1951 Irish general election

1951 Irish general election

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146 of 147 seats in Dáil Éireann 74 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	75.3% 1.1pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Éamon de Valera Richard Mulcahy William Norton Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Labour Leader since 26 March 1926 1944 1932 Leader's seat Clare Tipperary Kildare Last election 68 seats, 41.9% 31 seats, 19.8% 19 seats, 11.3%[1] Seats before 66 32 19 Seats won 69 40 16 Seat change 3 8 3 Percentage 46.3% 25.8% 11.4% Swing 4.4% 6.0% 0.1%   Fourth party Fifth party   CnaT Leader Joseph Blowick Seán MacBride Party Clann na Talmhan Clann na Poblachta Leader since 1944 1946 Leader's seat Mayo South Dublin South-West Last election 7 seats, 5.5% 10 seats, 13.3% Seats before 7 10 Seats won 6 2 Seat change 1 8 Percentage 2.9% 4.1% Swing 2.6% 9.2%
Percentage of seats gained by each of the five biggest parties, and number of seats gained by smaller parties and independents.
Taoiseach before election John A. Costello Fine Gael Taoiseach after election Éamon de Valera Fianna Fáil

The 1951 Irish general election was held on Wednesday, 30 May 1951 in 40 Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 147 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann.

This election was the first election since the declaration of the Republic of Ireland on 18 April 1949 under the terms of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, which automatically forced Ireland's withdrawal from the British Commonwealth.

The newly elected members of the 14th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 13 June. Éamon de Valera was appointed Taoiseach and formed the 6th Government of Ireland, a single-party minority Fianna Fáil government.

Campaign[]

An Taoiseach John A. Costello inspects ranks of An Gárda Síochána in Glenties during the 1951 campaign

The general election of 1951 was caused by a number of crises within the First Inter-Party Government, most notably the Mother and Child Scheme. While the whole affair – which saw the resignation of the Minister for Health, Noel Browne – was not entirely to blame for the collapse of the government, it added to the disagreement between the various political parties. There were other problems facing the country, such as rising prices and balance-of-payments problems. Two farmer TDs withdrew their support for the government because of rising milk prices.

Although the First Inter-Party Government was now coming to an end, it had a number of achievements. It proved that the country could be led by a group other than Fianna Fáil. It also provided a fresh perspective after sixteen years of government by that party.

The coalition parties fought the general election on their record on government over the previous three years, while Fianna Fáil argued strongly against coalition governments.

Result[]

Election to the 14th Dáil – 30 May 1951[2][3][4]
Party		Leader	Seats	±	% of seats	First pref. votes	% FPv	±%
	Fianna Fáil	Éamon de Valera	69	+1	46.9	616,212	46.3	+4.4
	Fine Gael	Richard Mulcahy	40	+9	27.2	349,922	25.8	+6.0
	Labour	William Norton	16	–3[1]	10.9	151,828	11.4	+2.7
	Clann na Talmhan	Joseph Blowick	6	–1	4.1	38,872	2.9	–2.7
	Clann na Poblachta	Seán MacBride	2	–8	1.4	54,210	4.1	–9.1
	Irish Workers' League	Michael O'Riordan	0	New	0	295	0.0	–
	Independent	N/A	14	+3	9.5	127,234	9.6	+2.4
Spoilt votes						12,043	—	—
Total			147	0	100	1,350,616	100	—
Electorate/Turnout						1,785,144	75.7%	—

The election result was inconclusive. Fianna Fáil's support increased by 61,000 votes; however, the party only gained one extra seat. The coalition parties had mixed fortunes. Fine Gael were the big winners increasing to forty seats. The Labour Party had reunited in 1950, when the National Labour Party had merged back into the party but in spite of this the party lost seats. Clann na Poblachta was the big loser of the election. Three years earlier the party had been a big political threat but now the party was shattered.

Fianna Fáil did not enough seats to govern alone. However, the party was able to form a government with the support of Noel Browne, the sacked Minister for Health, and other Independent deputies.

Voting summary[]

Seats summary[]

First-time TDs[]

Re-elected TDs[]

• Laurence Walsh

Outgoing TDs[]

• Sir John Esmonde (retired)
• Mick Fitzpatrick (lost seat)
• John Friel (lost seat)
• Patrick Gorry (lost seat)
• James Kilroy (lost seat)
• Michael Lydon (lost seat)
• Michael Óg McFadden (lost seat)
• Joseph Mongan (deceased)
• Martin O'Sullivan (lost seat)
• Robert Ryan (lost seat)
• Richard Walsh (retired)

References[]