1954 Irish General Election
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 1954 Irish general election to elect the
15th Dáil The 15th Dáil was elected at the 1954 general election on 14 May 1954 and met on 2 June 1954. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature), of Ireland are known as TDs. It sat with the 8th Seana ...
was held on Tuesday, 18 May, following the dissolution of the
14th Dáil The 14th Dáil was elected at the 1951 Irish general election, 1951 general election on 30 May 1951 and met on 13 June 1951. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature), of Republic of Ireland, Ire ...
on 24 April by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Seán T. O'Kelly Seán Thomas O'Kelly (; 25 June 1882 – 23 November 1966), originally John T. O'Kelly, was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the second president of Ireland from June 1945 to June 1959. He also served as deputy prime minister of Ir ...
on the request of
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
. The general election took place in 40
Dáil constituencies There are 43 multi-member electoral districts, known as Dáil constituencies, to elect 174 Teachta Dála, TDs to Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas, Republic of Ireland, Ireland's parliament, on the system of propor ...
throughout Ireland for 147 seats in
Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...
, the house of representatives of the
Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...
. The 15th Dáil met at
Leinster House Leinster House () is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Duke of Leinster, Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it has been a complex of buildings which houses Oirea ...
on 2 June to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new
government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...
. De Valera failed to secure a majority, and
John A. Costello John Aloysius Costello (20 June 1891 – 5 January 1976) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957. He was leader of the opposition from 1951 to 1954 and from 1957 to 1959 and attorney gene ...
was appointed
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
, forming the
second inter-party government The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...
, a minority coalition of
Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...
, the Labour Party and
Clann na Talmhan Clann na Talmhan (, "Family/Children of the land"; formally known as the ''National Agricultural Party'') was an Irish agrarian political party active between 1939 and 1965. Formation and growth Clann na Talmhan was founded on 29 June 1939 in ...
.


Campaign

After the 1951 general election, Fianna Fáil had formed a minority single-party government. Shortly after the Minister for Finance, Seán McEntee, had delivered the 1954 budget,
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
called a general election. Fianna Fáil had the most to lose, their campaign concentrated on providing political stability for the next five years. They also put forward strong arguments against coalition governments. However, this would not suffice when the country's economy was worsening and unemployment and emigration were increasing. The opposition parties of
Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...
, the Labour Party and the other minor parties offered the electorate an alternative to three years of Fianna Fáil rule.


Result


Voting summary


Seats summary


Government formation

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...
, the Labour Party and
Clann na Talmhan Clann na Talmhan (, "Family/Children of the land"; formally known as the ''National Agricultural Party'') was an Irish agrarian political party active between 1939 and 1965. Formation and growth Clann na Talmhan was founded on 29 June 1939 in ...
formed the
second inter-party government The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...
, a minority government, dependent on the support of
Clann na Poblachta Clann na Poblachta (; "Family/Children of the Republic") was an Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed var ...
.


Changes in membership


First time TDs

*
Paudge Brennan Patrick Brennan (18 February 1922 – 10 June 1998) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who sat for 25 years as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wicklow constituency, and was briefly a senator. Early life Patrick Brennan was born on 18 February 19 ...
* James Burke * Johnny Connor * Fintan Coogan Snr * Edward Cotter *
Paddy Donegan Patrick Sarsfield Donegan (29 October 1923 – 26 November 2000) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a government of Ireland, government minister from 1973 to 1977. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1954 to 1957 and 1961 to 1981 ...
* Nicholas Egan *
Johnny Geoghegan John Geoghegan (; 5 November 1913 – 5 January 1975) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for more than twenty years. Geoghegan was elected to Dáil Éireann on his first attempt, at the 1954 general electio ...
* Brendan Glynn *
Richard Gogan Richard P. Gogan (29 November 1899 – 28 April 1982) was a member of the Irish Volunteers who fought in the 1916 Easter Rising. In later life, he became a Fianna Fáil politician. Early and personal life He was the son of William J. Gogan and ...
* Edward Kelly * Henry Kenny *
Denis Larkin Denis Larkin (8 June 1908 – 2 July 1987) was an Irish Labour Party (Ireland), Labour Party politician and trade union official. Early life He was born 8 June 1908 in Rostrevor, County Down, the second of four sons of the Irish trade unionist ...
* Patrick Lindsay * Celia Lynch * John Moher *
Maureen O'Carroll Maureen O'Carroll (; 29 March 1913 – 9 May 1984) was an Irish Labour Party (Ireland), Labour Party politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-Central (Dáil constituency), Dublin North-Central constituency from 1954 to ...
*
John O'Donovan John O'Donovan may refer to: *John O'Donovan (scholar) (1806–1861), Irish language scholar and place-name expert *John O'Donovan (politician) (1908–1982), Irish TD and Senator *John O'Donovan (police commissioner) (1858–1927), New Zealand pol ...
*
Donogh O'Malley Donogh Brendan O'Malley (18 January 1921 – 10 March 1968) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and rugby union player who served as Minister for Education from 1966 to 1968, Minister for Health from 1965 to 1966 and Parliamentary Secretary ...
* James Tully


Retiring TDs

* Patrick Boland * Peadar Duignan * Patrick Little * Patrick Maguire


Defeated TDs

* Patrick Browne * Patrick Cawley * Michael ffrench-O'Carroll *
Patrick O'Gorman Patrick James O'Gorman was an Irish Fine Gael politician. A shopkeeper, he was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork East constituency at the 1948 general election, and was re-elected at the 1951 general election. He ...
* Matthew O'Reilly *
James Reidy James Reidy (1890 – 7 December 1963) was an Irish politician. He was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Cumann na nGaedheal Teachta Dála (TD) for the Limerick constituency at the 1932 general election. He was re-elected at the 1933 general elec ...
* Laurence Walsh


Seanad election

The Dáil election was followed by an election to the
8th Seanad The 8th Seanad was in office from 1954 to 1957. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1954 general election to the 15th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 9th Seana ...
.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish General Election, 1954 General election, 1954
1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
15th Dáil
General election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
May 1954 in Europe 1954 elections in Europe