| 8th Seanad | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
 | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Seanad Éireann | ||||
| Jurisdiction | Ireland | ||||
| Meeting place | Leinster House | ||||
| Term | 22 July 1954 – 28 March 1957 | ||||
| Government | 7th government of Ireland | ||||
| Members | 60 | ||||
| Cathaoirleach | Patrick Baxter (CnaT) | ||||
| Leas-Chathaoirleach | Liam Ó Buachalla (FF) | ||||
| Leader of the Seanad | Michael Hayes (FG) | ||||
The8th Seanad was in office from 1954 to 1957. An election toSeanad Éireann, thesenate of theOireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the1954 general election to the15th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the9th Seanad in 1957.
On 22 July 1954,Patrick Baxter (CnaT), was proposed byMichael Hayes (FG) and seconded byWilliam Quirke (FF) for the position ofCathaoirleach. He was elected unopposed.[1]
On 27 July 1954,Liam Ó Buachalla (FF), Cathaoirleach of the7th Seanad, was proposed byFrederick Hawkins (Ind) and seconded by Michael Hayes (FG) for the position of Leas-Chathaoirleach. He was elected unopposed.[2]
There are a total of 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 were elected on fivevocational panels, 6 were elected from twouniversity constituencies and 11 werenominated by the Taoiseach.[3]
The following table shows the composition by party when the 8th Seanad first met on 22 July 1954.
Origin Party | Vocational panels | NUI | DU | Nominated | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admin | Agri | Cult & Educ | Ind & Comm | Labour | |||||||
| Fianna Fáil | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||
| Fine Gael | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 14 | ||
| Labour Party | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | ||
| Clann na Talmhan | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Independent | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 20 | ||
| Total | 7 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 60 | ||