Following the outbreak of the War of Independence in January 1919, the British Government decided to suppress the Dáil, and on 10 September 1919 Dáil Éireann was declared a dangerous association and was prohibited. The Dáil continued to meet in secret, and Ministers carried out their duties as best they could. In all, the Dáil held fourteen sittings in 1919. Of these, four were public and ten private. Three private sittings were held in 1920 and four in 1921.

The First Dáil and the general election of 1918 have come to occupy a central place in Irish republicanism. The 1918 general election was the last occasion on which the entire island of Ireland voted in a single election held on a single day. The landslide victory for Sinn Féin was seen as an overwhelming endorsement of the principle of a united independent Ireland.

(First meeting 21 January) At this meeting Éamon de Valera is elected President and Michael Collins, Minister for Finance. Other appointments for a parliament that were not recognised by England were:

Minister for Home Affairs: Arthur Griffith

Minister for Foreign Affairs: Count Plunkett

Minister for Defense: Cathal Brugha

Minister for Labour: Constance Markievicz

Minister for Local Government: W. T. Cosgrave

Minister for Industries: Eoin MacNeill

Minister for Irish: Seán T. O’Kelly