Analysis: will the Dublin Bay South by-election better the stories of maggots, donkeys and army mutinies we've seen in the past?
The impending by-election in Dublin Bay South may be one of the most unusual electoral battles in the State's history. This is not because the 'Battle of the Barristers’ (so dubbed given the proportion of lawyers running) is particularly unusual in its candidate complexion. But rather, due to the strictures of the pandemic, it may be fought online with an intensity not yet seen in Irish elections.
Twitter hot takes, Facebook fulminations and TikTok tales have been deployed by the primary contenders or supporters – some with cringeworthy consequences. That such platforms now suffuse political discourse is inarguable. However, given the proliferation of misinterpretation, misunderstanding, misrepresentation and, too often, mistreatment, that is witnessed online, it is questionable if social media has heralded the positive ‘democratisation of debate’.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Radio 1's This Week, RTÉ Political reporter Mary Regan and The Irish Independent's John Downing discuss the impending Dublin Bay South by-election
Leaving aside the nature of discussions surrounding this by-election, veteran commentators regard the contest as pivotal: a governing party (Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil or the Green Party) must win, to bolster the coherence of the Coalition. This is a litmus test; not for one party, but for the entire Government. Whilst regarded as a Fine Gael seat as it's caused by Eoghan Murphy's decision to step down, its loss to any of the Opposition parties will be billed as a repudiation of the Coalition’s short record in power. Understandably, therefore, this contest appears both interesting and important. In reality, though, it ranks in the lower orders when rated against many by-elections of yesteryear.
1924 and the Irish army mutiny
Since the State’s foundation, there have been 137 by-elections, with 27 occurring between 1923 and 1930. This large number during the 1920s is partially explained by the resignations of TDs who found political life in post-independence Ireland less appealing than they first imagined.
However, for nine who resigned together in 1924, their action was one of protest. The circumstances surrounding the Cosgrave administration’s inept handling of the Irish Army Mutiny of 1924 are complicated, but sections of the Cumann na nGaedheal party were unhappy with the outcome. This included the Minister for Industry and Commerce, Joseph McGrath, who felt both that the ‘mutineers’ were mistreated, and that the Government had abandoned the ‘stepping stone’ principles of Michael Collins by not moving faster to build upon the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.
We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From NUI Galway History Society, Séan Ó Duibhir on the 1924 Irish Army mutiny
McGrath and eight other deputies effectively left Cumann na nGaedheal, and adopted the National Group moniker. Subsequently, they resigned their seats to provoke a de facto referendum on government policy via the necessary by-elections. The fact that only one National Group candidate ran for re-election – leaving the overall contest one between Cumann na nGaedhael and anti-Treaty Sinn Féin – questioned the logic of McGrath’s supporters.
Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin’s policy of abstentionism from parliament notwithstanding, the loss of these seats would have decreased the Government’s majority in the Dáil, and raised questions regarding the legitimacy of the State itself. Cumann na nGaedheal successfully recaptured seven seats, with two going to Éamon de Valera's party. Thus, Cosgrave’s regime remained quite secure until Fianna Fáil entered the Dáil in 1927.
The 1947 by-elections that changed a government
By early 1946, Fianna Fáil had enjoyed 14 years in government. Though still the most popular party, the privations endured during Second World War disgruntled many voters. An opportune time, it seemed, for de Valera's erstwhile comrade, Seán MacBride, to initiate a new political venture: Clann na Poblachta.
The Clann billed itself as a socially progressive (for its time), irredentist and more republican political option, with its founders aspiring to replace Fianna Fáil as the largest party. The rhetorical rivalry between the two organisations was intense from the outset, but the potential threat to Fianna Fail crystallised in October 1947. The Clann won two by-elections that month, with the party’s exotic leader taking a seat in the Dáil.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Archives, Caroline Erskine reports for RTÉ News on the death of Seán MacBride in 1988
Recognising that the Clann could undercut Fianna Fáil – just as Fianna Fáil had undercut Cumann na nGaedheal – de Valera called a snap general election for February 1948 to stymie the new party’s development. His plan worked. Although the Clann won 10 seats, and de Valera lost power, this was not to be to MacBride’s advantage. The Clann’s decision to enter government with Fine Gael and an assortment of other groups led to dissension within MacBride’s organisation, a loss of popularity, and ultimately to the party’s electoral demise.
Civil War bitterness in 1968
In 1968, Fianna Fáil's Minister for Education, Donogh O’Malley, died suddenly. The primary contenders for the vacant East Limerick seat were the late Minister’s nephew, Desmond O’Malley, the Fine Gael candidate, James O’Higgins and Labour’s Michael Lipper.
Like O’Malley, O’Higgins hailed from a long standing Irish political family. He was the nephew of Kevin O’Higgins, the first Minister for Home Affairs (Justice) in the Irish State, murdered by anti-Treaty IRA members in 1927. Whether Fine Gael viewed their candidate’s background as an asset is debatable. However, Neil Blaney, the acerbic and domineering Agriculture minister who took over the Fianna Fáil campaign, certainly used O’Higgins’ family history to score negative political points.
To be fair to Blaney, Fine Gael left an open goal, when their volunteers painted ‘O’Higgins’ in white on a number of footpaths in Limerick city. Recognising an opportunity, Blaney ordered Fianna Fáil activists with red paint to add the number ‘77’ to O’Higgins’ name in each instance. This clear reference to anti-Treaty IRA men executed during the Civil War prompted understandable outrage amongst Fine Gael supporters, and discomfort for some within Fianna Fáil, including O'Malley himself. Though O’Malley emerged victorious, his relationship with Blaney devolved thereafter. Following the Arms Crisis of 1970, in which they took opposing positions, Blaney would regret helping to elect O'Malley.
We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From NUI Galway History Society, Séan Ó Duibhir on the 1970 Arms Crisis
1975: maggots, donkeys and pesticide
The death of Mayo West TD, Henry Kenny, in 1975 left the Fine Gael-Labour coalition with a wafer thin majority of just one seat in the Dáil. Additionally, the contentious Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Bill, allowing for the prosecution in the Republic of suspects involved in terrorist activities in Northern Ireland, was proceeding through the Oireachtas. Sustained opposition from Fianna Fáil, together with criticism from maverick Labour members, meant the by-election would be hard fought, and was a must win for the Coalition.
The primary contenders were Fianna Fáil’s Michael Joe McGreal and Fine Gael’s Enda Kenny, the son of the late deputy. Given the young ages of both candidates (28 and 24 respectively), one may have expected a more modern approach to this political contest. But according to Kenny himself, it was like something from ‘prehistory’ – and included memorable incidents.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Archives, Seven Days follow Enda Kenny on the by-election trail in Mayo in 1975
The constituency experienced torch-lit processions; lines of Ministerial cars queuing daily outside small petrol stations; an Dublin TD accidentally strangling a donkey; the white-suited liberal Conor Cruise O’Brien looking out of place in rural pubs; a visiting EEC Commissioner involved in a minor car accident; excitable Kerry Fianna Fáil activists igniting barrels of tar on numerous occasions and tense confrontations outside churches. The contest unfolded against the background of the kidnapping of Dutch industrialist, Tiede Herrema, held hostage in Co Kildare by a rogue Provisional IRA group.
Moreover, not all supporters respected their own candidate’s desires for a ‘clean’ campaign. One former minister addressed a crowd with claims of "maggots" in the "Coalition woodwork", for which Fianna Fáil had the requisite "pesticide". Elsewhere, a Fine Gael councillor made veiled references to Fianna Fáil TD Ben Briscoe’s Jewish background, declaring that "we don’t want foreigners running our country". This was not the first, nor the last, time that anti-Semitism reared its ugly head in Irish politics and Briscoe would later experience vicious jibes from supporters of Charles Haughey during the GUBU period.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Archives, Kevin McDonald reports for RTÉ News on the election of Ben Briscoe as Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1988
Ultimately, Kenny retained the seat for Fine Gael by a comfortable margin. The young school teacher's victory ensured the stability of the Government, the passing of contentious legislation, and saw a future taoiseach enter Dáil Éireann.
It is unlikely that Dublin Bay South will have similar impacts to those by-elections of yesteryear. It also remains to be seen if it will produce unique moments that allow for its inclusion in the pantheon of interesting by-elections. Unfortunately what is emerging online from some quarters demonstrates that vitriol remains a feature – perhaps an intensifying feature – of the Irish political landscape.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
