Party-leader not getting elected

[THR]

Does the Irish election-history have an example of a leader of a major party not being elected to the Dail? Given the small size of the Irish constituencies, 3-5 seats, that should not be entirely impossible.

What would be the procedure if the leader of either of the two main parties fails to get elected from his constituency? If for example, FG-Labour and the Greens could strike a deal that if they win the majority of the seats they will form the government and they indeed would win a majority of the seats but the leader of the largest party of that coalition would not get elected to the Dail. Would then some deputy-chairman of FG become Taoiseach?

What prompts me to ask this question is the real possibility in my country, Finland, that in the upcoming elections SDP, the social democrats, are likely to become the largest party in parliament but the party-leader is in a very hostile constituency and may very well be out of the parliament. The common practice is that the largest party has the priority for the post of PM but the constitution stipulates that the PM must be a member of parliament.

There have been a lot of speculations on such a scenario. Maybe the deputy-chairman would become PM or the leader of the junior-coalition parther so that the winning party becomes very much over-represented in the government as a compensation for them losing the post of PM.

[stretchneil]

It hasn't happened that I'm aware of, but Ruairi Quinn left it scarily close last time out.

AFAIK, the party would first elect a new party leader, who would then become Taoiseach.

[Deep Throat]

frank cluskey lost his seat as leader of the labour party

[drjimryan]

Dick sprink scraped in with 4 to spare............

Will Rabitte be next on this illustrious list?

[THR]

But no FF or FG-leader has thus far failed to get elected into the Dail?

[Sidewinder]

Didn't Mulcahy lose his seat while FG leader?

Edit: nah, he lost his seat before becoming leader, got into the Seanad, and was appointed FG leader from there, getting his Dáil seat back at the next election.

[Podolski]

yes, correct Frank Cluskey lost his seat while Labour Party leader. He was immediately deposed and replaced by Michael O'Leary.

[The Analyser]

yes, correct Frank Cluskey lost his seat while Labour Party leader. He was immediately deposed and replaced by Michael O'Leary.

Frank lost his seat in June 1981. AFAIK he was not deposed but resigned. Labour was entering into a coalition with Fine Gael and the Labour leader would obviously have to become Tánaiste, but Frank, as a non-TD, was constitutionally debarred from the office. So he resigned and his deputy, Michael O'Leary, was elected to the post and became Tánaiste in Garret FitzGerald's first coalition.

No FF or FG leader has ever lost his seat. FG's first president, Eoin O'Duffy, was not a member of the Oireachtas, with a distinction drawn between that of party leader and parliamentary leader, with W.T. Cosgrave filling that role. (He held both posts after O'Duffy was deposed.)

The roles were separated again between 1948 and a decade later when Dick Mulcahy served as President of the party and John A. Costello served as parliamentary leader and candidate for taoiseach. (Sir John Esmonde, Bt, a descendant of Henry Grattan, was rumoured to be the alternative candidate for parliamentary leader.)

[hiding behind a poster]

Dick sprink scraped in with 4 to spare............

Will Rabitte be next on this illustrious list?

Drjim, if you're suggesting that Rabbitte's seat is in danger, then you're making a mockery of your own notion that you're in touch with things in Dublin South-West. Rabbitte will coast home, quite possibly topping the poll and having a surplus to hand back to other anti-FF candidates.

[drjimryan]

touchy, touchy hiding....................its a question not a prediction........................