna Fáil |
| Clare | Seán O'Grady | Fianna Fáil |
| Clare | Peter O'Loghlen | Fianna Fáil |
| Cork Borough | Richard Anthony | Independent |
| Cork Borough | Frank Daly | Fianna Fáil |
| Cork Borough | William Dwyer | Independent |
| Cork Borough | Walter Furlong | Fianna Fáil |
| Cork North | Patrick Halliden | Clann na Talmhan |
| Cork North | Patrick McAuliffe | Labour |
| Cork North | Seán Moylan | Fianna Fáil |
| Cork North | Leo Skinner | Fianna Fáil |
| Cork South-East | William Broderick | Fine Gael |
| Cork South-East | Martin Corry | Fianna Fáil |
| Cork South-East | Seán McCarthy | Fianna Fáil |
| Cork West | Seán Buckley | Fianna Fáil |
| Cork West | Timothy J. Murphy | Labour |
| Cork West | Patrick O'Driscoll | Clann na Talmhan |
| Cork West | Eamonn O'Neill | Fine Gael |
| Cork West | Timothy O'Sullivan | Fianna Fáil |
| Donegal East | Neal Blaney | Fianna Fáil |
| Donegal East | John Friel | Fianna Fáil |
| Donegal East | Daniel McMenamin | Fine Gael |
| Donegal East | William Sheldon | Independent |
| Donegal West | Brian Brady | Fianna Fáil |
| Donegal West | Cormac Breslin | Fianna Fáil |
| Donegal West | Michael Óg McFadden | Fine Gael |
| Dublin South | Robert Briscoe | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin South | Maurice E. Dockrell | Fine Gael |
| Dublin South | Peadar Doyle | Fine Gael |
| Dublin South | James Larkin Jnr | Labour |
| Dublin South | Seán Lemass | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin South | James Lynch | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin South | John McCann | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin County | Seán Brady | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin County | Patrick Burke | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin County | Liam Cosgrave | Fine Gael |
| Dublin County | Henry Dockrell | Fine Gael |
| Dublin County | Patrick Fogarty | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin North-East | Alfie Byrne | Independent |
| Dublin North-East | Harry Colley | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin North-East | Oscar Traynor | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin North-West | Cormac Breathnach | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin North-West | Patrick McGilligan | Fine Gael |
| Dublin North-West | John S. O'Connor | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin North-West | Seán T. O'Kelly | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin North-West | Martin O'Sullivan | Labour |
| Dublin Townships | Bernard Butler | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin Townships | John A. Costello | Fine Gael |
| Dublin Townships | Seán MacEntee | Fianna Fáil |
| Galway East | Patrick Beegan | Fianna Fáil |
| Galway East | Frank Fahy | Fianna Fáil |
| Galway East | Michael Donnellan | Clann na Talmhan |
| Galway East | Mark Killilea Snr | Fianna Fáil |
| Galway West | Gerald Bartley | Fianna Fáil |
| Galway West | Michael Lydon | Fianna Fáil |
| Galway West | Joseph Mongan | Fine Gael |
| Kerry North | Patrick Finucane | Clann na Talmhan |
| Kerry North | Eamon Kissane | Fianna Fáil |
| Kerry North | Tom McEllistrim | Fianna Fáil |
| Kerry North | Dan Spring | National Labour Party |
| Kerry South | Frederick Crowley | Fianna Fáil |
| Kerry South | John Healy | Fianna Fáil |
| Kerry South | Fionán Lynch | Fine Gael |
| Kilkenny | Eamonn Coogan | Fine Gael |
| Kilkenny | Thomas Derrig | Fianna Fáil |
| Kilkenny | James Pattison | National Labour Party |
| Leitrim | Stephen Flynn | Fianna Fáil |
| Leitrim | Bernard Maguire | Independent |
| Leitrim | Mary Reynolds | Fine Gael |
| Leix–Offaly | Patrick Boland | Fianna Fáil |
| Leix–Offaly | William Davin | Labour |
| Leix–Offaly | Patrick Gorry | Fianna Fáil |
| Leix–Offaly | Thomas F. O'Higgins | Fine Gael |
| Leix–Offaly | Oliver J. Flanagan | Independent |
| Limerick | George C. Bennett | Fine Gael |
| Limerick | Daniel Bourke | Fianna Fáil |
| Limerick | Michael Colbert | Fianna Fáil |
| Limerick | Michael Keyes | Labour |
| Limerick | Donnchadh Ó Briain | Fianna Fáil |
| Limerick | James Reidy | Fine Gael |
| Limerick | Robert Ryan | Fianna Fáil |
| Louth | Frank Aiken | Fianna Fáil |
| Louth | James Coburn | Fine Gael |
| Louth | Laurence Walsh | Fianna Fáil |
| Mayo North | Patrick Browne | Fine Gael |
| Mayo North | James Kilroy | Fianna Fáil |
| Mayo North | P. J. Ruttledge | Fianna Fáil |
| Mayo South | Joseph Blowick | Clann na Talmhan |
| Mayo South | Dominick Cafferky | Clann na Talmhan |
| Mayo South | Micheál Clery | Fianna Fáil |
| Mayo South | Mícheál Ó Móráin | Fianna Fáil |
| Mayo South | Richard Walsh | Fianna Fáil |
| Meath–Westmeath | Charles Fagan | Fine Gael |
| Meath–Westmeath | Patrick Giles | Fine Gael |
| Meath–Westmeath | Michael Hilliard | Fianna Fáil |
| Meath–Westmeath | Michael Kennedy | Fianna Fáil |
| Meath–Westmeath | Matthew O'Reilly | Fianna Fáil |
| Monaghan | James Dillon | Independent |
| Monaghan | Bridget Rice | Fianna Fáil |
| Monaghan | Conn Ward | Fianna Fáil |
| Roscommon | John Beirne | Clann na Talmhan |
| Roscommon | Gerald Boland | Fianna Fáil |
| Roscommon | Daniel O'Rourke | Fianna Fáil |
| Sligo | Martin Brennan | Fianna Fáil |
| Sligo | Martin Roddy | Fine Gael |
| Sligo | Patrick Rogers | Fine Gael |
| Tipperary | Dan Breen | Fianna Fáil |
| Tipperary | Andrew Fogarty | Fianna Fáil |
| Tipperary | Frank Loughman | Fianna Fáil |
| Tipperary | Daniel Morrissey | Fine Gael |
| Tipperary | Richard Mulcahy | Fine Gael |
| Tipperary | William O'Donnell | Clann na Talmhan |
| Tipperary | Mary Ryan | Fianna Fáil |
| Waterford | Denis Heskin | Clann na Talmhan |
| Waterford | Patrick Little | Fianna Fáil |
| Waterford | Michael Morrissey | Fianna Fáil |
| Waterford | Bridget Redmond | Fine Gael |
| Wexford | Denis Allen | Fianna Fáil |
| Wexford | Richard Corish | Labour |
| Wexford | John Keating | Fine Gael |
| Wexford | John O'Leary | National Labour Party |
| Wexford | James Ryan | Fianna Fáil |
| Wicklow | Thomas Brennan | Fianna Fáil |
| Wicklow | Patrick Cogan | Clann na Talmhan |
| Wicklow | James Everett | National Labour Party |

## Changes

| Date | Constituency | Loss | Gain | Note |
| 9 June 1944 | Galway East | Fianna Fáil | Ceann Comhairle | Frank Fahy takes office as Ceann Comhairle |
| 3 October 1944 | Kerry South | Fine Gael | | Resignation of Fionán Lynch (FG) on appointment as a Circuit Court judge |
| 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 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) |
| 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 |
| 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.