March 1925 Dáil by-elections
By-elections to the 4th Dáil
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The March 1925 Dáil by-elections were held in seven Dáil constituencies to fill nine vacancies in the 4th Dáil. They occurred following the resignation from the Dáil of members of the National Group, who had each been elected at the 1923 general election as TDs for Cumann na nGaedheal. It has been described as a "mini-general election".[1] It is the only occasion at a Dáil by-election in which more than one seat was filled within the same constituency; this occurred in Dublin North and LeitrimâSligo.[2]
Background
In March 1924, Joseph McGrath, the Minister for Industry and Commerce, resigned from the Executive Council in the aftermath of differences in the handling of the Army Mutiny. He left Cumann na nGaedheal and set up a new organisation, ultimately known as the National Group.[3]
On 29 October 1924, McGrath resigned from the Dáil.[4][5] The following day, eight other National Group members also resigned.[6] One further member, Osmond Esmonde, was out of the country at the time of the resignations, and did not resign.[7]
Timing
On 18 February 1925, James Dolan, the Government Chief Whip moved motions to issue the writ of election to fill the vacancies. Osmond Esmonde objected to the fact that the government moved the motion, against "that the practice [...] to reserve to the Party to which the deceased or resigned member belonged the right of moving for the writ". The motions were agreed to.[8]
Results
The by-elections were held on 11 March 1925. Seán Milroy was the only one of the former TDs to seek re-election, contesting in Dublin North rather than his former constituency of Cavan. Seven of the seats were won by Cumann na nGaedheal candidates, with two won by abstentionist candidates of Sinn Féin, led by Ãamon de Valera.[9][10][11]
CarlowâKilkenny
Resignation of Seán Gibbons.
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| Cumann na nGaedheal | Thomas Bolger | 58.9 | 24,142 | |
| Republican | Michael Barry | 41.1 | 16,830 | |
| Electorate: 63,112 Valid: 40,972 Quota: 20,487 Turnout: 64.9% | ||||
Cavan
Resignation of Seán Milroy.
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | ||||
| Cumann na nGaedheal | John Joe O'Reilly | 38.5 | 12,560 | 12,980 | |
| Farmers' Party | John O'Hanlon | 31.5 | 10,285 | 12,119 | |
| Republican | Philip Baxter | 30.0 | 9,774 | ||
| Electorate: 54,419 Valid: 32,619 Quota: 16,310 Turnout: 59.9% | |||||
Dublin North (2 seats)
Resignations of Francis Cahill and Seán McGarry.
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| Cumann na nGaedheal | Patrick Leonard | 34.8 | 17,329 | ||||
| Republican | Oscar Traynor | 31.3 | 15,598 | 15,603 | 15,888 | 16,360 | |
| Labour | Denis Cullen | 16.9 | 8,422 | 8,466 | 9,195 | 13,957 | |
| Cumann na nGaedheal | Donal O'Connor | 12.6 | 6,294 | 6,938 | 7,798 | ||
| National Group | Seán Milroy | 4.4 | 2,188 | 2,213 | |||
| Electorate: 90,280 Valid: 49,831 Quota: 16,611 Turnout: 55.2% | |||||||
Dublin South
Resignation of Daniel McCarthy.
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| Cumann na nGaedheal | Thomas Hennessy | 57.0 | 24,075 | |
| Republican | Michael O'Mullane | 32.9 | 13,900 | |
| Labour | Thomas Lawlor | 10.0 | 4,237 | |
| Electorate: 78,353 Valid: 42,212 Quota: 21,107 Turnout: 53.9% | ||||
LeitrimâSligo (2 seats)
Resignations of Thomas Carter and Alexander McCabe.
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | ||||
| Cumann na nGaedheal | Martin Roddy | 32.9 | 16,332 | 16,868 | |
| Cumann na nGaedheal | Andrew Mooney | 28.3 | 14,054 | 14,343 | |
| Republican | Samuel Holt | 20.3 | 10,062 | 18,287 | |
| Republican | Frank O'Beirne | 18.6 | 9,232 | ||
| Electorate: 79,234 Valid: 49,680 Quota: 16,561 Turnout: 62.7% | |||||
Mayo North
Resignation of Joseph McGrath.
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| Cumann na nGaedheal | Michael Tierney | 57.7 | 18,385 | |
| Republican | Thomas Derrig | 42.3 | 13,458 | |
| Electorate: 46,134 Valid: 31,843 Quota: 15,922 Turnout: 69.0% | ||||
Roscommon
Resignation of Henry Finlay.
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| Cumann na nGaedheal | Martin Conlon | 61.2 | 21,118 | |
| Republican | John J. O'Kelly | 38.8 | 13,410 | |
| Electorate: 52,929 Valid: 34,528 Quota: 17,265 Turnout: 65.2% | ||||