Irish general election, 1948
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Template:Politics of the Republic of Ireland The Irish general election of 1948 was held on February 4 1948. The 147 newly elected members of the 13th Dáil assembled on February 18 when the first Inter-Party government in the history of the Irish state was appointed.
The general election took place in 40 parliamentary constituencies throught the Republic of Ireland for 147 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann.
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Result
The results were as follows:
| Party | Leader | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # of Seats | Gain/Loss | % of Dáil | ||
| Fianna Fáil | Eamon de Valera | 68 | -8 | 46.258 |
| Fine Gael | Richard Mulcahy | 31 | +1 | 21.08 |
| Labour Party | William Norton | 14 | +6 | 9.523 |
| Clann na Poblachta | Seán MacBride | 10 | - | 6.80 |
| Clann na Talmhan | Joseph Blowick | 7 | -3 | 4.76 |
| National Labour | James Everett | 5 | +1 | 3.40 |
| Independents | 12 | +3 | 8.16 | |
| 147 | 0 | 100.0 | ||
When the votes were counted Fianna Fáil remained the largest party in spite of dropping 8 seats. Eamon de Valera's tactic of calling a snap general election succeeded in catching Clann na Poblachta off balance. In spite of the prediction of greter success the latter party only won 10 seats. The other parties remained roughly the same, with Fine Gael only gaining an extra seat. With Fianna Fáil remaining the largest party it looked as if it was the only one capable of forming a government.
Formation of the Coalition
After negotiations Fianna Fáil was unable to reach an agreement with National Labour and the Independents with a view to forming a government. It seemed inconceivanle that the other political parties could join together to oust Fianna Fáil, however, they did. A shared dislike of Fianna Fáil and Eamon de Valera overcame all other difficulties and the first Inter-Party government in the history of the Irish state was formed.
As the largest party in the government Fine Gael had the task of providing a nominee for Taoiseach. The natural choice was the party leader, Richard Mulcahy, however, republicans such as Seán MacBride refused to serve under the commander of the Free State forces during the civil war. Because of this, John A. Costello, a relatively unknown politician became Taoiseach. Mulcahy unselfishly stepped aside, taking the post of Minister for Education. William Norton, the leader of the Labour Party became Tánaiste and Minister for Social Welfare.
The new government looked weak and seemed unlikely to last. It consisted of a motley collection of political parties. There were young and old politicians, republicans and Free Staters, conservatives and socialists. The government's survival depended on the skill of Costello as Taoiseach, a united hatred of Fianna Fáil and the independence of various ministers.
In all the coalition lasted just over years and was very successful in several areas.
First time TDs
- Jack Lynch
- Noel Browne
- Joseph Hughes
- Patrick Crotty
- Thomas Walsh
- John Tully
- Patrick McGrath
- Michael Sheehan
- Patrick O'Gorman
- Seán Keane
- Dan Desmond
- Patrick Lehane
- Seán Collins
See also
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