The 16th Dáil was elected at the 1957 general election on 5 March 1957 and met on 20 March 1957. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. It sat with the 9th Seanad as the two Houses of the Oireachtas.
| 16th Dáil | |||||||||||
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| Overview | |||||||||||
| Legislative body | Dáil Éireann | ||||||||||
| Jurisdiction | Ireland | ||||||||||
| Meeting place | Leinster House | ||||||||||
| Term | 20 March 1957 – 1 September 1961 | ||||||||||
| Election | 1957 general election | ||||||||||
| Government |
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| Members | 147 | ||||||||||
| Ceann Comhairle | Patrick Hogan | ||||||||||
| Taoiseach | Seán Lemass — Éamon de Valera until 23 June 1959 | ||||||||||
| Tánaiste | Seán MacEntee — Seán Lemass until 23 June 1959 | ||||||||||
| Chief Whip | Donnchadh Ó Briain | ||||||||||
| Leader of the Opposition | James Dillon — John A. Costello until 21 October 1959 | ||||||||||
| Sessions | |||||||||||
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The 16th Dáil saw a change of Taoiseach from Éamon de Valera to Seán Lemass in June 1959. On 8 September 1961, President Éamon de Valera dissolved the Dáil on the request of Taoiseach Seán Lemass. The 16th Dáil lasted 1,627 days.
Composition of the 16th Dáil
edit| Party | March 1957 | Sep. 1961 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ● | Fianna Fáil | 78 | 75 |
| Fine Gael | 40 | 41 | |
| Labour | 12 | 11 | |
| Sinn Féin | 4 | 4 | |
| Clann na Talmhan | 3 | 3 | |
| Clann na Poblachta | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | 9 | 7 | |
| Ceann Comhairle | — | 1 | |
| National Progressive Democrats | — | 2 | |
| Vacant | — | 2 | |
In line with its policy of abstentionism, the Sinn Féin TDs did not take their seats.
Fianna Fáil, denoted with a bullet (●), formed the 8th government of Ireland led by Éamon de Valera as Taoiseach. Following de Valera's election as president of Ireland in June 1959, Seán Lemass formed the 9th government of Ireland.
Graphical representation
editThis is a graphical comparison of party strengths in the 16th Dáil from March 1957. This was not the official seating plan.
Ceann Comhairle
editOn the meeting of the Dáil, Patrick Hogan (Lab), who had served as Ceann Comhairle since 1951, was proposed by John A. Costello (FG) and seconded by Éamon de Valera (FF) for the position. His election was approved without a vote.[1]
TDs by constituency
editThe list of the 147 TDs elected, is given in alphabetical order by Dáil constituency.[2]
Changes
edit| Date | Constituency | Loss | Gain | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 March 1957 | Clare | Labour | Ceann Comhairle | Patrick Hogan takes office as Ceann Comhairle[1] | ||
| 26 June 1957 | Dublin North-Central | Fianna Fáil | Death of Colm Gallagher | |||
| 14 November 1957 | Dublin North-Central | Independent | Frank Sherwin wins seat vacated by the death of Gallagher | |||
| 2 February 1958 | Galway South | Fianna Fáil | Death of Patrick Beegan | |||
| 16 May 1958 | Dublin South-East | Independent | National Progressive Democrats | Noël Browne co-founds the National Progressive Democrats | ||
| 16 May 1958 | Roscommon | Independent | National Progressive Democrats | Jack McQuillan co-founds the National Progressive Democrats | ||
| 30 May 1958 | Galway South | Fianna Fáil | Anthony Millar holds seat vacated by the death of Beegan | |||
| 13 May 1958 | Dublin South-Central | Independent | Resignation of Jack Murphy[3] | |||
| 25 June 1958 | Dublin South-Central | Fianna Fáil | Patrick Cummins wins seat vacated by the resignation of Murphy | |||
| 13 March 1959 | Dublin South-West | Fianna Fáil | Death of Bernard Butler | |||
| 22 March 1959 | Meath | Fianna Fáil | Death of James Griffin | |||
| 17 June 1959 | Clare | Fianna Fáil | Election of Éamon de Valera as president of Ireland | |||
| 22 July 1959 | Dublin South-West | Fine Gael | Richie Ryan wins seat vacated by the death of Butler | |||
| 22 July 1959 | Meath | Fianna Fáil | Henry Johnston holds seat vacated by the death of Griffin | |||
| 22 July 1959 | Clare | Fianna Fáil | Seán Ó Ceallaigh holds seat vacated by de Valera | |||
| 20 January 1960 | Carlow–Kilkenny | Fine Gael | Death of Joseph Hughes | |||
| 23 June 1960 | Carlow–Kilkenny | Fianna Fáil | Patrick Teehan wins seat vacated by the death of Hughes | |||
| 24 November 1960 | Sligo–Leitrim | Fianna Fáil | Death of Stephen Flynn | |||
| 1 March 1961 | Sligo–Leitrim | Fine Gael | Joseph McLoughlin wins seat vacated by the death of Flynn | |||
| 29 March 1961 | Wexford | Fianna Fáil | Death of Denis Allen | |||
| 19 April 1961 | Carlow–Kilkenny | Fianna Fáil | Death of Francis Humphreys | |||
References
edit- ^ a b "Election of Ceann Comhairle – Dáil Éireann (16th Dáil) – Vol. 161 No. 1". Houses of the Oireachtas. 20 March 1957. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "TDs & Senators (16th Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ "Resignation of Member – Dáil Éireann (16th Dáil) – Vol. 168 No. 1". Houses of the Oireachtas. 13 May 1958. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.