Irish presidential election, 1966

Irish presidential election, 1966

1959 ← 1 June 1966 → 1973

Nominee Éamon de Valera Tom O'Higgins Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Popular vote 558,861 548,144 First preference vote 50.5% 49.5%

President before election Éamon de Valera Fianna Fáil Elected President Éamon de Valera Fianna Fáil

The Irish presidential election of 1966 was held on 1 June 1966. The outgoing president Éamon de Valera reluctantly agreed under Fianna Fáil party pressure to seek a second term. Fine Gael decided to run one of its younger TDs, Tom O'Higgins against him. In an astonishing upset, O'Higgins came within 1% (or 10,000 votes) of defeating de Valera. De Valera left the blame for this with his campaign manager Charles Haughey.

Result

Irish presidential election, 1966
Party		Candidate	1st Pref	%	Seat	Count
	Fianna Fáil	Éamon de Valera	558,861	50.5	1	1
	Fine Gael	Tom O'Higgins	548,144	49.5
Electorate: 1,709,161   Valid: 1,107,005   Spoilt: 9,910 (0.9%)   Quota: 553,503   Turnout: 65.3%

See also

• President of Ireland