RTÉ Coverage of General Elections - 1981 General Election

1981 General Election

The first of five general elections held during the 1980s saw Charles Haughey and Garret Fitzgerald fighting their first elections as leaders of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael respectively.

Added to the mix of an ailing economy, increasing unemployment and emigration was the H-Blocks campaign in support of the Republican prisoners on hunger strike in the Maze Prison. The prisoners had gone on hunger strike, aiming to secure the reintroduction of political status for Republican prisoners.

Rodney Rice reports on the style of electioneering adopted by Haughey and Fitzgerald as they lead their parties for the first time in a general election. While Haughey talks with Dublin street traders, Fitzgerald meets German tourists and the party faithful in Limerick.

For many, the media image of the men was that of the "self-made business man versus the slightly distracted professor". 

Taoiseach Charles Haughey speaks out strongly against the H-Block activists who attempt to disrupt his election campaign. The National H-Blocks Committees had announced that they would harrass the Taoiseach during all public appearances during the election campaign because, they claimed, he had not done enough to end the hunger strike in the Maze Prison.

Reporter Tom MacSweeney is with the Taoiseach as he travels through the border counties.

Kieran Doherty was elected for Cavan-Monaghan while on hunger strike in the Maze Prison where he was serving sentences for possession of firearms and explosives, and for hijacking.

During RTÉ's election results programme, Vincent Browne gives his reaction to the returns for Doherty after the first count in Cavan-Monaghan. Doherty died at the age of 25, having gone without food for 73 days. 

On the morning of the election of a new Taoiseach, several deputies attended a special mass at the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin. With the issue of who would form the next government still in doubt, a number of deputies offered their opinions. Among those recorded are Seán Dublin Bay Loftus, Michael D. Higgins, and Ivan Yates, who, at the age of 21, was attending the Dáil as the youngest-ever TD elected.