Government of the 16th Dáil

There were two governments of the 16th Dáil, which was elected at the 1957 general election held on 5 March. The outgoing minority coalition government of Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Clann na Talmhan had failed to be returned. The 8th government of Ireland (20 March 1957 – 23 June 1959) was led by Éamon de Valera as Taoiseach, until his election as president of Ireland at the 1959 election. It lasted for 2 years, 89 days from its appointment until de Valera's resignation on 17 June 1959, and continued to carry out its duties for a further 6 days until the appointment of its successor, giving a total of 2 years, 95 days. The 9th government of Ireland (23 June 1959 – 11 November 1961) was led by Seán Lemass as Taoiseach and lasted for 2 years, 141 days. Both were single-party Fianna Fáil governments.