The Reluctant Taoiseach

by David McCullagh

  Similar sentiments were expressed by James Dillon, who wrote at the start of the year to congratulate Costello on the resolution of an ITGWU strike. “When I behold you battering away Christmas Day and every other day, while your colleagues collapse around you, I must confess to a sentiment for which awe is not too strong a word!”116 The Leader agreed, saying that “the Taoiseach has been called upon to do too much. He has been in the centre of things amid the Cost of Living crisis, the Bank Strike, the Rail Strike and the Health debacle, and has often performed functions that otherwise would have been attended to by the respective Ministers in the Departments of Industry and Commerce, Finance and Health.”117

  Dillon himself would contribute to the Taoiseach’s problems. His policies had already led to the loss of the support of Independent TDS Patrick Cogan, Patrick Lehane and William Sheldon. At the end of April, Patrick Finucane and Patrick Halliden resigned from Clann na Talmhan in protest at the way he had treated milk producers. As Dillon’s biographer Maurice Manning has written, the collapse of the Government’s support had far more to do with agriculture than it did with the Mother and Child Scheme—which explains why Fianna Fáil made the Agriculture estimates “the battleground for its showdown with the government”. The Independent farmer TDS who had supported the Government in the past were prepared to continue doing so—if the price paid to milk suppliers was increased. Dillon flatly refused. As Manning states, his attitude “is astonishing given what was at stake. Neither did his colleagues in government put him under any pressure to change his stance … There was … nothing inevitable about the collapse of the government after the Mother and Child crisis. It had the wherewithal to stay in office, at least in the short to medium term, had it so chosen. It chose otherwise, and in so doing was not helped by Dillon’s handling of matters under his political remit.”118

  The other factor agitating the rural Independents was Norton’s Social Security scheme, which was felt to discriminate against farmers, who weren’t covered. In March, Costello told Bodkin that “the Opposition thought they were sure of defeating us on it but I think they have now changed their minds”.119 However, with certain defeat looming on the Agriculture estimates, the Government had run out of road, and Costello asked his officials on Tuesday 2 May to advise on possible dissolution dates. The next day, he agreed to seek a dissolution for the following Monday, the seventh, with polling on Wednesday 30 May and the assembly of the new Dáil two weeks later.120 He told the British Ambassador, Sir Gilbert Laithwaite, that he “found it impossible to carry on in face of attitude of Independents, and was certain that right course was to appeal to the country which he was confident would support his Government”. Laithwaite did not share his confidence. In London, officials noted that this would mean de Valera’s return—“but at least one might then count on a new Irish Minister for External Affairs”.121

  Costello’s annoyance at the Independents was reflected in his statement announcing the election, when he accused them of having “irresponsibly sought to embarrass the Government by exploiting petty grievances. The Government, however, is responsible to the people as a whole. Its sole consideration has been for the common good of all our people which must at all times take precedence over sectional interests.” He also pointed out that his government remained undefeated122—which was true only because a vote had been avoided by the dissolution of the Dáil.

  In an address to his own constituents in Dublin South-East, he pointed out that resignations were not unique to inter-party governments. He added that his government had lasted “for a year longer than the average life of a Fianna Fáil Government”, and claimed there was “as much, if not more, harmony in the Inter-party Government as in the single party Government of which I had experience”. He also cautiously addressed the Browne situation, saying his criticism of his constituency rival had been “appropriate in the circumstances of his final actions in office. But I did not, nor do I now, intend to detract from his achievements in those years when he co-operated with us.”123

  If he was nervous of a groundswell of support for Browne in his own constituency, he had good reason. More than one hundred people had to be turned away from a Browne meeting in the Mansion House because it was full.124 When the Taoiseach addressed a meeting in Ringsend, in the working-class end of Dublin South-East, a group of women came up to the platform waving placards, remaining there for his entire speech. The slogans left no doubt as to which side they were on: “No means test”, “Healthy mothers, healthy children, healthy nation”, “Equal rights to happy motherhood”, “Mothers must have the best care”.125 In later years, his Director of Elections, Tommy Doyle, made light of their intervention, telling Costello’s retirement dinner of the “solid phalanx of somewhat forbidding and unprepossessing spinster ladies, who were equipped with placards and made a great deal of trouble about the Mother and Child situation, and really, without any disrespect to them, you would have gauged from their age that this was a topic that shouldn’t give them any personal concern!”126

  The Taoiseach undertook a fairly punishing schedule, speaking in most major towns over the course of the campaign, although he made sure to spend time in Dublin South-East as well—of the final 18 days of the campaign, no fewer than four were devoted entirely to his own constituency.127 He was reported to have travelled 2,100 miles and spoken at 27 meetings, compared to de Valera’s 40 meetings. The Taoiseach’s meetings were marked by “over long” speeches, which left him with a bout of laryngitis at a critical point in the campaign.128 He had to cancel visits to Carrickmacross and Cavan on 23 May as a result, while at the start of the campaign he appears to have had dental trouble, visiting the dentist on 9 and 10 May.129

  His speeches concentrated on what he saw as the achievements of his government. A hand-written conclusion to one summarised his interpretation of the previous three and a half years: “Peace, order, stability and prosperity: these we have given you. You can secure their continuance by having the Inter-party Government returned to office.”130

  Costello argued that the peace to which he referred was a product of the repeal of the External Relations Act and the declaration of the Republic. This had closed “a chapter of sustained political uncertainty … and an era begun in which undistracted attention can be given to social problems”.131 His government, he claimed, had removed “the last source of constitutional difference from the politics of the twenty-six counties”.132 To complaints that the election was marked by apathy, he pointed out that in previous campaigns the worry had been caused by too much enthusiasm: “What has in the present campaign been described as apathy might more accurately be described as peace.”133

  Stability had been established through coalition government, which put into “practical effect the democratic principles of Proportional Representation and adult suffrage in such a way as to guarantee full representation of every section of the community, not merely in the Dáil, but in the Government as well”.134 He pointed out that the Fianna Fáil need for an overall majority invariably led to two general elections in quick succession. “The people then only gave it to them to protect themselves from a third general election.”135

  Prosperity he ascribed to his government’s economic policy, which he contrasted to that of Fianna Fáil, who “like certain kings of old, have learnt nothing or forgotten nothing”.136 He said Fianna Fáil were pessimistic about the economic development of Ireland, and were “the last political party in Europe standing steadfast in defence of a system of finance which died with Montagu Norman.” If they objected to the amount the Government had borrowed, they had two choices—“curtail development or increase taxation”.137

  Costello claimed that in 1947 Fianna Fáil had planned to reinstate the wages standstill policy, and that everyone who had received a pay rise since then should remember that fact. But the Taoiseach admitted that the Government was not yet satisfied with “a society in which there still remained so many social evils … Much has been done but much more has
yet to be done.”138 And he rejected (accurate) claims by Fianna Fáil that his own party were unenthusiastic about social welfare plans, saying that if the Government was returned, “the Social Security proposals will be enacted without delay”.139

  He returned to his themes—peace, stability, prosperity—in a final speech in Bray on the eve of polling, in which he stressed that the choice facing voters was between the Inter-party Government and Fianna Fáil. The bitter divisions over the Treaty feud had been removed, he claimed, while the inter-party innovation had introduced institutional flexibility which allowed politics to escape from the “arthritic rigidity which single-party domination had imposed”. And in case that wasn’t enough, he used the opportunity to announce that the Government had decided to accept the pay rise recommended by the Civil Service Arbitrator.140 The campaign overall was dominated by economic, rather than constitutional, issues, and for that reason was seen as “unquestionably the opening of a new era”.141

  The election proved to be a triumph for Fine Gael, and for Jack Costello personally. He received almost a third of the vote, 31.4 per cent, the highest share received by a candidate in Dublin South-East or its predecessor, Dublin Townships, up to then. Most unusually, the other two seats were also filled on the first count, with Noël Browne pipping Seán MacEntee for second place by 139 votes. The new Clann candidate, Dr Patrick McCartan, got less than 2 per cent of the vote. Costello’s son Declan was also elected to the Dáil for Dublin North-West. In his first electoral outing, which came shortly before his twenty-fifth birthday, he topped the poll, winning 22 per cent of the vote.

  Nationally, Fine Gael came back from the brink of oblivion, increasing its share of the vote to 25.7 per cent, six points more than in 1948, with the most significant rises in the more agricultural areas—7.6 per cent in Connaught-Ulster and 7.8 per cent in Munster. It also won an extra nine seats. The reunited Labour Party won 16 seats, three fewer than the two parties took in 1948; Clann na Poblachta was reduced to just two, Clann na Talmhan had six, and there were 14 Independents. Fianna Fáil, meanwhile, added 4.5 per cent to its vote, but won just one extra seat, giving the party a total of 69. Inter-party transfers were relatively effective—the Government parties missed out on four seats they could have won with better transfers, but another eight were won on transfers, particularly from Clann na Poblachta.142

  The result was, to say the least of it, indecisive. It is important to stress that it was not seen at the time as a rejection of the Inter-party Government and an endorsement of Fianna Fáil; quite the opposite. Most newspapers expected that a majority of the Independents would vote for Costello, making him Taoiseach again. The British Ambassador briefed London that the result was a “moral defeat for Fianna Fáil”, but observed that whatever government was returned would face difficulty because it would lack an effective working majority.143 On 4 June, Lemass confessed that what would happen when the Dáil met “is still a very open matter”, as the balance of power lay with the Independents. “The position cannot be satisfactory no matter what happens, but the only prospect of some effective work being done is if FF can succeed in forming a government. Another Coalition, dependent on the support of nearly all these Independent deputies, offers a very depressing prospect.”144

  Of the 14 Independents, Dillon and his group—Alfie and Alfred Byrne, Charles Fagan and Oliver J. Flanagan—would vote for Costello. So would Patrick Lehane, Patrick Finucane and William Sheldon, despite their differences with the Minister for Agriculture. This gave Costello 72 votes to the 69 of Fianna Fáil, and left the balance of power with six non-aligned Independents—Browne, Cowan, Cogan, McQuillan, Michael ffrench-O’Carroll and John Flynn. Flynn had supported de Valera in the past, ffrench-O’Carroll was a new TD, and the other four had voted for Costello in 1948. Those Independents now found themselves wooed by both sides. Ffrench-O’Carroll, a follower of Noël Browne, found himself in Costello’s house, as the outgoing Taoiseach and Tánaiste tried to sell him the idea of a health scheme based on social insurance. But he wasn’t convinced. He agreed to act with Browne, who wanted absolute loyalty from those around him, telling ffrench-O’Carroll, “I want people who will go with me all the way.”145

  MacBride tried to make things easier for Costello, saying he would not accept a post in a new Inter-party Government as his presence would “be availed of by some Independents for motives of their own, to create additional difficulties for the government”. In any case, as he acknowledged, the election result was “a repudiation of the policies I have been advocating and of my actions in the course of the last three years”.146

  The Cabinet met on 5 June “on the understanding that they will be staying in office”.147 But Fianna Fáil were also making a pitch for Independent support, publishing a programme for government which included the continuation of many of Dillon’s policies in Agriculture, new legislation on social security and a mother and child scheme. It was “a shopping list to attract the Independents”,148 and it worked. Flynn, Browne, Cogan, Cowan and ffrench-O’Carroll were all to support de Valera this time. Only Jack McQuillan of the unaligned Independents decided to support the outgoing Taoiseach.

  On the morning the Dáil was due to meet, Industry and Commerce Minister T.F. O’Higgins told the British Ambassador they now expected to be voted out. “Some soreness is clearly felt that the Speaker [sic] who was reelected without contest should not be seeking re-election as Speaker but rejoining Fianna Fáil as a voting member. As new Speaker would be a Fine Gael supporter, this gives de Valera his bare majority.”149 This duly happened—when the Dáil met, de Valera announced that Frank Fahy, who had held the position since 1932, would not be seeking re-election as Ceann Comhairle. Labour’s Patrick Hogan was elected instead. The result was a gain of one vote for de Valera, and the loss of one for Costello, a swing of two votes. As Maurice Manning has noted, this raises the question of why an Independent who was likely to vote against the Government was not chosen instead of Hogan, but it appears this wasn’t even considered.150 Costello told the Dáil he felt it was his duty to nominate a Ceann Comhairle, “even in the peculiar circumstances in which we find ourselves in this House today”.151

  Costello’s nomination was defeated by 74 votes to 72, the appointment of Hogan as Ceann Comhairle having made the difference. De Valera was elected by 74 to 69, as three of the Independents who supported Costello—Finucane, Lehane and Sheldon—abstained. Dillon quickly christened the five Independents keeping de Valera in power the “busted flush”. Costello said he had “no doubt that the vast majority of the electors desire an Inter-party Government. I have equally no doubt that some of the Independent Deputies who voted against the Inter-party Government were voting against the very people who elected them to this Dáil …”152 But such complaints, merited or not, could not disguise the fact that the inter-party experiment was over—for the time being.

  Chapter 10

  TRUMPET-TONGUED DENUNCIATION

  “The country will now have a chance of seeing whether the present crowd can do any better.”1

  JOHN A. COSTELLO, JULY 1951

  “If that bloody fellow had been working for me, I’d have won me bloody case!”2

  PATRICK KAVANAGH

  In June 1953, Jack Costello characterised a series of by-election results as a “trumpet-tongued denunciation” by the voters of the Fianna Fáil administration.3 The phrase could equally serve as a description of his political approach as leader of the Opposition. During the three years he was out of power, he kept up a constant and comprehensive critique of Government policy, and in particular the austerity introduced by his constituency rival Seán MacEntee in the 1952 Budget.

  But while politics played a huge part in Costello’s life in these years, so too did the law, in what was arguably his greatest period as a barrister. The aura of having headed a government added to his legendary status in the Law Library, and he was regarded as being at the height of his powers.4 This was demonstrated in the Patrick Kavanagh libel t
rial, discussed below.

  He very quickly returned to the routine of spending most days working in the Law Library until five o’clock or after.5 But political work took up more time than it had before 1948, mainly because Costello was the recognised leader of the Opposition in the Dáil. While Richard Mulcahy remained leader of Fine Gael, Costello “would certainly have been seen in the country as the ‘real’ leader”.6 This had political implications. Costello’s pre-eminence was an indication that the inter-party arrangement remained in place, waiting for a chance to return to government. This may explain, as Cornelius O’Leary suggested, why de Valera did not attempt to solidify his position with a snap election, as he had in 1933, 1938 and 1944. This time was different, because “a viable alternative government was in the offing”.7

  It is significant, too, that it was Costello, rather than Mulcahy, who approached Dillon in May 1952 with a suggestion that he should rejoin Fine Gael.8 Dillon took up the suggestion, bringing Oliver J. Flanagan into the party as well. Costello acted as a focus, organising meetings of “the Heads of the various groups which form the combined Opposition”,9 ensuring that the unity forged around the Cabinet table was not lost while on the Opposition benches. He told his constituency executive that Fine Gael would continue the work it did in the Inter-party Government “in an Inter-party Opposition”. He said the Opposition’s role was “to protect the people against the preponderant power of a mammoth party which by its very nature threatens the liberty and integrity of the citizens in a small country.”10 Observers recognised his strong position within Fine Gael “by virtue of the ascendancy he acquired as head of the former Government and of his role as formulator of policy since becoming leader of the Opposition”.11