Fianna Fáil

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Template:Short description Template:Pp-move Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Hiberno-English

Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Fianna Fáil (Template:IPAc-en;[1][2] Script error: No such module "IPA".; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"),[3] officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party[4][5] (Template:Langx),[6] is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland.

Fianna Fáil was founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de Valera and his supporters after they split from Sinn Féin in order to take seats in the Oireachtas, which Sinn Féin refused to recognise.[7] Since 1927, Fianna Fáil has been one of Ireland's two major parties, along with Fine Gael since 1933; both are seen as centre-right parties, to the right of the Labour Party and Sinn Féin. The party dominated Irish political life for most of the 20th century, and, since its foundation, either it or Fine Gael has led every government. Between 1932 and 2011, it was the largest party in Dáil Éireann, but latterly with a decline in its vote share; from 1989 onwards, its periods of government were in coalition with parties of either the left or the right.

Fianna Fáil's vote collapsed in the 2011 general election; it ended in third place, in what was widely seen as a political realignment in the wake of the post-2008 Irish economic downturn.[8] By 2016, it had recovered enough to become the largest opposition party,[9] and it entered a confidence and supply arrangement with a Fine Gael–led minority government.[10] In 2020, after a number of months of political stalemate following the general election, Fianna Fáil agreed with Fine Gael and the Green Party to enter into an unprecedented coalition, with the leaders of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael rotating between the roles of Taoiseach and Tánaiste.

Fianna Fáil is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe,[11] and of Liberal International.[12] From 2019 to 2022, Fianna Fáil was in partnership with the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland.[13][14]

History

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File:President De Valera and his Cabinet (Poster).jpg
1932 Fianna Fáil poster featuring many of the founding members of the party such as de Valera, Lemass, Aiken and Boland
File:Fianna Fáil logo circa 1970s, 1980s.png
Logo of Fianna Fáil in the 1970s and 1980s

Fianna Fáil was founded by Éamon de Valera, a former leader of Sinn Féin.[15] The previous year, de Valera proposed a motion calling for elected members to be allowed to take their seats in Dáil Éireann if and when the controversial Oath of Allegiance was removed. It failed to pass at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, leading de Valera and a number of other members, including most of Sinn Féin's parliamentary talent, to split from Sinn Féin.[16] His new party adopted its name on 2 April of the same year. While it was also opposed to the Treaty settlement, it rejected abstentionism, instead aiming to republicanise the Irish Free State from within. Fianna Fáil's platform of economic autarky had appeal among the farmers, working-class people and the poor, while alienating more affluent classes.[17] It largely pre-empted voters of the aforementioned groups from the Labour Party (with its almost identical economic and social policy) following its entry into the Dáil in 1927.[18] Fianna Fáil would go on to style themselves for several decades as "the real Labour Party".[19][20][21]

The split within Sinn Féin on the Anglo-Irish Treaty resulted in pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty Sinn Féin factions running in the 1922 general election. There was a clear victory for the pro-Treaty side, which went on to form Cumann na nGaedheal. Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin competed in the subsequent 1923 election as 'Republicans'. The split between what would become Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael possibly has deeper roots than the Treaty, however, and reflects a deeper tension within Irish nationalism that was obvious throughout the 19th century. There was a difference between constitutional Irish nationalism and a more violent Gaelic nationalism, which in turn, according to genetic evidence, could be based on patterns of migration from as far back as the 12th century.[22]

Cumann na nGaedheal sought to exploit the notion that Fianna Fáil was a party in thrall to communists. During the 1932 general election campaign, Cumann na nGaedheal declared in a newspaper advert that "the gunmen and Communists are voting for Fianna Fáil today – vote for the Government party." However, Fianna Fáil won the election,[23][24] forming its first government on 9 March 1932. It was in power for 61 of the 79 years between then and the election of 2011. Its longest continuous period in office was its first, 15 years and 11 months (March 1932 – February 1948). Its longest single period out of office in the 20th century was four years and four months (March 1973 – July 1977). All of the party's leaders have served as Taoiseach.[25]

The party's most dominant era was the 41-year period between 1932 and 1973, when party leaders Éamon de Valera, Seán Lemass and Jack Lynch served as Taoiseach in an almost unbroken chain save for two three-year stints by Fine Gael's John A. Costello. De Valera's reign is acknowledged for having successfully guided Ireland through World War II unscathed but is criticised for leaving Ireland in economic and cultural stagnation.[26] His successors such as Lemass, however, were able to turn around Ireland's economic fortunes as well as prime the country for entry into the European Economic Community, later the European Union.[25]

File:Charles Haughey, 1990.jpg
Charles Haughey, party leader from 1979 to 1992.

Fianna Fáil's fortunes began to falter in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1970 the Arms Crisis threatened to split the entire party in two when Fianna Fáil cabinet ministers Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney were dismissed by Jack Lynch after being accused of seeking to provide arms to the newly emergent Provisional Irish Republican Army.[27] Factional infighting over Northern Ireland, economics and the "moral issues" such as the legalization of divorce, abortion, and contraception plagued the party in this era and grew particularly intense when Charles Haughey later became party leader.[25] Under Haughey, Fianna Fáil lost both the 1981 general election and November 1982 general election to Garret FitzGerald's Fine Gael during a particularly chaotic time in Ireland's political and economic history. Numerous failed internal attempts to oust Haughey as leader of the party culminated in the most significant split in the party's history when a large portion of the membership walked out to create the Progressive Democrats in 1985, under the leadership of Haughey archrival Desmond O'Malley.[25] Haughey was forced to resign as Taoiseach and party leader in 1992 following revelations about his role in a phone tapping scandal.[28]

Although the two parties had seemed poised to be bitter enemies owing to the personal conflicts between the memberships, from 1989 onwards Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats served repeatedly in coalition governments together, helping to stabilise Fianna Fáil. In 1994 Fianna Fáil came under the new leadership of Haughey protégé Bertie Ahern, who also became Taoiseach in 1997. Under Ahern, Fianna Fáil was able to claim credit for helping to broker the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 which began the peace process in Northern Ireland, as well the economic upswing caused by the Celtic Tiger which saw Ireland's economy boom during the 2000s.[25] However, this momentum came to a sharp and sudden halt following two events. Firstly, Ahern was forced to resign as Taoiseach and left the party in 2008 following revelations made in the Mahon Tribunal that Ahern had accepted money from property developers.[25][29] Secondly, the party, which was still in government under a new leader and Taoiseach Brian Cowen, was held responsible for the effects of the post-2008 Irish economic downturn.[30] The party's popularity crashed: an opinion poll on 27 February 2009 indicated that only 10% of voters were satisfied with the Government's performance.[31]

In the 2011 general election, it suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government in the history of the Irish state.[32][33] This loss was described as "historic" in its proportions[34] and "unthinkable".[30] The party sank from being the largest in the Dáil to the third-largest,[35] losing 58 of its 78 seats.[36] This broke 79 consecutive years of Fianna Fáil being the largest single party in the Dáil. That election took place with Micheál Martin as leader, as Cowen had resigned as party leader in January 2011, although retained his role as Taoiseach until the election.[37] Cowen's premiership was sharply criticised in the media, with The Sunday Times describing Cowen's tenure as Taoiseach as "a dismal failure"[38] and in 2011 the Irish Independent calling Cowen the "worst Taoiseach in the history of the State."[39]

Since 2011

File:Logo of the Fianna Fáil.svg
Party logo until 2024

Martin continued to lead Fianna Fáil past 2011; In the 2016 general election Martin's Fianna Fáil made a moderate recovery while Fine Gael retained control of the government as a minority government, made possible by a confidence and supply agreement with Fianna Fáíl.[40]

In 2018 the party was divided internally over how to handle that year's referendum on the Eighth Amendment, the provision in the Irish constitution which forbade abortion. A significant portion of both the parliamentary party and the ordinary membership favoured a No vote, which would keep abortion illegal for non–life-threatening pregnancies. Leader Micheál Martin signalled his own desire for a Yes vote,[41] but was unable to bring the party under one stance, and ultimately more than half of Fianna Fáil's TDs campaigned for a No vote.[42][43] On polling day the Yes side won, 66% to 33%.

After the 2020 general election, for the first time in history, Fianna Fáil entered into a coalition government with its traditional rival Fine Gael, as well as the Green Party, ending its longest period out of government since its formation. Under the agreement, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin served as Taoiseach for the first half of the parliamentary term.[44] That same year a number of Fianna Fáil members were involved in the "Golfgate" scandal, an event that ultimately led to the resignation of Fianna Fáil deputy leader Dara Calleary.[45] In July 2021 Fianna Fáil suffered what a number of sources suggested might have been the single worst result in its history when the party polled extremely poorly in the 2021 Dublin Bay South by-election.[46][47][48][49] The result prompted Jim O'Callaghan and Cathal Crowe to question whether Martin should lead the party into its next general election.[50][51] In February 2023, former leader Bertie Ahern rejoined the party, having left in 2012.[52] Over the course of 2024, several sitting Fianna Fáil councillors and former party members left to join the right-wing Independent Ireland party.[53]

Following the 2024 Irish general election, Fianna Fáil became the largest party in the Dáil and led the creation of a government.

Organisation and structure

Fianna Fáil uses a structure called a cumann system. The basic unit was the cumann (branch); these were grouped into comhairlí ceantair (district branches) and a comhairle dáil ceantair (constituency branch) in every constituency.[54] The party claimed that in 2005 they had 50,000 registered names, but only an estimated 10,000–15,000 members were considered active.[55]

However, from the early 1990s onward, the cumann structure was weakened. Every cumann was entitled to three votes to selection conventions irrespective of its size; hence, a large number of cumainn had become in effect "paper cumainn", the only use of which was to ensure an aspiring or sitting candidate got enough votes.[56] Although this phenomenon was nothing new (the most famous example being Neil Blaney's "Donegal Mafia").[57]

Since the 2007 election, the party's structure has significantly weakened. This was in part exacerbated by significant infighting between candidates in the run-up to the 2011 general election.[58] The Irish Times estimated that half of its 3,000 cumainn were effectively moribund. This fraction rose in Dublin with the exception of Dublin West, the former seat of both Brian Lenihan Snr and Brian Lenihan Jnr.[59]

Ideology and platform

Template:Irish republicanism Fianna Fáil is primarily cited as being on the centreTemplate:Refn or centre-rightTemplate:Refn of the political spectrum.Template:Efn Fianna Fáil's ideology has been characterised both as conservativeTemplate:Refn and ambiguous or malleable.Template:Refn The party has also been ideologically described as centrist,Template:Refn Christian democratic,Template:Refn liberal-conservative,[60][61] populist,[62][63] conservative-liberal,[64][65] socially conservative,[66][67] liberal,Template:Refn national-liberal[68] and national-conservative.[69][70] In 2017, academics Eoin O'Malley and Sean McGraw wrote that Fianna Fáil "appears centrist, conservative, and attached to the state", but that there was "deep ambiguity concerning what type of party Fianna Fáil really is".[71]

File:Fianna Fáil Election Poster 1948 (Workers!).jpg
Fianna Fáil poster from the 1948 general election

In the modern era, Fianna Fáil is seen as a typical catch-all party and has defined itself as such.[72][73] It has presented itself as a "broad church"[74] and attracted support from across disparate social classes.[75][76] In the 1980s, Brian Lenihan Snr declared "there are no isms or [ide]ologies in my party"; further, in the early 2000s, Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern affirmed the party's catch-all stance by defining Fianna Fáil as a party that "looks out for the small ranking guy, the middle-ranking guy and assists the big guy".[77] In 2023, party leader Micheál Martin described Fianna Fáil as "a progressive republican party which rejects the failed and destructive idea that you must conform to the traditional left/right ideology".[78]

Between 1989 and 2011, Fianna Fáil led coalition governments with parties of both the left and the right. Fianna Fáil's platform contains a number of enduring commitments: to Irish unity; to the promotion and protection of the Irish language; and to maintaining Ireland's tradition of military neutrality.[79][80] The party's name and logo incorporates the words 'The Republican Party'.[4] According to Fianna Fáil, "Republican here stands both for the unity of the island and a commitment to the historic principles of European republican philosophy, namely liberty, equality and fraternity".[81] The party's main goal at its beginning was to reunite the North and the South.[82]

Fianna Fáil is supportive of the European Union.[83][84][85] Although part of the liberal Renew group in the European Parliament, its liberal nature has been disputed.[86] As of 2009, Fianna Fáil did not always support Renew's positions on civil liberties[87] though the party did legalize same-sex civil partnerships in 2010.[88] In 2014, Fianna Fáil expelled MEP Brian Crowley for joining the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists Group, with the party stating that "the ideas and principles of the ECR group and its component parties are totally incompatible with the core principles of Fianna Fáil".[89] Since 2016, Fianna Fáil has increasingly been seen as divided on social issues,[90][91] and as moving towards a more social liberal profile.[65] Fianna Fáil supported the unsuccessful 2024 Irish constitutional referendums, which would have deleted a reference to women's domestic duties and broadened the definition of the family.[92]

Evidence from expert surveys, opinion polls and candidate surveys have failed to identify strong distinctions between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.[93][94][95][96][97] Fianna Fáil is generally considered more populist[98][99] and economically interventionist[100][101] than its rival.[102] University College Dublin professor Thomas Däubler wrote that Fianna Fáil had "made a move to the centre" in the 2016 election, which resulted in Fine Gael being placed "considerably to the right" of Fianna Fáil.[103] In 2020, Time magazine described Fianna Fáil as "slightly more socially conservative and further to the left on the economy" than Fine Gael.[104] Fianna Fáil has been described in modern times as struggling with its identity as a party.[105][72][67][106] In 2023, Jack Sheehan of The Irish Times wrote that "for a decade now, a socially conservative, supposedly republican party has been led by a centrist social liberal with a more cautious position on Irish unification than even Leo Varadkar."[67]

20th century

In the early 20th century, Fianna Fáil had a more explicitly working-class orientation. In 1926, Seán Lemass described the party as "a progressive republican party based on the actual conditions of the moment"[107][108] while upon winning the 1932 Irish general election, newly elected Fianna Fáil TD Seán Moylan proclaimed that Fianna Fáil's win meant a victory of "the owners of the donkey and cart over the pony and trap class".[77] The Fianna Fáil party of the 1930s has been described as an economically social democratic one that sought to create an economically independent state (autarky) via protectionist policies, based on its culturally nationalist thinking.[108]

During the leadership of Seán Lemass in the 1960s, Fianna Fáil began to utilise some corporatist policies (embracing the concept of 'social partnership'), taking some influence from Catholic social teaching.[109][110][111][112] It was also during Lemass' time that the party shifted heavily away from autarkic thinking and towards a firm belief in free trade and foreign direct investment in Ireland.[108]

In 1967, Jack Lynch described the party as "left of centre" while suggesting it was to the left of Fine Gael and Labour. However, during the 1969 Irish general election, the party ran red scare tactics against Labour after it began using the slogan "the seventies will be socialist!". As Fine Gael became increasingly socially liberal in the 1970s under Garret FitzGerald, the party reacted by embracing social conservatism and populism.[113][108] In the same time period, the emergence of the Troubles and the Arms Crisis of 1971 tested the party's nationalism, but despite these events, Fianna Fáil maintained their moderate culturally nationalist stance.[114] In 1983, R. Ken Carty wrote of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael that they were "heterogeneous in their bases of support, relatively undifferentiated in terms of policy or programme, and remarkably stable in their support levels".[115]

In the 1990s, Fianna Fáil was described as a conservative and nationalist party.[116][117]

Leadership and president

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Leader Portrait Period Constituency Years as Taoiseach
Éamon de Valera Template:CSS image crop 1926–1959 Clare 1932–1933–1937–1938–1943–1944–1948; 1951–1954; 1957–1959
(6th, 7th, and 8th Executive Council of the Irish Free State,
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th and 8th Government of Ireland)
Seán Lemass Template:CSS image crop 1959–1966 Dublin South-Central 1959–1961–1965–1966
(9th, 10th and 11th Government of Ireland)
Jack Lynch Template:CSS image crop 1966–1979 Cork Borough (1948–1969)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Cork City North-West (1969–1977)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Cork City (1977–1981)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		1966–1969–1973; 1977–1979
(12th, 13th and 15th Government of Ireland)
Charles Haughey Template:CSS image crop 1979–1992 Dublin North-East (1957–1977)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Dublin Artane (1977–1981)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Dublin North-Central (1981–1992)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		1979–1981; Feb 1982 – Nov 1982; 1987–1989–1992
(16th, 18th, 20th and 21st Government of Ireland)
Albert Reynolds Template:CSS image crop 1992–1994 Longford–Roscommon 1992–1992–1994
(22nd and 23rd Government of Ireland)
Bertie Ahern Template:CSS image crop 1994–2008 Dublin Central 1997–2002–2007–2008
(25th, 26th and 27th Government of Ireland)
Brian Cowen Template:CSS image crop 2008–2011 Laois–Offaly 2008–2011
(28th Government of Ireland)
Micheál Martin Template:CSS image crop 2011–present Cork South-Central 2020–2022; 2025–present
(32nd and 35th Government of Ireland)

Deputy leader

Name Period Constituency Leader
Joseph Brennan 1973–1977 Donegal–Leitrim Jack Lynch
George Colley 1977–1982 Dublin Central Jack Lynch

Charles Haughey

Ray MacSharry 1982–1983 Sligo–Leitrim Charles Haughey
Brian Lenihan Snr 1983–1990 Dublin West
John Wilson 1990–1992 Cavan–Monaghan
Bertie Ahern 1992–1994 Dublin Central Albert Reynolds
Mary O'Rourke 1995–2002 Longford–Westmeath Bertie Ahern
Brian Cowen 2002–2008 Laois–Offaly
Mary Coughlan 2008–2011 Donegal South-West Brian Cowen
Mary Hanafin 2011 Dún Laoghaire Micheál Martin
Brian Lenihan Jnr 2011 Dublin West
Éamon Ó Cuív 2011–2012 Galway West
Dara Calleary 2018–2020 Mayo
Jack Chambers 2024–present Dublin West

Seanad leader

Name Period Panel
Eoin Ryan Snr 1977–1982 Industrial and Commercial Panel
Mick Lanigan 1982–1990 Industrial and Commercial Panel (1982–89)
Nominated member of Seanad Éireann (1989–90)
Seán Fallon 1990–1992 Industrial and Commercial Panel
G. V. Wright 1992–1997 Nominated member of Seanad Éireann
Donie Cassidy 1997–2002 Labour Panel
Mary O'Rourke 2002–2007 Nominated member of Seanad Éireann
Donie Cassidy 2007–2011 Labour Panel
Darragh O'Brien 2011–2016 Labour Panel
Catherine Ardagh 2016–2020 Industrial and Commercial Panel
Lisa Chambers 2020–2025 Cultural and Educational Panel
Fiona O'Loughlin 2025–present Administrative Panel

Election results

Fianna Fáil was the most electorally successful party in 20th-century democratic Europe.[118]

Dáil Éireann

Election Leader FPv FPv% Seats ± Dáil Government
June 1927 Éamon de Valera 299,486 26.2 (#2) Template:Composition bar New 5th Template:Shade
3rd executive
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Sep. 1927 411,777 35.2 (#2) Template:Composition bar Increase 13 6th Opposition
4th, 5th executive
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1932 566,498 44.5 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 15 7th Government
6th executive
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1933 689,054 49.7 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 5 8th Government
7th executive
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1937 599,040 45.2 (#1) Template:Composition bar Decrease 8 9th Government
8th executive,
1st government
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1938 667,996 51.9 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 8 10th Government
2nd government
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1943 557,525 41.9 (#1) Template:Composition bar Decrease 10 11th Government
3rd government
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1944 595,259 48.9 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 9 12th Government
4th government
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1948 553,914 41.9 (#1) Template:Composition bar Decrease 8 13th Opposition
5th government
(FG-Lab-CnP-CnT-
NL-MR-Ind majority)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
1951 616,212 46.3 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 1 14th Government
6th government
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1954 578,960 43.4 (#1) Template:Composition bar Decrease 4 15th Opposition
7th government
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1957 592,994 48.3 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 13 16th Government
8th, 9th government
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1961 Seán Lemass 512,073 43.8 (#1) Template:Composition bar Decrease 8 17th Government
10th government
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1965 597,414 47.7 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 2 18th Government
11th, 12th government
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1969 Jack Lynch 602,234 45.7 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 3 19th Government
13th government
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1973 624,528 46.2 (#1) Template:Composition bar Decrease 6 20th Oppositon
14th government
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1977 811,615 50.6 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 15 21st Government
15th, 16th government
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1981 Charles Haughey 777,616 45.3 (#1) Template:Composition bar Decrease 6 22nd Opposition
17th government
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Feb. 1982 786,951 47.3 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 3 23rd Government
18th government
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Nov. 1982 763,313 45.2 (#1) Template:Composition bar Decrease 6 24th Opposition
19th government
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1987 784,547 44.1 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 6 25th Government
20th government
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1989 731,472 44.1 (#1) Template:Composition bar Decrease 4 26th Government
21st, 22nd government
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1992 Albert Reynolds 674,650 39.1 (#1) Template:Composition bar Decrease 9 27th Government
23rd government
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Opposition
24th government
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1997 Bertie Ahern 703,682 39.3 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 9 28th Government
25th government
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2002 770,748 41.5 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 4 29th Government
26th government
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2007 858,565 41.6 (#1) Template:Composition bar Decrease 4 30th Government
27th, 28th government
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2011 Micheál Martin 387,358 17.5 (#3) Template:Composition bar Decrease 57 31st Opposition
29th government
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2016 519,356 24.3 (#2) Template:Composition bar Increase 23 32nd Template:Partial2
30th, 31st government
(FG-Ind minority)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
2020 484,315 22.2 (#2) Template:Composition bar Decrease 6 33rd Government
32nd, 33rd, 34th government
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2024 481,417 21.9 (#1) Template:Composition bar Increase 10 34th Government
35th government
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Presidential elections

Election Candidate FPv % +/– pp Position
1938 Nominated Douglas Hyde with Fine Gael
1945 Seán T. O'Kelly 537,965 49.5% Template:N/A 1
1952 Supported Seán T. O'Kelly as an independent
1959 Éamon de Valera 538,003 56.3% Increase 6.8 1
1966 558,861 50.5% Decrease 5.8 1
1973 Erskine H. Childers 635,867 52.0% Increase 1.5 1
1974 Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh Unopposed 1
1976 Patrick Hillery Unopposed 1
1983 Supported Patrick Hillery as an independent
1990 Brian Lenihan 694,484 44.1% Decrease 7.9 2
1997 Mary McAleese 574,424 45.2% Increase 1.1 1
2004 Supported Mary McAleese as an independent
2011 Did not contest
2018 Supported Michael D. Higgins as an independent
2025 Jim Gavin 103,568 7.2% Decrease 38.0 3

European Parliament

Election Leader FPv % Seats % +/− EP Group EP Party
1979 Jack Lynch 464,451 34.7 (#1) Template:Composition bar 33.3 (#1) New style="background-color:Template:Party color"| EPD —
1984 Charles Haughey 438,946 39.2 (#1) Template:Composition bar 53.3 (#1) Increase 3 rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color"| EDA
1989 514,537 31.5 (#1) Template:Composition bar 40.0 (#1) Decrease 2
1994 Albert Reynolds 398,066 35.0 (#1) Template:Composition bar 46.7 (#1) Increase 1 style="background-color:Template:Party color"| UFE
1999 Bertie Ahern 537,757 38.6 (#1) Template:Composition bar 40.0 (#1) Decrease 1 rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color"| UEN rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color"| AEN
2004 524,504 29.5 (#1) Template:Composition bar 30.8 (#2) Decrease 2
2009 Brian Cowen 440,562 24.1 (#2) Template:Composition bar 25.0 (#2) Decrease 1 rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color"| ALDE rowspan=4 style="background-color:Template:Party color"| ALDE
2014 Micheál Martin 369,545 22.3 (#1) Template:Composition bar 9.1 (#3) Decrease 2
2019 277,705 16.55 (#2) Template:Composition bar 15.4 (#2) Increase 1 rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color"| RE
2024 356,794 20.4 (#2) Template:Composition bar 28.6 (#1) Increase 2

Front bench

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Ógra Fianna Fáil

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Ógra Fianna Fáil serves as the party's official youth wing.

Fianna Fáil and Northern Ireland politics

On 17 September 2007, Fianna Fáil announced that the party would for the first time organise in Northern Ireland. The then Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern was asked to chair a committee on the matter: "In the period ahead Dermot Ahern will lead efforts to develop that strategy for carrying through this policy, examining timescales and structures. We will act gradually and strategically. We are under no illusions. It will not be easy. It will challenge us all. But I am confident we will succeed".[119]

The party embarked on its first ever recruitment drive north of the border in September 2007 in northern universities, and established two 'Political Societies', the William Drennan Cumann in Queens University, Belfast, and the Watty Graham Cumann in UU Magee, Derry, which subsequently became official units of Fianna Fáil's youth wing, attaining full membership and voting rights, and attained official voting delegates at the 2012 Ard Fheis. On 23 February 2008, it was announced that a former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) councillor, Colonel Harvey Bicker, had joined Fianna Fáil.[120]

Bertie Ahern announced on 7 December 2007 that Fianna Fáil had been registered in Northern Ireland by the UK Electoral Commission.[121] The party's Ard Fheis in 2009 unanimously passed a motion to organise in Northern Ireland by establishing forums, rather than cumainn, in each of its six counties. In December 2009, Fianna Fáil secured its first Northern Ireland Assembly MLA when Gerry McHugh, an independent MLA, announced he had joined the party.[122] Mr. McHugh confirmed that although he had joined the party, he would continue to sit as an independent MLA. In June 2010, Fianna Fáil opened its first official office in Northern Ireland, in Crossmaglen, County Armagh. The then Taoiseach Brian Cowen officially opened the office, accompanied by Ministers Éamon Ó Cuív and Dermot Ahern and Deputies Rory O'Hanlon and Margaret Conlon. Discussing the party's slow development towards all-Ireland politics, Mr. Cowen observed: "We have a very open and pragmatic approach. We are a constitutional republican party and we make no secret of the aspirations on which this party was founded. It has always been very clear in our mind what it is we are seeking to achieve, that is to reconcile this country and not being prisoners of our past history. To be part of a generation that will build a new Ireland, an Ireland of which we can all be proud".[123]

Fianna Fáil has not contested any elections in Northern Ireland since its registration and recognition there in 2007.[124] At the party's 2014 Ard Fheis, a motion was passed without debate to stand candidates for election north of the border for the first time in 2019.[125]

Since 24 January 2019, the party have been in partnership with the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)[126] formerly the main Irish nationalist party in Northern Ireland, but now smaller than Sinn Féin. There had long been speculation about the eventual partnership for several years prior. This was initially met with a negative reaction from Seamus Mallon, former Deputy Leader of the SDLP, who stated he would be opposed to any such merger. Former leader of the SDLP Margaret Ritchie originally stated publicly that she opposed any merger, announcing to the Labour Party Conference that such a merger would not happen on her "watch". On 10 January 2019, Richie stated that she now supported a new partnership with Fianna Fáil.[127]

Both Fianna Fáil and the SDLP currently have shared policies on key areas including addressing the current political situation in Northern Ireland, improving public services in both jurisdictions of Ireland, such as healthcare, housing, education, and governmental reform, and bringing about the further unity and cooperation of the people on the island and arrangements for a future poll on Irish reunification.[128][129]

In September 2022, SDLP party leader Colum Eastwood announced the end of its partnership with Fianna Fáil, saying that the SDLP needed to move forward by "standing on its own two feet".[130][131]

Representation in European institutions

Fianna Fáil joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) party on 16 April 2009, and the party's Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) sat in the ALDE Group during the 7th European Parliament term from June 2009 to 1 July 2014. The party is a full member of the Liberal International.[132] Prior to this, the party was part of the Eurosceptic Union for Europe of the Nations parliamentary group between 1999 and 2009.[133]

Party headquarters, over the objections of some MEPs, had made several attempts to sever the party's links to the European right, including an aborted 2004 agreement to join the European Liberal Democrat and Reform (ELDR) Party, with whom it already sat in the Council of Europe under the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) banner. On 27 February 2009, Taoiseach Brian Cowen announced that Fianna Fáil proposed to join the ELDR Party and intended to sit with them in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Group in the European Parliament after the 2009 European elections.[134]

In October 2009, it was reported that Fianna Fáil had irritated its new Liberal colleagues by failing to vote for the motion on press freedom in Italy (resulting in its defeat by a majority of one in the Parliament) and by trying to scupper their party colleagues' initiative for gay rights.[135] In January 2010, a report by academic experts writing for the votewatch.eu site found that FF "do not seem to toe the political line" of the ALDE Group "when it comes to budget and civil liberties" issues.[87]

In the 2014 European elections, Fianna Fáil received 22.3% of first-preference votes but only returned a single MEP, a reduction in representation of two MEPs from the previous term. This was due to a combination of the party's vote further dropping in Dublin and a two candidate strategy in the Midlands North West constituency, which backfired, resulting in sitting MEP Pat "the Cope" Gallagher losing his seat.[136][137][138] On 23 June 2014, returning MEP Brian Crowley announced that he intended to sit with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) rather than the ALDE group during the upcoming 8th term of the European parliament.[139] The following day on 24 June 2014 Crowley had the Fianna Fáil party whip withdrawn.[140] He has since been re-added to Fianna Fáil's website.[141]

In the European Committee of the Regions, Fianna Fáil sits in the Renew Europe CoR group, with three full and two alternate members for the 2020–2025 mandate.[142][143] Clare Colleran-Molloy is the Coordinator of the ENVE Commission and Gillian Coughlan is a member of the Bureau of the Renew Europe CoR group.

See also

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Notes

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References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

Template:Refbegin

  • Joe Ambrose (2006) Dan Breen and the IRA, Douglas Village, Cork : Mercier Press, 223 p., Template:ISBN
  • Bruce Arnold (2001) Jack Lynch: Hero in Crisis, Dublin : Merlin, 250p. Template:ISBN
  • Tim Pat Coogan (1993) De Valera : long fellow, long shadow, London : Hutchinson, 772 p., Template:ISBN
  • Joe Joyce and Peter Murtagh (1983) The Boss: Charles J. Haughey in government, Swords, Dublin : Poolbeg Press, 400 p., Template:ISBN
  • Stephen Kelly (2013),Fianna Fáil, Partition and Northern Ireland, Kildare : Irish Academic Press Template:ISBN
  • Stephen Kelly (2016), A failed political entity': Charles J. Haughey and the Northern Ireland question, 1945–1992, Kildare: Merrion Press Template:ISBN
  • F.S.L. Lyons (1985) Ireland Since the Famine, 2nd rev. ed., London : FontanaPress, 800 p., Template:ISBN
  • Dorothy McCardle (1968) The Irish Republic. A documented chronicle of the Anglo-Irish conflict and the partitioning of Ireland, with a detailed account of the period 1916–1923, etc., 989 p., Template:ISBN
  • Donnacha Ó Beacháin (2010) Destiny of the Soldiers: Fianna Fáil, Irish Republicanism and the IRA, 1926–1973, Gill and Macmillan, 540 p., Template:ISBN
  • T. Ryle Dwyer (2001) Nice fellow : a biography of Jack Lynch, Cork : Mercier Press, 416 p., Template:ISBN
  • T. Ryle Dwyer (1999) Short fellow : a biography of Charles J. Haughey, Dublin : Marino, 477 p., Template:ISBN
  • T. Ryle Dwyer, (1997) Fallen Idol : Haughey's controversial career, Cork : Mercier Press, 191 p., Template:ISBN
  • Raymond Smith (1986) Haughey and O'Malley : The quest for power, Dublin : Aherlow, 295 p., Template:ISBN
  • Tim Ryan (1994) Albert Reynolds : the Longford leader : the unauthorised biography, Dublin : Blackwater Press, 226 p., Template:ISBN
  • Dick Walsh (1986) The Party: Inside Fianna Fáil, Dublin : Gill & Macmillan, 161 p., Template:ISBN

Template:Refend

External links

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Template:Fianna Fáil Template:Political parties in Ireland Script error: No such module "Navbox".

Template:European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party Template:Renew Europe Template:Authority control

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