Golden anniversary of Enda Kenny’s election to Dáil

By Tom Gillespie

FIFTY years ago - Tuesday, November 18, 1975 - the newly elected Deputy for West Mayo, Enda Kenny (pictured), arrived in Dublin for his first day in Dáil Éireann.

Two days later I reported in The Connaught Telegraph on the landslide victory he had in the historic by-election, which left the Opposition reeling by the major defeat they suffered in the constituency.

With 872 votes over the quota, the then 24-year-old Fine Gael school teacher was elected on the first count to fill the seat vacated on the death of his father, the late Henry Kenny.

With a total of 15,584 first preference votes, Enda Kenny was deemed elected at 4.15 p.m. on Thursday, November 13, by the returning officer, Mr. Bernard Daly (pictured below), at the count centre at the Dining Hall in Castlebar Military Barracks, even though it was quite evident from once the first number of ballot boxes were opened that he would win the contest.

The Fianna Fáil candidate, the late Balla auctioneer and businessman Michael J. McGreal, was 3,136 votes behind Kenny with a total poll of 12,448 votes.

This was the biggest single surprise of the by-election as the general consensus opinion was that Kenny would win the seat - but only by a mere few hundred votes.

Independent candidate, Louisburgh native, the late Basil Morahan, a teacher at Westport CBS, received an unexpected 1,491 votes. He had said he would have been happy with 800 votes.

The total electorate in West Mayo in 1975 was 38,220, of which 29,621 voted - a 77 per cent turnout. There were 108 spoiled votes and the quota was 14,757.

There was a 52.81 per cent poll in favour of Fine Gael and a 42.17 per cent poll for Fianna Fáil. A five per cent poll was recorded for the independent candidate.

The Fine Gael victory gave a 3.5 per cent gain for the party compared with the general election in 1973. The Fianna Fáil vote fell by 8.42 per cent.

As the votes were being sorted on Thursday, it was evident that Kenny - who was a teacher in Knockrooskey, near Westport - would win, and at 12 noon the Fianna Fáil director of elections, Gerry Collins, conceded defeat.

On the resumption of the count after lunch crowds began to gather near the area of the military barracks awaiting anxiously for a glimpse of Ireland’s newest TD. When he did appear, towards the end of the count, he was mobbed by the huge gathering and carried shoulder-high to the door of the count centre. As he entered, a resounding cheer went up and it took the returning officer some time to restore order.

After the result was officially announced the successful candidate addressed the gathering and said: “This is a vote of appreciation for my late father, Henry Kenny, and an endorsement of government policy for the past two-and-a-half years.”

Mr. Kenny continued: “When I go to Kildare Street next week and walk up those steps and into the hallowed halls, I hope I carry with me the hopes and aspirations of all of the people of West Mayo.”

The defeated Fianna Fáil candidate, Mr. McGreal, said: “I knew Enda’s father well. He was a good friend of mine. And if I were not a candidate, I honestly feel I would have to put a number one in the box for Enda.

“This by-election brought something new to politics in Mayo. It has shown that two or three young men can come out and win or lose, still fight a good campaign.”

When Basil Morahan addressed those gathered at the count centre he was heckled on a number of occasions.

He said he did not agree the campaign was a clean one, adding: “I do know that speakers for the government and opposition platforms indulged in some personal abuse and chose to forget that there were young audiences looking and listening.

“I would remind all who climb onto our election platforms that whenever they find it too dangerous to utter the clean truth, they should guard against ever stooping to substituting lies, misleading insinuations, personal attacks or political catch cries, aimed at arousing emotions.”

Mr. Morahan also called for the appointment of adult supervisors on school buses ‘so that our children may be protected from all the evils that are born within these mobile unsupervised schoolrooms’.

Following the result there were jubilant scenes throughout the constituency and the new TD attended a special celebration in the Travellers’ Friend Hotel in Castlebar.

During the campaign the Taoiseach, Liam Cosgrave, caught a chill in Mayo and was confined to bed for a few days.

Canvassing deputies and senators of all parties, it emerged, were entitled to claim mileage allowances from their home to the West Mayo Constituency and back. Those who had to return to Leinster House during the campaign for voting purposes were also entitled to claim for such mileage.