1954 Irish general election

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.

1954 Irish general election
18 May 1954
146 of 147 seats in Dáil Éireann
74 seats needed for a majority
Turnout76.5% 1.2pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
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
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

 Subsequent Taoiseach

John A. Costello
Fine Gael

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[1][2][3]
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
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
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

By-elections

Outgoing TDs

See also

References
  1. "15th Dáil 1954 General Election". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  2. "Dáil elections since 1918". ARK Northern Ireland. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  3. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, pp1009-1017 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
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