Modern Irish Politics

Modern Irish Politics.

The Republic:–

President – Elected for 7 years. He is the nominal Head of State, and his signature is required to pass an Act into Law. But his function is mostly ceremonial.

Seanad – The Senate. Functions like the House of Lords in the UK. An attempt is made to make the Seanad representative of a cross-section of the population, cutting across Party Lines. Senators are directly elected, but most are Party Men (and women). There is a quota to be elected from the Universities and other sections of the community.

Dáil Éireann – the Lower House (Dáil = Assembly.)

Taoiseach – Equivalent to a Prime Minister

Tánaiste – Equivalent to Deputy Prime Minister. Both words are traditional for leaders of the tribe. These are elected by the whole of Dáil Éireann at its first sitting after an election.

TD’s (Teachta Dála – Deputies to the Parliament) Directly elected by Proportional Vote. Each electoral district returns a set number of TDs, usually 3 or 4.

European Union – It is a bit of a grey area exactly how far the EU may legally contradict Dáil Éireann. There is no major political party or public figure opposed to Irish membership of the EU.

Main Political Parties: Fianna Fáil & Fine Gael.

The two main parties emerged after the Civil War and the creation of the Irish Free State.

After Partition, the Republic was 96% Roman Catholic.

Fianna Fáil (‘Warriors of Ireland’, or ‘Soldiers of Destiny’) (Inis Fáil –’the Island of Destiny’ – is one of the traditional names for Ireland).

This party has usually had a majority, but often in coalition with minor parties or independents.

Notable founder: Éamonn de Valera.

Fianna Fáil opposed the Treaty by which the 6 Northern counties remained in the UK.

Fianna Fáil traditionally represented the native Irish, mostly Catholic and small farmers and small businessmen.

The two main platforms were: to re-unite Ireland as a 32-county State, and to revive the Irish language and Gaelic culture. The Catholic way of life was strongly supported. But after the first one or two generations, there has been increasing lip-service paid to these aspirations.

Because FF were in power during the Crash of 2008, they were trounced in the next election and Fine Gael were elected with the biggest majority ever, and went into coalition with Labour. But most analysts saw this as a protest rather than an active endorsement of FG. In the next election FG’s vote was very drastically reduced, and at present they hold power only with the support of a handful of independents.

Fine Gael (‘Fine’ – pronounced like ‘finnuh’, not as the English word – was a large grouping of clans. Rough translation would be, The Lineage of the Gael.)

FG supported the Treaty establishing the partition of Ireland.

Notable figure: Michael Collins.

Traditionally represented the more prosperous farmers. FG tended to be less Nationalistic than Fianna Fáil, but actually their policies were almost identical. Voting was on tribal hereditary lines! Both parties were basically ‘Catholic Centrist’.

Labour Support in recent decades is always very small. After WW1 there was a Party called Labour, but it was Catholic and Nationalist, much more like Fianna Fáil. In fact, Fianna Fáil developed out of the Old Labour Party, which was originally led by de Valera. The modern Labour Party has very little in common with the earlier party. The Catholic mindset of the people disinclined them towards Marxism or Socialism. But in recent decades, when in coalition (as is always the case in a coalition) Labour have occupied some key positions. Mostly in the Inner City for support, but the vote of the Underdog has tended to go in recent years to Sinn Féin or independents. A small party in coalition typically loses heavily in the next election. Loyal voters become disillusioned with the compromises that, in reality, a junior partner must make to retain what influence they have.

Sinn Féin (‘Ourselves’ with the connotation of ‘Ourselves Alone’) Founded by Arthur Griffith in 1905. He did not envisage a fully independent nation, but wanted a ‘Dual Monarchy’ with separate parliaments but a single King/Queen of both islands. He was strongly in favour of self-sufficiency and supported protectionist policies (high tariffs) to protect local industry. Sinn Féin leant towards an armed response to the political situation. They did not recognise the Irish Free State (established after the Treaty) and refused to sit in Dáil Éireann. They have only recently re-surfaced as a significant power in politics. During ‘The Troubles’ of the 1970s they were effectively the political wing of the movement for armed opposition to British Rule in the North. They always denied ties with the IRA, but nobody believed them. They have moved very sharply towards Marxist ideas in recent decades. Major figure is Jerry Adams.

Home Rule was a highly-debated issue up until the First World War. In general, Irish Protestants were strongly against Home Rule. Progress was halted at the outbreak of war and pre-empted by the 1916 Rebellion.

Northern Ireland

(‘The Six Counties’)

(‘Ulster’ to the pro-British, although they comprise only 6 of the 9 counties of the traditional Province of Ulster.)

Unionists aim for a seamless union with the rest of the UK. The vast majority ore Protestant.

Loyalists wish to remain in the UK, but are more interested in an independent ‘Ulster’. Protestant.

Nationalists wish for a single political State of 32 counties, with promotion of Irish culture. Generally Catholic, and with traditional Irish surnames.

The Unionists and Loyalists hold a narrow majority. The Catholic segment of the population, however, were not given a share in the running of the State. The Northern Ireland parliament was dissolved by the British Government in 1972, after the Unionists adamantly refused to entertain any idea of power-sharing with Nationalists, and Direct Rule from Westminster was established. England had mostly ignored the North for decades, and British politicians were mostly quite taken aback at the blatant discrimination that was being practised there. In 1973 a new assembly was elected in Northern Ireland, with a Power Sharing Executive in 1974. But after a General Strike by Unionists, Direct Rule was re-established in mid-1974.

Political parties in 1973

Unionist Party

SDLP: Social Democratic and Labour Party. Mostly Catholic and Nationalist.

Alliance Party Has tried to unite both segments of the population, but feeling runs too high for them to gain much support.

The Unionists were determined to wreck the Power-sharing Executive, and the province descended into chaos and armed disorder. Both sides had ‘paramilitary organisations’ which tended to self-fragment into splinter groups. Eventually the Nationalists, despairing of any alternative, invited the British Army back onto Irish soil to maintain some order. But almost immediately after this, a General Election in England returned the Unionist-supporting conservative Party to power, and the British troops adopted a much more aggressive action towards the Nationalists. In response, the violence only escalated. The Nationalist paramilitaries swung strongly away from Catholic sympathies towards Marxism.

Anglo-Irish Agreement (1985) &

the Good Friday Agreement (1993?)

Power sharing has been re-established, with co-operation of both the UK and the Republic. A formal cease-fire was agreed in 1993 and a referendum held in the Republic formally abandoned the claim to sovereignty over the North, subject to a vote by the citizens of the 6 counties themselves..

There are several Unionist and Loyalist political parties, including the UUP (Ulster Unionist Party), who opposed the Agreement, and the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) who supported it.

Leading Figure: The Revd. Ian Paisley, who had originally been very strongly for a Protestant ‘Ulster’, surprised many by supporting the DUP and the Power Sharing Agreement.

Sinn Féin had been outlawed, but now agreed (and was allowed) to participate in government. Gerry Adams, once a fervent supporter of radical Nationalism, now in his turn surprised many by advocating the Power Sharing Agreement. Many Nationalists prefer Sinn Féin to the SDLP.

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Recent Developments: The political parties in the Republic have shifted sharply away from support of Catholic ideas of Social Politics, and are strongly supporting the so-called Liberal Agenda. Citizens who wish to continue with a Social Order based on traditional Christian values have had for many years no political party standing for these things.

The Christian Centrist party attempted this in the 1990s, but there were not enough competent leaders to make a credible alternative, and it has disappeared.

A very recent development has been a significant increase of support for the DUP among Catholics in the North. An increasing number are dismayed at the adoption of the anti-Christian ‘Liberal Agenda’ by all political parties in the Republic, along with their wholesale compliance with the EU agenda, and they find the DUP, with its championing of Christian values, an increasingly credible alternative. Notably, the DUP are strongly ‘Pro-Life’, supporters of traditional heterosexual marriage – values which Rev. Ian Paisley strongly supported – and in favour of leaving the EU.

It must not be presumed that all Catholics in the North wish to sever from the UK and join the Republic. The political Establish-ment in the Republic has long ago abandoned the active promotion of Irish nationality and culture – in fact, there is a concerted campaign to dismantle these things – in favour of a Secular, ‘multicultural’ Ireland. It should be noted that the Catholic hierarchy of Ireland, along with other countries, has imposed in schools a Religious Education Programme that no longer teaches the fundamentals of the Faith. Two generations have now grown up in this environment, and hence are ignorant of the teachings of the Faith, or have never experienced it. There is a consensus that the Irish in The North take their Faith more seriously than do those in the South. This gives Catholics in the North little motive for wishing to join the Republic.