Erskine H. Childers Fianna Fáil Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh Independent The 1974 Irish presidential election resulted from the sudden death in office of President Erskine H. Childers.

[3] A partially deaf Fine Gael Teachta Dála, identified in some reports as Tom O'Donnell,[4] confirmed the secret arrangement upon mishearing a journalist's question asking about the decision of a local council's nomination of Childers as president, having assumed that the cross-party decision was made public.

[3] Fianna Fáil leader Jack Lynch, thinking the party was set up, subsequently withdrew from the agreement and nominated Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh instead.

[3] The parties agreed to the new arrangement due to a number of external factors, including a sluggish economy and The Troubles.

[3] Ó Dálaigh had served as Attorney General from 1951 to 1953, as a judge of the Supreme Court from 1953 to 1973, as Chief Justice from 1961 to 1973, and had been serving as a judge of the European Court of Justice from 1973 at the time of his nomination.