# September 1927 Irish general election

The September 1927 Irish general election to the 6th Dáil was held on Thursday, 15 September, following the dissolution of the 5th Dáil on 25 August by Governor-General Tim Healy on the request of President of the Executive Council W. T. Cosgrave.
The 6th Dáil met on 11 October 1927 to nominate the president and Executive Council of the Irish Free State for appointment by the Governor-General. Cosgrave was re-appointed leading a new minority government of Cumann na nGaedheal with the support of the Farmers' Party.

## Campaign

The second general election of 1927 followed tight political arithmetic within Dáil Éireann. Only three seats separated the two largest parties in the 5th Dáil, Cumann na nGaedheal and Fianna Fáil, and the government was very unstable. Fianna Fáil entered the Dáil in August, and days later gave its support to motion of no confidence in the Cumann na nGaedheal government proposed by Labour Party leader Thomas Johnson. Johnson had hoped to form a government with the National League and the support of Fianna Fáil. The Cumann na nGaedheal government had the backing of the Farmers' Party and most of the Independent TDs. When the vote was taken, John Jinks, a National League TD, failed to attend. The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Thomas J. O'Connell, was in Canada and also was unable to participate in the crucial vote. As a result, the vote was a tie and the Ceann Comhairle voted with the government. The motion failed.
On 25 August, Cumann na nGaedheal won two by-elections. W. T. Cosgrave called a general election in the hope of securing an increased majority. Cumann na nGaedheal recruited four TDs who had supported Cosgrave in the vote of confidence to stand as candidates for the party: Bryan Cooper (Dublin County), John Daly (Cork East), Myles Keogh (Dublin South) and Vincent Rice (Dublin South). Fianna Fáil campaigned on a promise of self-sufficiency. The Labour Party had done well on its last outing and was hoping, and was predicted, to win extra seats, in spite of internal divisions. The Farmers' Party represented the needs of agricultural labourers. Sinn Féin, weakened after de Valera had split to form Fianna Fáil, had been reduced to five seats in the June 1927 election, and did not contest the September 1927 election, due to lack of financial assets.

## Result

Election to the 6th Dáil – 15 September 1927 :
| Party | Party | Leader | Seats | ± | % of seats | First pref. votes | % FPv | ±% |
| | Cumann na nGaedheal | W. T. Cosgrave | 62 | +15 | 40.5 | 453,028 | 38.7 | +11.3 |
| | Fianna Fáil | Éamon de Valera | 57 | +13 | 37.3 | 411,777 | 35.2 | +9.1 |
| | Labour | Thomas Johnson | 13 | –9 | 8.5 | 106,184 | 9.1 | –3.4 |
| | Farmers' Party | Michael Heffernan | 6 | –5 | 3.9 | 74,626 | 6.4 | –2.5 |
| | National League | William Redmond | 2 | –6 | 1.3 | 18,990 | 1.6 | –5.7 |
| | Irish Worker League | James Larkin | 1 | New | 0.7 | 12,473 | 1.1 | – |
| | Town Tenants' Association | | | 0 | 0 | 832 | 0.1 | 0 |
| | Sinn Féin | John J. O'Kelly | 0 | –5 | 0 | 0 | –3.6 | –5.7 |
| | Independent | N/A | 12 | –4 | 7.8 | 92,959 | 7.9 | –5.5 |
| Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | 21,886 | — | — |
| Total | Total | Total | 153 | 0 | 100 | 1,192,755 | 100 | — |
| Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | 1,730,177 | 69.0% | — |

### Voting summary

First preference vote
Cumann na nGaedheal
38.69%
Fianna Fáil
35.17%
Labour
9.07%
Farmers'
6.37%
National League Party
1.62%
Irish Worker League
1.07%
Others
0.07%
Independent
7.94% :

### Seats summary

Dáil seats
Cumann na nGaedheal
40.52%
Fianna Fáil
37.25%
Labour
8.50%
Farmers'
3.92%
National League Party
1.31%
Irish Worker League
0.65%
Independent
7.84% :

## Government formation

Cumann na nGaedheal formed the 4th Executive Council of the Irish Free State, a minority government, with the support of the Farmers' Party and Independent TDs, with W. T. Cosgrave serving again as President of the Executive Council. The leader of the Farmers' Party served as a Parliamentary Secretary. In 1930, the Executive Council would resign following the loss of a vote on legislation. The 5th Executive Council of the Irish Free State was formed soon after with the same composition.

## Changes in membership
### First time TDs

* William Aird
* Seán Brady
* Robert Briscoe
* Edmond Carey
* Michael Connolly
* Eamonn Cooney
* Peter de Loughry
* Patrick Gorry
* Stephen Jordan
* William Kent
* Arthur Matthews
* Joseph Mongan
* Daniel O'Leary
* Martin Sexton
* Richard Walsh

### Outgoing TDs

* Caitlín Brugha (Retired)
* Kathleen Clarke (Defeated)
* John Jinks (Defeated)
* Thomas Johnson (Labour Party leader, defeated)
* Timothy Quill (Defeated)
* Austin Stack (Retired)
* J. J. Walsh (Retired)