June 1927 Irish general election
The June 1927 Irish general election was held on Thursday, 9 June 1927. The newly elected members of the 5th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 23 June, at which W. T. Cosgrave of Cumann na nGaedheal was reappointed as President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, alongside his reconstituted Executive Council. Following the election, Fianna Fáil took its seats in the Dáil on 12 August 1927. Fianna Fáil had been formed a year earlier when Éamon de Valera, leader of the abstentionist Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin, failed to convince the party  to take their seats if and when the Oath of Allegiance were abolished. Most of Sinn Féin's TDs, as well as the bulk of its support, shifted to Fianna Fáil. The impact of this shift saw Sinn Féin all but decimated; it was reduced to five seats. This was for many years the end of the party as a major force in the southern part of the island; it would not win more than 10 seats at an election until 2011. This election cemented Fianna Fáil as a major party; it and Cumann na nGaedheal/Fine Gael remained the  two major parties in Ireland until 2020. Fianna Fáil's decision to take up its seats removed Cumann na nGaedheal's working majority among TDs attending, making the Dáil short-lived. The 5th Dáil was dissolved by Governor-General Timothy Michael Healy, at the request of W. T. Cosgrave, the President of the Executive Council, on 25 August 1927. Government formation. When the 5th Dáil first met on 23 June 1927, there were 50 TDs still abstaining. Cumann na nGaedheal formed the 3rd Executive Council of the Irish Free State with the support of the Farmers' Party and 13 Independents . This government proved unstable once Fianna Fáil took their seats.