The 2nd government of Ireland (30 June 1938 – 1 July 1943) was the government of Ireland formed after the 1938 general election to the 10th Dáil held on 17 June. It was a single-party Fianna Fáil government led by Éamon de Valera as Taoiseach. Fianna Fáil had been in office since the 1932 general election. It lasted for 1,828 days.

The 10th Dáil first met on 30 June 1938. In the debate on the nomination of Taoiseach, Fianna Fáil leader and outgoing Taoiseach Éamon de Valera was proposed. The motion was approved by 75 to 45.^[1] De Valera was appointed as Taoiseach by President Douglas Hyde.^[2] This occurred five days after the inauguration of Hyde as the first President of Ireland on 25 June.

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30 June 1938 Nomination of Éamon de Valera (FF) as Taoiseach[3] Motion proposed by Gerald Bartley and seconded by Bernard Maguire Absolute majority: 70/138
Vote	Parties	Votes
Y Yes	Fianna Fáil (74), Independent (1)	75 / 138
No	Fine Gael (44), Independent (1)	45 / 138
Absent or Not voting	Labour Party (9), Fianna Fáil (2), Fine Gael (1), Independents (5), Ceann Comhairle (1)	19 / 138

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After his appointment as Taoiseach by the president, Éamon de Valera proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil.^[4] They were appointed to office by the president.

On 30 June 1938, the Government appointed Parliamentary secretaries on the nomination of the Taoiseach.^[8]

During the first three years of the term of office of the first President of Ireland, the Oireachtas could pass amendments to the Constitution of Ireland without a referendum. This period lasted from 25 June 1938 to 24 June 1941. The First Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland was introduced and signed into law on 2 September 1939, allowing the Oireachtas to resolve that a state of emergency exists when an armed conflict exists outside of the state. The Emergency was declared on the same day, and the emergency powers lapsed on 2 September 1946. The Second Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland was signed into law on 30 May 1941 and was an omnibus amendment with 40 separate changes across the text of the Constitution. Both amendments were proposed by the Taoiseach.