View source for 1945 Irish presidential election

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name     = 1945 Irish presidential election
| country           = Ireland
| type              = presidential
| ongoing           = no
| previous_election = 1938 Irish presidential election
| previous_year     = 1938
| next_election     = 1952 Irish presidential election
| next_year         = 1952
| turnout           = 63.0%
| 1blank            = <small>1st preference</small>
| 2blank            = <small>Final count</small>
| election_date     = 14 June 1945
| image1            = {{CSS image crop|Image =Sean T O'Kelly, 1949.jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| nominee1          = [[Seán T. O'Kelly]]
| party1            = Fianna Fáil
| 1data1            = '''537,965<br>49.5%'''
| 2data1            = '''565,165<br>55.5%'''
| image2            = {{CSS image crop|Image =Seán Mac Eoin 1945 presidential election poster (cropped).png|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| nominee2          = [[Seán Mac Eoin]]
| party2            = Fine Gael
| 1data2            = 335,539<br>30.9%
| 2data2            = 453,425<br>44.5%
| image3            = {{CSS image crop|Image =Patrick McCartan.jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| nominee3          = {{nowrap|[[Patrick McCartan]]}}
| party3            = Independent politician (Ireland)
| alliance3         = {{ubl|[[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]]|[[Clann na Talmhan]]}}
| 1data3            = 212,834<br>19.6%
| 2data3            = ''Eliminated''
| map_image         = File:Irish presidential election 1945.png 
| map_size          = 200px
| map_caption       = First count winner by local authority
| title             = President
| before_election   = [[Douglas Hyde]]
| before_party      = Independent politician (Ireland)
| after_election    = [[Seán T. O'Kelly]]
| after_party       = Fianna Fáil
}}
[[File:Seán Mac Eoin 1945 presidential election poster.png|thumb|Poster for [[Seán Mac Eoin]]]]
The '''1945 Irish presidential election''' was held on Thursday, 14 June 1945. It was [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]'s first contested [[Irish presidential election|presidential election]]. Outgoing [[president of Ireland|president]] [[Douglas Hyde]], who had served since 1938, did not 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 [[Irish republicanism|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 Irish general election|1948 general election]] and succeeded by the [[Government of the 13th Dáil|first inter-party government]].

The election took place on the same date as the [[1945 Irish local elections|1945 local elections]]. Electoral law was amended to allow [[Local government in the Republic of Ireland|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.<ref>{{Cite ISB|year=1945|num=15|section=6|title=Presidential and Local Elections Act 1945|date=1 May 1945|access-date=11 May 2019|archive-date=11 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511113149/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1945/act/15/section/6/enacted/en/html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Presidential and Local Elections Bill, 1945—Second and Subsequent Stages |url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/seanad/1945-04-25/3/ |journal=Seanad Debates |volume=29 |issue=6 |publisher=Houses of the Oireachtas |access-date=14 September 2018 |language=en-ie |date=25 April 1945 |archive-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915001940/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/seanad/1945-04-25/3/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Nomination process==
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 [[Local government in the Republic of Ireland|councils of the administrative counties, including county boroughs]], or
*themselves, in the case of a former or retiring president.

All [[Irish nationality law|Irish citizen]]s on the Dáil [[Electoral roll|electoral register]] were eligible to vote.

The first candidate nominated was [[Seán Mac Eoin]], a [[Fine Gael]] [[Teachta Dála|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 (Cavan politician)|Tom O'Reilly]] and [[Richard Anthony (politician)|Richard Anthony]].<ref>{{cite news|title=First nomination for the presidency|date=7 May 1945|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]}}</ref> [[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 (Ireland)|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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dr McCartan secures nomination|date=16 May 1945|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]}}</ref>

==Result==
{{STV Election box begin5
 |title   = 1945 Irish presidential election<ref>{{cite web|title=14 June 1945 Presidential election|website=Presidential Election Returning Officer|date=29 January 2025|url=https://www.presidentialelection.ie/1945-presidential-election/index.html|access-date=21 October 2025}}</ref>
 |numcounts = 2
}}
{{STV Election box candidate5|
 |candidate  = '''[[Seán T. O'Kelly]]'''
 |party      = Fianna Fáil
 |nominator  = Oireachtas: [[Fianna Fáil]]
 |percentage = 49.5
 |count1     = 537,965
 |count2     = '''565,165'''
}}
{{STV Election box candidate5|
 |candidate  = [[Seán Mac Eoin]]
 |party      = Fine Gael
 |nominator  = Oireachtas: [[Fine Gael]] and [[Independent politician (Ireland)|Independents]]
 |percentage = 30.9
 |count1     = 335,539
 |count2     = 453,425
}}
{{STV Election box candidate5|
 |candidate  = [[Patrick McCartan]]
 |party      = Independent politician (Ireland)
 |nominator  = Oireachtas: [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] and [[Clann na Talmhan]]
 |percentage = 19.6
 |count1     = 212,834
 |count2     = &nbsp;
}}
{{STV Election box end5
 |numcounts  = 2
 |electorate = 1,803,463
 |valid      = 1,086,338
 |spoilt     = 50,287 (4.4%)
 |quota      = 543,170
 |turnout    = 63.0%
}}
{{bar box
|title=First preference vote
|titlebar=#ddd
|width=600px
|barwidth=410px
|bars=
{{bar percent|'''O'Kelly'''|{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}|49.5}}
{{bar percent|Mac Eoin|{{party color|Fine Gael}}|30.9}}
{{bar percent|McCartan|{{party color|Independent politician}}|19.6}}
}}
{{bar box
|title=Final percentage
|titlebar=#ddd
|width=600px
|barwidth=410px
|bars=
{{bar percent|'''O'Kelly'''|{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}|55.5}}
{{bar percent|Mac Eoin|{{party color|Fine Gael}}|44.5}}
}}

===Results by local authority===
Results were announced by [[county council]]s and [[county borough|county borough corporations]] rather than by constituency.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.presidentialelection.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/presidential-elections-1938-to-2018.pdf#page=22|title=Presidential Elections 1938–2018|publisher=[[Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage|Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government]]|pages=20–23|via=Presidential Election Returning Officer}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsed"
|+ First count votes
!rowspan=2|Local Authority
!colspan=2|O'Kelly
!colspan=2|Mac Eoin
!colspan=2|McCartan
|-
!Votes
!%
!Votes
!%
!Votes
!%
|-
|[[Carlow County Council|Carlow County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''6,178'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''46.76'''
|5,197
|39.33
|1,838
|13.91
|-
|[[Cavan County Council|Cavan County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''14,500'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''49.29'''
|11,883
|40.40
|3,032
|10.31
|-
|[[Clare County Council|Clare County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''22,910'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''57.73'''
|10,796
|27.20
|5,979
|15.07
|-
|[[Cork County Council|Cork County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''49,737'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''44.09'''
|38,911
|34.49
|24,163
|21.42
|-
|[[Cork City Council|Cork County Borough]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''13,875'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''50.25'''
|9,025
|32.68
|4,714
|17.07
|-
|[[Donegal County Council|Donegal County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''24,999'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''54.38'''
|13,137
|28.58
|7,834
|17.04
|-
|[[Dublin County Council|Dublin County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''16,206'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''43.00'''
|11,665
|30.95
|9,815
|26.04
|-
|[[Dublin City Council|Dublin County Borough]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''70,777'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''45.94'''
|39,273
|25.49
|44,027
|28.57
|-
|[[Galway County Council|Galway County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''32,496'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''57.66'''
|12,713
|22.56
|11,153
|19.79
|-
|[[Kerry County Council|Kerry County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''20,589'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''56.77'''
|7,180
|19.80
|8,500
|23.44
|-
|[[Kildare County Council|Kildare County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''11,426'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''54.11'''
|6,731
|31.88
|2,958
|14.01
|-
|[[Kilkenny County Council|Kilkenny County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''13,437'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''53.60'''
|8,158
|32.54
|3,476
|13.86
|-
|[[Laois County Council|Laois County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''8,946'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''45.85'''
|5,683
|29.12
|4,884
|25.03
|-
|[[Leitrim County Council|Leitrim County]]
|8,064
|39.52
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''9,344'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''45.80'''
|2,995
|14.68
|-
|[[Limerick County Council|Limerick County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''22,725'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''55.88'''
|13,183
|32.42
|4,758
|11.70
|-
|[[Limerick City Council|Limerick County Borough]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''9,318'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''56.18'''
|4,731
|28.52
|2,538
|15.30
|-
|[[Longford County Council|Longford County]]
|5,848
|35.09
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''10,170'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''61.03'''
|646
|3.88
|-
|[[Louth County Council|Louth County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''13,685'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''49.32'''
|9,395
|33.86
|4,668
|16.82
|-
|[[Mayo County Council|Mayo County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''27,260'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''50.08'''
|14,672
|26.95
|12,505
|22.97
|-
|[[Meath County Council|Meath County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''14,083'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''58.02'''
|6,784
|27.95
|3,406
|14.03
|-
|[[Monaghan County Council|Monaghan County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''13,042'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''54.38'''
|6,878
|28.68
|4,062
|16.94
|-
|[[Offaly County Council|Offaly County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''10,580'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''53.13'''
|5,199
|26.11
|4,136
|20.77
|-
|[[Roscommon County Council|Roscommon County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''15,354'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''47.62'''
|11,747
|36.43
|5,140
|15.94
|-
|[[Sligo County Council|Sligo County]]
|10,288
|39.72
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''12,026'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''46.43'''
|3,590
|13.86
|-
|[[North Tipperary County Council|Tipperary North County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''12,477'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''52.09'''
|7,530
|31.44
|3,946
|16.47
|-
|[[South Tipperary County Council|Tipperary South County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''15,940'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''50.45'''
|10,499
|33.23
|5,155
|16.32
|-
|[[Waterford County Council|Waterford County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''10,980'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''58.85'''
|5,198
|27.86
|2,481
|13.30
|-
|[[Waterford City Council|Waterford County Borough]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''5,898'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''52.19'''
|3,267
|28.91
|2,135
|18.89
|-
|[[Westmeath County Council|Westmeath County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''10,303'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''47.52'''
|9,741
|44.93
|1,636
|7.55
|-
|[[Wexford County Council|Wexford County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''16,380'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''46.87'''
|10,082
|28.85
|8,488
|24.29
|-
|[[Wicklow County Council|Wicklow County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''9,664'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''42.80'''
|4,741
|21.00
|8,176
|36.21
|- class="sortbottom" style="font-weight:bold; background:rgb(232,232,232);"
| Total
|537,965
|49.52
|335,539
|30.89
|212,834
|19.59
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsed"
|+ Second count result
! rowspan="2" |Local Authority
!colspan=2|O'Kelly
!colspan=2|Mac Eoin
|-
!Votes
!%
!Votes
!%
|-
|[[Carlow County Council|Carlow County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''6,615'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''52.41'''
|6,007
|47.59
|-
|[[Cavan County Council|Cavan County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''15,010'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''52.82'''
|13,406
|47.18
|-
|[[Clare County Council|Clare County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''23,668'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''63.00'''
|13,902
|37.00
|-
|[[Cork County Council|Cork County]]
|52,350
|49.84
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''52,688'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''50.16'''
|-
|[[Cork City Council|Cork County Borough]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''14,504'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''55.50'''
|11,627
|44.50
|-
|[[Donegal County Council|Donegal County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''25,881'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''61.44'''
|16,244
|38.56
|-
|[[Dublin County Council|Dublin County]]
|17,317
|48.29
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''18,546'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''51.71'''
|-
|[[Dublin City Council|Dublin County Borough]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''76,119'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''52.84'''
|67,947
|47.16
|-
|[[Galway County Council|Galway County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''33,653'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''65.42'''
|17,788
|34.58
|-
|[[Kerry County Council|Kerry County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''21,627'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''65.09'''
|11,599
|34.91
|-
|[[Kildare County Council|Kildare County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''11,869'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''58.63'''
|8,376
|41.37
|-
|[[Kilkenny County Council|Kilkenny County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''13,921'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''57.86'''
|10,140
|42.14
|-
|[[Laois County Council|Laois County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''9,540'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''54.59'''
|7,937
|45.41
|-
|[[Leitrim County Council|Leitrim County]]
|8,497
|44.43
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''10,626'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''55.57'''
|-
|[[Limerick County Council|Limerick County]] and [[Limerick City Council|County Borough]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''33,127'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''60.28'''
|21,828
|39.72
|-
|[[Longford County Council|Longford County]]
|5,974
|36.29
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''10,486'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''63.71'''
|-
|[[Louth County Council|Louth County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''14,312'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''54.42'''
|11,987
|45.58
|-
|[[Mayo County Council|Mayo County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''28,418'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''57.86'''
|20,695
|42.14
|-
|[[Meath County Council|Meath County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''14,655'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''62.80'''
|8,680
|37.20
|-
|[[Monaghan County Council|Monaghan County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''13,671'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''61.87'''
|8,427
|38.13
|-
|[[Offaly County Council|Offaly County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''11,672'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''62.70'''
|6,944
|37.30
|-
|[[Roscommon County Council|Roscommon County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''15,853'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''52.22'''
|14,507
|47.78
|-
|[[Sligo County Council|Sligo County]]
|10,857
|44.25
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''13,676'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fine Gael}}"|'''55.75'''
|-
|[[North Tipperary County Council|Tipperary North County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''13,082'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''57.52'''
|9,660
|42.48
|-
|[[South Tipperary County Council|Tipperary South County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''16,696'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''55.24'''
|13,531
|44.76
|-
|[[Waterford County Council|Waterford County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''11,251'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''62.82'''
|6,658
|37.18
|-
|[[Waterford City Council|Waterford County Borough]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''6,215'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''57.82'''
|4,533
|42.18
|-
|[[Westmeath County Council|Westmeath County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''10,620'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''50.17'''
|10,548
|49.83
|-
|[[Wexford County Council|Wexford County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''17,209'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''53.32'''
|15,065
|46.68
|-
|[[Wicklow County Council|Wicklow County]]
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''10,982'''
|bgcolor="{{party color|Fianna Fáil}}"|'''53.97'''
|9,367
|46.03
|- class="sortbottom" style="font-weight:bold; background:rgb(232,232,232);"
| Total 
|565,165
|55.49
|453,425
|44.51
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Irish elections|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish Presidential Election, 1945}}
[[Category:1945 elections in the Republic of Ireland]]
[[Category:1945 in Irish politics|Presidential election]]
[[Category:Presidential elections in Ireland]]
[[Category:June 1945 in Europe]]