Irish general election, 1951

The 1951 Irish general election was held on Wednesday, 30 May 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 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

The 1951 general election 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 over the previous three years, while Fianna Fáil argued strongly against coalition governments.

Result

Voting summary

Seats summary

Government formation

The election result was inconclusive. Fianna Fáil's support increased by 61,000 votes; however, the party only gained one additional 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 minority government with the support of Noel Browne, the sacked Minister for Health, and other Independent deputies.

Changes in membership

First-time TDs

* Philip Brady
*Joseph Brennan
* Patrick Cawley
* Declan Costello
* Patrick Crowe
*Liam Cunningham
* Percy Dockrell
* Peadar Duignan
* Anthony Esmonde
* John Fanning
* Michael ffrench-O'Carroll
*Seán Flanagan
* Colm Gallagher
* James Hession
*Patrick Hillery
* John Lynch
* Peadar Maher
* John Mannion Snr
* Michael Pat Murphy
* William Murphy
* Denis J. O'Sullivan

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)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish General Election, 1951
1951 elections in Europe
General election, 1951
1951
14th Dáil
General election
May 1951 events in Europe