1954 Irish general election

The 1954 Irish general election to elect the 15th Dáil was held on Tuesday, 18 May, following the dissolution of the 14th Dáil on 24 April by President Seán T. O'Kelly on the request of Taoiseach Éamon de Valera. The general election took place in 40 Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 147 seats in Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas.

1954 Irish general election

← 1951 18 May 1954 1957 →
← outgoing members elected members →
147 seats in Dáil Éireann[a] 74 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	76.5% 1.2 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 69 seats, 46.3% 40 seats, 25.8% 16 seats, 11.4% Seats won 65 50 19 Seat change 4 8 3 Popular vote 578,960 427,031 161,034 Percentage 43.4% 32.0% 12.1% Swing 2.9 pp 6.2 pp 0.7 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 6 seats, 2.9% 2 seats, 4.1% Seats won 5 3 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 51,069 41,249 Percentage 3.8% 3.1% Swing 0.9 pp 1.0 pp
Election results and first-preference votes in each constituency Number of seats gained by each party in each constituency
Taoiseach before election Éamon de Valera Fianna Fáil Taoiseach after election John A. Costello Fine Gael

The 15th Dáil met at Leinster House on 2 June to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new government of Ireland. De Valera failed to secure a majority, and John A. Costello was appointed Taoiseach, forming the second inter-party government, a minority coalition of Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Clann na Talmhan.

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 called a general election.^[3][4]

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, the Labour Party and the other minor parties offered the electorate an alternative to three years of Fianna Fáil rule.

Result

Election to the 15th Dáil – 18 May 1954[5][6][7][8]
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	William Norton	19[a]	+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
	Independent	N/A	5	–9	3.4	70,937	5.3	–4.3
Spoilt votes						12,730	—N/a	—N/a
Total			147	0	100	1,347,842	100	—N/a
Electorate/Turnout						1,763,209	76.5%	—N/a

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

Dáil 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%

Government formation

Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Clann na Talmhan formed the second inter-party government, a minority government, dependent on the support of Clann na Poblachta.

Changes in membership

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

Retiring TDs

• Patrick Boland
• Peadar Duignan
• Patrick Little
• Patrick Maguire

Defeated TDs

• Patrick Browne
• Patrick Cawley
• Michael ffrench-O'Carroll
• Patrick O'Gorman
• Matthew O'Reilly
• James Reidy
• Laurence Walsh

Seanad election

The Dáil election was followed by an election to the 8th Seanad.

Notes

1. Including Patrick Hogan (Lab), returned automatically for Clare as outgoing Ceann Comhairle, under Art. 16.6 of the Constitution and the Electoral (Chairman of Dáil Éireann) Act 1937.^[1][2]