Irish general election, 1965

Irish general election, 1965

← 1961 7 April 1965 1969 →
← outgoing members TDs elected →
143 of 144 seats in Dáil Éireann 72 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	75.1%
First party Second party   Leader Seán Lemass James Dillon Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Leader since 22 June 1959 1959 Leader's seat Dublin South-Central Monaghan Last election 70 seats, 43.8% 47 seats, 32.0% Seats before 71 48 Seats won 72 47 Seat change 1 1 Percentage 47.7% 34.1% Swing 3.9% 2.1%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Brendan Corish Seán MacBride Party Labour Party Clann na Poblachta Leader since 1960 1946 Leader's seat Wexford N/A Last election 16 seats, 11.6% 1 seat, 1.1% Seats before 17 1 Seats won 22 1 Seat change 5 0 Percentage 15.4% 0.8% Swing 3.7% 0.3%
Percentage of seats gained by each of the three major parties, and number of seats gained by smaller parties and independents.
Taoiseach before election Seán Lemass Fianna Fáil Subsequent Taoiseach Seán Lemass Fianna Fáil

Seán Lemass
Fianna Fáil

Seán Lemass
Fianna Fáil

The Irish general election of 1965 was held on 7 April 1965. The newly elected members of the 18th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 21 April when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed.

The general election took place in 42 parliamentary constituencies throughout Ireland for 144 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann.

The general election of 1965 was caused by the ruling Fianna Fáil party's failure to gain a seat in a by-election. The success of Eileen Desmond of the Labour Party in Cork Mid in holding a seat previously held by her husband Dan Desmond, led to an unacceptable mathematical situation with regard to the government's majority. The Taoiseach, Seán Lemass immediately dissolved the Dáil and the campaign began in earnest.

Fianna Fáil ran its campaign on its record in government. Over the last number of years the economy had seen a huge improvement and the party played up on its record in government. The party also played up heavily on the personality of the party leader with the slogan "Let Lemass Lead On". Fine Gael put forward a comprehensive manifesto, which included the establishment of a government department concerned with economic planning. However, the older, conservative members of the party did not warm to the new turn the party was taking.

This was the first Irish General Election to be covered on television by state broadcaster RTÉ, which had formed on 31 December 1961. Election Newsroom was broadcast live on Telefís Éireann from their Donnybrook studios in Dublin, presented by John O'Donoghue with analysis provided by John Healy (Irish Times), John O'Sullivan (The Cork Examiner), Garret FitzGerald and Professor Basil Chubb. Cameras were present in four count centres: Bolton Street (Dublin), Wexford, Cork and Monaghan. The GPO provided direct links as results were announced. Raidió Éireann provided special coverage from 3 pm on the day of the count due to the coverage on Telefís Éireann. It was a new approach to election coverage on the state's radio service, which began broadcasting in 1926.