The 1944 Irish general election was held on Tuesday, 30 May, having been called on 9 May by
President
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*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Douglas Hyde
Douglas Ross Hyde ( ga, Dubhghlas de hÍde; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician and diplomat who served as the first President of Ireland from June 1938 t ...
on the advice of
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...
. The general election took place in
34 parliamentary constituencies for 138 seats in
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
, the lower house of the
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
*The President of Ireland
*The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...
(parliament).
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
won an
overall majority
A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster
members of the 12th Dáil
The 12th Dáil was elected at the 1944 general election on 30 May 1944 and first met on 9 June 1944. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature), of Ireland are known as TDs. The 12th Dáil was d ...
assembled on 9 June, de Valera was re-appointed as Taoiseach at the head of a
majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
.
Campaign
The
outgoing Fianna Fáil government was a
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
. Following a defeat for the
second reading
A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature.
In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...
of its Transport Bill, Taoiseach
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...
called a
snap election
A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled.
Generally, a snap election in a parliamentary system (the dissolution of parliament) is called to capitalize on an unusual electoral opportunity or to ...
, just one year after the previous election, in hopes of getting an overall majority. The campaign was not wanted by the opposition parties. Fianna Fáil fought the election on its record in government and also in the hope of securing a fresh mandate for its policies. During the campaign
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
put forward the proposal of forming a coalition government with the
Labour Party and
Clann na Talmhan
Clann na Talmhan (, "Family/Children of the land"; formally known as the ''National Agricultural Party'') was an Irish agrarian political party active between 1939 and 1965.
Formation and growth
Clann na Talmhan was founded on 29 June 1939 in ...
; however, this was ridiculed by Fianna Fáil as untenable. A split in the Labour movement meant that the party was by no means ready to fight an election.
Due to the fractured nature of the opposition, Éamon de Valera's tactic of calling a snap general election succeeded, as it had in 1933 and 1938.
Dissolution
The election was fought while the
Emergency Powers Act 1939
The Emergency Powers Act 1939 (EPA) was an Act of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) enacted on 3 September 1939, after an official state of emergency had been declared on 2 September 1939 in response to the outbreak of the Second World War. The ...
was still in force and under the terms of the General Elections (Emergency Provisions) Act 1943, which allowed a general election to be called without a
dissolution
Dissolution may refer to:
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* ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers
* ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music
* Dissolution, in mu ...
of the
11th Dáil.
The Constitution requires the President to dissolve the Dáil before a general election; however, this procedure was overridden by the General Elections (Emergency Provisions) Act 1943.
The Act, which would have been unconstitutional if not for the
state of emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
in effect during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, was intended to increase national security by minimising the interval during which no Dáil is in existence.
The election was called on 9 May but the Dáil met as scheduled on the following day, when an
adjournment debate
In the Westminster system, an adjournment debate is a debate on the motion, "That this House do now adjourn." In practice, this is a way of enabling the House to have a debate on a subject without considering a substantive motion.
Types of deb ...
was held in which the opposition TDs condemned the decision to hold an election in wartime as unnecessary and reckless.
The 11th Dáil was dissolved on 7 June 1944.
Result
Voting summary
Seats summary
Government formation
Fianna Fáil formed the
4th Government of Ireland
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
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, a majority government.
First-time TDs
*
Thomas Brennan
*
Harry Colley
Henry Edward Colley (21 February 1891 – 18 January 1972) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-East constituency from 1944 to 1957. He was also a Senator for the Labour Panel from 1957 ...
*
Eamonn Coogan
Eamonn Coogan (30 November 1896 – 22 January 1948) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, barrister and Deputy Commissioner of the Garda Síochána.
Early life
He was born in Castlecomer, County Kilkenny, the only son of Timothy Coogan, a shopke ...
*
Walter Furlong
Walter Furlong (1 September 1893 – 11 December 1973) was an Irish politician from Cork city, most successful as a member of Fianna Fáil.
According to his death notice Furlong was in "G" Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Cork Brigade, Irish Repub ...
*
Michael Lydon
*
Patrick McAuliffe
*
John S. O'Connor
*
Mary Ryan
Re-elected TDs
*
John A. Costello
*
Frank Loughman
Francis Loughman (1892 – 13 May 1972) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) and Senator from the 1930s to the 1960s.
A pharmaceutical chemist before entering politics, Loughman was first elected to Dáil É ...
*
Peter O'Loghlen
Peter Joseph O'Loghlen (1883 – 25 October 1971) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. A publican, he was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, T ...
*
Eamonn O'Neill
*
Laurence Walsh
*
Richard Walsh (regained seat)
Outgoing TDs
*
Ernest Benson (lost seat)
*
W. T. Cosgrave
William Thomas Cosgrave (5 June 1880 – 16 November 1965) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as the president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932, leader of the Opposition in both the Free State and Ir ...
(retired)
*
John Esmonde (lost seat)
*
James Larkin
James Larkin (28 January 1874 – 30 January 1947), sometimes known as Jim Larkin or Big Jim, was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. He was one of the founders of the Irish Labour Party along with James Connolly and Willia ...
(lost seat)
*
Timothy Linehan (lost seat)
*
Jeremiah Ryan (retired)
*
Richard Stapleton (lost seat)
See also
*
5th Seanad
Notes
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish General Election, 1944
1944 elections in Europe
General election, 1944
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
12th Dáil
May 1944 events
General election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...