Fianna FÃ¡il

Fianna FÃ¡il - The Republican Party (IPA ; (commonly mistranslated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, though the literal translation is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland),Â¹ is currently the largest political party in Ireland with 55,000 members. From its establishment in the early twentieth century, the party moved from being a radical, slightly left of centre party, to become the establishment, its influence dominating government and Irish political life from the 1930s onwards. It has been the largest party in DÃ¡il Ã‰ireann since 1932, and has formed the government seven times since Ireland gained independence in 1921--1932-48, 1951-54, 1957-73, 1977-81, 82, 1987-94, and since 1997. Electorally, Fianna FÃ¡il is second only to the Swedish Social Democratic Party in its proportion of tenure in government.

In the European Parliament, Fianna FÃ¡il is a leading member of Union for Europe of the Nations, a small right-of-centre nationalist grouping. European political commentators have often noted this to be a particularly odd arrangement owing to the substantive ideological differences between the party and its groupmates, whose strongly conservative stances have at times prompted domestic criticism of Fianna FÃ¡il. Party headquarters, over the objections of some MEPs, has made several attempts to sever the party's links to the European right, most recently an aborted 2004 agreement to join the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, with whom it already sits at the Council of Europe.

Leader & President of Fianna FÃ¡il

* Eamon de Valera (1926-1959)
* SeÃ¡n Lemass (1959-1966)
* Jack Lynch (1966-1979)
* Charles Haughey (1979-1992)
* Albert Reynolds (1992-1994)
* Bertie Ahern (1994-present)

''Note: Though the posts of leader and party president are separate, with the former elected by the Parliamentary Party and the latter elected by the Ard FhÃ©is, and in theory the posts could be held by different people, they have always been held by the one person. However as that year's Ard Fheis may already have taken place before a new leader was elected, the selection of the new party president might not take place until a year after the leader. The years above are for the election of the leader.

History

Ã‰amon de Valera, founder and first leader of Fianna FÃ¡il (1926-1959). He served as Taoiseach on three occasions.

Fianna FÃ¡il was founded on March 23, 1926, and adopted its name on April 2 of the same year. It was founded by Ã‰amon de Valera, former PrÃomh-Aire (prime minister & president of DÃ¡il Ã‰ireann (April 1919-August 1921) and President of the Republic (August 1921-January 1922). De Valera resigned from the presidency in January 1922 over the Anglo-Irish Treaty which created the Irish Free State. He led anti-Treaty Sinn FÃ©in during the Irish Civil War (1922-23) before resigning from the party in 1926, in protest at the party's hard-line policy of abstentionism, the refusal to accept the legitimacy of the Free State or DÃ¡il Ã‰ireann. Though his new party, Fianna FÃ¡il, was also opposed to the Treaty settlement, it adopted a different approach of aiming to republicanise the Irish Free State rather than claiming all that had happened between 1922 and 1926 was invalid and that one could simply turn the clock back to the days of the direct British rule and start the Independence process again.

Fianna FÃ¡il initially refused to enter the Irish Free State's DÃ¡il Ã‰ireann in protest at the Oath of Allegiance which all members of the DÃ¡il were obliged to take. (The Oath, which was contained in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, was drafted by Michael Collins, using phraseology taken the Irish Republican Brotherhood's Oath and suggestions from de Valera, then President of the Republic. In its final form, it promised "allegiance" to "The Irish Free State" and "that I will be faithful" to King George V in his role as King of Ireland, "in virtue of the common citizenship".) The party initially took a court case on the issue of the oath. However the assassination of the Cumann na nGaedhael (pronounced "cum-on na nyale") Minister for Justice, Kevin O'Higgins, led the then government to introduce a new Bill, requiring all candidates to swear that they would take the oath if elected. (If they declined to give that guarantee, they would be ineligible to be candidates in any election.) Fianna FÃ¡il abandoned its previous refusal to take the Oath, dismissed it as an "empty formula", and entered the DÃ¡il.

The first party leader was Eamon de Valera. Other founding members included SeÃ¡n Lemass (who became its second leader), Sean T. O'Kelly, P.J. Ruttledge and others. Its initial appeal was to anti-treaty supporters and working class people.

De Valera, 1926-1959

On March 9 1932 Eamon de Valera was elected President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State. It was a position he was to hold for twenty one years, sixteen of which were uninterrupted. During his first term de Valera weakened the links between the Free State and Britain. The ban on the IRA was lifted, the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown was abolished and the office of Governor-General was greatly demoted. De Valera also started an economic war with Britain by withholding land annuity payments and by placing high tariffs on British imports such as coal. The British responded by placing tariffs on Irish goods such as agricultural produce. This "tit for tat" policy, which was disastrous for the Irish economy, would last until 1938 when the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Agreement was signed.

In May 1936 de Valera abolished the Irish Senate. At that time he also announced his intention to draw up a new constitution. On 1 July 1937 the Irish people adopted the new Bunreacht na hÃ‰ireann. This new constitution was republican in all but name. The constitution claimed that the state consisted of the entire island of Ireland and the office of Governor-General was replaced by the President of Ireland. De Valera was able to succeed with this tactic as the 1930's had seen a change in Britain's relationship with her colonies. The Statute of Westminster had declared a national law to be as valid as one from Westminister, and so the Houses of Commons/Lords no longer had a role in turning National bills into Law. It was a delicate political move but one which de Valera managed to execute without major disruption.

In 1939 at the outbreak of World War II de Valera announced that Ireland would remain neutral. This policy infuriated the British; however, Ireland's neutrality strongly favoured the Allies. Following the Irish General Election, 1948 Fianna FÃ¡il lost power. They returned in 1951 but no new ideas emerged from the Cabinet. SeÃ¡n Lemass was eager to launch a new economic policy but the conservative elements in the government prevailed. Fianna FÃ¡il lost power again in 1954.

In 1957 de Valera returned for the final time as Taoiseach. At this stage he was 75 years old and almost blind. However, he allowed Lemass to proceed with his economic expansion plan. This culminated in the 'Programme for Economic Expansion' of 1958. In 1959 Dev (as he was popularly called) was elected the third President of Ireland. His successor was his TÃ¡naiste, SeÃ¡n Lemass.

Lemass 1959-1966

SeÃ¡n Lemass became the new leader of the Party and Taoiseach on 23 June 1959 (the same day de Valera became President). Lemass as Taoiseach concentrated his energy on mainly economic matters. He had the task of implementing the 'First Programme for Economic Development' which began in 1958. The policy of Protectionism was abandoned and free trade was introduced. Grants and tax concessions were given to companies who set up in Ireland. As a result of the 'Programme' the Irish economy grew at a rate of 4% per annum. A second, even more ambitious, 'Programme for Economic Expansion' was started in 1963.

Lemass' success in managing the economy led to his victory in the Irish General Election, 1961. Lemass now felt that he had a greater mandate and began making more changes. He introduced a new wave of fresh and more modern thinkers to the Cabinet, including, Brian Lenihan, Charles Haughey, George Colley and Patrick Hillery. Even though this was a minority government it is considered by many the best and most productive government in the history of the state.

The sixties were a time of great change in Ireland. In 1961 RTÃ‰ began broadcasting; opening up a new world to the Irish people. The following year the Second Vatican Council led to - according to its supporters - greater openness in the Catholic Church, which was still a major force in Ireland. In 1963 the U.S President John F. Kennedy visited Ireland. In 1966 free secondary education was announced by the Minister for Education, Donagh O'Malley.

During this term Lemass began a new policy of reconciliation with Northern Ireland. On 9 January 1965 Lemass travelled to Stormont in great secrecy for talks with Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Terence O'Neill. In February O'Neill returned the compliment and visited Lemass in Dublin. Later meetings between ministers from both sides of the border became more frequent. Unfortunately, the lavish celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising in 1966 offended many unionists.

In November 1966 Lemass announced his resignation as leader and Taoiseach. After fifty years serving Ireland and its people the founding fathers, SeÃ¡n Lemass, SeÃ¡n MacEntee and James Ryan, who had dominated Irish politics for so long, left the stage of history. After their departure a new breed of politics and politician was developing. This can be seen in the leadership race to succeed Lemass as Taoiseach.

Lynch 1966-1979

Jack Lynch was elected the third leader of Fianna FÃ¡il and Taoiseach on November 10, 1966. Frank Aiken, the long-serving Minister for Foreign Affairs and the only surviving member from de Valera's first Cabinet, was appointed TÃ¡naiste. During Lynch's first term as Taoiseach he faced several crises which were unprecedented. In 1969 the Troubles broke out in Northern Ireland. Lynch was determined that the violence would not spread to the Republic and cause a civil war. At the height of the violence he made a famous speech on RTÃ‰ saying that the [Irish] government could no longer stand by and watch innocent people be injured or perhaps worse. Many thought that the Republic was about to invade the North, and contingency plans were drawn up by the Irish Army to take Derry and Newry. These were never implemented, as it was believed that to invade the North would have triggered the slaughter of countless Catholics at the hands of their heavily-armed unionist neighbours. Lynch was mostly successful in confining the violence to Northern Ireland. He also established centres to process Catholic refugees.

The following year (1970) Lynch discovered that two government ministers, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney, had apparently become involved in a plot to import arms for use by the Provisional IRA. Both men were sacked from the Cabinet in what became known as the Arms Crisis. Later Haughey and Blaney were arrested and put on trial, however, both were acquitted. The crisis led to deep division within Fianna FÃ¡il for some time.

On 1 January 1973 Ireland officially became a member of the EEC. This was one of the major achievements of Lynch's terms as Taoiseach and one which was started by Lemass over ten years earlier. Following the Irish General Election, 1973 Fianna FÃ¡il found themselves in opposition. It was the first change of government for sixteen years. The Fine Gael-Labour coalition lasted for four years.

In the Irish General Election, 1977 Fianna FÃ¡il won its biggest ever election victory with a majority of twenty seats. The reasons for its huge victory were the populist economic policies it put forward, the dissatisfaction with the Coalition, the huge popularity of Lynch as leader, and the attempted gerrymander of many constituencies by Minister Tully. However after two years the government grew more and more unpopular. Poor results in the European elections and two by-elections added to the pressure on Lynch and he resigned on 5 December 1979. Two days later a two-horse leadership race between George Colley and Charles Haughey developed.

Haughey 1979-1992

Charles J. Haughey was the fourth leader of Fianna FÃ¡il (1979-1992). He served as Taoiseach on three occasions.

Nine years after the 'Arms Crisis' nearly ended his career Charles J. Haughey was elected the fourth leader of Fianna FÃ¡il and Taoiseach. Haughey's first term as Taoiseach was dominated by economic problems. Ireland's economy was in a poor state following the oil crisis and foreign debt was spiralling out of control. In the Irish General Election, 1981 Fianna FÃ¡il received its worst result in twenty years. Haughey and Fianna FÃ¡il found themselves in opposition.

1982/1983 was an extraordinary period for Irish politics. Two general elections were held and there were three attempts to overthrow Haughey as leader of Fianna FÃ¡il. In the Irish General Election, 1982 (February) Haughey again failed to win a majority. Several TDs led by Desmond O'Malley challenged Haughey for the leadership but backed down on the day of the vote. Haughey was elected Taoiseach with the help of Independent TDs. In October another attempt to oust Haughey was initiated by Charlie McCreevy. This time the issue was put to a vote but Haughey won easily when an open vote was held. Following the Irish General Election, 1982 (November) Fianna FÃ¡il lost power and another leadership battle loomed in Fianna FÃ¡il. In February 1983 another challenge to overthrow Haughey was made. This time a secret ballot was held but the result was practically the same, 40 votes to 33 in favour of Haughey. Fianna FÃ¡il then spent four years in opposition.

Following the Irish General Election, 1987 Fianna FÃ¡il returned to power but had failed to gain an overall majority. Haughey was narrowly elected Taoiseach. During this term as Taoiseach Haughey concentrated mostly on economic issues, trying to turn around the country's fiscal situation. By that time, Ireland was the sick man of Western Europe and barely escaped having the IMF take over the economy. In 1989 Haughey tried to pull off what would have been his greatest achievement. He called an early general election in the hope of gaining an overall majority. However, instead of gaining seats Fianna FÃ¡il lost seats and was forced to form a coalition with the Progressive Democrats, a political offshoot, to stay in power. Fianna FÃ¡il had always ruled out coalition government beforehand, and many in the party were unhappy with Haughey's volte-face. This marked the beginning of the end for Haughey.

Following the Irish presidential election, 1990 Haughey was forced to sack his TÃ¡naiste and long-time friend, Brian Lenihan. In 1991 Haughey faced a leadership challenge from Albert Reynolds. This challenge was unsuccessful, however it showed that Haughey was losing his grip on the party. In 1992 SeÃ¡n Doherty placed Haughey at the centre of a scandal regarding the tapping of two journalists telephones ten years earlier. Haughey had always maintained that he knew nothing about this, but Doherty publicly stated otherwise. This time Haughey's luck had run out and he resigned. Albert Reynolds, who had challenged Haughey in 1991, emerged as the new leader of Fianna FÃ¡il and Taoiseach.

Reynolds 1992-1994

On 11 February 1992 Albert Reynolds was elected Taoiseach. After receiving his seal of office from President Mary Robinson he announced his new Cabinet. Reynolds sacked eight members of Haughey's last administration including Gerard Collins and Ray Burke. Reynolds' cabinet contained many new faces and left much of the 'old guard' out in the cold. Reynolds had hoped to continue in coalition with the Progressive Democrats, however, following the Beef Tribunal the PDs withdrew from government and an election was called.

When the results of the Irish General Election, 1992 came in it was clear that both Fianna FÃ¡il and Fine Gael had done badly. Labour achieved their best ever result with 33 seats. After negotiations Fianna FÃ¡il entered into a coalition with the Irish Labour Party. Dick Spring of Labour took on the important roles of TÃ¡naiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs.

One of the most important components of Reynolds period as Taoiseach was the Northern Ireland peace process. Reynolds had favoured allowing republicans into mainstream politics if they renounced violence. Negotiations had been going on between John Hume and Gerry Adams for some time and Reynolds now approached his British counterpart, John Major. On 15 December 1993 the Downing Street Declaration was signed between both governments. This agreement paved the way for an IRA ceasefire in 1994. This was one of the most important achievements of Reynolds' short term.

In 1994 Reynolds and Spring had a disagreement over an appointment of a judge to the Irish Supreme Court. Both men wanted to appoint someone different and both had their own reasons for doing so, with Reynolds approach to the whole affair causing concern among those who believed in appointing the best qualified candidate. Eventually this disagreement led to the end of Reynolds' period as Taoiseach and he resigned in November 1994. The new leader to emerge was the then Minister for Finance Bertie Ahern.

Ahern 1994-present

On 19 November 1994 Bertie Ahern was elected the sixth and youngest leader of Fianna FÃ¡il. Ahern was poised to become Taoiseach and continue in coalition with Labour. However the day before the government was to return Dick Spring called off the deal and the coalition ended. Instead Labour helped form a new government lead by Fine Gael. Ahern now found himself as leader of the opposition, a position which he hadn't anticipated. Following the Irish General Election, 1997 Fianna FÃ¡il formed a government with the Progressive Democrats in which Bertie Ahern was Taoiseach.

The election of Tony Blair in Britain gave renewed hope of an agreement for peace in Northern Ireland, an issue that has traditionally always been an aspiration of Irish Governments. The work of Ahern and his government, as well as that of the relevant power bases in the UK/US, culminated in the Good Friday Agreement. This agreement was signed by politicians from the Republic, supported by the opposition and politicians in Britain and Northern Ireland and ratified by the electorate on both sides of the Irish border.

During Ahern's term Fianna FÃ¡il faced increased criticism over corruption. Ray Burke was forced to resign as Minister for Foreign Affairs due to corruption and Liam Lawlor was and is being investigated over payments he received. Both were eventually jailed. Also, details of former leader Charles Haughey's illegal financial dealings came to light during Ahern's tenure as Taoiseach.

If the results of the Irish General Election, 2002 are anything to go by these scandals did little - at that stage - to dampen the popularity of Ahern and Fianna FÃ¡il. Fianna FÃ¡il were just pipped of an overall majority. Instead of leading a minority government Fianna FÃ¡il continued in coalition with the Progressive Democrats. It was the first time since 1969 that a government had been re-elected.

Since the election Ahern has stated that he has no intention of stepping down as leader. The two favourites to succeed him, Brian Cowen and MicheÃ¡l Martin are reluctant to comment on their leadership ambitions. Following his period as Minister for Health, Martin has lost ground in the race for heir apparent of the party. For the time being, the question is moot as it appears from Ahern's statements that he intends to lead Fianna FÃ¡il into a third general election. Also, the political cycle in Ireland is such that a change of leader at this stage would hugely damage the chances of Fianna FÃ¡il.

In the local elections in 2004 the Fianna FÃ¡il vote plummeted to its lowest level since the 1920s, mainly due to some bad financial decisions during the present government, and the perceived failure of the government to fulfil many of its election pledges.

In response to this, some shifts in policy and a cabinet reshuffle took place in September 2004. However, the task of shaking of the tag of arrogance has not been helped by out of touch comments from senior Ministers on government waste.

Recently the party has established a cumann (branch) in Derry, its first in Northern Ireland.

Fianna FÃ¡il presidents

Of Ireland's eight presidents, six either were in Fianna FÃ¡il governments or nominated by Fianna FÃ¡il. Only Douglas Hyde (1938-1945) and Mary Robinson (1990-1997) had no connection with Fianna FÃ¡il. Hyde, though appointed to Seanad Ã‰ireann by de Valera in 1938 was originally a nominee proposed by Fine Gael (but immediately enthusiastically endorsed by Fianna FÃ¡il) while Robinson was a Labour nominee who defeated a Fianna FÃ¡il candidate, Brian Lenihan, who became embroiled in a scandal midway through the campaign.

Fianna FÃ¡il corruption

The party, along with its coalition partners, was comfortably reelected in the 2002 general election. It has however 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 Eamon de Valera told a senior minister in 1970 that "Haughey will ruin the party.") While Fine Gael have not proved themselves immune to graft, Fianna FÃ¡il has been the object of a greater number of allegations. Fianna FÃ¡il has been accused by Fine Gael and Labour of being "the most corrupt party ever to enter DÃ¡il Ã‰ireann".

Another former minister, Ray Burke, whom the current leader 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 FÃ¡il Government Press Secretary Frank Dunlop is currently giving evidence to a tribunal of inquiry in relation to his allegations that long-serving Fianna FÃ¡il senator 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 FÃ¡il, are expected to be named. However the tribunal has yet to judge the credibility or otherwise of Dunlop and his evidence.

Former Fianna FÃ¡il 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 Lucan seat and continued to attend the DÃ¡il, 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, but was expelled again after she lost a libel action against RTÃ‰.

Ã"gra Fianna FÃ¡il

Fianna FÃ¡il have an active youth wing called Ã"gra Fianna FÃ¡il. They were formed in the mid 1970s and play an active role in party matters, recruiting members and working on election campaigns. The current elected head of Ã"gra is Anthony Kelly who serves as Leas Chathaoirleach Ã"gra. Barry Andrews TD is the nominated head or Cathaoirleach of Ã"gra Fianna FÃ¡il, having been appoointed by the President of Fianna FÃ¡il, Bertie Ahern TD in 2005.

Ã"gra also plays an important role in the party organisation where it currently has 6 representatives on the Ard Chomhairle, namely:

Leas Cathaoirleach: Anthony Kelly3rd Level AC: Lorcan PriceLeinster: Brian NolanDublin: Peter DorisMunster: Domhnal MehiganConnacht / Ulster: Daragh Mc Shea

External links

*Official site

Fianna FÃ¡il: Encyclopedia BETA

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