The 16th Dáil was elected at the 1957 general election on 5 March 1957 and met on 20 March 1957. The members of

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

, the

house of representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

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 and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

(legislature) of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, are known as TDs. It sat with the

9th Seanad The 9th Seanad was in office from 1957 to 1961. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1957 general election to the 16th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 10th Se ...

as the two Houses of the Oireachtas. The 16th Dáil saw a change 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 nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

from

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 an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

Seán Lemass Seán Francis Lemass (born John Francis Lemass; 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1959 to 1966. He also served as Tánaiste from 1957 to 1959, 1951 to 1954 ...

in June 1959. On 8 September 1961,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Éamon de Valera dissolved the Dáil on the request of Taoiseach Seán Lemass. The 16th Dáil lasted .

Composition of the 16th Dáil

In line with its policy of

abstentionism Abstentionism is the political practice of standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abs ...

, the Sinn Féin TDs did not take their seats. Fianna Fáil, denoted with a bullet (), formed the

8th government of Ireland Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

led by

. Following de Valera's

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

president of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

in June 1959,

formed the 9th government of Ireland.

Graphical representation

This is a graphical comparison of party strengths in the 16th Dáil from March 1957. This was not the official seating plan.

Ceann Comhairle

On the meeting of the Dáil, Patrick Hogan (Lab), who had served as

Ceann Comhairle The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairperson (or speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the from among their number in the first session ...

since 1951, was proposed by

John A. Costello John Aloysius Costello (20 June 1891 – 5 January 1976) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957. He was leader of the opposition from 1951 to 1954 and from 1957 to 1959 and attorney gene ...

(FG) and seconded by

(FF) for the position. His election was approved without a vote.

TDs by constituency

The list of the 147 TDs elected, is given in alphabetical order by Dáil constituency.

Changes

References

External links

Houses of the Oireachtas: Debates: 16th Dáil
{{DEFAULTSORT:16th Dail Lists of Teachtaí Dála by term