Page "Cumann na nGaedheal" Paragraph 12

The party's support base gradually slipped to Éamon de Valera's new party Fianna Fáil after its inception in 1926.

Cosgrave's Cumann na nGaedheal became solely identified with protecting the treaty and defending the new State while it seemed pre-occupied with public safety.

Economically the party favoured balanced budgets and free trade at a time when its opponents advocated protectionism.

The weak economy of the Free State suffered during the Great Depression.

Nonetheless it came as a surprise when Cumann na nGaedheal was defeated by Fianna Fáil in the general election of February 1932, winning only 57 seats to Fianna Fáil's 72.