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Political parties in the Republic of Ireland lists political parties in the Republic of Ireland.
- The general rule on naming applies. That means: the parties are named in the English translation and the original native name is placed on the first line of the article unless the native form is more commonly used in English than the English form. Rationale and specifics: See: Wikipedia:Naming conventions (use English).
- Ways to browse Wikipedia for political parties are by name of the party, country, ideology or by membership of internationals and through the category system: especially by country and ideology.
Introduction
A political party is a political organization subscribing to a certain ideology or formed around very special issues with the aim to participate in power, usually by participating in elections.
- See political party for a more comprehensive discussion.
The Republic of Ireland has a two-party system, which means that there are two dominant political parties, with extreme difficulty for anybody to achieve electoral success under the banner of any other party.
The parties
Summary
Comprehensive
Four main political parties are represented in Dáil Éireann (parliament of Ireland). These include:
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil was founded in 1926 by Eamon de Valera. The party first came to power in 1932 and since then has remained the largest party in the Dáil. Fianna Fáil has been in power for almost fifty years of its existence (1932-1948, 1951-1954, 1957-1973, 1977-1981, 1982, 1987-1992 & 1997-present). Its list of leaders are:
Fine Gael
Fine Gael was founded in 1933. Up to then it was known as Cumann na nGaedhael. Since it was founded Fine Gael has remained the second largest party in the Dáil. Cumann na nGaedhael formed the first government of the Irish Free State (1923-1932). Since then it has formed coalition governments, mostly with the Irish Labour Party (1948-1951, 1954-1957, 1973-1977, 1981-1982, 1982-1987 & 1994-1997). Its list of leaders are:
The Labour Party
The Irish Labour Party was founded in 1912 by James Connolly as a trade union movement. Up to 1927 the party was the main opposition party in the Dáil. The Labour Party has been in power in coalition governments, mostly with Fine Gael - (1948-1951, 1954-1957, 1973-1977, 1981-1982, 1982-1987 & 1994-1997). The Labour Party formed a coalition government with Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994. Its list of leaders are:
Progressive Democrats
The Progressive Democrats is the fourth largest political party in the Republic of Ireland. The party was founded in December 1985 by two ex-Fianna Fáil TD's - Desmond O'Malley and Mary Harney. O'Malley became president and leader. The party won 14 seats in the 1987 general election, thus becoming the third largest party in the Dáil. In 1989 the party entered into coalition government with Fianna Fáil. O'Malley became Minister for Industry and Commerce. Since 1997 the party has been in power in coalition with Fianna Fáil. Its leader, Mary Harney, is the current Tánaiste. Its list of leaders are:
Several other smaller organisations are represented in the Dáil also.
Defunct political parties
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