ABSTRACT
Fianna Fail had formed minority governments in 1932, 1937 and 1943, and on each occasion the Taoiseach had suffered, or engineered, circumstances leading to a ‘snap’ election within a year. The minority government elected in 1961, though, proved much more durable, lasting for three and a half years. The two main opposition parties entered the election in confident mood. Fine Gael was in the throes of a lively internal debate, the traditional conservatism of the leadership being challenged by the broadly social democratic ideas of a younger generation spearheaded by Declan Costello and known as the ‘Just Society’ policies. The results showed gains for all main parties, which between them garnered 97 per cent of the votes, the largest share ever. Fianna Fail’s gains were impressive, bearing in mind that the party had always previously lost votes after a long spell in government.
