Govt of the 1st Dáil Government of the 1st Dáil The First Dáil was elected on 18 December 1918 and first met on 21 January 1919, on which date the First Ministry assumed office, and lasted for 892 days....	(1918)
Govt of the 2nd Dáil Government of the 2nd Dáil The Second Dáil was elected at the 1921 Irish elections on 24 May 1921 and lasted 388 days.-Third Ministry:The Third Ministry was the Ministry of the Irish Republic that held office from 26 August 1921 – 9 January 1922...	(1921 Irish elections, 1921 Two elections in Ireland took place in 1921, as a result of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 to establish the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. The election was used by Irish Republicans as the basis of membership of the Second Dáil... )
Govt of the 3rd Dáil	(1922 Irish general election, 1922 The Irish general election of 1922 took place in Southern Ireland on 16 June 1922, under the provisions of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty to elect a constituent assembly paving the way for the formal establishment of the Irish Free State... )
Govt of the 4th Dáil Government of the 4th Dáil The 4th Dáil was elected at the 1923 general election on 27 August 1923 and first met on 19 September when the 2nd Executive Council was appointed. The 4th Dáil lasted 1,382 days.-2nd Executive Council of the Irish Free State:...	(1923 Irish general election, 1923 The Irish general election of 1923 was held on 27 August 1923. The newly elected members of the 4th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 19 September when the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the Irish Free State were appointed. The election was held just after the end... )
Govt of the 5th Dáil Government of the 5th Dáil The 5th Dáil was elected at the June 1927 general election on 9 June 1927 and first met on 23 June when the 3rd Executive Council was appointed. The 5th Dáil was the shortest Dáil in history lasting only 98 days.-3rd Executive Council of the Irish Free State:...	(Jun. 1927)

The 3rd Dáil

Third Dáil

The Third Dáil, also known as the Provisional Parliament or the Constituent Assembly, was:*the "provisional parliament" or "constituent assembly" of Southern Ireland from 9 August 1922 until 6 December 1922; and...

 was elected at the 1922 general election

Irish general election, 1922

The Irish general election of 1922 took place in Southern Ireland on 16 June 1922, under the provisions of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty to elect a constituent assembly paving the way for the formal establishment of the Irish Free State...

 on 16 June 1922 and lasted 437 days.

Second Provisional Government

The Second Provisional Government (30 August 1922 – 6 December 1922) was formed by Pro-Treaty

Anglo-Irish Treaty

The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...

 faction of Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

. It came to office following the election of the Third Dáil

Third Dáil

The Third Dáil, also known as the Provisional Parliament or the Constituent Assembly, was:*the "provisional parliament" or "constituent assembly" of Southern Ireland from 9 August 1922 until 6 December 1922; and...

 on 16 June 1922. The cabinet came to an end when it was superseded by a new cabinet, the First Executive Council of the Irish Free State.

Its formation brought to an end the anomalous system of dual administration that had existed since January, of government under two cabinets simultaneously, the Fourth Ministry under Arthur Griffith

Arthur Griffith

Arthur Griffith was the founder and third leader of Sinn Féin. He served as President of Dáil Éireann from January to August 1922, and was head of the Irish delegation at the negotiations in London that produced the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.-Early life:...

, and the First Provisional Government under Michael Collins

Michael Collins (Irish leader)

Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...

. Following the death of Collins and Griffith in August 1922, W. T. Cosgrave decided to merge the two administrations, with himself as head of both. The new cabinet was therefore both the Second Provisional Government and the Fifth Ministry, while Cosgrave was officially both Chairman of the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland

Chairman of the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland

The Chairman of the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland was a transitional post established in January 1922, lasting until the creation of the Irish Free State in December 1922 in the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland....

 and President of the Republic

President of the Irish Republic

President of the Republic was the title given to the head of the Irish ministry or Aireacht in August 1921 by an amendment to the Dáil Constitution, which replaced the previous title, Príomh Aire or President of Dáil Éireann...

. Both cabinets were finally, formally abolished when the new Constitution of the Irish Free State

Constitution of the Irish Free State

The Constitution of the Irish Free State was the first constitution of the independent Irish state. It was enacted with the adoption of the Constitution of the Irish Free State Act 1922, of which it formed a part...

 came into force in December.

Office	Name
Chairman of the Provisional Government Chairman of the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland The Chairman of the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland was a transitional post established in January 1922, lasting until the creation of the Irish Free State in December 1922 in the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland....		W. T. Cosgrave
Minister for Finance Minister for Finance (Ireland) The Minister for Finance is the title held by the Irish government minister responsible for all financial and monetary matters. The office-holder controls the Department of Finance and is considered one of the most important members of the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Finance is...
Minister for Agriculture		Patrick Hogan Patrick Hogan (Cumann na nGaedheal) Patrick Hogan was a Irish politician.He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1921 general election as a Sinn Féin candidate for the Galway constituency...
Minister for Defence Minister for Defence (Ireland) The Minister for Defence is the senior minister at the Department of Defence in the Government of Ireland. Under new arrangements this department is being merged with the Department of Justice over which Mr. Shatter will also preside....		Richard Mulcahy Richard Mulcahy Richard James Mulcahy was an Irish politician, army general and commander in chief, leader of Fine Gael and Cabinet Minister...
Minister for Education		Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill was an Irish scholar, nationalist, revolutionary and politician. MacNeill is regarded as the father of the modern study of early Irish medieval history. He was a co-founder of the Gaelic League, to preserve Irish language and culture, going on to establish the Irish Volunteers...
Minister for External Affairs		Desmond FitzGerald Desmond FitzGerald (politician) Desmond FitzGerald was an Irish revolutionary, poet, publicist and Cumann na nGaedheal politician.-Early life:...
Minister for Home Affairs		Kevin O'Higgins Kevin O'Higgins Kevin Christopher O'Higgins was an Irish politician who served as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice. He was part of early nationalist Sinn Féin, before going on to become a prominent member of Cumann na nGaedheal. O'Higgins initiated the An Garda Síochána police force...
Minister for Industry and Commerce		Joseph McGrath Joseph McGrath (politician) Joseph McGrath was an Irish politician and businessman. He was a Sinn Féin and later a Cumann na nGaedheal Teachta Dála for various constituencies in Dublin and County Mayo and developed widespread business interests.-Political career:McGrath was born in Dublin in 1887...
Minister for Local Government		Ernest Blythe Ernest Blythe Ernest Blythe was an Irish politician.Ernest Blythe was born to a Presbyterian and Unionist family near Lisburn, County Antrim in 1889, the son of a farmer, and was educated locally. At the age of fifteen he started working as a clerk in the Department of Agriculture in Dublin.Blythe joined the...
Postmaster-General Minister for Posts and Telegraphs The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs was a senior post in the government of the Irish Free State and the Republic of Ireland from 1924 to 1984, when the post and the department was abolished....		James J. Walsh
Minister without portfolio Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...		Fionán Lynch
Minister without portfolio Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...		Eamonn Duggan Eamonn Duggan Eamonn or Edmund S. Duggan was an Irish lawyer, nationalist and politician, a member of Sinn Féin and then Cumann na nGaedheal....

1st Executive Council of the Irish Free State

The 1st Executive Council

Executive Council of the Irish Free State

The Executive Council was the cabinet and de facto executive branch of government of the 1922–1937 Irish Free State. Formally, the role of the Executive Council was to "aid and advise" the Governor-General who would exercise the executive authority on behalf of the King...

 of the Irish Free State

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

 (6 December 1922 – 19 September 1923) was formed by Pro-Treaty faction of Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

, which later became the Cumann na nGaedheal party. The Constitution of the Irish Free State came into force in December 1922 and under its terms the Second Provisional Government was replaced by the Executive Council.

However elections were not held for the 4th Dáil until August 1923 and so the membership of the First Executive Council closely reflected that of the Second Provisional Government of Southern Ireland that had preceded it. The First Executive Council was replaced by the Second Executive Council shortly after the 1923 general election

Irish general election, 1923

The Irish general election of 1923 was held on 27 August 1923. The newly elected members of the 4th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 19 September when the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the Irish Free State were appointed. The election was held just after the end...

.

Office	Name
President of the Executive Council President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State The President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State was the head of government or prime minister of the Irish Free State which existed from 1922 to 1937...		W. T. Cosgrave
Minister for Finance Minister for Finance (Ireland) The Minister for Finance is the title held by the Irish government minister responsible for all financial and monetary matters. The office-holder controls the Department of Finance and is considered one of the most important members of the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Finance is...
Vice-President of the Executive Council Vice-President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State The Vice-President of the Executive Council was the deputy head of government of the 1922–1937 Irish Free State, and the second most senior member of the Executive Council...		Kevin O'Higgins Kevin O'Higgins Kevin Christopher O'Higgins was an Irish politician who served as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice. He was part of early nationalist Sinn Féin, before going on to become a prominent member of Cumann na nGaedheal. O'Higgins initiated the An Garda Síochána police force...
Minister for Home Affairs
Minister for Defence Minister for Defence (Ireland) The Minister for Defence is the senior minister at the Department of Defence in the Government of Ireland. Under new arrangements this department is being merged with the Department of Justice over which Mr. Shatter will also preside....		Richard Mulcahy Richard Mulcahy Richard James Mulcahy was an Irish politician, army general and commander in chief, leader of Fine Gael and Cabinet Minister...
Minister for Education		Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill was an Irish scholar, nationalist, revolutionary and politician. MacNeill is regarded as the father of the modern study of early Irish medieval history. He was a co-founder of the Gaelic League, to preserve Irish language and culture, going on to establish the Irish Volunteers...
Minister for External Affairs		Desmond FitzGerald Desmond FitzGerald (politician) Desmond FitzGerald was an Irish revolutionary, poet, publicist and Cumann na nGaedheal politician.-Early life:...
Minister for Industry and Commerce		Joseph McGrath Joseph McGrath (politician) Joseph McGrath was an Irish politician and businessman. He was a Sinn Féin and later a Cumann na nGaedheal Teachta Dála for various constituencies in Dublin and County Mayo and developed widespread business interests.-Political career:McGrath was born in Dublin in 1887...
Minister for Local Government		Ernest Blythe Ernest Blythe Ernest Blythe was an Irish politician.Ernest Blythe was born to a Presbyterian and Unionist family near Lisburn, County Antrim in 1889, the son of a farmer, and was educated locally. At the age of fifteen he started working as a clerk in the Department of Agriculture in Dublin.Blythe joined the...
Ministers not members of the Executive Council
Office	Name
Minister for Agriculture and Lands		Patrick Hogan Patrick Hogan (Cumann na nGaedheal) Patrick Hogan was a Irish politician.He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1921 general election as a Sinn Féin candidate for the Galway constituency...
Minister for Fisheries		Fionán Lynch
Postmaster-General Minister for Posts and Telegraphs The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs was a senior post in the government of the Irish Free State and the Republic of Ireland from 1924 to 1984, when the post and the department was abolished....		James J. Walsh

The government positions are listed in alphabetical order, rather than in terms of seniority.

See also

• Members of the 3rd Dáil
  Members of the 3rd Dáil
  This is a list of the members who were elected to the 3rd Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas of the soon to be created Irish Free State. These TDs were elected at the 1922 general election on 16 June 1922. The 3rd Dáil was dissolved by Governor-General Timothy Michael Healy, at the...
  
  
• Parliamentary Secretaries of the 3rd Dáil
  Parliamentary Secretaries of the 3rd Dáil
  On 6 December 1922 the 1st Executive Council of the Irish Free State was officially appointed by Dáil Éireann. The new government was formed by the Pro-Treaty faction of Sinn Féin, which later became the Cumann na nGaedheal party. It was led by W. T. Cosgrave, who appointed the following...
  
  
• Dáil Éireann
  Dáil Éireann
  Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
  
  
• Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic)
• Government of Ireland
• Politics of the Republic of Ireland
  Politics of the Republic of Ireland
  Ireland is a parliamentary, representative democratic republic and a member state of the European Union. While the head of state is the popularly elected President of Ireland, this is a largely ceremonial position with real political power being vested in the indirectly elected Taoiseach who is...