Dáil Éireann is the Lower House of the Parliament of Eire, the upper house being the Senate. Its first meeting in the Mansion House at Dublin was in January 1919 after Sinn Fein had won 73 seats at the general election, boycotted the Westminster Parliament, and proclaimed themselves the Parliament of the Irish Republic. There are 166 members elected by proportional representation on a five-year basis. The prime minister is the Taoiseach.

J. A. Cannon

Dáil Éireann Lower House of the two-chamber Parliament of the Republic of Ireland (the Upper House is the Seanad Éireann). It has 166 members elected for five-year terms by a system of proportional representation.