1977 Irish general election: Difference between revisions
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In spite of having faced some controversial issues during its term of office, the ruling [[Fine Gael]]–[[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] coalition looked set to defy political history by winning an unprecedented second term. This belief was further augmented following the so-called "[[Electoral (Amendment) Act 1974|Tullymander]]" of parliamentary constituencies. This refers to the [[Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage|Minister for Local Government]] [[James Tully (Irish politician)|James Tully]], and his scheme of redrawing constituencies across the country to maximise the vote for the coalition partners. For example, in [[Dublin]] there were thirteen three-seat constituencies. It was hoped that the coalition partners would win two of the seats, leaving [[Fianna Fáil]] with only one seat. A similar tactic was used in rural areas where the party was at its strongest. |
In spite of having faced some controversial issues during its term of office, the ruling [[Fine Gael]]–[[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] coalition looked set to defy political history by winning an unprecedented second term. This belief was further augmented following the so-called "[[Electoral (Amendment) Act 1974|Tullymander]]" of parliamentary constituencies. This refers to the [[Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage|Minister for Local Government]] [[James Tully (Irish politician)|James Tully]], and his scheme of redrawing constituencies across the country to maximise the vote for the coalition partners. For example, in [[Dublin]] there were thirteen three-seat constituencies. It was hoped that the coalition partners would win two of the seats, leaving [[Fianna Fáil]] with only one seat. A similar tactic was used in rural areas where the party was at its strongest. |
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As a result of this, Fianna Fáil and its leader [[Jack Lynch]] believed that they |
As a result of this, Fianna Fáil and its leader [[Jack Lynch]] believed that they could not win the general election. The party drew up a manifesto which offered the electorate a string of financial and economic "sweeteners", encouraging them to vote for Fianna Fáil. Some of the promises that were offered included the abolition of rates on houses, the abolition of car tax and the promise of reducing unemployment to under 100,000. Lynch agreed to the manifesto because he believed that the party needed something dramatic if it were to win the election. |
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Both ''[[The Irish Times]]'' and ''[[The Irish Press]]'', which was then edited by [[Tim Pat Coogan]], were extremely critical of the government's curtailment of freedom of speech and in particular of the [[Minister for Posts and Telegraphs]] [[Conor Cruise O'Brien]], who used these restrictions against the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|PIRA]]. |
Both ''[[The Irish Times]]'' and ''[[The Irish Press]]'', which was then edited by [[Tim Pat Coogan]], were extremely critical of the government's curtailment of freedom of speech and in particular of the [[Minister for Posts and Telegraphs]] [[Conor Cruise O'Brien]], who used these restrictions against the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|PIRA]]. |
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|elec_year = 1977 |
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|note =<ref>{{cite web |title=Election results and transfer of votes in general election (June, 1977) for twenty-first Dáil and bye-elections to twentieth Dáil (1973–1977) |url=https://opac.oireachtas.ie/Data/Library3/Official%20Publications/pdf/21stDail_June1977_ByeElections20th_1973_1977.pdf |website=Houses of the Oireachtas |publisher=Dublin Stationery Office |access-date=2 August 2022 |date=February 1978}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.org/results/general/21dail.cfm|title=21st Dáil 1977 General Election|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=19 June 2009|archive-date=28 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428134659/http://electionsireland.org/results/general/21dail.cfm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/gdala.htm|title=Dáil elections since 1918|work=ARK Northern Ireland|access-date=19 June 2009|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127122828/https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/gdala.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=NS>{{cite book|author-link1=Dieter Nohlen|first1=Dieter|last1=Nohlen|first2=Philip|last2=Stöver|date=2010 |title=Elections in Europe: A data handbook|pages=1009–1017|isbn=978-3-8329-5609-7}}</ref> |
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|image = [[File:Irish general election 1977.svg|center|360px]] |
|image = [[File:Irish general election 1977.svg|center|360px]] |
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Revision as of 19:59, 19 September 2022
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148 seats in Dáil Éireann[a] 75 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 76.3%  0.3pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Percentage of seats gained by each of the three major parties, and number of seats gained by smaller parties and independents. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1977 Irish general election was held on Thursday, 16 June and is regarded as a pivotal point in twentieth-century Irish politics. Jack Lynch led Fianna Fáil to a landslide election win. The general election took place in 42 parliamentary constituencies throughout Ireland for 148 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann. Under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1974, there were significant changes to constituency boundaries and the number of seats in the Dáil was increased by 4 from 144 to 148. The 21st Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 5 July, when a new Fianna Fáil government replaced the incumbent Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition. Jack Lynch became Taoiseach for the second time.
Campaign
 |
In spite of having faced some controversial issues during its term of office, the ruling Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition looked set to defy political history by winning an unprecedented second term. This belief was further augmented following the so-called "Tullymander" of parliamentary constituencies. This refers to the Minister for Local Government James Tully, and his scheme of redrawing constituencies across the country to maximise the vote for the coalition partners. For example, in Dublin there were thirteen three-seat constituencies. It was hoped that the coalition partners would win two of the seats, leaving Fianna Fáil with only one seat. A similar tactic was used in rural areas where the party was at its strongest.
As a result of this, Fianna Fáil and its leader Jack Lynch believed that they could not win the general election. The party drew up a manifesto which offered the electorate a string of financial and economic "sweeteners", encouraging them to vote for Fianna Fáil. Some of the promises that were offered included the abolition of rates on houses, the abolition of car tax and the promise of reducing unemployment to under 100,000. Lynch agreed to the manifesto because he believed that the party needed something dramatic if it were to win the election.
Both The Irish Times and The Irish Press, which was then edited by Tim Pat Coogan, were extremely critical of the government's curtailment of freedom of speech and in particular of the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs Conor Cruise O'Brien, who used these restrictions against the PIRA.
The Fianna Fáil campaign was based on the American model. Inspired by director of elections Séamus Brennan, Lynch travelled the length and breadth of the country, music blaring, accompanied by his followers. His popularity was at its highest, and it soon became clear he might win the election. Lynch's popularity was a big electoral asset. The party slogan "Bring Back Jack" even played on Lynch's huge appeal. But the monetary sweeteners were Fianna Fáil's biggest asset.
In contrast to Fianna Fáil, the government parties of Fine Gael and the Labour Party fought the general election on their record in government. The redrawing of the constituency boundaries also gave them hope for success, however they offered little to the electorate except for the policies they had been pursuing for the previous four years.
While towards the end of the campaign Fianna Fáil were expected to win the general election, nobody predicted the scale of that victory. An unprecedented nine-seat majority in Dáil Éireann for Fianna Fáil saw the National Coalition swept from power in what was at the time the biggest political hurricane in Irish history. Only Éamon de Valera had ever done better, but only once out of 13 elections. Following the election, the leaders of Fine Gael and the Labour Party, Liam Cosgrave and Brendan Corish resigned as leaders of their respective parties, the first occasion in which a defeated Taoiseach or Tánaiste had done so.
"Tullymandering" and the unprecedented sweeteners were the cause for the scale of the coalition's defeat. The new government established an independent commission to revise constituency boundaries.
Result
| Election to the 21st Dáil – 16 June 1977[4][5][6][7] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||
| Party | Leader | Seats | ± | % of seats |
First pref. votes |
% FPv | ±% | |
| Fianna Fáil | Jack Lynch | 84 | +15 | 56.8 | 811,615 | 50.6 | +4.4 | |
| Fine Gael | Liam Cosgrave | 43 | –11 | 29.0 | 488,767 | 30.5 | –4.6 | |
| Labour | Brendan Corish | 17[a] | –2 | 11.5 | 186,410 | 11.6 | –2.1 | |
| Sinn Féin The Workers' Party | Tomás Mac Giolla | 0 | – | 0 | 27,209 | 1.7 | +0.6 | |
| Irish Republican Socialist | Seamus Costello | 0 | New | 0 | 955 | 0.1 | – | |
| Communist | Michael O'Riordan | 0 | – | 0 | 544 | 0.0 | – | |
| Independent politicians in Ireland | N/A | 4 | +2 | 2.7 | 87,527 | 5.5 | +2.6 | |
| Spoilt votes | 13,743 | — | — | |||||
| Total | 148[a] | +4 | 100 | 1,616,770 | 100 | — | ||
| Electorate/Turnout | 2,118,606 | 76.3% | — | |||||
Independents include Independent Fianna Fáil (13,824 votes, 1 seat) and the Community group in Dublin (9,427 votes).
Voting summary
Seats summary
Government formation
Fianna Fáil formed a majority government, the 15th Government of Ireland led by Jack Lynch as Taoiseach. In December 1979, Charles Haughey succeeded Lynch as Taoiseach, forming the 16th Government of Ireland.
Membership changes
First time TDs
42 TDs were elected for the first time:
- Bertie Ahern
- Kit Ahern
- Niall Andrews
- Liam Aylward
- John Boland
- Gerard Brady
- Vincent Brady
- Barry Cogan
- Hugh Conaghan
- Michael Joe Cosgrave
- Michael D'Arcy
- Síle de Valera
- Austin Deasy
- Seán Doherty
- Eddie Filgate
- Jim Fitzsimons
- Pádraig Flynn
- Joe Fox
- John Horgan
- Michael Keating
- Seán Keegan
- Patrick Kerrigan
- Timothy Killeen
- Mark Killilea Jnr
- Liam Lawlor
- Eileen Lemass
- Tom Leonard
- Terry Leyden
- Michael Lipper
- John Mannion Jnr
- Charlie McCreevy
- Jim Mitchell
- P. J. Morley
- William O'Brien
- Martin O'Donoghue
- Rory O'Hanlon
- Jim O'Keeffe
- Paddy O'Toole
- Ruairi Quinn
- Albert Reynolds
- Joe Walsh
- Michael Woods
Outgoing TDs
- Liam Burke (Lost seat)
- Ruairí Brugha (Lost seat)
- Justin Keating (Lost seat)
- Conor Cruise O'Brien (Lost seat)
- Seán Flanagan (Lost seat)
- Richard Gogan (Lost seat)
- Gus Healy (Retired)
- Brigid Hogan-O'Higgins (Lost seat)
- Eugene Timmons (Lost seat)
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d Including Seán Treacy (Lab), returned automatically for Tipperary South as outgoing Ceann Comhairle, under Art. 16.6 of the Constitution and the Electoral Act 1963, as adapted by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1974.[1][2][3]
References
- ^ Electoral Act 1963, s. 14: Re-election of outgoing Ceann Comhairle (No. 19 of 1963, s. 14). Enacted on 12 July 1963. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
- ^ Electoral (Amendment) Act 1974, s. 5: Re-election of outgoing Ceann Comhairle (No. 7 of 1974, s. 5). Enacted on 7 May 1974. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
- ^ "21st Dáil 1977: Tipperary South". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "Election results and transfer of votes in general election (June, 1977) for twenty-first Dáil and bye-elections to twentieth Dáil (1973–1977)" (PDF). Houses of the Oireachtas. Dublin Stationery Office. February 1978. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "21st Dáil 1977 General Election". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 28 April 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
- ^ "Dáil elections since 1918". ARK Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
- ^ Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook. pp. 1009–1017. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.
Further reading
- Nealon, Ted; Dunlop, Frank (1977). Ted Nealon's guide to the 21st Dáil and Seanad. ISBN 0950598410.
