Government of the 1st Dáil

Template:Short description Template:Use Hiberno-English Template:Use dmy dates The government of the 1st Dáil was the executive of the unilaterally declared Irish Republic. At the 1918 general election to Westminster, candidates for Sinn Féin stood on an abstentionist platform, declaring that they would not remain in the Parliament of the United Kingdom but instead form a unicameral, revolutionary parliament for Ireland called Dáil Éireann.

The first meeting of the First Dáil was held on 21 January 1919 in the Round Room of the Mansion House in Dublin and made a Declaration of Independence. It also approved the Dáil Constitution. Under Article 2 of this Constitution, there would be a ministry of Dáil Éireann led by a President, with five Secretaries leading government departments. There were two ministries of Dáil Éireann during the First Dáil. The 1st ministry (22 January to 1 April 1919) was led by Cathal Brugha and lasted for 69 days; it was formed when a large number of those elected for Sinn Féin were in prison. The 2nd ministry (1 April 1919 to 26 August 1921) was led by Éamon de Valera, leader of Sinn Féin, and lasted for 878 days.

1st ministry

Template:Infobox government cabinet The 1st ministry was a temporary cabinet headed by Cathal Brugha, because Éamon de Valera, the leader of Sinn Féin, was in prison at the time.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Office	Name
President of Dáil Éireann	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Cathal Brugha
Minister for Finance	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Eoin MacNeill
Minister for Home Affairs	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Michael Collins
Minister for Foreign Affairs	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Count Plunkett
Minister for National Defence	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Richard Mulcahy

2nd ministry

On 1 April 1919, the 1st ministry resigned.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On a motion proposed by Cathal Brugha and seconded by Pádraic Ó Máille, Éamon de Valera was declared elected as President of Dáil Éireann ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Constitution was amended to allow for up to nine members of the ministry, as well as the President.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The following day, he formed the 2nd ministry. Countess Markievicz became the first Irish female cabinet minister. She served until 26 August 1921, and the next woman appointed to cabinet was Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, who was appointed as Minister for the Gaeltacht in 1979.

De Valera travelled to the United States in June 1919, and by letter requested that Arthur Griffith be appointed as Deputy President in his absence and that Ernest Blythe take a place at cabinet.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> De Valera resumed his position in the Dáil on 25 January 1921.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Office	Name
President of Dáil Éireann	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Éamon de Valera
Secretary for Home Affairs<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Arthur Griffith
Secretary for Defence<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Cathal Brugha
Secretary for Foreign Affairs<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Count Plunkett
Secretary for Labour<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Constance Markievicz
Secretary for Industries<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Eoin MacNeill
Secretary for Finance<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Michael Collins
Secretary for Local Government<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	W. T. Cosgrave
Ministers not in cabinet
Office	Name
Director of Propaganda<ref name=headdep>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Laurence Ginnell
Director of Agriculture<ref name=headdep />	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Robert Barton
Changes on 17 June 1919
Office	Name
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Arthur Griffith
Director of Trade and Commerce<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Ernest Blythe
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Desmond FitzGerald
Changes on 27 October 1919 On the arrest of Ernest Blythe.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation			CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Office	Name
Substitute Director of Trade and Commerce	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Joseph McGuinness
Changes on 29 June 1920 Appointment of new ministries and substitute ministries.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation			CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Office	Name
Minister for Irish	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	John J. O'Kelly
Acting Minister at the Ministry of Home Affairs	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Austin Stack
Substitute Minister for Local Government	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Kevin O'Higgins
Substitute Minister for Agriculture	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Art O'Connor
Director of Fisheries	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Seán Etchingham
Change on 17 September 1920
Office	Name
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Frank Fahy

Resignation of ministry

In May 1921, the Dáil passed a resolution declaring that elections to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland would be used as the election for the Second Dáil.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The members of the 2nd Dáil first met on 16 August 1921.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The outgoing ministry did not resign immediately. On 26 August 1921, Éamon de Valera resigned as president.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> De Valera was then re-elected, taking the new title of President of the Republic, and formed the 3rd ministry of Dáil Éireann.

See also

• Dáil Éireann
• Government of Ireland
• Politics of the Republic of Ireland
• 1918 United Kingdom general election