The Taoheach Wins

For Eamon de Valera, Eire's election was a personal triumph and a bright green light. Tired of trying to rule with a minority in the Dail (House of Commons), he had astutely seized the opportunity offered three weeks ago by an otherwise unimportant defeat (TiME, May 22), asked the people for a solid majority. Last week he got what he wanted.

When the counting ended, the Taoiseach (Gaelic for Prime Minister; pronounced tee shock) and his Fianna Fail had a clear margin of 14 seats in the Dail instead of a deficit of four. Even if all other parties voted solidly against him, De Valera could win on any foreseeable issue. Now he had what he had demanded: power to match his responsibility.

The campaign was not up to the Irish mark. Homebound by Eire's shortage of petrol, candidates hardly bothered to take their coats off. Newspapers predicted apathy at the polls. A few days before the election, Dubliners seemed more interested in Eire's current hubbub over venereal disease than in politics. But the Irish misjudged the Irish. On election day some 65% of the eligible voters managed to get to the polls--by donkey cart, shanks' mare, even horse-drawn mourning coaches.

,For this popular interest, and for his majority, De Valera had the U.S. Government to thank. Its recent pressure, reluctantly seconded by Britain, against Eire's neutrality had simply made Eire's Irishmen more devoted to their own belligerent neutrality than ever. Eamon de Valera symbolized neutrality and Eire's independence, hauled in the votes when the test came.

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