5th Seanad

The 5th Seanad was in office from 1944 to 1948. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1944 general election to the 12th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 6th Seanad in 1948.

Cathaoirleach
On 18 August 1944, Seán Goulding (FF) was proposed by Helena Concannon (FF) and seconded by Pádraic Ó Máille (FF) for the position of Cathaoirleach. He was elected unopposed.

On 25 October 1944, Timothy O'Donovan (FG) was proposed by Michael Hayes (FG) and seconded by Patrick Baxter (CnaT) for the position of Leas-Chathaoirleach. He was elected unopposed.

Composition of the 5th Seanad
There are a total of 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 were elected on five vocational panels, 6 were elected from two university constituencies and 11 were nominated by the Taoiseach.

The following table shows the composition by party when the 5th Seanad first met on 18 August 1944.