1. Ireland in the 1950s
• Leaving Cert History
• Government, Economy and
Society in the Republic of
Ireland 1949-1989
2. • Fianna Fail Returns to power
• The Second Inter-Party Government
• Fianna Fail win 1957 election
• The Economy in Crisis
• Unemployment and Emigration
• The IRA Border Campaign
• Irish Society on the 1950s
• The Role of the Catholic Church
• Irish Language, Culture and Music
Ireland in the 1950s
3. • Result
Fianna Fail 69 seats (+1)
Fine Gael 40 seats (+9)
Labour 16 seats (-3)
Clann na Talmhan 6 seats (-1)
Clann na Poblachta 2 seats (-8)
Independents 14 seats (+3)
• The Independents included Noel Browne, another
former CnaP TD, Jack McQuillan and a former
CnaP councillor, Michael ffrench-O’Carroll, who
resigned from CnaP in support of Browne
• Independents, including Browne supported a
minority Fianna Fail government
General Election 1951
4. Fianna Fail in Power 1951-
1954
• Economic
recession
• Austerity
policies – cuts
in public
expenditure and
increased taxes
• FF were
unpopular and
lost a series of
by-elections in
early 1954
5. • Result
Fianna Fail 65 seats (-4)
Fine Gael 50 seats (+10)
Labour 19 seats (+3)
Clann na Talmhan 5 seats (-1)
Clann na Poblachta 3 seats (+1)
Independents 5 seats (-9)
• Coalition of Fine Gael, Labour and Clann
na Talmhan
• Noel Browne lost his seat
General Election 1954
6. • Clann na Poblachta did not join the
government but did support it in the Dail
• Failed to solve any of the economic
problems and stop unemployment and
emigration
• Took tough action against the IRA during
the Border Campaign – CnaP withdrew its
support
• Forced to call an election in 1957
Second Inter-Party
Government
8. • Result
Fianna Fail 78 seats (+13)
Fine Gael 40 seats (-10)
Labour 12 seats (-7)
Clann na Talmhan 3 seats (-2)
Clann na Poblachta 1 seats (-2)
Independents 9 seats (+4)
• The Independents included Noel Browne and Jack
McQuillan
• A clear and decisive win for Fianna Fail
General Election 1957
9. • 1950s – severe economic depression and
decline
• Ireland was an agricultural economy and
the numbers employed in and incomes
from farming were declining
• Farmers didn’t have money to invest in
modernisation
• Irish industry was in a period of
stagnation. Companies established under
tariffs were inefficient and uncompetitive
• All of these factors led to an internal
downward pressure on the economy
The Economy in Crisis
11. Disagreements in Fianna Fail
• Disagreements over economic policies within
Fianna Fail 1951-1954
• Minister for Finance, Sean MacEntee wanted
austerity and a deflationary policy
• Minister for Industry and Commerce, Sean
Lemass, wanted to pursue a policy of expansion
and investment in the economy
• MacEntee won the argument
12. • During the 1950s almost 500,000 people
left Ireland
• 16% of the entire population
• 3 out of every 5 children who grew up in
Ireland in the 1950s left the country at
some point
• “A haunting description of the barren social
landscape after the departure of people’s
friends and family members”
• Only 2 European countries saw population
decline in the 1950s – East Germany and
Ireland
Emigration
14. • Unemployment was widespread
during the 1950s
• Economic depression was
compounded with austerity polices
• Unemployed protests took place
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmdw4uLXrb8
• 1957 – 78,000 were unemployed
• Welfare only paid for six months –
large numbers of long-termed
unemployed
Unemployment
15. • Unemployed Protest Committee
established in 1956
• Influenced by the Irish Workers
League (Communist Party)
• Public meetings, rallies and
demonstrations held and support for
the UPC grew
Unemployment
16. • In Jan 1957 the
government
collapsed
• The UPC
decided to
contest the
general election
• Jack Murphy
was selected to
run in Dublin
South Central
Unemployment
18. • His election had a significant impact on
Irish society – he was seen as a return to
the radicalism of Clann na Poblachta
• Murphy was isolated in the Dail – the
government wouldn’t answer any of his
questions.
• He resigned his seat in 1958 and
emigrated.
Unemployment
19. • In the 1940s the IRA regarded itself
as ‘apolitical’ – purely a military
organisation to overthrow British rule
in the North
• In 1949 the IRA ordered its members
to join Sinn Fein to create a ‘civilian
wing’ of the IRA
• Many new recruits joined – in part as
a result of the poverty in Ireland
IRA Border Campaign
20. • The IRA re-armed itself – raiding
military bases in Ireland and Britain
• In the mid-1950s the IRA suffered
splits from members impatient for
action
• In order to stop the splits the IRA
launched ‘Operation Harvest’
• A military campaign attacking RUC
stations on the border from the South
IRA Border Campaign
22. • During an attack on Brookeborough
Barracks in Fermanagh, Sean South
and Fergal O’Hanlon were killed
• Thousands attended South’s funeral
in Limerick
• While few people supported the
Border Campaign – many people had
sympathy with the republican cause
IRA Border Campaign
24. • John A. Costello’s Second Inter-Party
Government took strong measures -
introduced internment
• Widespread arrests took place and
most IRA leaders were interned
• Clann na Poblachta withdrew its
support for the government and the
government collapsed
• In 1957 election Sinn Fein won 4
seats
Response of the
Government
25. • The new Fianna Fail government
continued with internment and in 1961
introduced military courts
• By 1961 the Border Campaign came to an
end in failure
• Casualties – 8 IRA – 4 Republican
supporters – 6 RUC – 32 RUC wounded
• 256 interned in the North (89 renounced
violence to get their freedom) – 150
interned in the South
• Campaign officially called off on 26/2/1962
Response of the
Government
26. • Dominant in 1950s Ireland
• Exercised strong influence on
government policy and the lives of
ordinary people
• The Church was rarely criticised and
writings and activities were widely
reported in newspapers
The Role of the Church
27. • Government consulted bishops over laws
• Adoption Law passed only after
assurances given to the Church that
children would only be adopted by parents
with the same religion
• Resisted changes to pub licencing laws
• All teachers, nurses and doctors had to
adhere to Catholic values in their work
• A reference from the local priest was often
necessary to get a job
The Role of the Church
28. • Marriage patterns had not changed since
the 1880s
• 1 in 4 remained unmarried for life
• No divorce
• Majority of women gave up work after
marriage
• The ‘marriage bar’ in the civil service
• Women worked in menial jobs and
received less pay than men
Marriage and the Family
29. • Unmarried mothers were harshly treated –
abandoned by their families and forced to
give up their children
• Condemned for ‘immoral behaviour’ and
confined to institutions – Magdalen
Laundries
• Ireland was portrayed as a ‘moral, God-
fearing community’ and an example to
other countries
Marriage and the Family
30. • Most schools run by the Church
• 1950 –
- 464,000 primary school
- 47,000 secondary school
- 10,200 sat the Inter Cert Exam
- 4,500 sat the Leaving Cert Exam
• Irish, English, Maths & Latin
• Disaster for Irish economy – few
educated workers
Education
31. • A vibrancy in Irish culture
• New writers and composers
• Gael Linn established to promote Irish
language
• Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann set up to
promote traditional music
• Radio was extremely popular
• People regularly went to the cinema
Language, Culture and
Music
32. • Little had changed since 1922
• Rural and Catholic
• 1950 – 50% of men and 25% of women worked
in agriculture
• Devalera (1943) ‘we dreamed…of a people who
were satisfied with frugal comfort and devoted
their leisure to things of the spirit…a people
living the life that God desires that man should
live’
• Life was harsh and poor
• The traditional, conservative values that
underpinned this view continued to be held by
Church and State leaders
Irish Society in the 1950s
33. • Presentation prepared by:
• Dominic Haugh
• St. Particks Comprehensive School
• Shannon
• Co. Clare
• Presentation can be used for educational purposes only – all rights remain with author
