# 1951 Irish general election

The 1951 Irish general election to the 14th Dáil was held on Wednesday, 30 May following the dissolution of the 13th Dáil on 7 May by President Seán T. O'Kelly on the request of Taoiseach John A. Costello. The general election took place in 40 Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 147 seats in Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas.
This election was the first election since the declaration of the Republic of Ireland on 18 April 1949 under the terms of The Republic of Ireland Act 1948, which forced Ireland's withdrawal from the British Commonwealth.
The 14th Dáil met at Leinster House on 13 June to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new government of Ireland. Costello failed to secure a majority, and Éamon de Valera was appointed Taoiseach, forming the 6th government of Ireland, a single-party minority Fianna Fáil government.

## Campaign

The 1951 general election was caused by a number of crises within the first inter-party government, most notably the Mother and Child Scheme. While the affair – which saw the resignation of the Minister for Health, Noël Browne – was not entirely to blame for the collapse of the government, it added to the disagreement between the various political parties. There were other problems facing the country, such as rising prices and balance-of-payments problems. Two farmer TDs withdrew their support for the government because of rising milk prices.
The coalition parties fought the general election on their record over the previous three years, while Fianna Fáil argued strongly against coalition governments.

## Result

Election to the 14th Dáil – 30 May 1951 :
| Party | Party | Leader | Seats | ± | % of seats | First pref. votes | % FPv | ±% |
| | Fianna Fáil | Éamon de Valera | 69 | +1 | 46.9 | 616,212 | 46.3 | +4.4 |
| | Fine Gael | Richard Mulcahy | 40 | +9 | 27.2 | 349,922 | 25.8 | +6.0 |
| | Labour | William Norton | 16 | –3 | 10.9 | 151,828 | 11.4 | +2.7 |
| | Clann na Talmhan | Joseph Blowick | 6 | –1 | 4.1 | 38,872 | 2.9 | –2.7 |
| | Clann na Poblachta | Seán MacBride | 2 | –8 | 1.4 | 54,210 | 4.1 | –9.1 |
| | Irish Workers' League | Michael O'Riordan | 0 | New | 0 | 295 | 0.0 | – |
| | Independent | N/A | 14 | +3 | 9.5 | 127,234 | 9.6 | +2.4 |
| Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | 12,043 | — | — |
| Total | Total | Total | 147 | 0 | 100 | 1,350,616 | 100 | — |
| Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | 1,785,144 | 75.7 | — |

### Voting summary

First preference vote
Fianna Fáil
46.3%
Fine Gael
25.8%
Labour
11.4%
Clann na Poblachta
4.1%
Clann na Talmhan
2.9%
Others
0.0%
Independent
9.6% :

### Seats summary

Dáil seats
Fianna Fáil
46.9%
Fine Gael
27.2%
Labour
10.9%
Clann na Talmhan
4.1%
Clann na Poblachta
1.4%
Independent
9.5% :

## Government formation

The election result was inconclusive. Fianna Fáil's support increased by 61,000 votes; however, the party only gained one additional seat. The coalition parties had mixed fortunes. Fine Gael were the big winners increasing to forty seats. The Labour Party had reunited in 1950, when the National Labour Party had merged back into the party but in spite of this, the party lost seats. Clann na Poblachta was the big loser of the election. Three years earlier the party had been a big political threat but now the party was shattered.
Fianna Fáil did not have enough seats to govern alone. However, the party was able to form a minority government with the support of Noël Browne, the sacked Minister for Health, and other Independent deputies.

## Changes in membership
### First-time TDs

* Philip Brady
* Joseph Brennan
* Patrick Cawley
* Declan Costello
* Patrick Crowe
* Liam Cunningham
* Percy Dockrell
* Peadar Duignan
* Anthony Esmonde
* John Fanning
* Michael ffrench-O'Carroll
* Seán Flanagan
* Colm Gallagher
* James Hession
* Patrick Hillery
* John Lynch
* Peadar Maher
* John Mannion Snr
* Michael Pat Murphy
* William Murphy
* Denis J. O'Sullivan

### Re-elected TDs

* Laurence Walsh

### Defeated TDs

* Mick Fitzpatrick
* John Friel
* Patrick Gorry
* James Kilroy
* Michael Lydon
* Michael Óg McFadden
* Martin O'Sullivan
* Robert Ryan

### Retiring TDs

* Richard Walsh

### Vacancies

* Sir John Esmonde (resigned)
* Joseph Mongan (deceased)

## Seanad election

The Dáil election was followed by an election to the 7th Seanad.