The 1932 Irish general election to the 7th Dáil was held on Tuesday, 16 February, following the dissolution of the 6th Dáil on 29 January by Governor-General James McNeill on the advice of President of the Executive Council W. T. Cosgrave. The general election took place in 30 parliamentary constituencies throughout the Irish Free State for 153 seats in Dáil Éireann. It was the first election held in the Irish Free State since the Statute of Westminster 1931 removed almost all of the United Kingdom parliament to legislate for the Dominions, including the Irish Free State—effectively granting the Free State internationally recognised independence.

Quick Facts 153 seats in Dáil Éireann 77 seats needed for a majority, Turnout ...

1932 Irish general election

← Sep 1927 16 February 1932 1933 →
← outgoing members elected members →
153 seats in Dáil Éireann[lower-alpha 1] 77 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	76.5% 7.5pp
First party Second party   Leader Éamon de Valera W. T. Cosgrave Party Fianna Fáil Cumann na nGaedheal Leader since 26 March 1926 April 1923 Leader's seat Clare Cork Borough Last election 57 seats, 35.2% 62 seats, 38.6% Seats before 56 64 Seats won 72 57[lower-alpha 1] Seat change 15 5 Popular vote 566,498 449,506 Percentage 44.5% 35.2% Swing 9.3% 3.4%   Third party Fourth party   Farmers' Leader Thomas O'Connell Party Labour Farmers' Party Leader since 1927 Leader's seat Mayo South (defeated) Last election 13 seats, 9.1% 6 seats, 6.4% Seats before 10 6 Seats won 7 3 Seat change 6 3 Popular vote 98,286 22,899 Percentage 7.7% 1.8% Swing 1.4% 4.6%
Election results and first-preference votes in each constituency Number of seats gained by each party in each constituency
President of the Executive Council before election W. T. Cosgrave Cumann na nGaedheal Elected President of the Executive Council Éamon de Valera Fianna Fáil

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The 7th Dáil met at Leinster House on 9 March to nominate the President and Executive Council of the Irish Free State for appointment by the Governor-General. This resulted in the first change of government in the Irish Free State. Cumann na nGaedheal, which had been the governing party since 1922, was succeeded by Fianna Fáil, which became the largest party in the chamber and formed a government led by Éamon de Valera, with the support of the Labour Party. Fianna Fáil would be the largest party in Dáil Éireann at every general election thereafter until 2011.

The election campaign between the two ideologically opposed parties was reasonably peaceful. However, during the campaign the government prosecuted de Valera's newly established newspaper, The Irish Press. The editor was also brought before a military tribunal. This was seen by many as a major blunder and a serious infringement on the belief of freedom of speech. The "red scare" tactics also seemed to backfire on the government.

Two days before the election, Patrick Reynolds, a Cumann na nGaedheal TD was assassinated in Ballinamore. A garda detective was murdered in the same incident. The poll in Leitrim–Sligo was postponed and Reynolds' widow Mary was elected.^[4]

Cumann na nGaedheal

This section does not cite any sources. (March 2022)

Cumann na nGaedheal fought the general election on its record of providing ten years of stable government. The party claimed to have brought stability following the chaos of the Irish Civil War and to have provided honest government. However, by 1932 this provision of solid government was wearing thin, particularly since the party had no solution to the collapse in trade which followed the depression of the early 1930s. Instead of offering new policies, the party believed that its record in government would be enough to retain power. Cumann na nGaedheal also played the "red scare" tactic, describing Fianna Fáil as communists and likening Éamon de Valera to Joseph Stalin.

Fianna Fáil was five seats short of an overall majority, but it still looked like the only party capable of forming a government. Discussions got underway immediately after the election and an agreement was reached in which the Labour Party would support Fianna Fáil. The party now had the necessary votes to form a minority government. After the results were announced, newly elected Fianna Fáil TD Seán Moylan proclaimed that the election was a victory of "the owners of the donkey and cart over the pony and trap class".^[10]

On 9 March 1932 the first change of government in the Irish Free State took place. Many in the country and abroad wondered if the true test of democracy would be passed, whether it would be possible for the men who won a civil war only ten years before to hand over power to their opponents. Similar to when the party first entered the Dáil in 1927, a number of Fianna Fáil TDs had guns in their pockets. It later emerged that Eoin O'Duffy, Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, had urged a military coup. However, W. T. Cosgrave was determined to adhere to the principles of democracy that he had practised while in government. Likewise, the army, Garda and the civil service all accepted the change of government, despite the fact that they would now be taking orders from men who had been their enemies less than ten years previously. After a brief and uneventful meeting in the Dáil chamber, Éamon de Valera was nominated as President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State. He was then formally appointed by the Governor-General, James McNeill, who had come to Leinster House to make the appointment rather than require de Valera travel to the Viceregal Lodge, formerly a symbol of British rule. He formed the 6th Executive Council of the Irish Free State. Fianna Fáil, a party led by many of the men most closely identified with opposing the existence of the state ten years earlier, were now the party of government. The 1932 general election was the beginning of a sixteen-year period in government for Fianna Fáil.