1951 Irish general election

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147 seats inDáil Éireann[a] 74 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	75.3%1.1pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Éamon de Valera Richard Mulcahy William Norton Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Labour Leader since 26 March 1926 1944 1932 Leader's seat Clare Tipperary South Kildare Last election 68 seats, 41.9% 31 seats, 19.8% 14 seats, 11.3% (Nat. Lab.: 5 seats, 2.6%) Seats won 69 40 16 Seat change 1 9 3[b] Popular vote 616,212 349,922 151,828 Percentage 46.3% 25.8% 11.4% Swing 4.4 pp 6.0 pp 0.1 pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Joseph Blowick Seán MacBride Party Clann na Talmhan Clann na Poblachta Leader since 1944 1946 Leader's seat Mayo South Dublin South-West Last election 10 seats, 5.5% 10 seats, 13.3% Seats won 6 2 Seat change 4 8 Popular vote 38,872 54,210 Percentage 2.9% 4.1% Swing 2.6 pp 9.2 pp
Election results and first-preference votes in each constituency Number of seats gained by each party in each constituency
Taoiseach before election John A. Costello Fine Gael Taoiseach after election Éamon de Valera Fianna Fáil

The1951 Irish general election to the14th Dáil was held on Wednesday, 30 May following the dissolution of the13th Dáil on 7 May byPresidentSeán T. O'Kelly on the request ofTaoiseachJohn A. Costello. The general election took place in 40Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 147 seats inDáil Éireann, the house of representatives of theOireachtas.

This election was the first election since the declaration of theRepublic of Ireland on 18 April 1949 under the terms ofThe Republic of Ireland Act 1948, which forced Ireland's withdrawal from theBritish Commonwealth.

The 14th Dáil met atLeinster House on 13 June to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a newgovernment of Ireland. Costello failed to secure a majority, andÉamon de Valera was appointedTaoiseach, forming the6th government of Ireland, a single-party minorityFianna Fáil government.

The 1951 general election was caused by a number of crises within thefirst inter-party government, most notably theMother and Child Scheme. While the affair – which saw the resignation of theMinister for Health,Noël Browne – was not entirely to blame for the collapse of the government, it added to the disagreement between the various political parties. There were other problems facing the country, such as rising prices and balance-of-payments problems. Two farmerTDs withdrew their support for the government because of rising milk prices.

The coalition parties fought the general election on their record over the previous three years, while Fianna Fáil argued strongly against coalition governments.

Election to the 14th Dáil – 30 May 1951[3][4][5]
Party		Leader	Seats	±	% of seats	First pref. votes	% FPv	±%
	Fianna Fáil	Éamon de Valera	69[a]	+1	46.9	616,212	46.3	+4.4
	Fine Gael	Richard Mulcahy	40	+9	27.2	349,922	25.8	+6.0
	Labour	William Norton	16	–3[b]	10.9	151,828	11.4	+2.7
	Clann na Talmhan	Joseph Blowick	6	–1	4.1	38,872	2.9	–2.7
	Clann na Poblachta	Seán MacBride	2	–8	1.4	54,210	4.1	–9.1
	Irish Workers' League	Michael O'Riordan	0	New	0	295	0.0	–
	Independent	N/A	14	+3	9.5	127,234	9.6	+2.4
Spoilt votes						12,043	—	—
Total			147[a]	0	100	1,350,616	100	—
Electorate/Turnout						1,785,144	75.7	—

The election result was inconclusive. Fianna Fáil's support increased by 61,000 votes; however, the party only gained one additional seat. The coalition parties had mixed fortunes.Fine Gael were the big winners increasing to forty seats. TheLabour Party had reunited in 1950, when theNational Labour Party had merged back into the party but in spite of this, the party lost seats.Clann na Poblachta was the big loser of the election. Three years earlier the party had been a big political threat but now the party was shattered.

Fianna Fáil did not have enough seats to govern alone. However, the party was able to form a minority government with the support ofNoël Browne, the sacked Minister for Health, and other Independent deputies.

• Laurence Walsh

• Mick Fitzpatrick
• John Friel
• Patrick Gorry
• James Kilroy
• Michael Lydon
• Michael Óg McFadden
• Martin O'Sullivan
• Robert Ryan

• Richard Walsh

• Sir John Esmonde (resigned)
• Joseph Mongan (deceased)

The Dáil election was followed by an election to the7th Seanad.

• 1951 elections in Europe
• 1951 in Irish politics
• General elections in the Republic of Ireland
• 14th Dáil
• 1951 elections in the Republic of Ireland
• May 1951 in Europe

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