page_title: Dáil Éireann (Irish Free State)
section_title: Composition
hierarchical_section_title: Dáil Éireann (Irish Free State) / Composition
caption_attribution_description: image of Leinster House. No copyright, my photograph
context_page_description: Dáil Éireann served as the directly elected lower house of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1937. The Free State constitution described the role of the house as that of a "Chamber of Deputies". Until 1936 the Free State Oireachtas also included an upper house known as the Seanad. Like its modern successor, the Free State Dáil was, in any case, the dominant component of the legislature; it effectively had authority to enact almost any law it chose, and to appoint and dismiss the President of the Executive Council. The Free State Dáil ceased to be with the creation of the modern 'Dáil Éireann' under the terms of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland. Both the Dáil and Seanad sat in Leinster House.
context_section_description: Under the Free State constitution membership of Dáil Éireann was open to all citizens who had reached the age of twenty-one. However those who were legally disqualified or who were members of the Seanad were excluded. For most of the period of the Irish Free State the constitution also contained a controversial requirement that all members of the Oireachtas swear an oath of fidelity to the King, as well as an Oath of Allegiance to the constitution of the Free State. The oath was, however, abolished by a constitutional amendment in 1936.
  As today, during the Irish Free State Dáil Éireann was elected on the basis of universal adult suffrage. However the franchise was restricted to those over twenty-one. As adopted the constitution required that a Dáil's term would last for four years, unless the law specified a shorter period or the house was dissolved early. However, after changes to the constitution and the law in 1927, the constitutional maximum became six years, and the legal maximum five¹. The Dáil could theoretically have been dissolved at any time by the King, acting on the advice of Executive Council, but it is probable that the Free State would have broken all constitutional ties if that had happened.
  The Free State constitution required that the Dáil be elected by "proportional representation" and the Single Transferable Vote system was used. While every Irish Government since 1937 has restricted Dáil constituencies to a maximum of five seats, during the Irish Free State there were several six, seven and eight seat constituencies. During the Free State Galway was a single nine seat constituency.
  As well as geographical constituencies the Free State also included two university constituencies: University of Dublin and the National University of Ireland. The franchise for the university constituencies was open to all those who had been awarded degrees from either institution. However anyone voting in a university constituency was excluded from voting in their geographical district. The constitution required that each return three TDs, regardless of population. Because these constituencies had much lower populations that the ordinary geographical constituencies this resulted in malapportionment. The university constituencies were abolished in 1936 under the Constitution (Amendment No. 23) Act and the Electoral (University Constituencies) Act. However, in 1937 university constituencies would be revived for the newly created Senate. The following general elections took place to the Free State Dáil during its existence:
  1922 general election
  1923 general election
  June 1927 general election
  September 1927 general election
  1932 general election
  1933 general election
  1937 general election
caption: Leinster House – Parliament house of the Irish Free State.
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