Irish general election, 1948

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John A. Costello
Second Taoiseach

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 throughout the Irish Free State for 147 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann. The 1948 General Election is considered one of the most important elections in 20th Century Ireland, as it paved the way for the first inter-party government.

Campaign

The general election of 1948 caused by a desire by the Taoiseach, Eamon de Valera, to catch the new party, Clann na Poblachta, by surprise, thus limiting its vote. The tactic succeeded, however, a number of other issues were raised on the campaign that the parties didn't foresee.

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 a fresh change. In spite of the fact that World War II had ended three years earlier, rationing still continued and the economy still hadn't adjusted properly. As a result there was massive inflation. A prolonged teachers strike during the lifetime of the previous Dáil damaged the government due to its inability to settle dispute. Bad weather added to the woes of the farmers and poor harvests resulted in anger at the ballot box. Also, allegations that Eamon de Valera and Seán F. Lemass were involved in bribery and corruption raised questions about certain public officials.

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

Result

The results were as follows:

1

10

3

0

9

Party	Leader	Seats			First Preferences
		# of Seats	Gain/Loss	% of Dáil	# of Votes	%
Fianna Fáil	Eamon de Valera	68	align="right"
46.25		41.9
Fine Gael	Richard Mulcahy	31	align="right"
21.08		19.8
Labour Party	William Norton	14	align="right"
9.52
Clann na Poblachta	Seán MacBride	10	align="right"
6.8
Clann na Talmhan	Joseph Blowick	7	align="right"
4.76
National Labour	James Everett	5	+1	3.40
Independents		12	align="right"
8.16
Others		0	align="right"
		147	align="right"
100.0		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 greater 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

Seán MacBride and his party became the king-makers of the government.

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 with a view to forming a government. It seemed unlikely that the other political parties could join together to oust Fianna Fáil. 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 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. 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 unselfishly stepped aside in favour of John A. Costello, a relatively unknown politician and former Attorney General. Mulcahy, who remained nominal 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 motley 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 hatred of Fianna Fáil, the skill of Costello as Taoiseach and the independence of various ministers.

In all the coalition lasted over three years and was successful in several areas.

First time TDs

• Noel Browne (becomes Minister for Health on his first day in the Dáil)
• Jack Lynch
• Joseph Hughes
• Patrick Crotty
• Thomas Walsh
• John Tully
• Patrick McGrath
• Michael Sheehan
• Patrick O'Gorman
• Michael O'Higgins
• Seán Keane
• Dan Desmond
• Patrick Lehane
• Seán Collins
• Gerard Sweetman

Retiring TDs

• Finian Lynch
• Patrick Shanahan (lost seat)

See also

• Members of the 13th Dáil
• Government of the 13th Dáil

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