1982
Nan Joyce became the first Traveller to stand in an Irish election
In the second 1982 general election, held on the 24th of November 1982, Nan Joyce stood as an independent candidate in Dublin South-West, becoming the first Traveller to do so. She polled 581 votes.
Joyce was co-chairperson of the Committee for the Rights of Travellers, which had been formed earlier that year. Among her policies was a call for full civil and human rights for all Travellers as full Irish citizens and a Minister to co-ordinate Traveller welfare provision in the country.
You can read an account of the Committee and the background to its formation in this article: Traveller Activism in the 1980s: The Committee for the Rights of Travellers and Mincéir Misli.