After four years as a senator, Lenihan finally secured a seat in Dáil Éireann following success in the 1961 general election.

He did not approve of left-wing feminism, for instance when asked by Labour Party leader Thomas Johnson in the Dáil whether he believed giving women the vote had been a success, O ' Higgins replied, " I would not like to pronounce an opinion on it in public.

The strategy emerged after the 1981 Irish hunger strike as a response to the electoral success of Bobby Sands in the April 1981 Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election and pro-hunger strike campaigners in the Northern Ireland local elections and Republic of Ireland Dáil Éireann elections of the same year.

The election was considered a success for Fianna Fáil ; however, Fianna Fáil's junior coalition partners in the 29th Dáil, the Progressive Democrats, lost six of their eight seats.

Haughey's first attempt at election to the Dáil came in June 1951, when he unsuccessfully contested the general election.

Failing to secure a majority in the 166-seat Dáil a Fine Gael – Labour Party coalition came to power under FitzGerald and Haughey went into opposition.

When it came to electing a Taoiseach in the Dáil Haughey's position looked particularly volatile.

The Dáil Constitution finally became defunct when the new Constitution of the Irish Free State came into force on 6 December 1922.

The Irish Free State created by the Treaty came into force on 6 December 1922 by royal proclamation after its constitution had been enacted by the Constituent Assembly ( the Third Dáil ) and the British parliament.

MacSharry was re-elected to the Dáil at the 1973 general election, however, Fianna Fáil were out of power as a Fine Gael-Labour Party government came to power.

The Irish Republic and its cabinet continued to exist right up until the Irish Free State came into force, though under British law the Third Dáil was charged with electing an executive called the " Provisional Government ".

Davern was again elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1987 general election, and came to national prominence in 1991 when he was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister for Education.

In December 1922, under the Treaty's provisions, the new constitution, having been enacted separately by the Third Dáil, sitting as a constituent assembly, and the Parliament of the United Kingdom, came into force through a proclamation issued the King.

The extent of the operation of the Dáil Court system may be judged from the fact that 900 Parish Courts and 77 District Courts came into operation.

The meeting, which like all such meetings was secret, was convened to discuss among other resolutions, the articles of the Provisional IRA constitution which dealt with abstentionism, its opposition to the taking of seats in Dáil Éireann.

Irish coalition governments have traditionally been based on one of two large blocs in Dáil Éireann: either Fianna Fáil in coalition with smaller parties or independents, or Fine Gael and the Labour Party in coalition, sometimes with smaller parties.

In a policy document entitled New Politics, deputy Hogan has suggested creating a country with " a smaller, more dynamic and more responsive political system ," reducing the size of the Dáil by 20, changing the way the Dáil works, and in a controversial move, abolishing the Irish senate, Seanad Éireann.

They called for the IRA to withdraw from the authority of the Dáil and to entrust the IRA Executive with control over the army.

At the general election of 2002 that it made a breakthrough, getting 6 Teachtaí Dála ( TDs ) elected to the Dáil with 4 % of the national vote.

If requested to do so by a petition signed by a majority of the membership of the Seanad, and one-third of the membership of the Dáil, the President may, after consultation with the Council of State, decline to sign into law a bill ( other than a bill to amend the constitution ) he / she considers to be of great " national importance " until it has been approved by either the people in an ordinary referendum or the Dáil reassembling after a general election, held within eight months.

In their view, the legitimate government was the IRA Army Council, which had been vested with the authority of that Republic in 1938 ( prior to the Second World War ) by the last remaining anti-Treaty deputies of the Second Dáil.

He was elected to the Dáil, topping the Louth constituency poll with 15, 072 ( 21. 7 %) first preference votes.

The Constitution of the Irish Free State made more detailed provision for the state's system of government, with a three-tier parliament, called the Oireachtas, made up of the King and two houses, Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann ( the Irish Senate ).

For General elections, the county is divided into two constituencies, Donegal South – West and Donegal North – East, with both having three representatives in Dáil Éireann.

If he ceased to " retain the support of a majority in Dáil Éireann ," the president, along with his cabinet, was obliged to resign, but could continue to serve as acting president until the appointment of a successor.

Cosgrave had legislation passed to force Fianna Fáil to take their seats in the Dáil and this proved successful with de Valera and his party entering the Dáil.

In December 1938, Maguire was one of a group of seven people, who had been elected to the Second Dáil in 1921, who met with the IRA Army Council under Seán Russell.

On 28 February 1934, during a Dáil debate on a bill to outlaw the wearing of uniforms ( a bill specifically designed to curtail the Blueshirts, a far-right paramilitary movement then associated with Fine Gael ), Costello made a speech opposing the bill that has generated controversy ever since.

He can appear diffident and casual but has an undoubted intellectual capacity and a strong will ; since the government crisis of 1970 he has appeared much more assured – even brash – and has handled the Dáil with confidence.

In the 29th Dáil there was one TD for every 25, 000 citizens, this is in line with many other European Union member state national parliament ratios with Malta having one MP for every 6, 000 citizens and Spain having one MP for every 130, 000 citizens.

Haughey's status by 1961 was such that Opposition Leader James Dillon complimented him lavishly on the floor of the Dáil, remarking on his opponent's " skill with which he has had recourse to his brief ," as well as his " extraordinary erudition " and " his exceptional and outstanding ability.

Two years later in 1977 Fianna Fáil returned to power with a massive parliamentary majority in Dáil Éireann, having had a very populist campaign ( spearhead by Colley and O ' Malley ) to abolish rates, vehicle tax and other extraordinary concessions, which were short-lived.

In the hope of winning an overall Dáil majority Haughey's campaign took a populist line with regard to taxation, spending and Northern Ireland.

Fianna Fáil lost the November 1982 election and FitzGerald once again returned as Taoiseach at the head of a Fine Gael / Labour coalition with a comfortable Dáil majority.

The only exception to these traditional alliances was the first Government of the 27th Dáil, comprising Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party, which ruled between 1993 and 1994.

The Government of the 31st Dáil, though a traditional Fine Gael – Labour coalition, resembles a grand coalition, due to the collapse of Fianna Fáil to third place among parties in Dáil Éireann.

Lowry, currently an independent TD, supported the Fianna Fáil – Green Party government in Dáil Éireann until March 2011.

In the election outcome the party retained 6 Dáil seats, making them the most likely partner for Fianna Fáil.

While it looked as if Fianna Fáil were heading for a seventh consecutive victory all the other parties in the Dáil joined to form the first inter-party government in the history of the Irish state.

First elected at the 1951 general election as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála ( TD ) for Clare, he remained in Dáil Éireann until 1973.

While living in Raheny, Haughey was first elected to the Dáil as a Fianna Fáil TD at the 1957 general election for the Dublin North – East constituency.

On 11 August 1927, having signed the Oath of Allegiance in front of a representative of the Governor-General of the Irish Free State, all the Fianna Fáil TDs entered the Dáil.

By 1965, Frank Aiken was the only de Valera veteran remaining in government, and would become the only founder-member of Fianna Fáil to survive Lemass as a member of the government and the Dáil.

Lynch was the last Fianna Fáil leader to secure ( in 1977 ) an overall majority in the Dáil.

In 1946 Lynch had his first brush with politics when he was asked by his local Fianna Fáil cumann to stand for the Dáil in a by-election.

A general election was eventually called for February 1948, Lynch topped the poll for the Cork Borough constituency and became a Fianna Fáil TD in the 13th Dáil.

Fine Gael and the Labour Party opposed the referendum when it transpired that Fianna Fáil could win up to 80 or 90 seats in a 144 seat Dáil if the motion was passed.

However, when the election took place the coalition was swept out of office by Fianna Fáil which won an unprecedented twenty seat Dáil majority and over 50 % of the first preference votes.

Thus the murder indirectly led to Fianna Fáil's forced entry to the Dáil and in August 1927 the government narrowly survived a vote of no confidence.

For the first time the party now faced vigorous parliamentary ( if not entirely constitutional ) opposition in the Dáil, as Fianna Fáil also made significant gains.

Fianna Fáil opposed any liberalisation of the law on family planning and fought the measure in the Dáil on grounds of protection of public morality and health.

When he got there, he was informed that a series of telephone calls had been made by senior opposition figures ( and some independent TDs ), including Fianna Fáil leader ( and ex-Taoiseach ) Charles Haughey, Brian Lenihan and Sylvester Barrett demanding that the President, as he could constitutionally do where a Taoiseach had ' ceased to retain the support of a majority in Dáil Éireann ', refuse FitzGerald a parliamentary dissolution, forcing his resignation as Taoiseach and enabling the Dáil to nominate someone else for the post.