[1] Of the two main political parties, the larger (Cumann na nGaedheal) did not formally endorse any candidates, while the other (Sinn Féin, whose TDs were abstentionist) boycotted the election.

As well as this cohort up for election in 1925, four additional Senators were required to vacate their seats: these had been temporarily co-opted to fill casual vacancies that had arisen in previous years.

[14] Donal O'Sullivan, clerk of the Seanad throughout its existence, suggests that these 18 had an incentive to vote for less popular candidates since the nominees would be rivals in the ensuing election.

[17] The rejected ten were: David Barry, general manager of the British and Irish Steam Packet Company; Sir Laurence Grattan Esmonde, brother of Senator Thomas Grattan Esmonde, Bart; Lady Gregory; John Horgan; Hugh Law; John McCann, a stockbroker; The McGillicuddy of the Reeks; William Lombard Murphy, son of William Martin Murphy and proprietor of the Irish Independent; Sir John Harley Scott, a Unionist former Mayor of Cork; and J.J. Stafford, a County Wexford businessman.

[16][18] Cumann na nGaedheal, the party which backed the incumbent government, decided not to formally support any candidates as a result of internal divisions.

The 1924 Army Mutiny had shaken the year-old party, and the appointment of public servants to lead the new state's institutions created resentment among those passed over.

[7] The usual Irish local, personal canvassing strategy was impractical across a nationwide constituency, leading to a relatively quiet campaign.

[19] Numerous interest groups produced lists of approved candidates, including doctors, publicans, motorists, ex-servicemen's associations, and the livestock trade.

[25] The Catholic Truth Society circulated, to little effect,[27] a list of outgoing Senators it condemned for not having opposed a controversial motion pertaining to divorce.

[31][32] The low voter turnout was blamed on the Sinn Féin boycott,[30][33] wet weather across the country,[25][30] and the shorter than usual hours of polling.

[25] Another factor was the large, intimidating ballot paper;[25] O'Sullivan describes it as "a fiasco",[30] saying it was unreasonable to expect voters to "make an intelligent choice of nineteen persons from a list containing seventy-six names, most of which they had never seen or heard of before.

[40][41] Others did not — doctors,[40] academics, women, and especially Irish language revivalists: all four candidates supported by the Gaelic League lost, including outgoing Senator and future president Douglas Hyde.

[41][42] The Irish Times (Sept. 24, 1925) reported that licensed liquor dealers, ex-soldiers, farmers, doctors and businessmen received their due in the election.

[2] Ex-Unionist candidates did not fare well, even though the original design of the Seanad was intended in part to provide enhanced representation for the unionist minority.

[49] Political scientist Harold Foote Gosnell wrote of the election, "the ballot is a confusing one and the size of the constituency makes electioneering difficult.

"[50] In 1928, in the lead-up to the next triennial Seanad election, the Oireachtas formed a joint committee to change the selection procedures.