1944 Irish general election

Calling the election

The outgoing Fianna Fáil government, formed on 1 July 1943, was a minority government. On 9 May 1944, it suffered a defeat in a vote to delay the second reading of its Transport Bill. Taoiseach Éamon de Valera sought a snap election, just one year after the previous election, in hopes of getting an overall majority.

It was the second election called under the General Elections (Emergency Provisions) Act 1943. The Act, intended to increase national security by minimising the interval during which no Dáil is in existence, subvented the requirement under the Constitution for the president to dissolve the Dáil before a general election took place, and was permitted under the state of emergency in effect during the Second World War.

The election was called in the early hours of 10 May but the Dáil met as scheduled that day, when an adjournment debate was held in which the opposition TDs condemned the decision to hold an election in wartime as unnecessary and reckless. The 11th Dáil was dissolved on 7 June 1944. The nature of the visit to the president to obtain the election was also criticised, with opposition figures noting that the President could have refused to proclaim a general election and might've done in different circumstances.

President Hyde called the election as per De Valera's, with the proclamation signed in the early hours of 10 May.

Campaign

The campaign was not wanted by the opposition parties. Fianna Fáil fought the election on its record in government and also in the hope of securing a fresh mandate for its policies. During the campaign Fine Gael put forward the proposal of forming a coalition government with the Labour Party and Clann na Talmhan; however, this was ridiculed by Fianna Fáil as untenable. National Labour had split from Labour in January 1944.

Due to the fractured nature of the opposition, Éamon de Valera's tactic of calling a snap general election succeeded, with Fianna Fáil increasing its share of seats, as it had in the previous snap elections of 1933 and 1938.

Result

|seats_% = 55.1 |fpv_% = 48.9 |seats_% = 21.8 |fpv_% = 20.5 |seats_% = 6.5 |fpv_% = 10.1 |seats_% = 5.8 |fpv_% = 8.8 |seats_% = 2.9 |fpv_% = 2.7 |seats_% = 0.7 |fpv_% = 0.8 |seats_% = 0 |fpv_% = 0.5 |seats_% = 7.2 |fpv_% = 7.8 |}

Voting summary

Seats summary

Government formation

Fianna Fáil formed the 4th government of Ireland, a majority government.

Changes in membership

First-time TDs

• Thomas Brennan
• Harry Colley
• Eamonn Coogan
• Walter Furlong
• Michael Lydon
• Patrick McAuliffe
• John S. O'Connor
• Mary Ryan

Re-elected TDs

• John A. Costello
• Frank Loughman
• Peter O'Loghlen
• Eamonn O'Neill
• Laurence Walsh
• Richard Walsh (regained seat)

Outgoing TDs

• Ernest Benson
• Sir John Esmonde, Bt
• James Larkin
• Timothy Linehan
• Richard Stapleton

Retiring TDs

• Jeremiah Ryan
• W. T. Cosgrave

Seanad election

The election was followed by an election to the 5th Seanad.

Notes

References

Sources

References

1. {{cite Irish legislation. (1937). (1 November 1937)
2. "12th Dáil 1944: Galway East".
3. "Proclamation of a General Election, 1944".
4. "Transport Bill, 1944—Second Stage—(Resumed). Dáil Éireann - 09 May 1944".
5. (1943). "Constitution of Ireland". [[Irish Statute Book]].
6. de Valera, Éamon. (10 May 1944). "Adjournment of the Dáil".
7. (14 April 1943). "General Elections (Emergency Provisions) Bill, 1943—Second Stage.". Oireachtas.
8. (8 June 1944). "Dáil dissolved". [[The Irish Times]].
9. "Leader of the Labour Party". Dáil Eireann, 10th May 1944.
10. "12th Dáil 1944 General Election". ElectionsIreland.org.
11. "Dáil elections since 1918". ARK Northern Ireland.
12. [[Maurice Manning]] (1972) notes that the Clann na Talmhan figure is often listed in error, due to the inclusion of Independent Farmer TDs in the CnaT total.
13. (2010). "Elections in Europe: A data handbook". Nomos.