17 June 1959 1966 → 538,003 417,536 | Turnout 58.3% 56.3% 43.7% | |
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The Irish presidential election of 1959 was held on 17 June 1959. Fianna Fáil's founder and longtime leader, Taoiseach Éamon de Valera (under pressure from members of his party) decided to leave active party politics and seek the presidency. The main opposition party, Fine Gael, decided to run its defeated candidate in 1945, Seán Mac Eoin, against him. As expected, Éamon de Valera won the presidency.
References
Irish presidential election, 1959 Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA