1954 Irish general election

1954 Irish general election
← outgoing members elected members →
147 seats in Dáil Éireann; 74 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	76.5% 1.2 pp
	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 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.

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	—	—
Total			147	0	100	1,347,842	100	—
Electorate/Turnout						1,763,209	76.5%	—

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

Seanad election

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

Notes

^ ^a ^b 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]

References

^ Electoral (Chairman of Dail Eireann) Act 1937, s. 3: Re-election of outgoing Ceann Comhairle (No. 25 of 1937, s. 3). Enacted on 1 November 1937. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
^ "15th Dáil 1954: Clare". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
^ "Dail will be dissolved today". The Irish Times. 24 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
^ "Campaign begins with dissolution of the Dail". The Irish Times. 26 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
^ "Election results and transfer of votes in general election (May, 1954) for fifteenth Dáil and bye-elections to fourteenth Dáil (1951-1954)" (PDF). Houses of the Oireachtas. Dublin Stationery Office. February 1955. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
^ "15th Dáil 1954 General Election". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 3 June 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
^ "Dáil elections since 1918". ARK Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
^ Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook. Nomos. pp. 1009–1017. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.

[CC-3] 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]

[1] Electoral (Chairman of Dail Eireann) Act 1937, s. 3: Re-election of outgoing Ceann Comhairle (No. 25 of 1937, s. 3). Enacted on 1 November 1937. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.

[2] "15th Dáil 1954: Clare". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 12 July 2022.

[4] "Dail will be dissolved today". The Irish Times. 24 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 19 December 2022.

[5] "Campaign begins with dissolution of the Dail". The Irish Times. 26 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 19 December 2022.

[6] "Election results and transfer of votes in general election (May, 1954) for fifteenth Dáil and bye-elections to fourteenth Dáil (1951-1954)" (PDF). Houses of the Oireachtas. Dublin Stationery Office. February 1955. Retrieved 14 July 2022.

[7] "15th Dáil 1954 General Election". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 3 June 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2009.

[8] "Dáil elections since 1918". ARK Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2009.

[NS-9] Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook. Nomos. pp. 1009–1017. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.

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