A referendum proposed by de Valera to replace the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote with first-past-the-post voting which was held on the same day was defeated by 48.2% to 51.8%.

[3] During the campaign, the far-right micro-party Lia Fáil called on its followers to support Seán Mac Eoin over de Valera.

The party gave 25 reasons for this position, with some of those reasons being that de Valera "was an alien" (de Valera had been born in the United States, but had been raised and living in Ireland since the age of 2), was a puppet of the British, that he was "the darling" of Protestants, Freemasons and the British Army, and that "his satanic lust for power motivates every act of his life".

The paper's reasons for supporting Mac Eoin were because he was "an honest-to-God Irishman of our flesh and blood whose father and mother we know" and his military background.

[7][8] Eoin O'Mahony also sought and failed to secure a nomination by county councils.