The 1961 Irish general election to the 17th Dáil was held on Wednesday, 4 October, following the dissolution of the 16th Dáil on 15 September by President Éamon de Valera on the request of Taoiseach Seán Lemass. The general election took place in 38 Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 144 seats in Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas, which had been reduced in size by three seats from the previous election by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1961. Fianna Fáil lost its majority but remained the dominant party.

Quick Facts 144 seats in Dáil Éireann 73 seats needed for a majority, Turnout ...

1961 Irish general election

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144 seats in Dáil Éireann[lower-alpha 1] 73 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	70.6% 0.7pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Seán Lemass James Dillon Brendan Corish Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Labour Leader since 22 June 1959 21 March 1959 2 March 1960 Leader's seat Dublin South-Central Monaghan Wexford Last election 78 seats, 48.3% 40 seats, 26.6% 12 seats, 9.1% Seats before 77 41 11 Seats won 70 47 16[lower-alpha 1] Seat change 7 6 4 Percentage 43.8% 32.0% 11.6% Swing 4.5% 5.4% 2.5%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   CnaT NPD Leader Joseph Blowick Noël Browne Seán MacBride Party Clann na Talmhan National Progressive Democrats Clann na Poblachta Leader since 5 September 1944 23 July 1958 21 January 1946 Leader's seat Mayo South Dublin South-East Dublin South-West (defeated) Last election 3 seats, 2.4% N/A 1 seat, 1.7% Seats before 3 2 1 Seats won 2 2 1 Seat change 1 0 0 Percentage 1.5% 1.0% 1.1% Swing 0.9% 1.0% 0.6%
Percentage of seats gained by each of the five biggest parties, and number of seats gained by smaller parties and independents.
Taoiseach before election Seán Lemass Fianna Fáil Taoiseach after election Seán Lemass Fianna Fáil

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The 17th Dáil met at Leinster House on 11 October to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new government of Ireland. Lemass was re-appointed Taoiseach, forming the 10th Government of Ireland, a single-party minority Fianna Fáil government.

At the general election of 1961, the three main parties were led by new leaders: Seán Lemass had taken charge of Fianna Fáil in 1959, making this the first time Fianna Fáil faced a general election campaign without Éamon de Valera (who had become President of Ireland in 1959). James Dillon had taken over at Fine Gael in 1959 also, while the Labour Party was now under the leadership of Brendan Corish.

Lemass announced the date of the election on 8 September, with the dissolution to take place a week later on 15 September. It was the shortest period between the dissolution and the election permitted in law.^[4][5]

While the election was caused by the "crisis" surrounding Ireland's application for membership of the European Economic Community and various other international affairs, little attention was paid to these matters during the campaign; the 1961 general election has become known as the dullest campaign on record, with the most important issue being the teaching of the Irish language in schools. Fianna Fáil fought the election on its record in government and a reforming theme; Fine Gael presented itself as the party of free enterprise. The Labour Party campaigned strongly against the "conservative" Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael parties. It also favoured major expansion in the public sector. It was the first and only general election contested by the National Progressive Democrats led by Noël Browne.

The 17th Dáil met on 11 October 1961. Fianna Fáil were short of a majority, with 70 of the 144 seats in the Dáil, but were able to form a new single-party government, the 10th Government of Ireland, with the support of Independent TDs.