Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil
Leader	Brian Cowen
Deputy leader	Mary Coughlan
Founded	23 March 1926 (1926-03-23)
Headquarters	65–66 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
Youth wing	Ógra Fianna Fáil
Ideology	Irish republicanism[1] Conservatism[1]
Political position	Centrist[2]
International affiliation	None
European affiliation	European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
European Parliament Group	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Official colours	Green, Orange
Dáil Éireann	75 / 166
Seanad Éireann	27 / 60
European Parliament	3 / 12
Local government	405 / 1,627
Website
www.fiannafail.ie
Politics of the Republic of Ireland Political parties Elections Politics of Northern Ireland Political parties Elections

Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (Irish: Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), more commonly known as Fianna Fáil (Irish pronunciation: [ˌfʲiənə ˈfɔːlʲ]) is a political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the largest party in both houses of the Oireachtas, Ireland's bicameral parliament, and the leading party in a coalition government with the Green Party, which also has the support of five Independent TDs.

Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál ("Fál" being a legendary name for Ireland).^[3]

Historically Fianna Fáil has been seen as to the left of Fine Gael and to the right of Labour. However Fianna Fáil has never been categorized as being left wing or right wing and has led governments including parties of the left, Labour Party and Green Party and parties of the right Progressive Democrats. Fianna Fáil is often viewed as a broad church. Support is evenly across all social classes and has been in power for 53 years of its 84 year history, having ruled almost continuously since 1987 with the exception of an 18 month period between 1994-1997. It is the second most successful political party in the democratic world after the Swedish Social Democratic Party, with all its leaders having served as Taoiseach - a feat not matched by any other Party. It currently boasts a membership of some 75,000 members, the largest membership of an Irish political party by far.

Fianna Fáil joined the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party on 16 April 2009, and has sat in its associated Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group in the European Parliament since the 2009 European elections.

History

Leader and president

Although the posts of leader and party president of Fianna Fáil are separate, with the former elected by the Parliamentary Party and the latter elected by the Ardfheis (thus allowing for the posts to be held by different people, in theory), in practice they have always been held by the one person. However, as the Ardfheis may have already been held in any given year by the time a new leader is elected, the selection of the new party president might not take place until the next year.

The following are the terms of office for the leader:

• Éamon de Valera (1926–1959)
• Seán Lemass (1959–1966)
• Jack Lynch (1966–1979)
• Charles Haughey (1979–1992)
• Albert Reynolds (1992–1994)
• Bertie Ahern (1994–2008)
• Brian Cowen (2008–present)

The chart below shows a timeline of Fianna Fáil leaders and the Presidents of the Executive Council and Taoiseach. The left bar shows all the leaders of Fianna Fáil, and the right bar shows the corresponding make-up of the Irish government at that time. The colours correspond to which party led the government. The last names of the respective heads of government are shown, and the Roman numeral stands for the cabinets.

For information on leadership elections, see:

Party Aims and Objectives

1. To secure in peace and agreement the unity of Ireland and its people.

2. To develop a distinctive national life in accordance with the diverse traditions and ideals of the Irish people as part of a broader European culture, and to restore and promote the Irish language as a living language of the people.

3. To guarantee religious and civil liberty, and equal rights, equal treatment and equal opportunities for all the people of Ireland.

4. To develop the resources and wealth of Ireland to their full potential, while making them subservient to the needs and welfare of all the people of Ireland, so as to provide the maximum sustainable employment, based on fostering a spirit of enterprise and self-reliance and on social partnership.

5. To protect the natural environment and heritage of Ireland and to ensure a balance between town and country and between the regions, and to maintain as many families as practicable on the land.

6. To promote the family, and a wider sense of social responsibility, and to uphold the rule of law in the interest of the welfare and safety of the public.

7. To maintain the status of Ireland as a sovereign State, as a full member of the European Union and the United Nations, contributing to peace, disarmament and development on the basis of Ireland's independent foreign policy tradition.

8. To reform the laws and institutions of State, to make them efficient, humane, caring and responsive to the needs of the citizen.

General election results

^A In December 1994, Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Democratic Left entered into government without a general election being called.

Presidential nominations

Of Ireland's eight presidents, six either were in Fianna Fáil governments or nominated by Fianna Fáil. Only Douglas Hyde (1938–1945) and Mary Robinson (1990–1997) had no connection with Fianna Fáil. Hyde, though appointed to Seanad Éireann by de Valera in 1938, was originally a nominee proposed by Fine Gael (but immediately enthusiastically endorsed by Fianna Fáil) while Robinson was a Labour Party nominee who defeated a Fianna Fáil candidate, Brian Lenihan. The current president, Mary McAleese, was a Fianna Fáil nominee at her first election to the presidency but ran uncontested as an independent at the last attempt to become president. The president on election is apolitical.

Ógra Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil have an active youth wing called Ógra Fianna Fáil. They were formed in 1974 and play an active role in party matters, recruiting members and working on election campaigns. The current elected head of Ógra is Joe O' Neill who serves as Leas-Cathaoirleach Ógra. Thomas Byrne TD is the nominated head or Cathaoirleach of Ógra Fianna Fáil, having been appointed by President of Fianna Fáil, Brian Cowen, in 2009.

On the 28 February, 2010, Ógra Fianna Fáil published a policy document on Marriage Equality for Same-Sex couples, which went beyond the scope of the Party's Programme for Government which proposed a Civil Partnership scheme only and included proposals in relation to other gay rights issues.^[4]

Ógra also plays an important role in the party organisation where it currently has six representatives on the Ard Chomhairle (National Executive).

Entry into Northern Ireland politics

On 17 September 2007 Fianna Fáil announced that the party would, for the first time, organise in Northern Ireland.

Foreign Minister, Dermot Ahern, is 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," ^[5]

The party embarked on its first ever recruitment drive north of the border on the 25th and 26th of September 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.

Bertie Ahern announced on 7 December 2007 that Fianna Fáil had been registered in Northern Ireland by the UK Electoral Commission.^[6] There has been speculation about an eventual merger with the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP),^[7] formerly the main Irish nationalist party in the Northern ireland, but now smaller than Sinn Féin. This has been met with a negative reaction with former Deputy Leader of the SDLP, Seamus Mallon, stating he would be opposed to any such merger. The current leader of the SDLP, Margaret Ritchie, has also stated publicly that she would oppose any merger. At the 2010 Irish Labour Party conference she criticized Fianna Fails record in government and also the National Asset Management Agency ^[8] On 23 February 2008, it was announced that a former UUP councillor, Colonel Harvey Bicker, had joined FF.^[9]

The 2009 Ardfheis announced the establishment of Fianna Fáil Fora across Northern Ireland, initially on a County-by-County basis. The first formally established Forum is the Armagh Forum, subsequently fora have been established in Counties Down and Fermanagh, further organisation continues. This Ardfheis also elected Mark Hughes, a member from Armagh, to the Party's Ard Chomhairle.

In November 2009, at the National Youth Conference in Bundoran, Ógra Fianna Fáil decided to add the position of Northern Representative to the committee to reflect the organisations 32 county status.

In European institutions

In the European Parliament from 1999 to 2009, Fianna Fáil was a leading member of Union for Europe of the Nations, a small national conservative grouping. European political commentators had often noted substantive ideological differences between the party and its colleagues, whose strongly conservative stances had at times prompted domestic criticism of Fianna Fáil. It had previously been a member of the Union for Europe, European Democratic Alliance, and European Progressive Democrats groups.

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 Party (ELDR), 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 ELDR and intended to sit with them in the ALDE Group in the European Parliament after the 2009 European elections.^[10] The change was made official on 17 April 2009, when FF joined the ELDR.

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.^[11] Then 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.^[12]

Allegations of corruption

The party, along with its coalition partners, was re-elected in the 2002 general election. It has been hit by numerous scandals. (Founding father Frank Aiken refused to run in the 1973 general election because the party had Haughey as a candidate while first leader Éamon de Valera told a senior minister in 1970 that "Haughey will ruin the party."

Another former minister, Ray Burke, whom Ahern appointed to cabinet for a short time in 1997, was recently explicitly described by retired High Court judge, Fergus Flood in a tribunal of inquiry as "corrupt", and was jailed in January 2005 for tax offences. The privileged treatment accorded to Burke in prison was subsequently widely criticised, especially by Fine Gael.

Former Fianna Fáil Government Press Secretary Frank Dunlop is giving evidence to a tribunal of inquiry in relation to his allegations that long-serving Fianna Fáil senators took bribes to arrange for planning permissions to be granted to particular property developers. Other councillors (past and present) from a number of parties, but predominantly from Fianna Fáil, are expected to be named. The tribunal has yet to judge the credibility or otherwise of Dunlop and his evidence.

Former Fianna Fáil TD, Liam Lawlor was also accused of corrupt practices in relation to planning and development. He was jailed repeatedly for refusal to cooperate with the tribunal. He did not resign his Dublin West seat and continued to attend the Dáil, returning to Mountjoy Prison after the sessions, where he enjoyed most of the same privileges as Mr. Burke. Another TD, Beverley Cooper-Flynn of Mayo, was forced to resign from the party when it was revealed that she had advised people on how to illegally evade tax while working as a financial adviser for National Irish Bank. She was readmitted when she threatened to run as an Independent candidate, expelled again after she lost a libel action against RTÉ, and readmitted unanimously to the party shortly after Ahern's resignation.

Kerry North TD Denis Foley was found to have held an Ansbacher bank account and subsequently could not seek re-election in 1997. Michael Collins of the Collins family dynasty in Limerick suffered a similar fate in 2002, when he was found to have evaded tax by the Revenue Commissioners.

On 8 December 2005, Ivor Callely TD resigned his junior ministerial post after RTÉ News reported that a building contractor involved in public contracts had painted his house for free in the early 1990s. It was also revealed that Callely had offered to personally buy a new car for one of his civil service advisers, in an attempt to persuade the adviser not to leave their job. Apparently, Callely's department had an unusually high turnover of staff for some time under his stewardship ^[13].

Bertie Ahern, in September 2006 admitted having received payments from "friends" in the early 1990s which he termed as a combination of loans and gifts totalling £48,000 while serving as Minister for Finance. Damaged by the controversy initially, which included admissions of appointing friends to state boards and not having a bank account while serving as Minister for Finance, support for the party in opinion polls rose after Ahern described the circumstances of the payments to the public in an interview with RTÉ television.^[14] Former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds stated in a radio interview on RTÉ that he would have told Ahern that taking such payments was totally unacceptable. As the then Taoiseach he should have been informed by Ahern and would have been very clear that accepting the payments was wrong. He said that many other options were open to Ahern such as getting a bank loan. ^[15] After the payments controversy, polling data suggested that Bertie Ahern's increase in popularity due to the payments controversy was primarily a sympathetic reaction.

In September 2007, Ahern testified over a four day period at the Mahon Tribunal about these payments and his explanations under oath varied from day to day, being described by one of the sitting judges as "polar opposite"^[16]

In April 2008 Ahern announced his intended resignation as Taoiseach and party leader, naming May 2008 as when he would step down. The announcement came during a period of increased disquiet over his evidence to the Mahon Tribunal, in particular denials of foreign currency lodgements, which were contradicted in evidence given by his former secretary, who accepted that paperwork before the tribunal indicated a sterling lodgement was made by her on his behalf.

Further reading

• Joe Ambrose (2006) Dan Breen and the IRA, Douglas Village, Cork : Mercier Press, 223 p., ISBN 1-85635-506-3
• Bruce Arnold (2001) Jack Lynch: Hero in Crisis, Dublin : Merlin, 250p. ISBN 1-903582-06-7
• Tim Pat Coogan (1993) De Valera : long fellow, long shadow, London : Hutchinson, 772 p., ISBN 0-09-175030-X
• Joe Joyce and Peter Murtagh (1983) The Boss: Charles J. Haughey in government, Swords, Dublin : Poolbeg Press, 400 p., ISBN 0-905169-69-7
• F.S.L. Lyons (1985) Ireland Since the Famine, 2nd rev. ed., London : FontanaPress, 800 p., ISBN 0-00-686005-2
• 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., ISBN 0-552-07862-X
• T. Ryle Dwyer (2001) Nice fellow : a biography of Jack Lynch, Cork : Mercier Press, 416 p., ISBN 1-85635-368-0
• T. Ryle Dwyer (1999) Short fellow : a biography of Charles J. Haughey, Dublin : Marino, 477 p., ISBN 1-86023-100-4
• T. Ryle Dwyer, (1997) Fallen Idol : Haughey's controversial career, Cork : Mercier Press, 191 p., ISBN 1-85635-202-1
• Raymond Smith (1986) Haughey and O'Malley : The quest for power, Dublin : Aherlow, 295 p., ISBN 1-87013-800-7
• Tim Ryan (1994) Albert Reynolds : the Longford leader : the unauthorised biography, Dublin : Blackwater Press, 226 p., ISBN 0-86121-549-4
• Dick Walsh (1986) The Party : inside the Fianna Fáil, Dublin : Gill & Macmillan, 161 p., ISBN 0-7171-1446-5

See also

• Category:Fianna Fáil politicians

References

External links

• Official site

Political parties in the Republic of Ireland Dáil Éireann (166): Fianna Fáil (70) · Fine Gael (51) · Labour Party (20) · Green Party (6) · Sinn Féin (5) · Independent (10) Seanad Éireann (60): Fianna Fáil (27) · Fine Gael (15) · Labour Party (6) · Green Party (2) · Independent (7) European Parliament (12 out of 736): Fine Gael (EPP, 4) · Fianna Fáil (ALDE, 3) · Labour Party (S&D, 3) · Socialist Party (EUL–NGL, 1) · Independent (ALDE, 1) Represented at local level: Éirígí · Letterkenny Residents Party · People Before Profit Alliance · South Kerry Independent Alliance · Workers and Unemployed Action Group · Workers' Party Others: Christian Solidarity Party · Communist Party of Ireland · Fathers Rights-Responsibility Party · Irish Republican Socialist Party · Republican Sinn Féin · Seniors Solidarity Party · Socialist Workers Party Portal:Politics – List of political parties – Politics of the Republic of Ireland