# 1922 Seanad

The 1922 Seanad was the part of the Seanad of the Irish Free State (1922–1936) in office from the establishment of the Seanad in 1922 to the 1925 Seanad election. 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 1922 Seanad included 30 members nominated by the President of the Executive Council and the 30 members elected by the Dáil. It was first constituted on 8 December 1922.
It sat as a second chamber to 3rd Dáil elected at the 1922 general election and the 4th Dáil elected at the 1923 general election. The Seanad of the Irish Free State was not numbered after each election, with the whole period later considered the First Seanad.

## Initial membership

The Constitution of the Irish Free State established the Oireachtas as a bicameral legislature consisting of a lower house, the Dáil, and an upper house, the Senate or Seanad. The Seanad's raison d'être was the assurance during the 1921 negotiation of the Anglo-Irish Treaty given by Arthur Griffith to southern unionists and the British government that unionists would have adequate representation in the new parliament to safeguard their interests. The Third Dáil, elected in elected in June 1922 as a "provisional parliament" or "constituent assembly", approved the Constitution in September, and continued as the Dáil of the new Free State when the Constitution came into force on 6 December 1922. However, there was no pre-existing body which might be repurposed as the Seanad, so this had to be constructed from scratch.
The Constitution specified a 60-seat Seanad, with senators serving 12-year terms and divided into four cohorts with one cohort re-elected every three years. For the initial 1922 Seanad, 30 were to be nominated by the President of the Executive Council and the other 30 elected by the Dáil. The President's selections would provide the second and fourth cohorts, for re-election in 1928 and 1934; the Dáil's provided the first and third, for re-election in 1925 and 1931.
To honour Griffith's 1921 commitment, the Constitution required that the President of the Executive Council in making his nominations should "have special regard to the providing of representation for groups or parties not then adequately represented in Dáil Éireann". In October 1922, the provisional parliament passed a resolution moved by W. T. Cosgrave, who had succeeded Griffith as chairman of the Provisional Government, which stated that the President should "consult with representative persons and bodies, including the following: Chamber of commerce, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the benchers of the Honourable Society of King's Inns, Dublin, the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, Councils of the County boroughs of the Irish Free State". Cosgrave announced his selection in the Dáil on 6 December 1922, immediately after his election as president had been ratified by the Governor-General. The 15 who would serve 12-year terms were selected by lot.
The Dáil election was conducted on 7 December 1922 by single transferable vote as a single 30-member district. The procedure to be used was specified in a Dáil resolution of 1 November and published in Iris Oifigiúil on 7 November. A candidate for election had to be nominated and seconded by a TD; many were nominated by Cosgrave on submission from various public bodies. Nominations closed at midday on 7 December; ballots were distributed at 3 pm, the poll closed at 5pm, and counting began immediately. At 8 pm, the Ceann Comhairle, who was also the returning officer, announced the result would not be known for some time, and the Dáil was adjourned. President Cosgrave had announced the assassination of Seán Hales during the Irish Civil War. Eighty-one TDs voted; none of the abstentionist TDs were eligible to vote or nominate candidates. To facilitate transfer of fractions of votes, each initial vote's value was multiplied by 1000, giving a quota of 2,613. Eighteen candidates were elected on the first count: one with four (4,000) first-preference votes and 17 others with three (3,000) each. The report on the conduct of the election speculated that groups of three TDs had coordinated their votes to ensure a candidate exceeded the quota. Candidates with equal numbers of first-preference votes were ranked by the number of second preferences and so on. The remaining twelve Senators were elected in 34 subsequent counts. Counting was completed after midnight, the results were announced next afternoon, and the Seanad first assembled on 11 December 1922.
Of the sixty members of the first Senate, 36 were Catholic, 20 were Protestant, 3 were Quakers and 1 was Jewish. It contained 7 peers, a dowager countess (Ellen, Countess of Desart, who was Jewish), 5 baronets and several knights. The New York Times remarked that the first senate was "representative of all classes", though it has also been described as, "the most curious political grouping in the history of the Irish state".
On 26 November 1924, Alice Stopford Green presented to the Seanad a vellum parchment signed by all but one member of the 1922–1925 Seanad, in an ornate casket commissioned from Mia Cranwill based on Gallarus Oratory. After the 1936 abolition of the Seanad, the casket was donated to the Royal Irish Academy.

## Party composition

The following table shows the composition by party when the 1922 Seanad first met on 11 December 1922.
| Party | Party | Seats |
| | Cumann na nGaedheal | 13 |
| | Labour | 4 |
| | Farmers' Party | 1 |
| | Independent | 42 |
| Total | Total | 60 |

## List of senators

| Name | Party | Entered Office | Term | Notes |
| Henry Barniville | Cumann na nGaedheal | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 20th elected, after 6th count, with 2 first-preference votes |
| Thomas Westropp Bennett | Cumann na nGaedheal | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 19th elected, after 2nd count, with 2 first-preference votes |
| Richard A. Butler | Independent | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 18th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| John Counihan | Independent | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 29th elected, after 35th count, with 2 first-preference votes |
| Peter de Loughry | Cumann na nGaedheal | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 21st elected, after 9th count, with 2 first-preference votes |
| Cornelius Irwin | Cumann na nGaedheal | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 22nd elected, after 9th count, with 2 first-preference votes |
| Thomas Linehan | Farmers' Party | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 16th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| Joseph Clayton Love | Cumann na nGaedheal | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 27th elected, after 35th count, with 2 first-preference votes |
| Edward MacEvoy | Cumann na nGaedheal | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 25th elected, after 35th count, with 2 first-preference votes |
| Edward MacLysaght | Independent | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 24th elected, after 26th count, with 2 first-preference votes |
| Eamonn Mansfield | Independent | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 23rd elected, after 15th count, with 2 first-preference votes. Resigned on 12 December 1922 |
| George Nesbitt | Independent | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 26th elected, after 35th count, with 1 first-preference vote |
| Michael O'Dea | Cumann na nGaedheal | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 30th elected, after 35th count, with 2 first-preference votes |
| J. T. O'Farrell | Labour | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 17th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| James Parkinson | Cumann na nGaedheal | Elected in 1922 | 3 years | 28th elected, after 35th count, with 2 first-preference votes |
| William Barrington | Independent | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 12th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| Eileen Costello | Independent | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 8th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| James G. Douglas | Independent | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 3rd elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| Michael Duffy | Labour | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 13th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| Thomas Farren | Labour | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 15th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| Alice Stopford Green | Independent | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 1st elected, after 1st count, with 4 first-preference votes |
| Sir John Griffith | Independent | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 2nd elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| Patrick W. Kenny | Cumann na nGaedheal | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 11th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| James J. MacKean | Cumann na nGaedheal | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 7th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| John MacLoughlin | Independent | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 10th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| Thomas MacPartlin | Labour | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 14th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes. Died on 20 October 1923 |
| William Molloy | Independent | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 6th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| Maurice George Moore | Independent | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 5th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| Brian O'Rourke | Cumann na nGaedheal | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 4th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| William O'Sullivan | Cumann na nGaedheal | Elected in 1922 | 9 years | 9th elected, after 1st count, with 3 first-preference votes |
| John Philip Bagwell | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| Henry Givens Burgess | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| Lord Glenavy | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | Cathaoirleach |
| Sir Nugent Everard | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| Edmund W. Eyre | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| Oliver St. John Gogarty | Cumann na nGaedheal | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| James Perry Goodbody | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| Henry Greer | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| Benjamin Haughton | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| Earl of Wicklow | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| Arthur Jackson | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| Andrew Jameson | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| Sir Bryan Mahon | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| Marquess of Headfort | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| W. B. Yeats | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 6 years | |
| Earl of Mayo | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | |
| Countess of Desart | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | |
| James Charles Dowdall | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | |
| Sir Thomas Esmonde | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | |
| Martin Fitzgerald | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | |
| Earl of Granard | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | |
| Henry Guinness | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | |
| Sir John Keane | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | |
| James Moran | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | |
| Earl of Kerry | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | |
| Sir Horace Plunkett | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | Resigned on 28 November 1923 |
| Sir Hutcheson Poë | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | Resigned on 9 December 1924 |
| George Sigerson | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | Died on 17 February 1925 |
| Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | |
| Jennie Wyse Power | Independent | Nominated in 1922 | 12 years | |
| William Cummins | Labour | Elected in 1923 | Until 1925 election | Elected to Seanad at a by-election on 21 February 1923, replacing Eamonn Mansfield |
| Thomas Foran | Labour | Elected in 1923 | Until 1925 election | Elected to Seanad at a by-election on 28 November 1923, replacing Thomas MacPartlin |
| Samuel Lombard Brown | Independent | Elected in 1923 | Until 1925 election | Elected to Seanad at a by-election on 12 December 1923, replacing Sir Horace Plunkett |
| Douglas Hyde | Independent | Elected in 1925 | Until 1925 election | Elected to Seanad at a by-election on 4 February 1925, replacing Sir Hutcheson Poë |
| John O'Neill | Cumann na nGaedheal | Elected in 1925 | Until 1925 election | Elected to Seanad at a by-election on 5 March 1925, replacing George Sigerson |

## Changes

| Date | Loss | Gain | Note |
| 6 December 1922 | Independent | | Lord Glenavy elected as Cathaoirleach |
| 12 December 1922 | Independent | | Resignation of Eamonn Mansfield |
| 21 February 1923 | | Labour | William Cummins elected at a by-election to replace Eamonn Mansfield |
| 20 October 1923 | Labour | | Death of Thomas MacPartlin |
| 28 November 1923 | | Labour | Thomas Foran elected at a by-election to replace Thomas MacPartlin |
| 28 November 1923 | Independent | | Resignation of Sir Horace Plunkett |
| 12 December 1923 | | Independent | Samuel Lombard Brown elected at a by-election to replace Sir Horace Plunkett |
| 9 December 1924 | Independent | | Resignation of Sir Hutcheson Poë |
| 4 February 1925 | | Independent | Douglas Hyde elected at a by-election to replace Sir Hutcheson Poë |
| 17 February 1925 | Independent | | Death of George Sigerson |
| 5 March 1925 | | Cumann na nGaedheal | John O'Neill elected at a by-election to replace George Sigerson |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Not having subscribed to the Oath of Allegiance, they could not sign the roll, which was required by regulations 2 (nomination) and 11 (voting).
* ↑ The exception was Eamonn Mansfield (resigned 1922). Signatories included Thomas MacPartlin (died 1923) and later Douglas Hyde and John O'Neill (elected in 1925).

## Sources

* Constitution of the Irish Free State
* "1922 Seanad". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
* "Seanad Debates: 1922 Seanad". Oireachtas. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
* Department of Local Government (February 1923). Report on the conduct of the first election to Seanad Éireann (PDF). Official publications. Vol. P.Pro 2/1923. Retrieved 5 January 2014.