# 1979 European Parliament election in Ireland

Members of the European Parliament for Ireland :
| 1st delegation | (1973) |
| 2nd delegation | (1973–1977) |
| 3rd delegation | (1977–1979) |
| 1st term | (1979) |
| 2nd term | (1984) |
| 3rd term | (1989) |
| 4th term | (1994) |
| 5th term | (1999) |
| 6th term | (2004) |
| 7th term | (2009) |
| 8th term | (2014) |
| 9th term | (2019) |
| 10th term | (2024) |
Women :
vte :
The 1979 European Parliament election in Ireland was the Irish component of the 1979 European Parliament election. These were the first direct elections to the European Parliament, and the first election to be held simultaneously across the entire Island of Ireland since the 1921 Irish elections. The election was conducted under the single transferable vote.

## Constituencies

Ireland was entitled to 15 MEPs who were elected on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV) in four constituencies based on the provinces of Ireland:
* Connacht–Ulster (3 seats);
* Dublin (4 seats);
* Leinster (3 seats);
* Munster (5 seats).

## Results

1979 election to the European Parliament in Ireland :
| Party | Party | Group | Group | Leader | 1st pref | FPv% | Seats |
| | Fianna Fáil | | EPD | Jack Lynch | 464,451 | 34.7 | 5 |
| | Fine Gael | | EPP | Garret FitzGerald | 443,652 | 33.1 | 4 |
| | Labour | | SOC | Frank Cluskey | 193,898 | 14.5 | 4 |
| | Independent Fianna Fáil | | CDI | Neil Blaney | 81,522 | 6.1 | 1 |
| | Sinn Féin The Workers' Party | | | Tomás Mac Giolla | 43,942 | 3.3 | 0 |
| | Independent | | | | 111,607 | 8.3 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 1,339,072 | 100.0 | 15 |

### MEPs elected

| Constituency | Name | Party | EP group |
| Connacht–Ulster | Neil Blaney | Independent Fianna Fáil | CDI |
| Connacht–Ulster | Joe McCartin | Fine Gael | EPP |
| Connacht–Ulster | Seán Flanagan | Fianna Fáil | EPD |
| Dublin | Richie Ryan | Fine Gael | EPP |
| Dublin | John O'Connell | Labour | SOC |
| Dublin | Síle de Valera | Fianna Fáil | EPD |
| Dublin | Michael O'Leary | Labour | SOC |
| Leinster | Mark Clinton | Fine Gael | EPP |
| Leinster | Patrick Lalor | Fianna Fáil | EPD |
| Leinster | Liam Kavanagh | Labour | SOC |
| Munster | T.J. Maher | Independent | ELDR |
| Munster | Eileen Desmond | Labour | SOC |
| Munster | Tom O'Donnell | Fine Gael | EPP |
| Munster | Jerry Cronin | Fianna Fáil | EPD |
| Munster | Noel Davern | Fianna Fáil | EPD |

### Voting details

| Constituency | Electorate | Turnout | Spoilt | Valid Poll | Quota | Seats | Candidates |
| Connacht–Ulster | 442,471 | 320,713 (72.5%) | 14,547 (4.5%) | 306,166 | 76,542 | 3 | 11 |
| Dublin | 618,454 | 304,068 (49.2%) | 8,653 (2.8%) | 295,415 | 59,084 | 4 | 13 |
| Leinster | 486,248 | 322,312 (66.30%) | 15,416 (4.80%) | 306,896 | 61,380 | 3 | 9 |
| Munster | 641,625 | 445,192 (69.40%) | 14,597 (3.3%) | 430,595 | 71,766 | 5 | 13 |
| Total | 2,188,798 | 1,392,285 (63.6%) | 53,213 (3.8%) | 1,339,072 | — | 15 | 46 |

## Aftermath

Provisional Sinn Féin did not to contest the election. However, the relative success of Bernadette McAliskey in Northern Ireland helped prompt Sinn Féin to stand in subsequent European elections.