1979 Cork City by-election
By-election to the 21st Dáil
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A Dáil by-election was held in the constituency of Cork City in Ireland on Wednesday, 7 November 1979, to fill a vacancy in the 21st Dáil. It followed the death of Labour Teachta Dála (TD) Patrick Kerrigan on 4 July 1979.[1]
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7 November 1979
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| Turnout | 38,657 (55.1%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The writ of election was moved by Labour TD Barry Desmond on 17 October 1979 and was agreed by the Dáil.[2]
The by-election was won by the Fine Gael candidate Senator Liam Burke.[3] It was held on the same day as the 1979 Cork North-East by-election.
Both by-elections were won by Fine Gael candidates. The victory of Fine Gael in both by-elections contributed to the decision of Jack Lynch to step down as leader of Fianna Fáil and Taoiseach the following month.[4]
Result
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| Fianna Fáil | John Dennehy | 35.9 | 13,890 | 14,269 | 16,210 | |
| Fine Gael | Liam Burke | 33.2 | 12,832 | 13,411 | 19,524 | |
| Labour | Toddy O'Sullivan | 22.6 | 8,742 | 10,444 | ||
| Sinn Féin The Workers' Party | Ted Tynan | 8.3 | 3,193 | |||
| Electorate: 70,164 Valid: 38,657 Quota: 19,329 Turnout: 55.1% | ||||||