There were twogovernments of the 2nd Dáil, which wereministries of Dáil Éireann, the assembly ofDáil Éireann that was the legislature of theIrish Republic, aunilaterally declared state which lasted from 1919 to 1922. TheSecond Dáil was elected at the1921 Irish elections on 24 May 1921. The 3rd ministry (26 August 1921 – 9 January 1922) was led byÉamon de Valera as president and lasted 136 days. De Valera resigned as president after the Dáil voted to accept theAnglo-Irish Treaty. The 4th ministry (10 January – 9 September 1922) was led byArthur Griffith as president. Griffith died in office on 12 August 1922, but a new Dáil ministry was not formed until 9 September 1922. Griffith served 214 days as president, with a further 28 days between his death and the appointment ofW. T. Cosgrave as his successor by the Dáil.
Theprovisional government of Ireland, established under the terms of the Treaty, overlapped with the later period of ministries of Dáil Éireann. The 1st provisional government was led byMichael Collins asChairman of the Provisional Government from 16 January 1922 until his death on 22 August 1922. On 25 August 1922, W. T. Cosgrave was appointed as his successor, with the other members of the new provisional government appointed on 30 September. The 1st provisional government lasted 218 days from the appointment of Collins until his death, with three days elapsing until the appointment of Cosgrave as his successor.
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| Date formed | 26 August 1921 |
| Date dissolved | 9 January 1922 |
| People and organisations | |
| President of the Republic | Éamon de Valera |
| Totalno. of members | 15(inc. 9 non-members of cabinet) |
| Member party | Sinn Féin |
| Status in legislature | Majority government |
| History | |
| Election | 1921 general election |
| Legislature term | 2nd Dáil |
| Predecessor | 2nd ministry |
| Successor | 4th ministry |
Themembers of the 2nd Dáil first met on 16 August 1921.[1] The outgoingministry of Dáil Éireann did not resign immediately. On 26 August 1921,Éamon de Valera resigned as president.[2] De Valera was then proposed bySeán Mac Eoin and seconded byRichard Mulcahy to the position ofPresident of the Irish Republic and approved unanimously.[3] This was a change of title, suggesting that de Valera was now considered as thehead of state of theIrish Republic, rather than only itshead of government.
De Valera then proposed the members of the 3rd ministry of theIrish Republic (26 August 1921 – 9 January 1922), which were approved by the Dáil.[4]
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| Date formed | 10 January 1922 |
| Date dissolved | 9 September 1922 |
| People and organisations | |
| President of Dáil Éireann | Arthur Griffithd. 12 August 1922 |
| Totalno. of members | 14(inc. 5 non-members of cabinet & 3 assistant ministers) |
| Member party | Sinn Féin |
| Status in legislature | Majority government |
| History | |
| Legislature term | 2nd Dáil |
| Predecessor | 3rd ministry |
| Successor | 5th ministry |
On 7 January 1922, theAnglo-Irish Treaty was approved by Dáil Éireann in avote of 64 to 57. Among those voting against were President de Valera. On Monday 9 January, he resigned as president. He was then proposed byKathleen Clarke and seconded byLiam Mellowes for the position of president. This motion was defeated with 58 votes in favour to 60 against.[5]
On 10 January,Arthur Griffith was proposed as President of Dáil Éireann byMichael Collins and seconded byEoin O'Duffy. While the vote was to take place, de Valera and his supporters rose and left the Dáil chamber. Griffith was then approved unanimously by those members remaining in the Dáil.[6] The members of the 4th ministry were then proposed by Griffith and approved by the Dáil.
Under the terms of the Treaty another cabinet, theprovisional government, was also established on 16 January, withMichael Collins asChairman of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State. The 4th ministry therefore held office in parallel with the1st provisional government. In August, Griffith died of natural causes and Collins was killed in action. The remaining members of the ministry remained in office until theThird Dáil elected a new ministry on 9 September under W. T. Cosgrave. Cosgrave had also been named as Chairman of the Provisional Government on the death of Collins in August, and from 9 September the personnel of the two cabinets were identical. Both cabinets were replaced by theExecutive Council of the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922.
Government of the 2nd Dáil 1st provisional government | |
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  Michael Collins, W. T. Cosgrave | |
| Date formed | 16 January 1922 |
| Date dissolved | 30 August 1922 |
| People and organisations | |
| King | George V |
| Lord Lieutenant | Lord FitzAlan |
| Chairman of the Provisional Government |
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| Totalno. of members | 13(inc. 4 acting ministers) |
| Member party | Sinn Féin |
| Status in legislature | Majority government |
| History | |
| Legislature term | 2nd Dáil |
| Successor | 2nd provisional government |
The 1st provisional government was theprovisional government that held office from 16 January – 30 August 1922.[7] The provisional government was established under the terms of theAnglo-Irish Treaty as an interim administration that would govern Ireland (not includingNorthern Ireland) until the establishment of theIrish Free State in December. Its members were nominated at a meeting of "the members elected to sit in theHouse of Commons of Southern Ireland" (pro-Treaty Sinn Féin and four unionist members), on 14 January, and they took up office two days later. The British government formally transferred power to the cabinet on 1 April. Headed byMichael Collins asChairman, its membership consisted solely of members of the pro-Treaty wing ofSinn Féin.[8]
At the time the provisional government was established there was a pre-existing executive administration in the form of the 4th ministry of the Irish Republic, but that cabinet was not recognised by the British government. The 4th ministry had come to office on 10 January, just six days before the provisional government, and continued in office after the latter's establishment. There were thus two parallel administrations, with an overlapping membership.
After theCivil War began on 29 June four members of the cabinet were seconded for military service and substitutes were appointed to temporarily take their places as acting ministers. Two new members,Michael Hayes andErnest Blythe, began serving as acting ministers on 17 July and were added to the cabinet as permanent members on 27 July. Collins was killed in action on 22 August and so the cabinet met and elected Cosgrave as chairman on 25 August. Five days later the entire cabinet was reconstituted as the 2nd provisional government. TheThird Dáil met on 9 September and appointed the 5th ministry, with its membership identical to that of the newly constituted provisional government. This cabinet, with its dual identities, continued as the sole government, and was superseded on 6 December 1922 by the formation of the 1stExecutive Council of the Irish Free State.