1969 Irish General Election

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.

1969 Irish general election

← 1965 18 June 1969 1973 →
← outgoing members elected members →
144 seats in Dáil Éireann 73 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	76.9% 1.8pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Jack Lynch Liam Cosgrave Brendan Corish Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Labour Leader since 9 November 1966 21 April 1965 2 March 1960 Leader's seat Cork City North-West Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown Wexford Last election 72 seats, 47.7% 47 seats, 34.1% 22 seats, 15.4% Seats before 75 46 19 Seats won 75 50 18 Seat change 0 4 1 Percentage 45.7% 34.1% 17.0% Swing 2.0% 0% 1.6%
Percentage of seats gained by each of the three major parties, and number of seats gained by smaller parties and independents.
Taoiseach before election Jack Lynch Fianna Fáil Taoiseach after election Jack Lynch Fianna Fáil

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 minority Fianna Fáil government.

 

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 was now leading his party into his first election. Brendan Corish was fighting his third general election as leader of the Labour Party.

Fianna Fáil had been in power 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.^{[citation needed]}

Election to the 19th Dáil – 18 June 1969
Party		Leader	Seats	±	% of seats	First pref. votes	% FPv	±%
	Fianna Fáil	Jack Lynch	75	+3	52.1	602,234	45.7	–2.0
	Fine Gael	Liam Cosgrave	50	+3	34.7	449,749	34.1	0
	Labour	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	N/A	1	–1	0.7	42,230	3.2	+1.1
Spoilt votes						16,010	—	—
Total			144	0	100	1,334,963	100	—
Electorate/Turnout						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 re-election of an Irish government for thirty-three years—until the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats government was re-elected with an increased majority in the 2002 general election.

Voting summary

Seats summary

Fianna Fáil formed the 13th Government of Ireland, a majority government, led by Jack Lynch as Taoiseach.

First time TDs

A total of 37 TDs were elected for the first time:

Re-elected TDs

• Eugene Timmons

Outgoing TDs

• Lionel Booth (Retired)
• Paddy Clohessy (Retired)
• Seán Collins (Lost seat)
• John A. Costello (Retired)
• Edward Cotter (Retired)
• James Dillon (Retired)
• Nicholas Egan (Retired)
• John Fanning (Retired)
• Denis Larkin (Retired)
• Seán Lemass (Retired)
• Patrick McAuliffe (Lost seat)
• Seán MacEntee (Retired)
• Michael O'Higgins (Defeated)
• Patrick Tierney (Retired)

• 12th Seanad