Fianna Fáil had been in office continuously since 1932, with
Éamon de Valera as head of government (titled as
President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State until 1937, and from then as
Taoiseach). However, after the
1948 general election, the party was six seats short of a majority. At first, it seemed that de Valera would attempt to form a
minority government. Negotiations for
confidence and supply with the
National Labour Party failed when National Labour insisted on a formal coalition; at that time, Fianna Fáil would not enter coalitions with other parties. Nevertheless, it initially appeared that Fianna Fáil was the only party that could realistically form a government. Despite losing its majority, Fianna Fáil was by far the largest party in the Dáil, with 37 more seats than the next-largest party,
Fine Gael. However, the other parties realised that if they banded together, they would only have only one seat fewer than Fianna Fáil, and could form a government with the support of at least seven independents. It was a foregone conclusion that Fine Gael would head such a coalition, as Fine Gael was the second-largest party in the Dáil by some margin (no other party in the prospective coalition had more than 30 TDs). In the normal course of events, Fine Gael leader
Richard Mulcahy would have been the prospective coalition's nominee for Taoiseach. However, Clann na Poblachta leader
Seán MacBride refused to serve under Mulcahy because of his role in
carrying out 77 executions under the government of the
Irish Free State in the early 1920s during the
Irish Civil War. Accordingly, Mulcahy bowed out in favour of former
Attorney General John A. Costello. Costello found himself as leader of a disparate group of young and old politicians, republicans and Free Staters, conservatives and socialists. The government survived for three years, however, through the skill of Costello as Taoiseach and the independence of various ministers. ==Nomination of Taoiseach==