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14TH GOVERNMENT - ( MARCH 14 , 1973 – JULY 5 , 1977 )


The Fourteenth Government of Ireland - or more commonly the '''National Coalition''' - was the name given to the Coalition Government formed in the Republic Of Ireland in 1973 by the Fine Gael and Labour parties. It remained in power for four years but was defeated in the 1977 general election, when the opposition Fianna Fáil party won the biggest landslide in Irish electoral history.

The National Coalition is remembered, among other things, for restricting the power of the National Council For Educational Awards . This forced the '' National Institute For Higher Education, Limerick '' and '' Thomond College Of Education, Limerick '' to apply to the National University Of Ireland for the conferring of degrees and diplomas. This government was also remembered as a reforming government, for instance removed the requirement that Irish be passed in order to obtain a Leaving Certificate ; also of reforming the Civil Service by removing the requirement of knowledge in Irish and the manditory retirement on marriage that many women faced during their civil service careers.

The coalition also governed during the term of Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh President Of Ireland . President Ó Dálaigh resigned as a result of comments made by the Minister of Defence, Paddy Donegan . The Minister had described the President as a "thundering disgrace" because the President had referred the Emergency Powers Act, 1976 to the Supreme Court . Although the Minister issued a belated apology and privately offered to resign, the Taoiseach , Liam Cosgrave refused to remove him from the Cabinet. President Ó Dálaigh felt that the refusal to remove the Minister was an affront to his office by the Government and resigned (see the article Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh for more details about the incident). This controversy damaged the image of the National Coalition severely.

The National Coalition was led by Liam Cosgrave , the Fine Gael leader, as Taoiseach , and Brendan Corish , the Labour leader, as Tánaiste .




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Changes December 2 , 1976





  • ''(acting)''



Changes December 16 , 1976





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Preceded by:

Government Of The 19th Dáil

Governments Of Ireland

''Rialtais na hÉireann''
Succeeded by:
Government Of The 21st Dáil





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