Republic of Ireland
Public Opinion
Irish National Election Study
The Irish National Election Study (INES) has been conducted since 2002. These election studies are available in separate datasets. Currently, the PSAI Voters, Parties and Elections Specialist Group is preparing a harmonised dataset.
Irish Polling Indicator
The Irish Polling Indicator combines public opinion data from five polling companies for all parties in the Dáil Éireann into one aggregated estimate of public support. In addition to interactive graphs, the website provides access to raw polling results (1982–2024) and daily Irish Polling Indicator estimates (1987–2024).
Irish Demographic Polling Data
The Irish Demographic Polling Datasets contain results from over 100 polls published between 2011 and 2024 on vote intentions, satisfaction with the government, and popularity of party leaders. Polling responses can be sub-grouped by age, gender, region, social class, and district magnitude.
Comparative Candidate Survey
The Comparative Candidate Survey (CCS) is a standardised questionnaire on topics such as campaigning, ideology, and democracy. Administered across countries in successive modules, covering all Irish general elections since 2007.
Comparative Studies of Electoral Systems
The Comparative Studies of Electoral Systems (CSES) project began in 1996 and now encompasses six consecutive modules, each with a different research agenda. Irish elections included in the dataset are 2002 (Module 2), 2007 (Module 3), 2011 (Module 4), and 2016 (Module 5).
European Election Studies
The European Election Studies (EES) provide data on various aspects of electoral behaviour in the European Parliament. Collected data ranges from voter and elite surveys to media studies and party manifestos. Elections covering Ireland: 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019
Eurobarometer Surveys
The Eurobarometer Surveys have offered insight into public opinion on political and social issues in the European Union since 1974. Surveys are organised into several categories: the bi-annual Standard Eurobarometer, the in-depth Special Eurobarometer, the ad-hoc Flash Eurobarometer, and detailed qualitative studies.
Party Positions and Legislative Texts
Local and European Parliament Election Manifestos
The Manifesto Explorer provides direct access to the content of party manifestos for local and European Parliament elections in Ireland since 1999. Users can search for specific terms in manually cleaned text files using the dashboard or download the original raw PDFs from the Irish Election Manifestos Archive.
Parliamentary Debates
Database of parliamentary debates that contains the complete record of parliamentary speeches from Dáil Éireann.
Irish Policy Agendas Project
Part of the Comparative Agendas Project network, the Irish Policy Agendas Project compiles political party (1981-2020) and legislative (1922-2021) data. Data are also available on policy agendas in Northern Ireland for political parties (2016-2022) and legislative bills (1999-2022).
Website | Codebook | Data: Manifestos | Data: Legislative Bills
Archive of Leaflets and Election Materials
The Irish Election Literature archive is a collection of scanned election materials from over 50 Irish political groups dating back to the 1980s. As the extensive collection is in the process of being digitised, inquiries regarding materials not listed in the online index may be sent to the project maintainer, Alan Kinsella.
Manifesto Project
The Manifesto Project provides data on political parties’ policy positions in over 50 countries. The project has collected and coded over 5,000 party manifestos since 1945. The dataset includes the Manifesto Corpus, which contains the full texts of a subset of party manifestos.
Euromanifestos Project
The Euromanifestos Project provides data on the policy positions and issue salience of political parties in manifestos released for European Parliament Elections.
Government Press Releases
The x-pr text corpus comprises raw text of all press releases issued by the Irish government from 2009 to 2020.
Annual Reports
Irish Political Studies
Founded in 1986, Irish Political Studies (IPS) is the official journal of the Political Studies Association of Ireland. The journal serves as an authoritative source for academic publications on politics in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as relations with the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Volumes: 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2006
European Journal of Political Research Political Data Yearbook
The European Journal of Political Research (ECPR) Political Data Yearbook covers election outcomes, national referendums, government transitions, and institutional reforms. In addition to data presented interactively online, the annual yearbooks offer insights and analyses by Irish politics experts on key issues.
Yearbooks: 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011
Miscellaneous
Ireland’s Open Data Portal
A collection of Irish Public Sector datasets in open, free, and reusable formats.
Lobbying Register
Track details on lobbyists, clients, and public officials, including their interactions, matters discussed, and objectives. The register should provide regular updates.
Election Results
Several websites provide election results for Ireland. Some of the most popular ones are:
Constituency-Level Elections Archive (Dataset currently includes over 2100 elections from 180 countries and territories, including Ireland.)
Ireland Election (unofficial, partially incomplete)
Elections Ireland (unofficial, partially incomplete)
Irish Elections: Geography, Facts and Analysis
Elections in the Republic of Ireland from a geographical viewpoint: maps, election boundaries, party voting patterns, turnout rates.
Nealon’s Guide
Election results and TD profiles for each general election since 1973.
Women for Election Ireland
Interactive data on the representation of women in Irish politics.
Irish State Administration Database
A dataset on the development of Ireland’s state administration since 1922.
ParlGov
A dataset on political parties, elections, and cabinets in modern democracies. Datasets include Irish elections since 1922.
Dynasties in Irish Politics
Dataset on political dynasties in Irish politics, covering elected representatives from 1918 to 2016.
Members of Government (WhoGov Dataset)
The largest available dataset on members of government across time and countries.
Literature
Introductions to Irish Politics
- Coakley, J., Gallagher, M., O’Malley, E., & Reidy, T., eds. (2023). Politics in the Republic of Ireland (7th Edition). Routledge.
- Farrell, D., & Hardiman, N. (2021). The Oxford Handbook of Irish Politics. Oxford University Press.
Elections
- Gallagher, M., Marsh, M., & Reidy, T., eds. (2021). How Ireland Voted 2020: The End of an Era. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Gallagher, M., & Marsh, M., eds. (2016). How Ireland Voted 2016: The Election that Nobody Won. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Gallagher, M., & Marsh, M., eds. (2011). How Ireland Voted 2011: The Full Story of Ireland’s Earthquake Election. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Gallagher, M., & Marsh, M., eds. (2008). How Ireland Voted 2007: The Full Story of Ireland’s General Election. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Gallagher, M., Marsh, M., & Mitchell, P., eds. (2003). How Ireland Voted 2003. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Marsh, M., & Mitchell, P., eds. (1999). How Ireland Voted 1997. Westview Press.
- Gallagher, M., & Laver, M., eds. (1993). How Ireland Voted 1992. Folens and PSAI Press.
- Gallagher, M., & Sinnot, R., eds. (1990). How Ireland Voted 1989. PSAI Press.
- Laver, M., Mair, P., & Sinnot, R., eds. (1987). How Ireland Voted: The Irish General Election, 1987. Poolbeg.
- Elkink, J., & Farrell, D., eds. (2021). Special Issue Irish Political Studies: GE 2020. Irish Political Studies 36(4).
- Marsh, M., Farrell, D., & Reidy, T., eds. (2018). The Post-crisis Irish Voter: Voting Behaviour in the Irish 2016 General Election. Manchester University Press.
- Marsh, M., Farrell, D., & McElroy, G., eds. (2017). A Conservative Revolution. Oxford University Press.
- Marsh, M., Sinnott, R., Garry, J., & Kennedy, F. (2008). The Irish Voter: The Nature of Electoral Competition in the Republic of Ireland. Manchester University Press.
- Gallagher, M. (2009). Irish Elections 1948-77: Results and Anlysis. Routledge.
- Garry, J., Hardiman, N., & Payne, D. (2006). Irish Social and Political Attitudes. Liverpool University Press.
Newspapers and Blogs
About Us
Maintainers
- Stefan Müller (Data on Republic of Ireland)
- Michele Crepaz (Data on Northern Ireland)
Research Assistants
Contribute
If you would like to contribute data or literature to the project, please contact us or complete this short form