Editing Jack Lynch (section)

==Opposition (1973–1977)==
Lynch's government was expected to collapse following the Arms Crisis; however, it survived until 1973. Lynch had wanted to call the general election for the end of 1972, however, events had conspired against him and the date was set for February 1973. Lynch's government was defeated by the [[Government of the 20th Dáil|National Coalition]] of [[Fine Gael]] and the [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] at the [[1973 Irish general election|1973 general election]]. [[Liam Cosgrave]] was elected Taoiseach and Lynch found himself on the opposition benches for the first time in sixteen years. However, Lynch's popularity remained steadfast, so much so that during his tenure as [[Leader of the Opposition (Ireland)|Leader of the Opposition]] he was frequently referred to as "the Real Taoiseach."

Lynch had some success while out of power. He had finally gained complete control of the party, having neutralised his rivals for leadership during the Arms Crisis, and initiated Fianna Fáil's electoral comeback by securing the election of its candidate, [[Erskine Hamilton Childers|Erskine H. Childers]], as [[President of Ireland]] in 1973, defeating the odds-on favourite, the National Coalition's [[Tom O'Higgins]] of Fine Gael.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McConnell |first=Daniel |date=2020-05-04 |title=Special Report: Ghosts of Arms Trial haunt Fianna Fáil half a century later |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/arid-30997598.html |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Irish Examiner |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1973-06-01 |title=English‐Born Protestant Is Elected President of the Irish Republic |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/06/01/archives/englishborn-protestant-is-elected-president-of-the-irish-republic.html |access-date=2025-03-09 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 1974, Lynch appointed [[Ruairí Brugha]] as spokesman of Northern Ireland, now seen as not a surprise with that of Fianna Fâil's attitude on cross-border issues.<ref>{{Citation |last=Patterson |first=Henry |title=Regression: Jack Lynch and the Border |date=2013 |work=Ireland’s Violent Frontier: The Border and Anglo-Irish Relations During the Troubles |pages=111–135 |editor-last=Patterson |editor-first=Henry |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137314024_5 |access-date=2025-03-09 |place=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |language=en |doi=10.1057/9781137314024_5 |isbn=978-1-137-31402-4}}</ref>

In 1975, Lynch allowed [[Charles Haughey]] to return to his Front Bench as Spokesperson on Health. There was much media criticism of Lynch for this move. In the same year the Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, [[Michael O'Kennedy]], published a Fianna Fáil policy document calling for a withdrawal of British forces from [[Northern Ireland]]. The document was an echo of Fianna Fáil's republican origins, and although Lynch was not happy with it, he did not stop it.

Controversy continued to dog the National Coalition when the [[President of Ireland]], [[Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh]], resigned in 1976, after being called a "thundering disgrace" by the [[Minister for Defence (Ireland)|Minister for Defence]], [[Paddy Donegan]]. Taoiseach [[Liam Cosgrave]] refused to sack his Minister and the government's popularity took a downturn. A former Fianna Fáil cabinet Minister and a political ally of Lynch, Patrick Hillery, was eventually nominated (without election) as Ó Dálaigh's successor and sixth [[President of Ireland]].

In 1977, the government, although reasonably unpopular, felt sure of an election victory and a June date for the poll was fixed. The National Coalition's spirits had been buoyed up by the actions of the [[Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage|Minister for Local Government]], [[James Tully (Irish politician)|James Tully]]. In what became known as the [[Tullymander]] (a pun on the word [[gerrymander]]) he re-drew every constituency in Ireland (as he had authority to do), apparently favouring Fine Gael and Labour Party candidates. 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. Lynch himself received the biggest personal vote in the state. Although the large parliamentary majority seemed to restore Lynch as an electoral asset, the fact that the party was returned with an enormous vote allowed Lynch to be undermined by many new TDs who were not loyal to Lynch and wanted him removed.