20th Dáil
TDs from 1977 to 1981
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The 20th Dáil was elected at the 1973 general election on 28 February 1973 and met on 14 March 1973. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. It sat with the 13th Seanad as the two Houses of the Oireachtas.
| 20th Dáil | |||||||||||
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| Overview | |||||||||||
| Legislative body | Dáil Éireann | ||||||||||
| Jurisdiction | Ireland | ||||||||||
| Meeting place | Leinster House | ||||||||||
| Term | 14 March 1973 – 25 May 1977 | ||||||||||
| Election | 1973 general election | ||||||||||
| Government | 14th government of Ireland | ||||||||||
| Members | 144 | ||||||||||
| Ceann Comhairle | Seán Treacy | ||||||||||
| Taoiseach | Liam Cosgrave | ||||||||||
| Tánaiste | Brendan Corish | ||||||||||
| Chief Whip | John Kelly | ||||||||||
| Leader of the Opposition | Jack Lynch | ||||||||||
| Sessions | |||||||||||
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On 25 May 1977, President Patrick Hillery dissolved the Dáil on the request of Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave. The 20th Dáil lasted 4 years, 72 days.
Composition of the 20th Dáil
| Party | Feb. 1973 | May 1977 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fianna Fáil | 69 | 66 |  3 | |
| Fine Gael | 54 | 53 | 1 | |
| Labour | 19 | 19 |  | |
| Independent | 2 | 3 |  1 | |
| Ceann Comhairle | N/a | 1 | 1 | |
| Vacant | N/a | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | 144 | |||
Fine Gael and the Labour Party formed the 14th government of Ireland, known as the National Coalition, with Liam Cosgrave as Taoiseach and Brendan Corish as Tánaiste.
Graphical representation
This is a graphical comparison of party strengths in the 20th Dáil from March 1973. This was not the official seating plan.
Ceann Comhairle
On the meeting of the Dáil, Seán Treacy (Lab) was proposed by Liam Cosgrave (FG) and seconded by Brendan Corish (Lab) for the position. His election was approved without a vote.[1]
TDs by constituency
The list of the 144 TDs elected is given in alphabetical order by Dáil constituency.[2]
- Blaney was a member of Independent Fianna Fáil.
Changes
| Date | Constituency | Loss | Gain | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 March 1973 | Tipperary South | Labour | Ceann Comhairle | Seán Treacy takes office as Ceann Comhairle[1] | ||
| 30 May 1973 | Monaghan | Fianna Fáil | Erskine H. Childers elected as president of Ireland | |||
| 27 November 1973 | Monaghan | Fine Gael | Brendan Toal wins seat vacated by Childers | |||
| 13 July 1974 | Cork North-East | Fianna Fáil | Death of Liam Ahern | |||
| 13 November 1974 | Cork North-East | Fianna Fáil | Seán Brosnan holds seat vacated by the death of Ahern | |||
| 24 December 1974 | Galway North-East | Fianna Fáil | Death of Michael F. Kitt | |||
| 5 January 1975 | Galway West | Fianna Fáil | Death of Johnny Geoghegan | |||
| 4 March 1975 | Galway North-East | Fianna Fáil | Michael P. Kitt holds seat vacated by the death of his father Michael F. Kitt | |||
| 4 March 1975 | Galway West | Fianna Fáil | Máire Geoghegan-Quinn holds seat vacated by the death of her father Johnny Geoghegan | |||
| 25 September 1975 | Mayo West | Fine Gael | Death of Henry Kenny | |||
| 12 November 1975 | Mayo West | Fine Gael | Enda Kenny holds seat vacated by the death of his father Henry Kenny | |||
| 29 February 1976 | Donegal North-East | Fianna Fáil | Death of Liam Cunningham | |||
| 13 April 1976 | Dublin South-West | Fianna Fáil | Death of Noel Lemass | |||
| 28 April 1976 | Dublin North-West | Labour | Independent | David Thornley loses party whip after appearing on Sinn Féin platform during Easter Rising commemorations[3] | ||
| 10 June 1976 | Donegal North-East | Independent | Paddy Keaveney gains seat vacated by the death of Cunningham[a] | |||
| 10 June 1976 | Dublin South-West | Labour | Brendan Halligan gains seat vacated by the death of Lemass | |||
| 25 January 1977 | Dublin County South | Fine Gael | Resignation of Richard Burke on nomination as EC Commissioner[4] | |||
| 2 February 1977 | Dublin North-West | Independent | Labour | David Thornley readmitted to parliamentary party[5] | ||
| 19 May 1977 | Dublin South-West | Fine Gael | Resignation of Declan Costello on nomination as High Court judge[6] | |||
- Keaveney was a member of Independent Fianna Fáil.