March 14, 1973

Liam Cosgrave was elected Taoiseach of Ireland on this day in 1973. Cosgrave joined Fine Gael when he was only 17, speaking at his first public meeting that same year. When he was just 23, he sought election to Dáil Éireann in the 1943 general election, and was elected as a Teachta Dála for Dublin County. His father, W. T. Cosgrave, was one of the founders of the Irish Free State in the 1920’s and also sat in the 11th Dáil, to which Cosgrave had been elected. Cosgrove won leadership of Fine Gael in 1965, though he soon came to clash with more liberal members of the party, due mostly to his support of government anti-terrorist legislation.