5 Different governments in Ireland from 1977-1982

1. 1977 General Election
• Fianna Fail promised to abolish local rates
and car tax
• Outgoing Fine Gael / Labour government
defended their record
• Government’s record was one of austerity
• Tensions within Labour over coalition

2. 1977 General Election
• Result
• Fianna Fail 85 seats (+15)
• Fine Gael 43 seats (-11)
• Labour 17 seats (-2)
• Independents 4 seats (+2)
• Tullymander was a disaster for the
outgoing government

3. Fianna Fail government
• Jack Lynch – Taoiseach
• Charles Haughey – Minister for Health –
rehabilitated after Arms Crisis
• Garrett Fitzgerald becomes Fine Gael
leader
• Frank Cluskey becomes Labour leader

4. Fianna Fail in
Government
• Rates are abolished
• Car Tax is abolished but
will be re-introduced in a
few years
• Government increases
public spending by
increasing borrowing

5. Dept of Economic Planning and
Development
• Minister Martin O’Donoghue produces a three
year economic plan
• The plan is wildly optimistic
By 1981
Issue Projection Actual
Growth 5% 2.6%
Inflation less than 5% 20.4%
Unemployment 50,000 147,000

6. 1979 Oil Crisis
• Economic Plan was significantly impacted by
the ‘Second Oil Crisis’
• International tensions after a revolution in Iran
led to cuts in oil production
• Oil prices more than doubled leading to high
inflation
• Crisis had a significant impact on Irish
economy

7. • In December 1978 Ireland applied to join the
European Monetary System (E.M.S.)
• Britain decided to remain outside the EMS
• For the first time since 1826 the Irish and British
currencies were not equal in value
• Also impacted on Irish economy
• By 1980 the Irish pound was worth 80p Sterling
E.M.S.

8. • Strike wave in Ireland
• 18 week long bus strike
• 19 week long post office strike
• Violence on the picket lines
• Army used to replace bus service
Crisis in Government

9. • Rising protests against the government’s
taxation policy
• March 1979
• http://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitions/1861-strikes-pic
• 150,000 participated in Dublin
• 40,000 in Cork – tens of thousands in 30 other
protests around the country
Crisis in Government

10. • Fianna Fail did badly in the 1979 European
Elections
• With government popularity declining many FF
TDs felt they would lose their seats in the
following election
• When FF lost two by-elections in Cork Lynch
was forced to resign
• Battle within FF to replace Lynch as leader
• Charles Haughey 44 votes – George Colley 38
• Ongoing deep divisions within FF
Lynch is Removed as
Taoiseach

11. • September 1979 Pope John Paul II visited
Ireland
• The first pope ever
• Regarded as having a charismatic personality
• He visited Dublin, Drogheda, Limerick, Knock and
Galway
• 1 million attended mass in the Phoenix Park
• Youth mass in Galway
• Stressed traditional values and called for
opposition to divorce and abortion
• Regarded as the last example of traditional
Catholic influence in Ireland
Papal Visit

12. • Economy in crisis
• Haughey makes a ‘state of the nation’ address
on RTE
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoXYTHlWXvQ
• With an election due the Fianna Fail
government tried to buy support
Haughey in Power

13. • Ongoing crisis in the North
• 1979 Maggie Thatcher elected Prime Minister in
Britain
• Hardline Tory
• Ongoing talks between British and Irish
governments
• Haughey and Thatcher developed a ‘good
relationship’
• Difficulties caused by Hunger Strikes
Haughey in Power

14. IRA prisoners
• Initially granted special category status
• British government withdraw special
category status in 1976
• IRA prisoners go ‘on the blanket’
• 1978 – protest escalated to the ‘dirty
protest’
• 1980 7 IRA prisoners go on hunger strike
• Ends after 53 days following promises
from British Government

15. 1981 Hunger Strike
• Prisoners were housed in the H-Blocks of
Long Kesh
• Bobby Sands elected to Parliament while
on hunger strike
• 10 prisoners die before hunger strike
called off
• Election of Sands leads Sinn Fein and
IRA to look at more political activity as
well as the military campaign

16. • Haughey intended to call an election in early
1981
• On 14 February 1918 a fire broke out in the
Stardust dancehall killing 48 young people
• The Northern hunger strikes further delayed the
election
• Eventaully held in June 1981
• FF promised more spending – FG promised tax
cuts
• Ongoing crisis and the hunger strikes were to
impact on the election
1981 Election

17. 1981 General Election
• Result
• Fianna Fail 78 seats (-6)
• Fine Gael 65 seats (+18)
• Labour 15 seats (-2)
• Anti-H-blocks 2 seats (+2)
• Sinn Fein, the Workers Party 1 seat (+1)
• Socialist Labour Party 1 seat
• Independents 4 seats (NC)

18. 1981 General Election
• Fine Gael benefitted from the increased
number of seats
• Two IRA prisoners were elected
• Kieran Doherty died on 2 August 1981
• Fianna Fail lost seats because of votes for
anti-H-blocks candidates
• Among independents elected was Jim
Kemmy in Limerick

19. Coalition government
• Fine Gael and Labour form a coalition
government with the support of Independents
• Garret Fitzgerald – Taoiseach
• Michael O’Leary – Taniste
• Economy now in crisis
• ‘much worse than we expected’
• Government implements austerity

20. Collapse of Government
• In Jan 1982 John Bruton, Minister for
Finance, introduces a severe austerity
budget
• Includes introduction of VAT on childrens
shoes
• Jim Kemmy and Joe Sherlock (SFWP) vote
against the budget and the government
collapses
• Fianna Fail attempt to get President Hillary to
refuse to dissolve the Dail
• Dail is dissolved and an election in Feb 1982

21. Feb 1982 Election
• FG and LP campaign on the need for ‘strict
control of public finances’
• FF claim they are spreading ‘doom and
gloom’
• During the campaign FF also adopt austerity
• ‘There is no alternative’

22. Feb 1982 Election
• Result
• Fianna Fail 81 seats (+3)
• Fine Gael 63 seats (-2)
• Labour 15 seats (NC)
• Sinn Fein, the Workers Party 3 seats (+2)
• Independents 4 seats (NC)

23. The Gregory Deal
• Fianna Fail are 3 seats short of a majority
• Sinn Fein the Workers Party agree to support
Haughey for Taoiseach
• Haughey negotiates the ‘Gregory Deal’ with
Independent TD Tony Gregory for his support
• The ‘Gregory Deal’ involves massive
government spending in Gregory’s
constituency
• FF are in power but the government is
unstable

24. Fianna Fail in Power
• Fianna Fail offer the job of European
Commissioner to Fine Gael TD Richard
Burke.
• Burke accepts and resigns his seat in the Dail
• FF expect to win the by-election to bolster
their position in the Dail
• But – FG win it seat – Haughey’s gamble
backfires
• Increases the instability of the government

25. GUBU
• A public scandal broke in August 1982
• A serial killer Malcolm MacArthur was found
hiding in the house of the Attorney General
• Crisis nearly collapsed the government
• Haughey called the incident ‘grotesque,
unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented’
• The acromyn GUBU was later used to
describe the style of government by Haughey

26. Government Collapses
• Deep divisions now exist in FF between the
pro-Haughey and anti-Haughey factions
• In October 1982 Fianna Fail publishes an
economic plan ‘The Way Forward’
• In reality a further programme of austerity cuts
• SFWP and Gregory withdraw their support for
the government and it collapses

27. Nov 1982 Election
• Haughey attacks Fitzgerald for being pro-British and
pro-RUC
• Haughey had been critical of Thatcher over the
Falklands War
• FG and LP focussed on the economy
• Abortion becomes and issue
• The ‘Pro-Life Campaign’ force all the main parties to
agree to hold a referendum to write a ban on
abortion into the constitution
• TDs panic – believing they would lose votes if they
refused to back the referendum