1969 Irish general election

Election to the 19th Dáil July 2021 July 2026 1969 Irish general election Ireland parliamentary no 1965 Irish general election 1965 18 June 1969 1973 Irish general election 1973 144 seats in Dáil ÉireannCC Including Cormac Breslin (FF), returned automatically for Donegal–Leitrim as outgoing Ceann Comhairle, under Art. 16.6 of the Constitution and the Electoral Act 1963, as adapted by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1969.1963 19 Electoral Act 1963 12 July 1963 14 Re-election of outgoing Ceann Comhairle1969 3 Electoral (Amendment) Act 1969 26 March 1969 5 Re-election of outgoing Ceann Comhairle19th Dáil 1969: Donegal–Leitrim https://www.electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=1969&cons=70 ElectionsIreland.org 23 July 2022 73 76.9% 1.8 pp 18th Dáil 19th Dáil Jack Lynch, 1972 (cropped).jpg 113 113 150 0 0 Jack Lynch Fianna Fáil 9 November 1966 Cork City North-West 72 seats, 47.7% 75 3 602,234 45.7% 2.0 pp Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave-Patricks Day 1976.jpg 113 113 150 0 0 Liam Cosgrave 21 April 1965 Fine Gael Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown 47 seats, 34.1% 50 3 449,749 34.1% 0.0 pp Brendan Corish 1949.png 113 113 150 0 0 Brendan Corish 2 March 1960 Labour Party (Ireland) Wexford 22 seats, 15.4% 18 4 224,498 17.0% 1.6 pp Irish_general_election_1969.png 300px Percentage of seats gained by each of the three major parties, and number of seats gained by smaller parties and independents. Taoiseach Jack Lynch Fianna Fáil Taoiseach after election Jack Lynch Fianna Fáil The 1969 Irish general election to the 19th Dáil was held on Wednesday, 18 June, following the dissolution of the 18th Dáil on 22 May by President Éamon de Valera on the request of Taoiseach Jack Lynch. The general election took place in 42 Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 144 seats in Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas, with boundary changes under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1969. The governing Fianna Fáil won its fourth successive election. The 19th Dáil met at Leinster House on 21 April to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new government of Ireland. Lynch was re-appointed Taoiseach, forming the 13th government of Ireland, a single-party majority Fianna Fáil government. Campaign thumb|left|150px|Labour election poster The general election of 1969 saw two new leaders of the two main parties fight their first general election. Jack Lynch of Fianna Fáil had become Taoiseach in 1966 and was attempting to win his first election. Liam Cosgrave had taken charge of Fine Gael in 1965 and now leading his party into his first election. Brendan Corish was fighting his third general election as leader of the Labour Party. History of Irish Politics Kagachi Chihiro 2002 133–134 Fianna Fáil had been in office since 1957, and in spite of media predictions, the party was still very popular with the voters. Its leader Jack Lynch proved to be the party's biggest electoral asset. His quiet, easy-going and reassuring style, coupled with the catchy slogan "Let's back Jack!", attracted many new voters to Fianna Fáil. The party had introduced many innovative pieces of legislation during the 1960s and was now looking for a fresh mandate. Fianna Fáil were also helped by a deeply divided opposition. Fine Gael had internal divisions. There was tension between the older conservative members, who wanted to keep the party as it was, and the younger deputies who wanted to move the party to the left. One of the party's policies proposed to abolish compulsory Irish for State examinations and civil service jobs. The Labour Party on the other hand were predicted to make gains after firmly ruling out a pre-election pact with Fine Gael. The party fielded a number of new, high-profile candidates, including Justin Keating, Conor Cruise O'Brien, David Thornley and Noël Browne. The slogan "The Seventies will be Socialist" was popular with Labour supporters; however, Fianna Fáil played the "red card", linking the Labour Party with communism. The tactic worked successfully.O’Keeffe Donal 24 October 2024 Nostalgia: Jack Lynch’s slogan was ‘Let’s Back Jack’ and the voters of 1969 did https://www.echolive.ie/corknews/arid-41504153.html The Echo 21 November 2024 Result 19th 18 June 1969 Election results and transfer of votes in general election (June, 1969) for nineteenth Dáil and bye-elections to eighteenth Dáil (1965–1969) https://opac.oireachtas.ie/Data/Library3/Official%20Publications/pdf/19thDail_June1969_ByeElections18th_1965_1969.pdf Dublin Stationery Office 23 July 2022 January 1970http://electionsireland.org/results/general/19dail.cfm 19th Dáil 1969 General Election ElectionsIreland.org 12 June 2009 3 June 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090603190806/http://electionsireland.org/results/general/19dail.cfm livehttp://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/gdala.htm Dáil elections since 1918 ARK Northern Ireland 12 June 2009 27 November 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201127122828/https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/gdala.htm liveDieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen Philip Stöver 2010 Elections in Europe: A data handbook 1009–1017 Nomos 978-3-8329-5609-7 center|360px Fianna Fáil Jack Lynch 75CC +3 52.1 602,234 45.7 –2.0 Fine Gael Liam Cosgrave 50 +3 34.7 449,749 34.1 0 Labour Party (Ireland) Brendan Corish 18 –4 12.5 224,498 17.0 +1.6 Irish Workers' Party Michael O'Riordan 0 0 0 242 0.0 0 Independent politician (Ireland) N/A 1 –1 0.7 42,230 3.2 +1.1 16,010 144 0 1,334,963 1,735,388 76.9% |} Notes Independents include Gluaiseacht Chearta Sibhialta na Gaeltachta (1,522 votes). The result marked a third successive victory for Fianna Fáil, led by Jack Lynch. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael each lost votes, yet gained seats. Labour gained votes, yet lost seats. It was the last election for thirty-three years at which a government was returned to office—until the Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats government was returned with an increased majority in the 2002 general election. Voting summary First preference vote #ddd 600px 350px Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil 45.66 Fine Gael Fine Gael 34.10 Labour Labour Party (Ireland) 17.02 Irish Workers' Party Irish Workers' Party 0.02 Independent Independent politician (Ireland) 3.20 Seats summary Dáil seats #ddd 600px 350px Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil 52.08 Fine Gael Fine Gael 34.72 Labour Labour Party (Ireland) 12.50 Independent Independent politician (Ireland) 0.69 Government formation Fianna Fáil formed the 13th government of Ireland, a majority government, led by Jack Lynch as Taoiseach. Changes in membership First time TDs A total of 37 TDs were elected for the first time: 22em Peter Barry Michael Begley Seán Brosnan John Bruton Liam Burke Richard Burke Hugh Byrne Edward Collins John Conlan Ger Connolly Gerard Cott Bernard Cowen Kieran Crotty Conor Cruise O'Brien Noel Davern Barry Desmond Tom Enright Martin Finn Garret FitzGerald Paddy Forde Billy Fox Michael Herbert Thomas Hussey Liam Kavanagh Justin Keating Bill Loughnane Gerard Lynch Ray MacSharry Tom McEllistrim Michael J. Noonan Michael O'Kennedy John O'Sullivan Paddy Power Michael Smith Frank Taylor David Thornley Jim Tunney Re-elected TDs Eugene Timmons Retiring TDs Lionel Booth Paddy Clohessy John A. Costello Edward Cotter James Dillon Nicholas Egan John Fanning Denis Larkin Seán Lemass Seán MacEntee Patrick Tierney Defeated TDs Seán Collins Patrick McAuliffe Michael O'Higgins Seanad election The Dáil election was followed by an election to the 12th Seanad. Notes References Further reading Gallagher Michael Michael Gallagher (academic) 2009 Irish Elections 1948–77: Results and Analysis Sources for the Study of Irish Politics 2 Routledge 9781138973343 Category:1969 elections in Europe General election, 1969 Category:1969 in Irish politics 1969 Category:19th Dáil Category:June 1969 in Europe