1945 Irish presidential election

1945 Irish presidential election

← 1938 14 June 1945 1952 →
Turnout	63.0%
Nominee Seán T. O'Kelly Seán Mac Eoin Patrick McCartan Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Independent 1st preference 537,965 49.5% 335,539 30.9% 212,834 19.6% Final count 565,165 55.5% 453,425 44.5% Eliminated
First count winner by local authority
President before election Douglas Hyde Independent Elected President Seán T. O'Kelly Fianna Fáil

The 1945 Irish presidential election was held on Thursday, 14 June 1945. It was Ireland's first contested presidential election. Outgoing president Douglas Hyde, who had served since 1938, decided not to seek a second term. Fianna Fáil nominated its deputy leader, Tánaiste Seán T. O'Kelly, as its candidate. Fine Gael nominated Seán Mac Eoin. Independent republican Patrick McCartan sought and failed to receive the necessary four nominations from local councils, but secured a nomination from Oireachtas members.

O'Kelly won on the second count but the degree of voting transfers between the two opposition candidates, and O'Kelly's failure to win on the first count, showed the depth of growing opposition to Éamon de Valera's government and the potential that existed for cooperation among various opposition groups. De Valera's government was defeated in the subsequent 1948 general election and replaced by the first inter-party government.

The election took place on the same date as the 1945 local elections. Electoral law was amended to allow administrative counties and county boroughs to be used as constituencies instead of using Dáil constituencies, as previously required. This was to facilitate sorting and counting of ballots with ballots for the local elections.^[1][2]

Under Article 12 of the Constitution of Ireland, candidates could be nominated by:

• at least twenty of the 198 serving members of the Houses of the Oireachtas, or
• at least four of 31 councils of the administrative counties, including county boroughs, or
• themselves, in the case of a former or retiring president.

All Irish citizens on the Dáil electoral register were eligible to vote.

The first candidate nominated was Seán Mac Eoin, a Fine Gael TD who was nominated on 5 May by 17 members of his own party, as well as three independent TDs, Alfie Byrne, Tom O'Reilly and Richard Anthony.^[3] Seán T. O'Kelly was nominated by Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members on 15 May. On the date before nominations closed on 16 May, the administrative council of the Labour Party voted to allow its Oireachtas members to sign the nomination form of Patrick McCartan, and Clann na Talmhan voted that its Oireachtas members would sign his nomination form, together guaranteeing his position on the ballot.^[4]

Results were announced by county councils and county borough corporations rather than by constituency.^[5]