Government of the 3rd Dáil

The government of the 3rd Dáil was first both concurrently the 2nd provisional government (30 August – 6 December 1922) and the 5th ministry of Dáil Éireann (9 September – 6 December 1922), formed after the 1922 general election held on 16 June 1922, and then the 1st executive council of the Irish Free State (6 December 1922 – 19 September 1923), formed after the establishment of the Irish Free State. They were led by W. T. Cosgrave, who had become the leader of the Pro-Treaty wing of Sinn Féin and on 27 April 1923 became the first leader of the Cumann na nGaedheal.

The 2nd provisional government and the 5th ministry lasted for overlapping concurrent periods of 99 days and 89 days respectively. The 1st executive council lasted for 288 days.

2nd provisional government and 5th ministry

Government of the 3rd Dáil 2nd provisional government
Date formed	30 August 1922 (PG) 9 September 1922 (DM)
Date dissolved	6 December 1922
People and organisations
King	George V
Lord Lieutenant	Lord FitzAlan
Chairman of the Provisional Government and President of Dáil Éireann	W. T. Cosgrave
Total no. of members	11
Member parties	Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty)
Status in legislature	Minority Government
Opposition party	Labour Party
Opposition leader	Thomas Johnson
History
Election	1922 general election
Legislature term	3rd Dáil
Predecessor	1st Provisional Government 4th Ministry
Successor	1st executive council

The 2nd provisional government (30 August 1922 – 6 December 1922) was formed by W. T. Cosgrave, who had been appointed as Chairman of the Provisional Government on 25 August 1922, after the death of Michael Collins on 22 August, who had led the 1st provisional government from 16 January 1922.^[1]

Arthur Griffith, the President of the Dáil who had led the 4th Ministry from 10 January 1922, had died on 12 August. The members of the 3rd Dáil first met on 9 September 1922. W. T. Cosgrave was proposed as President of the Dáil by Richard Mulcahy and seconded by Eoin MacNeill. This motion was carried and Cosgrave and formed the 5th Ministry (9 September 1922 – 6 December 1922), composed of Pro-Treaty members of Sinn Féin and identical in composition to the 2nd provisional government. With these appointments, the dual cabinets which had existed from January 1922 came to an end, with Cosgrave serving as both Chairman of the Provisional Government and President of Dáil Éireann. Both cabinets were abolished when the new Constitution of the Irish Free State came into force on 6 December 1922.

Office	Name
Chairman of the Provisional Government		W. T. Cosgrave
President of Dáil Éireann[2]
Minister for Finance[3]
Minister for Foreign Affairs[4]		Desmond FitzGerald
Minister for Home Affairs[5]		Kevin O'Higgins
Minister for Local Government[6]		Ernest Blythe
Minister for Agriculture[7]		Patrick Hogan
Minister for Industry and Commerce[8]		Joseph McGrath
Minister for Education[9]		Eoin MacNeill
Minister for Defence[10]		Richard Mulcahy
Postmaster-General[11]		J. J. Walsh
Minister without portfolio[12]		Fionán Lynch
		Eamonn Duggan

1st executive council of the Irish Free State

Government of the 3rd Dáil
1st Executive Council of the Irish Free State
Date formed	6 December 1922
Date dissolved	19 September 1923
People and organisations
King	George V
Governor-General	Tim Healy
President of the Executive Council	W. T. Cosgrave
Vice-President of the Executive Council	Kevin O'Higgins
Total no. of members	10 (inc. 3 non-members of the Executive Council)
Member parties	Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty) (Dec. 1922 – Apr. 1923) Cumann na nGaedheal (Apr.–Sep. 1923)
Status in legislature	Minority Government
Opposition party	Labour Party
Opposition leader	Thomas Johnson
History
Legislature terms	3rd Dáil 1st Seanad (1922–1925)
Predecessor	2nd provisional government
Successor	2nd executive council

Cumann na nGaedheal government 1922–1923

The 1st Executive Council of the Irish Free State (6 December 1922 – 19 September 1923) was formed by Pro-Treaty faction of Sinn Féin, which became Cumann na nGaedheal in April 1923. On 6 December 1922, the Constitution of the Irish Free State came into force. William T. Cosgrave was proposed as President of the Executive Council by Peter Hughes and seconded by Francis McGuinness, and this motion was approved by the Dáil.^[13]

The President nominated the members of the Executive Council on 6 December.^[14]

Office	Name
President of the Executive Council		W. T. Cosgrave
Minister for Finance
Vice-President of the Executive Council		Kevin O'Higgins
Minister for Home Affairs
Minister for Defence		Richard Mulcahy
Minister for Education		Eoin MacNeill
Minister for External Affairs		Desmond FitzGerald
Minister for Industry and Commerce		Joseph McGrath
Minister for Local Government		Ernest Blythe

Ministers not members of the Executive Council

The following Ministers were proposed by a committee of the Dáil on 14 December 1922.^[15]

Office	Name
Minister for Agriculture and Lands		Patrick Hogan
Minister for Fisheries		Fionán Lynch
Postmaster-General		J. J. Walsh

Parliamentary secretaries

The Executive Council appointed the following Parliamentary secretaries.^[1] These were newly created offices.

Name		Office
	Daniel McCarthy	Government Chief Whip
	Eamonn Duggan	Parliamentary secretary to the Executive Council

See also

• Dáil Éireann
• Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic)
• Dáil Éireann (Irish Free State)
• Government of Ireland
• Politics of the Republic of Ireland

References

1. "Third Dáil". Government of Ireland. 27 November 2018. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
2. "ELECTION OF PRESIDENT – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 September 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
3. "MINISTER FOR FINANCE – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 September 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
4. "FOREIGN AFFAIRS – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 September 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
5. "HOME AFFAIRS – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 September 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
6. "LOCAL GOVERNMENT – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 September 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
7. "MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 September 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
8. "INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 September 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
9. "MINISTER FOR EDUCATION – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 September 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
10. "MINISTER FOR DEFENCE – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 September 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
11. "MINISTRY OF POST OFFICE – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 September 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
12. "MINISTERS WITHOUT PORTFOLIO – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 September 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
13. "ELECTION OF PRESIDENT – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 6 December 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
14. "NOMINATIONS TO EXECUTIVE COUNCIL – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 6 December 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
15. "REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ELECTED TO NOMINATE MINISTERS WHO SHALL NOT BE MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL – Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 14 December 1922. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.