Irish general election, 1965
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The Irish general election of 1965 was held on 7 April 1965. The newly elected members of the 18th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 21 April when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed.
The general election took place in 42 parliamentary constituencies throughout Ireland for 144 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann.
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[edit] Campaign
The general election of 1965 was caused by the ruling Fianna Fáil party's failure to gain a seat in a by-election. The success of Eileen Desmond of the Labour Party in Cork Mid in holding a seat previously held by her husband Dan Desmond, led to an unacceptable mathematical situation with regard to the government's majority. The Taoiseach, Seán Lemass immediately dissolved the Dáil and the campaign began in earnest.
Fianna Fáil ran its campaign on its record in government. Over the last number of years the economy had seen a huge improvement and the party played up on its record in government. The party also played up heavily on the personality of the party leader with the slogan "Let Lemass Lead On". Fine Gael put forward a comprehensive manifesto, which included the establishment of a government department concerned with economic planning. However, the older, conservative members of the party did not warm to the new turn the party was taking.
[edit] Result
| Party | Leader | Seats | ± | % of seats | First Pref votes | % FPv | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fianna Fáil | Seán Lemass | 72 | +2 | 50.0 | 47.7 | +3.9 | ||
| Fine Gael | James Dillon | 47 | ±0 | 32.6 | 34.1 | +2.1 | ||
| Labour Party | Brendan Corish | 21 | +6 | 14.6 | 15.4 | +3.7 | ||
| Clann na Poblachta | Seán MacBride[3] | 1 | ±0 | 0.7 | 0.8 | –0.3 | ||
| Independent | N/A | 2 | –4 | 1.4 | 2.0 | |||
| Ceann Comhairle | N/A | 1 | N/A | 0.7 | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Total | 144 | 0 | 100 | 100 | — | |||
- Fianna Fáil majority government formed.
The general election gave Fianna Fáil an extra two seats, and with it an overall majority in the Dáil. Seán Lemass continued as Taoiseach. James Dillon resigned as leader of Fine Gael immediately after the result was announced.
[edit] First time TDs
- David Andrews
- Luke Belton
- Ben Briscoe
- Flor Crowley
- Tom Fitzpatrick (Cavan)
- Tom Fitzpatrick (Dublin)
- James Kennedy
- Patrick Lenihan
- Gerry L'Estrange
- Michael Lyons
- Bobby Molloy
- John O'Connell
- Michael O'Leary
- Pearse Wyse
[edit] Re-elected TDs
[edit] Outgoing TDs
- Gerald Bartley (Retired)
- Seán Brady (Lost seat)
- Robert Briscoe (Retired)
- Dan Breen (Retired)
- Joseph Blowick (Retired)
- John Moher (Lost seat)
- Denis J. O'Sullivan (Lost seat)
- James Ryan (Retired)
- Eugene Timmons (Lost seat)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "18th Dáil 1965 General Election". ElectionsIreland.org. http://electionsireland.org/results/general/18dail.cfm. Retrieved on 31 May 2009.
- ^ "Dáil elections since 1918". ARK Northern Ireland. http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/gdala.htm. Retrieved on 31 May 2009.
- ^ After the election, while Seán MacBride was leader of Clann na Poblachta, John Tully became leader and the sole member of the parliamentary party.
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