1987 Irish general election

The 1987 Irish general election to the 25th Dáil was held on Tuesday, 17 February, four weeks after the dissolution of the 24th Dáil on 20 January by President Patrick Hillery, on the request of Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald. A continuing crisis over public finance and a rejection of the budget had led to the Labour Party withdrawing from the Fine Gael–led coalition government. The general election took place in 41 Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 166 seats in Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas. There were minor amendments to constituency boundaries under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1983.

1987 Irish general election

← Nov 1982 17 February 1987 1989 →
← outgoing members elected members →
166 seats in Dáil Éireann[lower-alpha 1] 84 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	73.3% 0.4pp
First party Second party Third party   PD Leader Charles Haughey Garret FitzGerald Desmond O'Malley Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Progressive Democrats Leader since 7 December 1979 1977 21 December 1985 Leader's seat Dublin North-Central Dublin South-East Limerick East Last election 75 seats, 45.2% 70 seats, 39.2% New party Seats before 5 Seats won 81 51 14 Seat change 6 19 14 Popular vote 784,547 481,127 210,583 Percentage 44.2% 27.1% 11.9% Swing 1.0% 12.1% New party   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   DSP Leader Dick Spring Tomás Mac Giolla Jim Kemmy Party Labour Workers' Party Democratic Socialist Leader since November 1982 1977 1982 Leader's seat Kerry North Dublin West Limerick East Last election 16 seats, 9.4% 2 seats, 3.3% 0 seats, 0.4% Seats won 12 4 1 Seat change 4 2 1 Popular vote 114,551 67,293 7,424 Percentage 6.5% 3.8% 0.4% Swing 2.9% 0.5%
Election results and first-preference votes in each constituency. Number of seats gained by each party in each constituency.
Taoiseach before election Garret FitzGerald Fine Gael Taoiseach after election Charles Haughey Fianna Fáil

The 25th Dáil met at Leinster House on 10 March to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new government of Ireland. Charles Haughey was appointed Taoiseach, forming the 20th government of Ireland, a minority single-party Fianna Fáil government.

Campaign

The 1987 general election was precipitated by the withdrawal of the Labour Party from the Fine Gael–led government on 20 January 1987. The reason was a disagreement over budget proposals. Rather than attempt to press on with the government's agenda, the Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael, Garret FitzGerald, sought a dissolution of the Dáil. An unusually long period of four weeks was set for the campaign.

Fianna Fáil's campaign involved a refusal to make any definite commitments; however, it attempted to convince the electorate that the country would be better under Fianna Fáil. Charles Haughey's attitudes toward Northern Ireland and the Anglo-Irish Agreement were both attacked.^[3] However, the campaign was mostly fought on economic issues.

The Labour Party decided against any pre-election pact, particularly with Fine Gael. The Progressive Democrats (PD), founded only two years earlier, surpassed Labour as the third-biggest political party in the Dáil. Although the majority of the PD party consisted of Fianna Fáil defectors, it mainly took seats from Fine Gael.

Results

Election to the 25th Dáil – 17 February 1987[4][5][6][7][8]
Party		Leader	Seats	±	% of seats	First pref. votes	% FPv	±%
	Fianna Fáil	Charles Haughey	81	6	48.8	784,547	44.1	1.1
	Fine Gael	Garret FitzGerald	51[lower-alpha 1]	19	30.1	481,127	27.1	12.1
	Progressive Democrats	Desmond O'Malley	14	14[lower-alpha 2]	8.4	210,583	11.8	–
	Labour	Dick Spring	12	4	7.2	114,551	6.4	3.0
	Workers' Party	Tomás Mac Giolla	4	2	2.4	67,273	3.8	0.5
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	0	New	0	32,933	1.9	–
	Democratic Socialist	Jim Kemmy	1	1	0.6	7,424	0.4	0
	Green	None	0	0	0	7,159	0.4	0.2
	Communist	Eugene McCartan	0	0	0	725	0.0	0
	Independent	N/A	3	1	1.8	70,843	4.0	1.7
Spoilt votes						16,241	—	—
Total			166	0	100	1,793,406	100	—
Electorate/Turnout						2,445,515	73.3%	—

Notes

• Independents include Independent Fianna Fáil (7,720 votes, 1 seat) and the Tax Reform League (3,832 votes).
• Changes in numbers of seats for each party are shown relative to the previous election in November 1982.

Although opinion polls had suggested otherwise, Fianna Fáil once again failed to win an overall majority. The Progressive Democrats did exceptionally well in their first general election, becoming the third-biggest party in the Dáil. Fine Gael lost many seats, mostly to the PDs. The Labour Party fell to its lowest share of the vote since 1933, but managed to salvage 12 seats, more than expected, including that of its leader Dick Spring, who saved his seat by just four votes.

Voting summary

First preference vote Fianna Fáil   44.15% Fine Gael   27.07% Progressive Democrats   11.85% Labour   6.45% Workers'   3.79% Sinn Féin   1.85% Others   0.86% Independent   3.99%

Seats summary

Dáil seats Fianna Fáil   48.80% Fine Gael   30.72% Progressive Democrats   8.43% Labour   7.23% Workers'   2.41% Democratic Socialist   0.60% Independent   1.81%

Government formation

Fianna Fáil formed the 20th government of Ireland, a minority government, with Charles Haughey returning as Taoiseach. Haughey was nominated as Taoiseach with the votes of his own party, the support of Independent Fianna Fáil TD Neil Blaney and the abstention of Independent TD Tony Gregory. That left him with just half of votes cast. Ceann Comhairle Seán Treacy exercised his casting vote in favour of the nomination of Haughey. The Fianna Fáil government of 1987 to 1989 was the last time to date that a government composed only of members of one party has been formed in Ireland.

Dáil membership changes

The following changes took place at the election:

• 17 outgoing TDs retired
• 1 vacant seat at election time
• 147 outgoing TDs stood for re-election (also Tom Fitzpatrick, the outgoing Ceann Comhairle, who was automatically returned)
  • 127 of those were re-elected
  • 20 failed to be re-elected
• 38 successor TDs were elected
  • 32 were elected for the first time
  • 6 had previously been TDs
• There were 6 successor female TDs, with the total remaining unchanged at 14
• There were changes in 32 of the 41 constituencies contested

Where more than one change took place in a constituency, the concept of successor is an approximation for presentation only.

Constituency	Departing TD	Party		Change	Comment	Successor TD	Party
Carlow–Kilkenny	Dick Dowling		Fine Gael	Retired		Martin Gibbons		Progressive Democrats
Cavan–Monaghan	John Conlan		Fine Gael	Lost seat		Andrew Boylan		Fine Gael
Clare	Sylvester Barrett		Fianna Fáil	Retired	De Valera – former TD	Síle de Valera		Fianna Fáil
Cork East	Myra Barry		Fine Gael	Retired	Sherlock – former TD	Joe Sherlock		Workers' Party
Cork North-Central	Toddy O'Sullivan		Labour Party	Moved	O'Sullivan moved to Cork South-Central	Máirín Quill		Progressive Democrats
Cork North-West	No membership changes
Cork South-Central	Gene Fitzgerald		Fianna Fáil	Retired		John Dennehy		Fianna Fáil
	Hugh Coveney		Fine Gael	Lost seat		Batt O'Keeffe		Fianna Fáil
	Eileen Desmond		Labour Party	Retired	O'Sullivan moved from Cork North-Central	Toddy O'Sullivan		Labour Party
Cork South-West	No membership changes
Donegal North-East	No membership changes
Donegal South-West	Cathal Coughlan		Fianna Fáil	Vacant[lower-alpha 3]		Mary Coughlan		Fianna Fáil
Dublin Central	Tom Leonard		Fianna Fáil	Retired		Dermot Fitzpatrick		Fianna Fáil
	Alice Glenn		Independent	Lost seat	Glenn was elected as an FG TD in 1982	John Stafford		Fianna Fáil
Dublin North	Nora Owen		Fine Gael	Lost seat		G. V. Wright		Fianna Fáil
Dublin North-Central	No membership changes
Dublin North-East	Maurice Manning		Fine Gael	Lost seat		Pat McCartan		Workers' Party
Dublin North-West	No membership changes
Dublin South	Nuala Fennell		Fine Gael	Lost seat		Anne Colley		Progressive Democrats
	Niall Andrews		Fianna Fáil	Retired		Tom Kitt		Fianna Fáil
Dublin South-Central	John O'Connell		Fianna Fáil	Lost seat		Mary Mooney		Fianna Fáil
Dublin South-East	Joe Doyle		Fine Gael	Lost seat		Michael McDowell		Progressive Democrats
Dublin South-West	Michael O'Leary		Fine Gael	Retired		Chris Flood		Fianna Fáil
Dublin West	Liam Skelly		Fine Gael	Lost seat		Patrick O'Malley		Progressive Democrats
	Eileen Lemass		Fianna Fáil	Retired	Lawlor – former TD	Liam Lawlor		Fianna Fáil
Dún Laoghaire	Liam T. Cosgrave		Fine Gael	Lost seat		Geraldine Kennedy		Progressive Democrats
Galway East	No membership changes
Galway West	Fintan Coogan Jnr		Fine Gael	Lost seat	Higgins – former TD	Michael D. Higgins		Labour Party
Kerry North	Tom McEllistrim		Fianna Fáil	Lost seat		Jimmy Deenihan		Fine Gael
Kerry South	Michael Moynihan		Labour Party	Lost seat		John O'Donoghue		Fianna Fáil
Kildare	Joseph Bermingham		Labour Party	Retired		Emmet Stagg		Labour Party
Laois–Offaly	Oliver J. Flanagan		Fine Gael	Retired	Son of outgoing TD	Charles Flanagan		Fine Gael
Limerick East	Tom O'Donnell		Fine Gael	Lost seat	Clohessy – former TD	Peadar Clohessy		Progressive Democrats
	Frank Prendergast		Labour Party	Lost seat	Kemmy – former TD	Jim Kemmy		Democratic Socialist Party
Limerick West	William O'Brien		Fine Gael	Retired		John McCoy		Progressive Democrats
Longford–Westmeath	Gerry L'Estrange		Fine Gael	Retired		Henry Abbott		Fianna Fáil
Louth	Pádraig Faulkner		Fianna Fáil	Retired		Dermot Ahern		Fianna Fáil
Mayo East	No membership changes
Mayo West	Paddy O'Toole		Fine Gael	Lost seat		Jim Higgins		Fine Gael
Meath	Jim Fitzsimons		Fianna Fáil	Retired		Noel Dempsey		Fianna Fáil
Roscommon	No membership changes
Sligo–Leitrim	Joe McCartin		Fine Gael	Lost seat		John Ellis		Fianna Fáil
Tipperary North	David Molony		Fine Gael	Retired		Michael Lowry		Fine Gael
Tipperary South	No membership changes
Waterford	Edward Collins		Fine Gael	Lost seat		Martin Cullen		Progressive Democrats
	Donal Ormonde		Fianna Fáil	Lost seat		Brian Swift		Fianna Fáil
Wexford	Michael D'Arcy		Fine Gael	Lost seat		Brendan Howlin		Labour Party
Wicklow	Godfrey Timmins		Fine Gael	Lost seat		Joe Jacob		Fianna Fáil
	Paudge Brennan		Fianna Fáil	Retired		Dick Roche		Fianna Fáil

Seanad election

The Dáil election was followed by an election to the 18th Seanad.

Notes

1. Including Thomas J. Fitzpatrick (FG), returned automatically for Cavan–Monaghan as outgoing Ceann Comhairle, under Art. 16.6 of the Constitution and the Electoral Act 1963, as amended.^[1][2]
2. During the previous Dáil, 4 Fianna Fáil TDs and 1 Fine Gael TD had joined the Progressive Democrats.
3. Cathal Coughlan died in 1986 but no by-election was held.

References

1. Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1980, s. 1: Amendment of section 14 of Electoral Act 1963 (No. 40 of 1980, s. 1). Enacted on 23 December 1980. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
2. "25th Dáil 1987: Cavan–Monaghan". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
3. Kenny & Keane 1987, p. 37.
4. "Election results and transfer of votes in general election (February, 1987) for twenty-fifth Dáil and bye-elections to twenty-fourth Dáil (1982–1987)" (PDF). Houses of the Oireachtas. Dublin Stationery Office. July 1987. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
5. "25th Dáil 1987 General Election". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
6. "Dáil elections since 1918". ARK Northern Ireland. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
7. Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft Mbh & Company. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.
8. "Irish General Elections". Irish Elections. Retrieved 12 August 2022.

Further reading

• Bowler, Shaun; Farrell, David M. (1990). "Irish voter rationality: the 1987 Irish general election revisited" (PDF). Economic and Social Review. 21 (3): 251–268.
• Farrell, David M. (1987). "The Irish general election of 1987". Electoral Studies. 6 (2): 160–163. doi:10.1016/0261-3794(87)90024-2.
• Kenny, Shane; Keane, Fergal (1987). Irish Politics Now: 'This Week' Guide to the 25th Dáil. Dingle, Co. Kerry: Brandon/RTÉ.
• O'Leary, Brendan (1987). "Towards Europeanisation and Realignment?: The Irish General Election, February 1987". West European Politics. 10 (3): 455–465. doi:10.1080/01402388708424644.
• Nealon, Ted (1987). Nealon's Guide: 25th Dáil & Seanad: Election '87. Platform Press. ISBN 0950598488.
• Sinnott, Richard (1995). Irish voters decide: Voting behaviour in elections and referendums since 1918. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719040375.

External links

• 1987 election: Party leaders' debate RTÉ archives