1925 Seanad

1925 Seanad
←1922 Seanad 1928 Seanad→
Overview
Legislative bodySeanad Éireann
JurisdictionIrish Free State
Meeting placeLeinster House
Term6 December 1925 –
5 December 1928
Government
Members60
CathaoirleachLord Glenavy (Ind)
Leas-ChathaoirleachThomas Westropp Bennett (CnaG)

The 1925 Seanad was the part of the Seanad of the Irish Free State (1922–1936) in office from the 1925 Seanad election to the 1928 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 1925 Seanad included members nominated and elected in 1922, members elected in the 1925 Seanad election, and members elected to fill vacancies.

It sat as a second chamber to the 4th Dáil elected at the 1923 general election, the 5th Dáil elected at the June 1927 general election, and the 6th Dáil elected at the September 1927 general election. The Seanad of the Irish Free State was not numbered after each election, with the whole period later considered the First Seanad.

Composition of the 1925 Seanad

There were 60 seats in the Free State Seanad. The first composition of the Seanad in 1922 consisted for 30 senators elected by Dáil Éireann (15 for 3 years and 15 for 9 years) and 30 nominated by the President of the Executive Council, W. T. Cosgrave (15 for 6 years and 15 for 12 years). The 1925 Seanad election was held to fill 19 seats; 15 seats of those whose terms had expired, and 4 seats which had been filled in by-elections since 1922. This was the only Seanad elected by universal suffrage. The new senators were sworn in on 9 December 1925.

The following table shows the composition by party when the 1925 Seanad first met on 9 December 1925.

Party Seats
Cumann na nGaedheal 15
Labour 5
Farmers' Party 3
Independent 37
Total 60

Cathaoirleach

On 9 December 1925, Lord Glenavy (Ind), the outgoing Cathaoirleach, was proposed for the position by John MacLoughlin (Ind) and seconded by Sir John Griffith (Ind). Thomas Westropp Bennett (CnaG) was proposed by James J. MacKean (CnaG) and seconded by Oliver St. John Gogarty (CnaG). Glenavy was elected by a vote of 34 to 18. James G. Douglas (Ind), the outgoing Leas-Chathaoirleach, was proposed for the position by Andrew Jameson (Ind) and seconded by James Charles Dowdall (Ind). Thomas Westropp Bennett (CnaG) was proposed by Brian O'Rourke (CnaG), and defeated Douglas in a vote.

List of senators

1925 Seanad
Term Name Party
Nominated in 1922 for 6 years John Philip Bagwell Independent
Henry Givens Burgess Independent
Lord Glenavy Independent
Sir Nugent Everard Independent
Edmund W. Eyre Independent
Oliver St. John Gogarty Cumann na nGaedheal
James Perry Goodbody Independent
Henry Greer Independent
Benjamin Haughton Independent
Earl of Wicklow Independent
Arthur Jackson Independent
Andrew Jameson Independent
Sir Bryan Mahon Independent
Marquess of Headfort Independent
W. B. Yeats Independent
Elected in 1922 for 9 years William Barrington Independent
Eileen Costello Independent
James G. Douglas Independent
Michael Duffy Labour
Thomas Farren Labour
Alice Stopford Green Independent
Sir John Griffith Independent
Patrick W. Kenny Cumann na nGaedheal
James J. MacKean Cumann na nGaedheal
John MacLoughlin Independent
William Molloy Independent
Maurice George Moore Independent
Brian O'Rourke Cumann na nGaedheal
William O'Sullivan Cumann na nGaedheal
Nominated in 1922 for 12 years Earl of Mayo Independent
Countess of Desart Independent
James Charles Dowdall Independent
Sir Thomas Esmonde Independent
Martin Fitzgerald Independent
Earl of Granard Independent
Henry Guinness Independent
Sir John Keane Independent
James Moran Independent
Earl of Kerry Independent
Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl Independent
Jennie Wyse Power Independent
Elected in 1925 for 6 years John Counihan Cumann na nGaedheal
Elected in 1925 for 9 years Thomas Westropp Bennett Cumann na nGaedheal
Sir Edward Coey Bigger Independent
Francis McGuinness Cumann na nGaedheal
Elected in 1925 for 12 years Henry Barniville Cumann na nGaedheal
Sir Edward Bellingham Independent
William Cummins Labour
James Dillon Farmers' Party
Michael Fanning Cumann na nGaedheal
Thomas Foran Labour
Sir William Hickie Independent
Cornelius Kennedy Cumann na nGaedheal
Thomas Linehan Farmers' Party
Joseph O'Connor Cumann na nGaedheal
J. T. O'Farrell Labour
Michael F. O'Hanlon Farmers' Party
Stephen O'Mara Cumann na nGaedheal
James Parkinson Cumann na nGaedheal
Thomas Toal Cumann na nGaedheal

Changes

Date Term Loss Gain Note
27 January 1926 Nominated in 1922 for 12 years Independent   Resignation of the Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl
10 February 1926 Elected till 1934   Independent Samuel Lombard Brown elected at a by-election
26 July 1926 Elected in 1925 Cumann na nGaedheal   Death of Stephen O'Mara
26 January 1927 Elected till 1928   Independent P. J. Brady elected at a by-election
1 March 1927 Elected in 1925 Farmers' Party Cumann na nGaedheal Michael F. O'Hanlon changed party in Spring 1927
9 March 1927 Nominated in 1922 for 12 years Independent   Death of Martin Fitzgerald
23 March 1927 Elected till 1934   Independent Patrick Hooper elected at a by-election
31 December 1927 Nominated in 1922 for 12 years Independent   Death of the Earl of Mayo
1 March 1928 Elected till 1928   Independent Sir Walter Nugent elected at a by-election

References

  1. ↑ "President's nominees for Seanad". Dáil Debates. 2 (1). Houses of the Oireachtas. 6 December 1922. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Senators Sworn In". Seanad Debates. 6 (1). Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 December 1925. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  3. ↑ "Election of Chairman". Seanad Debates. 6 (1). Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 December 1925. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  4. ↑ "Election of Vice-Chairman". Seanad Debates. 6 (1). Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 December 1925.
  5. ↑ Maume, Patrick (October 2009). "Quin, Windham Thomas Wyndham-". Dictionary of Irish Biography (online ed.). Royal Irish Academy. doi:10.3318/dib.007552.v1.
  6. ↑ "Resignation of Senator". Seanad Debates. 6 (7). Houses of the Oireachtas. 27 January 1926.
  7. ↑ "Election of Senator". Seanad Debates. 6 (8). Houses of the Oireachtas. 10 February 1926.
  8. ↑ "New Senator". Seanad Debates. 6 (9). Houses of the Oireachtas. 11 February 1926. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  9. ↑ Boylan, Shaun (October 2009). "O'Mara, Stephen". Dictionary of Irish Biography (online ed.). Royal Irish Academy. doi:10.3318/dib.006892.v1.
  10. ↑ "Death of Senator". Seanad Debates. 7 (18). Houses of the Oireachtas. 19 November 1926. Archived from the original on 8 June 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "Election of Senator". Seanad Debates. 8 (3). Houses of the Oireachtas. 26 January 1927.
  12. ↑ "New Senator Sworn". Seanad Debates. 8 (4). Houses of the Oireachtas. 2 February 1927. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  13. ↑ O'Sullivan, Donal (1940). The Irish Free State and Its Senate: A Study in Contemporary Politics. London: Faber and Faber. p. 191.
  14. ↑ Larkin, Felix M. (October 2009). "Fitzgerald, Martin Thomas". Dictionary of Irish Biography (online ed.). Royal Irish Academy. doi:10.3318/dib.003173.v1.
  15. ↑ "Death of Senator Martin Fitzgerald". Seanad Debates. 8 (9). Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 March 1927.
  16. ↑ "Election of Senator". Seanad Debates. 8 (13). Houses of the Oireachtas. 23 March 1927. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  17. ↑ "Senator Takes His Seat". Seanad Debates. 8 (14). Houses of the Oireachtas. 30 March 1927. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  18. ↑ Maume, Patrick (October 2009). "Bourke, Dermot Robert Wyndham-". Dictionary of Irish Biography (online ed.). Royal Irish Academy. doi:10.3318/dib.000811.v1.
  19. ↑ "A Seanad Vacancy". Seanad Debates. 10 (7). Houses of the Oireachtas. 15 February 1928.
  20. ↑ "Election of Senator". Seanad Debates. 10 (8). Houses of the Oireachtas. 1 March 1928.
  21. ↑ "New Senator". Seanad Debates. 10 (9). Houses of the Oireachtas. 14 March 1928. Archived from the original on 17 July 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2026.