1934 Seanad

The 1934 Seanad was the part of the Seanad of the Irish Free State (1922–1936) in office after the 1934 Seanad election until its abolition in 1936. 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 1934 Seanad included members elected at the 1925, 1928, 1931 and 1934 Seanad elections. It sat as a second chamber to the 8th Dáil elected at the 1933 general election.

1934 Seanad
← 1931 Seanad Abolished (1936) 2nd Seanad (1938) →
Overview
Legislative body	Seanad Éireann
Jurisdiction	Irish Free State
Meeting place	Leinster House
Term	12 December 1934 – 19 May 1936
Government	7th Executive Council
Members	60
Cathaoirleach	Thomas Westropp Bennett (FG)
Leas-Chathaoirleach	Michael Comyn (FF) (1934–1936) David Robinson (FF) (1936)

The Seanad of the Irish Free State was not numbered after every election, with the whole period later considered the First Seanad. Under the Constitution (Amendment No. 24) Act 1936, the Seanad was abolished, and for a time the Oireachtas became a unicameral legislature. The last sitting of the Seanad was on 19 May 1936, with the amendment signed on 29 May 1936. In 1937, on the adoption of the Constitution of Ireland, a new Seanad Éireann was established, with elections to follow general elections to Dáil Éireann, with each new Seanad numbered. An election to the 2nd Seanad took place in March 1938.

Composition of the 1934 Seanad

There were a total of 60 seats in the Free State Seanad. In 1934, 22 Senators were elected. The Seanad election in 1925 was a popular election. However, at the 1928 and subsequent elections, the franchise was restricted to Oireachtas members.

23 Senators had been elected at the 1931 Seanad election, 17 Senators had been elected at the 1928 Seanad election and 19 Senators had been elected at the 1925 Seanad election.^[1]

The following table shows the composition by party when the 1934 Seanad first met on 12 December 1934.^[2]

Party		Seats
	Fine Gael	22
	Fianna Fáil	19
	Labour	7
	Independent	12
Total		60

Cathaoirleach

At the first meeting on 12 December 1934, there was a contest for the position of Cathaoirleach. James J. MacKean was absent for the vote but all other members were present. William Hickie chaired the election. The two candidates were the outgoing Cathaoirleach, Thomas Westropp Bennett (Fine Gael), and the Fianna Fáil candidate, Michael Comyn. Neither of the two candidates voted and so fifty-six senators voted in the election. This resulted in a tie of twenty-eight votes each. Westropp Bennett received the votes of all twenty-one members of Fine Gael and seven independents. Comyn received the votes of his eighteen Fianna Fáil colleagues, the seven Labour Party senators, and three independents (Edward Bellingham, Thomas Linehan and Laurence O'Neill). Hickie then gave his casting vote for Westropp Bennett saying he would have done so had he had the opportunity in the division.^[3]

The following week, Comyn defeated the outgoing Leas-Chathaoirleach, Michael F. O'Hanlon of Fine Gael, by twenty-six votes to twenty-five.^[4][5]

On 11 March 1936, David Robinson was elected unanimously as Leas-Chathaoirleach following the appointment of Comyn to the Circuit Court.^[6]

List of senators

• Note: The entries for Senators who were elected or appointed to fill vacancies are shown in italics

Name		Party	Entered Office	Term	Notes
Henry Barniville		Fine Gael	Elected in 1925	12 years
Sir Edward Bellingham		Independent	Elected in 1925	12 years
William Cummins		Labour	Elected in 1925	12 years
James Dillon		Fine Gael	Elected in 1925	12 years
Michael Fanning		Fine Gael	Elected in 1925	12 years
Thomas Foran		Labour	Elected in 1925	12 years
Sir William Hickie		Independent	Elected in 1925	12 years
Cornelius Kennedy		Fine Gael	Elected in 1925	12 years
Thomas Linehan		Independent	Elected in 1925	12 years
Joseph O'Connor		Fine Gael	Elected in 1925	12 years
J. T. O'Farrell		Labour	Elected in 1925	12 years
Michael F. O'Hanlon		Fine Gael	Elected in 1925	12 years
James Parkinson		Fine Gael	Elected in 1925	12 years
Thomas Toal		Fine Gael	Elected in 1925	12 years
Kathleen Clarke		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1928	9 years
Joseph Connolly		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1928	9 years
Seán Milroy		Fine Gael	Elected in 1928	9 years
Séumas Robinson		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1928	9 years	Resigned on 11 December 1935[7]
William O'Sullivan		Fine Gael	Elected in 1931	6 years
Michael Comyn		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1931	9 years	Appointed as a judge of the Circuit Court on 24 February 1936[8]
John Counihan		Fine Gael	Elected in 1931	9 years
James G. Douglas		Independent	Elected in 1931	9 years
Michael Duffy		Labour	Elected in 1931	9 years
Thomas Farren		Labour	Elected in 1931	9 years
Hugh Garahan		Fine Gael	Elected in 1931	9 years
Sir John Griffith		Independent	Elected in 1931	9 years
Seán MacEllin		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1931	9 years
Ross McGillycuddy		Independent	Elected in 1931	9 years
James J. MacKean		Fine Gael	Elected in 1931	9 years
John MacLoughlin		Fine Gael	Elected in 1931	9 years
Daniel MacParland		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1931	9 years
Maurice George Moore		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1931	9 years
Laurence O'Neill		Independent	Elected in 1931	9 years
Brian O'Rourke		Fine Gael	Elected in 1931	9 years
William Quirke		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1931	9 years
David Robinson		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1931	9 years
Michael Staines		Fine Gael	Elected in 1931	9 years
Sir Edward Coey Bigger		Independent	Elected in 1934	3 years
John Philip Bagwell		Independent	Elected in 1934	6 years
Patrick Baxter		Fine Gael	Elected in 1934	9 years
Thomas Westropp Bennett		Independent	Elected in 1934	9 years
Ernest Blythe		Fine Gael	Elected in 1934	9 years
James Boyle		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1934	9 years
Samuel Lombard Brown		Independent	Elected in 1934	6 years
Kathleen Browne		Fine Gael	Elected in 1934	9 years
James Charles Dowdall		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1934	9 years
Eamonn Duggan		Fine Gael	Elected in 1934	9 years
Séamus Fitzgerald		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1934	9 years
Oliver St. John Gogarty		Fine Gael	Elected in 1934	9 years
Denis Healy		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1934	9 years
T. V. Honan		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1934	9 years
Andrew Jameson		Independent	Elected in 1934	9 years
Thomas Johnson		Labour	Elected in 1934	9 years
Thomas Kennedy		Labour	Elected in 1934	9 years
Raphael Keyes		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1934	9 years
Patrick Lynch		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1934	9 years
Pádraic Ó Máille		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1934	9 years
Thomas Ruane		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1934	9 years
Richard Wilson		Fine Gael	Elected in 1934	9 years
Jennie Wyse Power		Fianna Fáil	Elected in 1934	9 years	Joined Fianna Fáil in advance of the 1934 Seanad election[9]

Changes

Date	Loss		Gain		Note
11 December 1935		Fianna Fáil			Resignation of Séumas Robinson[7]
24 February 1936		Fianna Fáil			Michael Comyn appointed as a judge of the Circuit Court[8]

References

1. "The New Free State Senate". The Irish Times. 8 December 1934. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
2. "1934 Seanad". Oireachtas Members Database.
3. "Election of Cathaoirleach – Seanad Éireann (1934 Seanad) – Vol. 19 No. 9". Oireachtas Debates. 12 December 1934.
4. "Election of Leas-Chathaoirleach – Seanad Éireann (1934 Seanad) – Vol. 19 No. 9". Oireachtas Debates. 19 December 1934.
5. O'Sullivan, Donal (1940). The Irish Free State and its Senate: A Study in Contemporary Politics. London: Faber and Faber. p. 448.
6. "Election of Leas-Chathaoirleach – Seanad Éireann (1934 Seanad) – Vol. 20 No. 29". Oireachtas Debates. 11 March 1936.
7. "Mr. Séamus Robinson". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
8. "Mr. Michael Comyn". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
9. O'Neill, Marie (1991). From Parnell to de Valera: A Biography of Jennie Wyse Power 1858–1941. Dublin: Blackwater Press. p. 172.

External links

• "1934 Seanad". Oireachtas Debates.