1951 Irish general election

The 1951 Irish general election to the 14th Dáil was held on Wednesday, 30 May following the dissolution of the 13th Dáil on 7 May by President Seán T. O'Kelly on the request of Taoiseach John A. Costello. The general election took place in 40 Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 147 seats in Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas.

1951 Irish general election

← 1948 30 May 1951 1954 →
← outgoing members elected members →
147 seats in Dáil Éireann[a] 74 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	75.3% 1.1 pp
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 South Kildare Last election 68 seats, 41.9% 31 seats, 19.8% 14 seats, 11.3% (Nat. Lab.: 5 seats, 2.6%) Seats won 69 40 16 Seat change 1 9 3[b] Popular vote 616,212 349,922 151,828 Percentage 46.3% 25.8% 11.4% Swing 4.4 pp 6.0 pp 0.1 pp   Fourth party Fifth party   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 10 seats, 5.5% 10 seats, 13.3% Seats won 6 2 Seat change 4 8 Popular vote 38,872 54,210 Percentage 2.9% 4.1% Swing 2.6 pp 9.2 pp
Election results and first-preference votes in each constituency Number of seats gained by each party in each constituency
Taoiseach before election John A. Costello Fine Gael Taoiseach after election Éamon de Valera Fianna Fáil

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 forced Ireland's withdrawal from the British Commonwealth.

The 14th Dáil met at Leinster House on 13 June to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new government of Ireland. Costello failed to secure a majority, and Éamon de Valera was appointed Taoiseach, forming the 6th government of Ireland, a single-party minority Fianna Fáil government.

Campaign

Taoiseach John A. Costello inspects ranks of the Gárda Síochána in Glenties during the 1951 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 affair – which saw the resignation of the Minister for Health, Noël 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.

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

Result

Election to the 14th Dáil – 30 May 1951[3][4][5]
Party		Leader	Seats	±	% of seats	First pref. votes	% FPv	±%
	Fianna Fáil	Éamon de Valera	69[a]	+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[b]	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[a]	0	100	1,350,616	100	—
Electorate/Turnout						1,785,144	75.7	—

Voting summary

First preference vote Fianna Fáil   46.3% Fine Gael   25.8% Labour   11.4% Clann na Poblachta   4.1% Clann na Talmhan   2.9% Others   0.0% Independent   9.6%

Seats summary

Dáil seats Fianna Fáil   46.9% Fine Gael   27.2% Labour   10.9% Clann na Talmhan   4.1% Clann na Poblachta   1.4% Independent   9.5%

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 have enough seats to govern alone. However, the party was able to form a minority government with the support of Noël 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

Defeated TDs

• Mick Fitzpatrick
• John Friel
• Patrick Gorry
• James Kilroy
• Michael Lydon
• Michael Óg McFadden
• Martin O'Sullivan
• Robert Ryan

Retiring TDs

• Richard Walsh

Vacancies

• Sir John Esmonde (resigned)
• Joseph Mongan (deceased)

Seanad election

The Dáil election was followed by an election to the 7th Seanad.

Notes

1. Including Frank Fahy (FF), returned automatically for Galway South as outgoing Ceann Comhairle, under Art. 16.6 of the Constitution and the Electoral (Chairman of Dáil Éireann) Act 1937.^[1][2]
2. The Labour Party and the National Labour Party had reunited since the previous election. The figures for the Labour Party are compared to the two parties' combined totals in the previous election.