Irish general election, 1954
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The Irish general election of 1954 was held on May 14, 1954. The newly elected members of the 15th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on June 2 when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed.
The general election took place in 40 parliamentary constituencies throughout the Republic of Ireland for 147 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann.
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[edit] Campaign
The general election of 1954 was caused by the loss of an overall majority for the ruling Fianna Fáil party in the Dáil. A series of by-election defeats were to blame for this. 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. In fact, Éamon de Valera's government of 1951 to 1954 has been described as his worst.
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.
[edit] Result
| 15th Irish General Election – 14 May 1954 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Leader | # of Seats |
Gains/ Losses |
% of Dáil |
% of Votes |
|
| Fianna Fáil | Éamon de Valera | 65 | -4 | 44.2 | 43.4 | |
| Fine Gael | Richard Mulcahy | 50 | +10 | 34.0 | 32.0 | |
| Labour Party | William Norton | 18 | +3 | 12.3 | 12.0 | |
| Clann na Talmhan | Joseph Blowick | 5 | +1 | 3.4 | ||
| Clann na Poblachta | Seán MacBride | 3 | -1 | 2.0 | ||
| Independents | 5 | -9 | 3.4 | |||
| Ceann Comhairle (Speaker) | 1 | - | 0.7 | - | ||
| Totals | 147 | 0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | ||
| Second Inter-Party government formed. | ||||||
The second Inter-Party Government which consisted of Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Clann na Talmhan was formed.
[edit] First time TDs
[edit] By-elections
[edit] Retiring TDs
[edit] See also
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