Irish presidential election, 1966
In the
Irish presidential election in 1966 President de Valera reluctantly agreed under Fianna Fáil party pressure to seek a second term.
Fine Gael decided to run one of its younger
TDss,
Tom O'Higgins against him. In an astonishing upset, O'Higgins came within 1% (or 10,000 votes) of defeating de Valera.