1948 Irish general election

Campaign

The general election of 1948 was called by the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera, in the hope of stopping the rise of a new party, Clann na Poblachta. In 1947 the rapid rise of Clann na Poblachta threatened the position of Fianna Fáil. The government of Éamon de Valera introduced the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1947 which increased the size of the Dáil from 138 to 147 and increased the number of three-seat constituencies from fifteen to twenty-two. The result was described by historian Tim Pat Coogan as "a blatant attempt at gerrymander which no Six County Unionist could have bettered."

Other issues were raised on the campaign that the parties had not foreseen. Fianna Fáil had enjoyed an uninterrupted sixteen years of dominance in government. Many people believed that the party had become stale and there was a strong desire for change. Although World War II had ended three years earlier, rationing continued, and massive inflation plagued the economy. A prolonged teachers' strike during the lifetime of the previous Dáil damaged the government due to its inability to settle the dispute. Bad weather added to the woes of the farmers, and poor harvests resulted in anger at the ballot box. Allegations that de Valera and Seán Lemass were involved in bribery and corruption raised questions about certain public officials.

Despite these issues, Fianna Fáil still expected to retain power. This prospect seemed very likely; however, an unlikely coalition was soon to be formed.

Result

|seats_% = 46.3 |fpv_% = 41.9 |seats_% = 21.1 |fpv_% = 19.8 |seats_% = 9.5 |fpv_% = 8.7 |seats_% = 6.8 |fpv_% = 13.2 |seats_% = 4.7 |fpv_% = 5.6 |seats_% = 3.4 |fpv_% = 2.6 |seats_% = 0.7 |fpv_% = 1.1 |seats_% = 0 |fpv_% = 0.0 |seats_% = 8.2 |fpv_% = 7.2 |}

Fianna Fáil dropped 8 seats but remained the largest party. Clann na Poblachta secured ten seats instead of the nineteen they would have received proportional to their vote. The other parties remained roughly the same, with Fine Gael only gaining an extra seat.

Voting summary

Seats summary

Government formation

Main article: 5th government of Ireland

The election left de Valera six seats short of a majority in the 147-seat Dáil. Fianna Fáil had long refused to enter a formal coalition with another party, instead preferring confidence and supply agreements with other parties when it was short of an outright majority. This time, however, de Valera was unable to reach an agreement with National Labour and the Independents to form a government.

It seemed unlikely that the other political parties could unite to oust Fianna Fáil. Between them, they only had one seat fewer than Fianna Fáil. If they could get the support of at least seven independents, they would be able to form a government. On paper, such a motley coalition appeared politically unrealistic. However, a shared dislike of Fianna Fáil and de Valera overcame all other difficulties to knock Fianna Fáil from power for the first time in 16 years.

As the largest party in the coalition, it was a foregone conclusion that Fine Gael would provide the nominee for Taoiseach. However, republicans such as Seán MacBride refused to serve under Fine Gael leader, Richard Mulcahy, the man who had been the commander of the National Army during the civil war. Since the other parties would have been 17 seats short of a majority (and indeed, would have been 11 seats behind Fianna Fáil) without MacBride, Mulcahy stepped aside in favour of John A. Costello, a relatively unknown politician and former Attorney General. Mulcahy, who remained leader of Fine Gael, became Minister for Education. William Norton, the leader of the Labour Party became Tánaiste and Minister for Social Welfare.

On paper, this new coalition government looked weak and seemed unlikely to last. It consisted of a patchwork collection of political parties. There were young and old politicians, republicans and Free Staters, conservatives and socialists. The government's survival depended on a united dislike of Fianna Fáil, the skill of Costello as Taoiseach and the independence of various ministers.

The coalition lasted over three years from February 1948 to May 1951.

Changes in membership

First time TDs

• Noël Browne
• James Collins
• Seán Collins
• Patrick Crotty
• Michael Davern
• Dan Desmond
• Seán Dunne
• Mick Fitzpatrick
• Joseph Hughes
• Seán Keane
• Michael F. Kitt
• Robert Lahiffe
• Con Lehane
• Patrick Lehane
• Jack Lynch
• Patrick McGrath
• Jack McQuillan
• Patrick Maguire
• Patrick O'Gorman
• Michael O'Higgins
• Tom O'Higgins
• John Ormonde
• Joseph Roddy
• Éamon Rooney
• Michael Sheehan
• Gerard Sweetman
• John Tully
• Thomas Walsh
• Eugene Gilbride

Re-elected TDs

• Sir John Esmonde, bt
• James Hickey

Retiring TDs

• William Broderick
• Frank Daly
• Peter O'Loghlen

Defeated TDs

• Andrew Fogarty
• Walter Furlong
• Frank Loughman
• John S. O'Connor
• Patrick Shanahan
• Leo Skinner
• Laurence Walsh

Seanad election

The election was followed by an election to the 6th Seanad.

Notes

References

References

1. {{cite Irish legislation. (1937). (1 November 1937)
2. {{cite Irish legislation. (1947). (27 November 1947)
3. "13th Dáil 1948: Galway South".
4. Coogan, Tim Pat. (1993). "De Valera: Long Fellow, Long Shadow". Hutchinson.
5. "13th Dáil 1948 General Election". ElectionsIreland.org.
6. "Dáil elections since 1918". ARK Northern Ireland.
7. (2010). "Elections in Europe: A data handbook".