2nd Seanad

Members of the Seanad in 1938

2nd Seanad

| ←| 1934 Seanad | 3rd Seanad| →

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Overview
Legislative body| Seanad Éireann
Jurisdiction| Ireland
Meeting place| Leinster House
Term| 27 April 1938 – 22 July 1938
Government| 1st Government of Ireland
Members| 60
Cathaoirleach| Seán Gibbons (FF)
Leas-Chathaoirleach| Pádraic Ó Máille (FF)
Leader of the
Seanad| William Quirke (FF)

The 2nd Seanad was in office in 1938. An election to Seanad Éireann, the Senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), took place in March 1938, following the coming into operation of the Constitution of Ireland in December 1937. The senators served until the close of poll for the 3rd Seanad, in July 1938.

## Designation

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The Seanad of the Irish Free State was abolished by the Constitution (Amendment No. 24) Act 1936, with its last meeting on 19 May 1936. The Free State Seanad was elected in stages and thus considered to be in permanent session. Although there were five Seanad elections held before its abolition, the First Seanad includes the entire period from 1922 to 1936.

A new Seanad Éireann was established under the 1937 Constitution, with elections following general elections to Dáil Éireann. To indicate continuity with its Free State predecessor, the first Seanad elected after 1937 is numbered as the Second Seanad. The election to the 2nd Seanad was elected under Article 53 of the Constitution, which provided that on the coming into operation of the Constitution, which took place on 29 December 1937, a general election for the Seanad would take place as if there had been a dissolution of the Dáil.[1]

## Cathaoirleach

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On 27 April 1938, Seán Gibbons (FF) was proposed by Helena Concannon (FF) and seconded by Margaret Mary Pearse (FF) for the position of Cathaoirleach. Séamus Ó hEocha (Ind) was proposed by Michael Hayes (FG) and seconded by Michael Tierney (FG) for the position. Gibbons was elected by a vote of 29 to 26.[2]

On 11 May 1938, Pádraic Ó Máille (FF), who had served as Leas-Cheann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann from 1922 to 1927, was proposed by Seán Hayes (FF) and seconded by Peadar Toner Mac Fhionnlaoich (Ind) for the position of Leas-Chathaoirleach. Ó Máille was elected by a vote of 30 to 23.[3]

## Composition of the 2nd Seanad

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There are a total of 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 were elected on five vocational panels, 6 were elected from two university constituencies and 11 were nominated by the Taoiseach.

The following table shows the composition by party when the 2nd Seanad first met on 27 April 1938.

Origin

Party

| Vocational panels | NUI | DU | Nominated | Total

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Admin | Agri | Cult & Educ | Ind & Comm | Labour
| Fianna Fáil | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Fine Gael | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Labour Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Independent | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 21 |
Total | 7 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 60 |

## List of senators

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Senators elected at the April 1938 Seanad election

Panel or constituency  | Name  | Party
Administrative Panel | Christopher Byrne |  |  Fianna Fáil
Thomas Condon |  |  Independent
Michael Hayes |  |  Fine Gael
Richard Mulcahy |  |  Fine Gael
John Newcome |  |  Independent
Margaret Mary Pearse |  |  Fianna Fáil
Thomas Ruane |  |  Fianna Fáil
Administrative Panel | Patrick Baxter |  |  Fine Gael
William Caffrey |  |  Fine Gael
Seán Gibbons |  |  Fianna Fáil
John Nassau Greene |  |  Independent
Patrick Kehoe |  |  Fianna Fáil
Ross McGillycuddy |  |  Independent
William O'Callaghan |  |  Fine Gael
Martin O'Dwyer |  |  Independent
Pádraic Ó Máille |  |  Fianna Fáil
William Quirke |  |  Fianna Fáil
Michael Twomey |  |  Independent
Cultural and Educational Panel | Patrick Doyle |  |  Fine Gael
Seán O'Donovan |  |  Fianna Fáil
Séamus Ó hEocha |  |  Independent
Gearóid O'Sullivan |  |  Fine Gael
James Parkinson |  |  Fine Gael
Industrial and Commercial Panel | Daniel Corkery |  |  Fianna Fáil
James Crosbie |  |  Fine Gael
James G. Douglas |  |  Independent
Michael Hearne |  |  Fianna Fáil
Cornelius Kennedy |  |  Fine Gael
John MacLoughlin |  |  Fine Gael
Linda Kearns MacWhinney |  |  Fianna Fáil
David Madden |  |  Fine Gael
Brian O'Rourke |  |  Fine Gael
Labour Panel | John Butler |  |  Fine Gael
Michael Conway |  |  Independent
John Gaffney |  |  Independent
Frederick Hawkins |  |  Independent
Seán Hayes |  |  Fianna Fáil
Gilbert Hughes |  |  Fianna Fáil
James Johnston |  |  Independent
Thomas McShea |  |  Independent
Seán Milroy |  |  Fine Gael
James Tunney |  |  Labour
David Walsh |  |  Independent
Dublin University | Ernest Alton |  |  Independent
Joseph Johnston |  |  Independent
Robert Rowlette |  |  Independent
National University of Ireland | Henry Barniville |  |  Fine Gael
Helena Concannon |  |  Fianna Fáil
Michael Tierney |  |  Fine Gael
Nominated by the Taoiseach | Robert Farnan |  |  Fianna Fáil
T. V. Honan |  |  Fianna Fáil
Douglas Hyde |  |  Independent
Sir John Keane |  |  Independent
Margaret L. Kennedy |  |  Fianna Fáil
Peadar Toner Mac Fhionnlaoich |  |  Independent
William Magennis |  |  Independent
Frank MacDermot |  |  Fianna Fáil
Maurice George Moore |  |  Fianna Fáil
David Robinson |  |  Fianna Fáil
Matthew Stafford |  |  Fianna Fáil

## Changes

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Date  | Panel  | Loss  | Gain  | Note

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4 May 1938  | Nominated by the Taoiseach |  |  Independent |   | Douglas Hyde elected as President of Ireland[4]
10 May 1938  | Nominated by the Taoiseach |   |  |  Independent | Patrick Keohane nominated to replace Douglas Hyde[5]
17 June 1938  | Administrative Panel |  |  Fine Gael |   | Richard Mulcahy elected to the 10th Dáil at the 1938 general election[6]

## References

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1. ^ Constitution of Ireland, Article 53.
2. ^ "Election of Cathaoirleach". Seanad Debates. Vol. 21 No. 1. 27 April 1938. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
3. ^ "Election of Leas-Chathaoirleach". Seanad Debates. Vol. 21 No. 2. 11 May 1938. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
4. ^ "Uachtarán na hEireann do Thogha". Seanad Debates. Vol. 21 No. 2. 11 May 1938. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
5. ^ "Seanadóir d'Ainmniú". Seanad Debates. Vol. 21 No. 2. 11 May 1938. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
6. ^ "Announcement of Casual Vacancy in Seanad". Seanad Debates. Vol. 21 No. 5. 6 July 1938. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2023.

## External links

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* "2nd Seanad". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
* "2nd Seanad". Oireachtas Debates. Retrieved 18 December 2023.

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Members of Seanad Éireann

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