1954 Irish general election

1954 Irish general election

18 May 1954
146 of 147 seats in Dáil Éireann 74 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	76.5% 1.2pp
First party Second party Third party   100px 105px Leader Éamon de Valera Richard Mulcahy William Norton Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Labour Party Leader since 26 March 1926 1944 1932 Leader's seat Clare Tipperary Kildare Last election 69 seats, 46.3% 40 seats, 25.8% 16 seats, 11.4% Seats before 67 42 15 Seats won 65 50 19 Seat change 2 8 3 Percentage 43.4% 32.0% 12.1% Swing 2.9% 6.2% 0.7%   Fourth party Fifth party   CnaT 100px 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 6 seats, 2.9% 2 seats, 4.1% Seats before 6 2 Seats won 5 3 Seat change 1 1 Percentage 3.8% 3.1% Swing 0.9% 1.0%
Percentage of seats gained by each of the five biggest parties, and number of seats gained by smaller parties and independents.
Taoiseach before election Éamon de Valera Fianna Fáil Taoiseach after election John A. Costello Fine Gael

The 1954 Irish general election was held on 18 May 1954. The newly elected members of the 15th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 2 June when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed.

The general election took place in 40 parliamentary constituencies throughout Ireland for 147 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann.

Campaign

The general election of 1954 was caused by the loss of an overall majority for the ruling Fianna Fáil party in the Dáil. Rather than be voted down on a vote in the Dáil, Éamon de Valera decided to call a general election and let the people decide.

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.

On the other hand, the opposition parties of Fine Gael, the Labour Party and the other minor parties offered the electorate an alternative to three years of Fianna Fáil rule. While they could not solve the economic problems facing the country, they could provide fresh ideas.

Result

15th Irish general election – 18 May 1954

Party		Leader	Seats	±	% of seats	First Pref votes	% FPv	±%
	Fianna Fáil	Éamon de Valera	65	–4	44.2	578,960	43.4	–2.9
	Fine Gael	Richard Mulcahy	50	+10	34.0	427,031	32.0	+6.2
	Labour Party	William Norton	19	+2	12.9	161,034	12.1	+0.7
	Clann na Talmhan	Joseph Blowick	5	–1	3.4	51,069	3.8	+0.9
	Clann na Poblachta	Seán MacBride	3	+1	2.0	41,249	3.1	–1.0
	Sinn Féin	Margaret Buckley	0	New	0	1,990	0.1	–
	National Action		0	New	0	1,430	0.1	–
	Young Ireland		0	New	0	1,037	0.1	–
	Irish Workers League	Michael O'Riordan	0	0	0	375	0.0	0.0
style="background-color: Template:Independent politicians in Ireland/meta/color; width: 1px;" |	[[Independent politicians in Ireland|Template:Independent politicians in Ireland/meta/shortname]]	N/A	5	–9	3.4	70,937	5.3	–4.3
Spoilt votes						12,730	—	—
Total			147	0	100	1,347,842	100	—
Electorate/Turnout						1,763,209	76.5%	—

• Second Inter-Party Government which consisted of Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Clann na Talmhan was formed.

Voting summary

First preference vote
Fianna Fáil			43.36%
Fine Gael			31.98%
Labour			12.06%
Clann na Talmhan			3.82%
Clann na Poblachta			3.09%
Others			0.36%
Independent			5.31%

Seats summary

Assembly seats
Fianna Fáil			44.22%
Fine Gael			34.01%
Labour			12.93%
Clann na Talmhan			3.40%
Clann na Poblachta			2.04%
Independent			3.40%

First time TDs

• Paudge Brennan
• James Burke
• Johnny Connor
• Fintan Coogan Snr
• Edward Cotter
• Paddy Donegan
• Nicholas Egan
• Johnny Geoghegan
• Brendan Glynn
• Richard Gogan
• Edward Kelly
• Henry Kenny
• Denis Larkin
• Patrick Lindsay
• Celia Lynch
• John Moher
• Maureen O'Carroll
• John O'Donovan
• Donogh O'Malley
• James Tully

By-elections

• Kathleen O'Connor

Outgoing TDs

• Patrick Boland (Retired)
• Patrick Browne (Lost seat)
• Patrick Cawley (Lost seat)
• Peadar Duignan (Retired)
• Michael ffrench-O'Carroll (Lost seat)
• Patrick Little (Retired)
• Patrick Maguire (Retired)
• Patrick O'Gorman (Lost seat)
• Matthew O'Reilly (Lost seat)
• James Reidy (Lost seat)
• P. J. Ruttledge (Deceased)
• Laurence Walsh (Lost seat)

See also

• Members of the 15th Dáil
• Government of the 15th Dáil
• Parliamentary Secretaries of the 15th Dáil