The 1951 Irish general election was held on Wednesday, 30 May in 40 Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 147 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann. This election was the first election since the declaration of the Republic of Ireland on 18 April 1949 under the terms of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, which automatically forced Ireland's withdrawal from the British Commonwealth. The 14th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 13 June. Éamon de Valera was appointed Taoiseach and formed the 6th Government of Ireland, a single-party minority Fianna Fáil government.