1943 Irish general election

The 1943 Irish general election to the 11th Dáil was held on Wednesday, 23 June, having been called on 31 May by proclamation of President Douglas Hyde on the advice of Taoiseach Éamon de Valera. It took place in 34 parliamentary constituencies for 138 seats in Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas. Fianna Fáil lost its overall majority of seats. The outgoing 10th Dáil was dissolved on 26 June,^[3] although it had not met after 26 May.

1943 Irish general election

← 1938 23 June 1943 1944 →
← outgoing members elected members →
138 seats in Dáil Éireann[lower-alpha 1] 70 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	74.2% 2.5pp
First party Second party   Leader Éamon de Valera W. T. Cosgrave Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Leader since 26 March 1926 September 1934 Leader's seat Clare Cork Borough Last election 77 seats, 51.9% 45 seats, 33.3% Seats won 67 32 Seat change 10 12 Popular vote 557,525 307,490 Percentage 41.9% 23.1% Swing 10.0% 10.2%   Third party Fourth party   Leader William Norton Michael Donnellan Party Labour Clann na Talmhan Leader since 19 July 1932 29 June 1939 Leader's seat Carlow–Kildare Galway East Last election 9 seats, 10.0% New Party Seats won 17 10 Seat change 8 10 Popular vote 208,812 130,452 Percentage 15.7% 9.0% Swing 5.7% New party
Percentage of seats gained by each of the three major parties, and number of seats gained by smaller parties and independents.
Taoiseach before election Éamon de Valera Fianna Fáil Taoiseach after election Éamon de Valera Fianna Fáil

The 11th Dáil met at Leinster House on 1 July to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new government of Ireland on the nomination of the Taoiseach. Outgoing Taoiseach Éamon de Valera was re-appointed leading a single-party Fianna Fáil government.

Election during the emergency

Ireland had declared a state of emergency on 2 September 1939, arising from the Second World War. The Emergency Powers Act 1939 was in force at the time of the election campaign, and concomitant press censorship affected coverage.

In April the government had proposed to postpone the election by introducing a bill to extend the maximum term of the Dáil from five to six years;^[4] however, in the absence of support from the Fine Gael opposition, the bill was withdrawn.^[5][6]

As an alternative, the General Elections (Emergency Provisions) Act 1943 provided that a general election could be called without a dissolution and that the outgoing Dáil would not be dissolved until after all returns from the general election.^[7][8] This was in contravention of provisions of the Constitution, which require the president to dissolve the Dáil before a general election.^[9] However, this was permitted under the state of emergency.

Result

Election to the 11th Dáil – 23 June 1943[10][11][12]
Party		Leader	Seats	±	% of seats	First pref. votes	% FPv	±%
	Fianna Fáil	Éamon de Valera	67[lower-alpha 1]	–10	48.6	557,525	41.9	–10.0
	Fine Gael	W. T. Cosgrave	32	–13	23.2	307,490	23.1	–10.2
	Labour	William Norton	17	+8	12.3	208,812	15.7	+5.7
	Clann na Talmhan	Michael Donnellan	10[lower-alpha 2]	New	7.2	130,452	9.8	–
	Monetary Reform	Oliver J. Flanagan	1	New	0.7	4,377	0.3	–
	Córas na Poblachta	Simon Donnelly	0	New	0	3,892	0.3	–
	Ailtirí na hAiséirghe		0	New	0	3,137	0.2	–
	Independent	N/A	11	+4	7.3	116,024	8.7	+4.0
Spoilt votes						16,198	—	—
Total			138	0	100	1,347,907	100	—
Electorate/Turnout						1,816,142	74.2%	—

Voting summary

First preference vote Fianna Fáil   41.86% Fine Gael   23.09% Labour   15.68% Clann na Talmhan   9.80% Others   0.86% Independent   8.71%

Seats summary

Dáil seats Fianna Fáil   48.55% Fine Gael   23.19% Labour   12.32% Clann na Talmhan   7.25% Monetary Reform   0.72% Independent   7.97%

Government formation

Fianna Fáil formed the 3rd government of Ireland, a minority government.

Changes in membership

First time TDs

• Liam Cosgrave
• Frank Daly
• Michael Donnellan
• Michael Hilliard
• James Kilroy
• Martin O'Sullivan
• Leo Skinner
• Dan Spring
• Richard Stapleton
• Patrick Finucane

Retiring TDs

• Henry McDevitt
• Thomas Mullen

Defeated TDs

• Eamonn Cooney
• Daniel Hogan
• Frank Loughman
• Peter O'Loghlen
• Laurence Walsh
• Richard Walsh

Seanad election

The election was followed by an election to the 4th Seanad.

Notes

1. Including Frank Fahy, returned automatically for Galway East as outgoing Ceann Comhairle, under Art. 16.6 of the Constitution and the Electoral (Chairman of Dáil Éireann) Act 1937.^[1][2]
2. Manning (1972) notes that the Clann na Talmhan figure is often listed in error as 14, due to the inclusion of Independent Farmer TDs in the CnaT total.

References

1. Electoral (Chairman of Dail Eireann) Act 1937, s. 3: Re-election of outgoing Ceann Comhairle (No. 25 of 1937, s. 3). Enacted on 1 November 1937. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
2. "11th Dáil 1937: Galway East". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
3. "Mr. de Valera to be Taoiseach". The Irish Times. p. 1.
4. "Committee on Finance. - Electoral (Duration of Dáil Eireann) Bill, 1943—Second Stage – Dáil Éireann (10th Dáil)". Oireachtas. 15 April 1943. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
5. "Committee on Finance. - Electoral (Duration of Dáil Eireann) Bill, 1943—Bill Withdrawn – Dáil Éireann (10th Dáil) – Vol. 89 No. 18". Oireachtas. 5 May 1943. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
6. Electoral (Duration of Dáil Éireann) Bill 1943 (Bill no. 10 of 1943). Houses of the Oireachtas.
7. General Elections (Emergency Provisions) Act 1943 (No. 11 of 1943). Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 27 March 2018.
8. de Valera, Éamon (26 May 1943). "The General Election: Announcement by Taoiseach". pp. Vol.90 No.5 p.19 c.562. Retrieved 27 March 2018. the Dáil will rise to-day. ... It is my intention to advise the President so that on the 31st May he may issue his direction for the holding of a general election. His proclamation may be issued on the 31st May. ... the 22nd June [sic] will be the polling day and then the outgoing Dáil, the present Dáil, would have to be dissolved not later than 8th July. The House is aware that it will be dissolved as soon as the Clerk of the Dáil is able to inform us that he has got returns for all the writs.
9. "Constitution of Ireland". Irish Statute Book. Article 16.3. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
10. "11th Dáil 1943 General Election". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
11. "Dáil elections since 1918". ARK Northern Ireland. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
12. Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook. Nomos. pp. 1009–1017. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.

Sources

• Manning, Maurice (1972). Irish Political Parties: An Introduction. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-7171-0536-6.