In 1954, Fianna Fáil suffered one of the biggest election
defeats since 1932, the first time they had ever gained control of the Dáil.
Seán Lemass had been appointed Director of Elections in 1954, but was unable to
stem the tide of resentment towards Fianna Fáil that had grown during the
Emergency and the aftermath of WWII. Lemass was determined that defeat would
not reoccur at the next general election.
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| Seán Lemass, rebel, leader and Humphrey Bogart lookalike, 21 September 1960 |
Lemass knew that Ireland had to revitalize its economy in
order to improve the quality of life for its citizens, and that he and Fianna
Fáil had to lead the way. He had said before 1954 that “the outstanding problem
still is unemployment”, but no major improvements had taken place in trying to
create jobs. For more information on the extent of the problem, see our earlier post on John Murphy and the Unemployment Protest Committee. Lemass resented the conservative economic policies of Seán
McEntee, the Minister for Finance, who had opposed many of his plans.
Lemass was appointed as Fianna Fáil’s national director of organization
in July 1954. De Valera had always had a lot of respect for Lemass’ dynamism
ever since 1916, and was prepared to trust him with positions of
responsibility. Lemass used the opportunity presented to him to present his
‘Proposal for a Full-Employment Policy’ at the party’s Árd Fheis in 1955. His
plan proposed increasing public investment, which would in turn generate
100,000 jobs.
Lemass then took this plan to the public, relentlessly
driving around the country and drumming up support at grassroots level, as he
had done in the early years of Fianna Fáil. He also ensured he brought new,
young party members with a forward-thinking attitude onto his organization
committee, including men such as Charles Haughey and Brian Lenihan – destined to
become the leaders of the future.
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| Lenihan and Haughey at the Wolfe Tone commemorations at Bodenstown, 11 October 1987 |
Lemass’ ambitious plan would become Fianna Fáil’s election
manifesto, and swept them back into power in 1957 – negating the massive defeat
they had suffered in 1954 with an overall majority in this election. However,
Lemass himself would have to wait another couple of years before De Valera
finally handed over the leadership of his party to his successor. By then,
Lemass had proved himself a loyal and trustworthy heir.
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| De Valera arriving at the Dáil as its new Taoiseach 10 March 1957 |
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| The new government presented with their Seals of Office by the President, Seán T. O'Kelly 20 March 1957 |
I always enjoy your historical pieces. Thank you again.
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