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134-509: The "war" had two main aspects: On taking over power and coming into office in 1932, the new Fianna Fáil government under Éamon de Valera embarked upon a protectionist policy in economic dealings, and tariffs were introduced for a wide range of imported goods, mainly from Britain, the Free State's largest trading partner by far. This was thought necessary to develop native industry, move away from over-dependence on Britain, and rectify

268-559: A "defence fund" for legal representation in eviction cases and support for evicted families. Rent strikes could also be effected in a Slowdown way, with paying a fraction now and promising more next week while making oneself unavailable, it could include obstacles for rent collectors, re-occupation of farms rented by evicted defaulters, etc. The Meaghers of Kilbury are credited as the inventors of this kind of tactics when they practiced it in January 1880. Contemporary opponents argued that

402-597: A 'free beef for the poor' scheme, the hides finding use only in the tanning and leather industries. For many farmers, especially the larger cattle breeders, the agricultural depression had disastrous consequences. Similar to the " Land War " of the previous century, they refused to pay property rates or pay their land annuities. To recover payments due, the government counteracted by impounding livestock which were quickly auctioned off for less than their value. Farmers campaigned to have these sales boycotted, and blocked roads and railways. Police were called in to protect buyers of

536-464: A No vote. Leader Micheál Martin signalled his own desire for a Yes vote, 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. 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

670-654: A continued increase. In April 1882 Parnell moved to make a deal with the government. The settlement, known as the Kilmainham Treaty , involved withdrawing the manifesto and undertaking to move against agrarian crime. By 2 May all internees were released from jail, Davitt on 6 May, the day of the Phoenix Park Murders . With the Land League still suppressed, Parnell resurrected it with much ceremony together with Davitt on 17 October, proclaimed as

804-546: A deal which became known as the New Departure . As a result of this agreement, the physical-force and parliamentary wings of Irish nationalism agreed to work together on the land issue. This collaboration was cemented by a meeting on 1 June 1879 in Dublin between Devoy, Parnell, and Michael Davitt . It is disputed what was actually agreed to. Davitt maintained that there was no formal agreement, while Devoy claimed that

938-420: 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 ." 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" while upon winning

1072-512: A defeat for the small farmers; besides "a legacy of bitterness and cynicism in Connaught", the main effect of their campaign was to show how Irish nationalism had become a bourgeois movement, including many large graziers. By the Irish War of Independence (1918–1922) about half a million people were occupying uneconomic smallholdings, mostly in the west of Ireland. In addition, veterans of

1206-434: A foreign system of land tenure upon it. Nominally, the Land League condemned large-scale grazing as improper use of land that rightfully belonged to tillage farmers. As investment in grazing land was the main vehicle of upward mobility for rural Catholics, the new Catholic grazier class was torn between its natural allegiance to Irish nationalism and its economic dependence on landlords to rent land for grazing. Many sided with

1340-487: A generation that will build a new Ireland, an Ireland of which we can all be proud". Fianna Fáil has not contested any elections in Northern Ireland since its registration and recognition there in 2007. 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. Since 24 January 2019, the party have been in partnership with

1474-568: A more social liberal profile. 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. Evidence from expert surveys, opinion polls and candidate surveys have failed to identify strong distinctions between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Fianna Fáil is generally considered more populist and economically interventionist than its rival. University College Dublin professor Thomas Däubler wrote that Fianna Fáil had "made

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1608-490: A move to the centre" in the 2016 election , which resulted in Fine Gael being placed "considerably to the right" of Fianna Fáil. In 2020, Time magazine described Fianna Fáil as "slightly more socially conservative and further to the left on the economy" than Fine Gael. Fianna Fáil has been described in modern times as struggling with its identity as a party. In 2023, Jack Sheehan of The Irish Times wrote that "for

1742-547: A new non-violent moral tactic against those taking over the land of evicted tenants. Parnell gave a speech in Ennis in 1889, proposing that when dealing with such tenants, rather than resorting to violence, everyone in the locality should instead shun them. This tactic was then widened to landowners. The term "boycott" was coined later that year following the successful campaign against County Mayo land agent Charles Boycott . The concerted action taken against him meant that Boycott

1876-560: A new organisation called the Irish National League . Preceded by economic difficulties due to droughts in 1884 and 1887 as well as industrial depression in England causing shrinking markets, the 1886–1891 Plan of Campaign was a more focused version of agitation and rent strikes. Tenants on an estate would meet and decide on what was a fair rent to pay their landlord, even though rents had already been judicially fixed by

2010-460: 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 . The result prompted Jim O'Callaghan and Cathal Crowe to question whether Martin should lead the party into its next general election. In February 2023, former leader Bertie Ahern rejoined the party, having left in 2012. Over

2144-523: A provision of the 1921 Treaty. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the return of the ports allowed Ireland to remain neutral . Protectionism remained a key element of Irish economic policy into the 1950s, stifling trade and prolonging emigration. Its architect, Seán Lemass, is now best remembered for dismantling and reversing the policy from 1960, advised by T. K. Whitaker 's 1958 report " First Programme for Economic Expansion ". This then became an important part of Ireland's application for entry into

2278-470: 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. 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

2412-625: A role of non-productive managers within the island's overall economy. Conflict between landlords and tenants arose from opposing viewpoints on such issues as land consolidation , security of tenure , transition from tillage to grazing , and the role of the market. The Irish nationalist politician Isaac Butt pointed out the fact that Catholic Irish were tenants was worse than "the heaviest yoke of feudal servitude". The Devon Commission of 1843–44 found that various forms of tenant right were practiced throughout Ireland, not just in Ulster . There

2546-423: A tenant had been evicted, and purchasing their holding under the 1885 Ashbourne Act . Other forbidden actions included "participating in evictions, fraternizing with, or entering into, commerce with anyone who did; or working for, hiring, letting land from, or socializing with, boycotted person". Tribunals were typically led by the leaders of local chapters, holding open proceedings with a common law procedure. This

2680-612: A waiver by both sides of all similar claims and counter-claims. As it was known in the 1930s that the Land Annuities payments in Northern Ireland of some £650,000 p.a. were being retained by its government, and not passed on to London, it remains unclear why the Irish government did not mention this in the course of negotiations. It also included the return to Ireland of the Treaty Ports which had been retained by Britain under

2814-775: A willingness to end the Economic War. The resolution of the crisis came after a series of talks in London between the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and de Valera, who was accompanied by Lemass and James Ryan . An agreement to reach an acceptable settlement was drawn up in 1938, enacted in Britain as the Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act . Under the terms of the three-year Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement , all duties imposed during

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2948-472: Is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland . Ideological classifications of the party vary; the party is commonly referred to as conservative , though it has also been described as Christian democratic , liberal or ideologically ambiguous. The party 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

3082-698: Is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and of Liberal International . From February 2019 to September 2022, Fianna Fáil was in partnership with the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland . Fianna Fáil was founded by Éamon de Valera , a former leader of Sinn Féin . 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

3216-548: Is acknowledged for having successfully guided Ireland through World War II unscathed but is criticised for leaving Ireland in economic and cultural stagnation. His successors such as Lemass however were able to turn around Ireland's economic fortunes as well as primed the country for entry into the European Economic Community , later the European Union . Fianna Fáil's fortunes began to falter in

3350-558: Is primarily cited as being on the centre or centre-right of the political spectrum . Fianna Fáil's ideology has been characterised both as conservative and ambiguous or malleable. The party has also been ideologically described as centrist , Christian-democratic , liberal-conservative , populist , conservative-liberal , socially conservative , liberal , national-liberal and national-conservative . In 2017, academics Eoin O'Malley and Sean McGraw wrote that Fianna Fáil "appears centrist, conservative, and attached to

3484-513: The 1880 general election due to clerical opposition. On 21 October 1879, the land League of Mayo was superseded by the Irish National Land League based in Dublin, with Parnell made its president. As the land agitation progressed, it was taken over by larger farmers and the centre of gravity shifted away from the distressed western districts. In Mayo, the autumn potato harvest was only 1.4 tons per acre, less than half of

3618-448: 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". 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. During

3752-626: The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Group in the European Parliament after the 2009 European elections . 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 . In January 2010,

3886-679: The Anti-Treaty side in the following Irish Civil War . In the Irish Free State , their grievances fueled the Fianna Fáil party and led to the Land Acts of 1923 and 1933, which caused the "dramatic redistribution" of large farms and estates to smallholders and the landless. Some of the Land League's local branches established arbitration courts in 1880 and 1881, which were explicitly modelled on British courts. Typically,

4020-467: The Control of Manufactures Act , whereby the majority ownership of Free State companies was to be limited to Irish citizens. This caused dozens of larger Irish companies with foreign investors, such as Guinness , to relocate their headquarters abroad and pay their corporate taxes there. Additional sugar beet factories were opened at Mallow , Tuam and Thurles . The Economic War did not seriously affect

4154-563: The European Economic Community in 1961 and eventual accession in 1973. The Republic's population rose in the late 1960s for the first time since the Free State's formation in 1922. Fianna F%C3%A1il Fianna Fáil ( / ˌ f iː ( ə ) n ə ˈ f ɔɪ l , - ˈ f ɔː l / FEE -(ə-)nə FOYL , -⁠ FAWL , Irish: [ˌfʲiən̪ˠə ˈfˠaːlʲ] ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál "), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( Irish : Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach ),

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4288-518: The Great Famine , rises in agricultural prices were not matched by rent increases, leading to an increase in the tenant's stake in the farm, which may have risen to as much as 10–20 years of rent. The existence of tenant right was accepted by creditors who would extend loans with the tenant right as collateral. During the Great Famine (1845–1849), the poorest cottiers and agricultural labourers died or were forced to emigrate, freeing up land that

4422-490: 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. 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 . In July 2021 Fianna Fáil suffered what

4556-613: 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. 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. Fianna Fáil would go on to style themselves for several decades as "the real Labour Party." Cumann na nGaedheal sought to exploit

4690-535: The Irish Volunteers and first Irish Republican Army had been promised land in exchange for their service. In 1919–1920, a wave of land seizures took place in western Ireland, and in 1920 agrarian crimes were recorded at their highest level since 1882. When their hopes for acquiring more land were dashed by the fact that the Anglo-Irish Treaty made no mention of the land issue, many joined

4824-631: The Land Act 1933 that allowed the money to be spent on local government projects. After a series of high-level talks in 1932, discussions broke down in October 1932 on whether the liability to pay the land annuities should be adjudicated by a panel chosen from experts from the British Empire (the British suggestion), or from the whole world (the Irish view). In counterclaim, De Valera required

4958-558: The Land Commission from the 1880s, which had enabled them to purchase lands from their former landlords, under the Irish Land Acts . In 1923, the previous W. T. Cosgrave government had assured Britain that the Free State would honour its debts and hand over the land annuities and other financial liabilities. Under the 1925 London Agreement , the Free State was relieved from its treaty obligation to pay its share towards

5092-615: The Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870 . The act actually increased agrarian tensions, as landlords attempted to evade provisions intended to protect departing tenants, while the tenants retaliated by setting up local Tenants' Defence Associations . One such the Route Tenants' Defence Association , was however hostile towards the League. Agrarian crimes were rising during the late 1870s, from 135 in 1875 to 236 two years later. At

5226-583: The League could not possibly exist". The land question in Ireland was ultimately defused by a series of Irish Land Acts , beginning in 1870 with rent reform, establishing the Land Commission in 1881, and providing for judicial reviews to certify fair rents. The Ashbourne Act of 1885 started a limited process of allowing tenant farmers to buy their freeholds , which was greatly extended following

5360-718: The Marquess of Sligo , the largest landowner in Mayo; Davitt persuaded Parnell to speak and 8,000 people turned out. Parnell went on with the engagement even after John MacHale , Archbishop of Tuam , denounced the meeting in a 7 June letter to The Freeman's Journal . Parnell also wanted to prevent the new movement's capture by Fenian radicals, as the latter were unacceptable to the Catholic clergy and to larger tenants, on whose support Parnell depended. This meeting, especially Parnell's speech in which he promoted peasant proprietorship,

5494-480: The Oireachtas , which Sinn Féin refused to recognise. 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

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5628-798: The Sacred Congregation for Propaganda . In 1887 the Criminal Law and Procedure (Ireland) Act 1887 was passed to deal with the offenses surrounding the Campaign. After the 1881 and 1885 Land Reform Acts (see below), many Tory press commentators described the Plan of Campaign as an opportunistic and cynical method of revenge following the division of the Liberal Party and the rejection of the first Irish Home Rule Bill in June 1886. It

5762-509: The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) 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

5896-592: The Union , the Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903 . This Act set the conditions for the break-up of large estates by government-sponsored purchase. Alongside the political and legal changes, the " Long Depression " affected rent yields and landlord-tenant relations across all of Europe from the 1870s to the 1890s. The population of Ireland was overwhelmingly rural; in 1841, four-fifths of the population lived in hamlets smaller than 20 houses. This ratio declined over

6030-504: The United Irish League , and aimed to secure fair rent, free sale, and fixity of tenure for tenant farmers and ultimately peasant proprietorship of the land they worked. From 1870, various governments introduced a series of Land Acts that granted many of the activists' demands. William O'Brien played a leading role in the 1902 Land Conference to pave the way for the most advanced social legislation in Ireland since

6164-471: The United Kingdom ) that began in 1879. It may refer specifically to the first and most intense period of agitation between 1879 and 1882, or include later outbreaks of agitation that periodically reignited until 1923, especially the 1886–1891 Plan of Campaign and the 1906–1909 Ranch War . The agitation was led by the Irish National Land League and its successors, the Irish National League and

6298-416: The 1885 act. They would offer to pay the lower rent, and if it was refused, would instead pay it to the Plan of Campaign fund. These rent strikes targeted the most heavily indebted and financially insecure landlords, who faced a choice between immediate bankruptcy and accepting a lower income. Lord Clanricarde had evicted many tenants and became the main target. Given the extended franchise allowed in 1884 ,

6432-420: The 1902 Land Conference , by the Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903 . Augustine Birrel 's Act of 1909 allowed for compulsory purchase , and also allowed the purchase and division of untenanted land that was being directly farmed by the owners. These Acts allowed tenants first to attain extensive property rights on their leaseholdings and then to purchase their land off their landlords via UK government loans and

6566-506: 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 . Factional infighting over Northern Ireland, economics and the "moral issues" such as the legalization of divorce, abortion, and contraception plagued

6700-402: The 1990s, Fianna Fáil was described as a conservative and nationalist party. The following are the terms of office as party leader and as Taoiseach: Charles Haughey Fianna Fáil was the most electorally successful party in 20th-century democratic Europe . Ógra Fianna Fáil serves as the party's official youth wing. On 17 September 2007, Fianna Fáil announced that the party would for

6834-488: The 20% tax duties on imports, coal and cattle were becoming increasingly harder to buy because of the prices. There was such a surplus of cattle in Ireland that farmers had to begin to slaughter their cattle, because they could not be sold to the British. Britain and Ireland then signed the Coal-Cattle Pact which meant that buying these commodities would be cheaper and easier to get. The Coal-Cattle Pact indicated

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6968-555: 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. 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 . Inactive Defunct Fianna Fáil

7102-772: The Act and were imprisoned in October 1881 in Kilmainham Jail , together with other prominent members of the League, under the Irish Coercion Act . While in jail, they issued the No Rent Manifesto , calling for a national tenant farmer rent strike until their release. Finally, on 20 October the Government moved to suppress the Land League. A genuine No Rent campaign was virtually impossible to organise, and many tenants were more interested in "putting

7236-449: The British to: To recover the annuities, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald retaliated with the imposition of 20% import duty on Free State agricultural products into the UK, which constituted 90% of all Free State exports. UK households were unwilling to pay twenty per cent extra for these food products. The Free State responded in kind by placing a similar duty on British imports and in

7370-508: The Catholic hierarchy. From September, priests quickly assumed leadership roles in the movement and presided over more than two thirds of the meetings in the rest of 1879. The movement continued to gain strength as the economic situation deteriorated. Involvement of the clergy made it much more difficult for the British government to take action against the movement, which instilled "almost perfect unity" among Irish tenant farmers. In several constituencies, Land League-backed candidates failed in

7504-756: The Fianna Fáil party whip withdrawn. He has since been re-added to Fianna Fáil's website. In the European Committee of the Regions , Fianna Fáil sits in the Renew Europe CoR group, with two full and two alternate members for the 2020–2025 mandate. Kate Feeney is third vice-president of the Group. Land War The Land War ( Irish : Cogadh na Talún ) was a period of agrarian agitation in rural Ireland (then wholly part of

7638-759: The IPP had promised not to act against the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and made other concessions in exchange for Irish-American support. The west of Ireland was hit by the 1879 famine , a combination of heavy rains, poor yields and low prices that brought widespread hunger and deprivation. Compounded by the reduction in opportunities for outside income, especially seasonal agricultural income in Great Britain, many smallholders were faced with hunger and unable to pay their rent. Some landlords offered rent abatement, while others refused on

7772-543: The IPP had to gain credibility with the larger number of new voters, choosing the most numerous Irish group: the low-to-middle-income rural electorate. Most IPP members were Catholic, and appealed to Rome for moral support. So did the government, and the Vatican issued a Papal Rescript followed by an encyclical " Saepe Nos " in 1888, condemning the activities of the Land League, particularly boycotting. Saepe Nos also claimed to extend and clarify an earlier similar ruling by

7906-597: The IRB council refused to sanction agrarian activism. Speakers included John O'Connor Power MP, Fenian Thomas Brennan , Glasgow-based activist John Ferguson , and Daly. Local Fenians organised meetings, at Claremorris on 25 May with 200 attendees and Knock on 1 June with a reported 20,000–30,000 turnout, in protest of the Church's position. Another meeting was held in Westport, County Mayo on 8 June, in protest against

8040-583: The Land Act to the test". It further seemed that the Coercion Act, instead of banishing agrarian crime, had only intensified it. Although the League discouraged violence, agrarian crimes increased widely. For the ten months before the Land Act was passed (March–December 1880), the number of "outrages" were 2,379, but in the corresponding period of 1881 with the Act in full operation the numbers were 3,821. The figures to March 1882, with Parnell in jail, showed

8174-442: The Land Commission. The 1903 Act gave Irish tenant farmers a government-sponsored right to buy, which is still not available in Great Britain today. The success of the Land Acts in reducing the concentration of land ownership is indicated by the fact that in 1870, only 3% of Irish farmers owned their own land while 97% were tenants. By 1929, this ratio had been reversed with 97.4% of farmers holding their farms in freehold. However,

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8308-408: The Land League because of the greater financial resources offered; this brought larger farmers and graziers into the movement. The league adopted the slogan "the land for the people", which was vague enough to be acceptable to Irish nationalists across the political spectrum. For most of the tenant farmers, the slogan meant owning their own land. For smallholders on uneconomic holdings, especially in

8442-456: The Land League, creating a mixed-class body whose actual economic interests conflicted. This further consolidated the nationalist nature of the Land League. The government set up the Land Commission in 1881 with quasi-judicial powers that eventually enabled most tenant farmers to buy freehold interests in their land. After the general election of April 1880 with the Land War still raging, Parnell believed then that supporting land agitation

8576-470: The Land War amounted to an "organised campaign of terrorism". In his biography of Michael Davitt, T. W. Moody acknowledged that the crime resulted from the Land League's militancy, but argued that statistics disprove the idea that the Land League maintained a "reign of terror". The most common type of agrarian offence was the sending of threatening letters. Davitt and other Land League leaders denounced agrarian crime in strong language, and local chapters of

8710-451: The National League passed many resolutions against it. However, the organisations were not in control of their rank-and-file. Between 1879 and in 1881, crimes related to the Land War rose from 25% to 58% of all crime in Ireland, without the leaders calling for an end to the agitation. Only 16 percent of agrarian crimes led to arrests, much less than the 50% rate for non-agrarian offences. Gladstone believed that escalating crimes were proof of

8844-565: 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. 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

8978-445: The balance of trade between the two countries because imports from Britain were restricted, but British exporters were very critical of their government due to the loss of business they also suffered in Ireland, by having to pay tariffs on goods they exported there. Both the pressure they exerted on the British government and the discontent of Irish farmers with the Fianna Fáil government helped to encourage both sides to seek settlement of

9112-408: 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

9246-442: The campaign were abandoned on the run-up to the debates on the Second Irish Home Rule Bill in 1893. The IPP was by then divided into the Irish National Federation and the Irish National League over Parnell's divorce crisis. Between 1906 and 1909, smallholders seeking more land launched the Ranch War , demanding the sale of untenanted land owned by landlords and the breakup of large grazing farms. Opponents of ranching highlighted

9380-418: The case of coal from the UK, with the remarkable slogan (from Jonathan Swift in the 1720s): "Burn everything English except their coal". While the UK was much less affected by the ensuing Economic War, the Irish economy was badly affected. Internally, the Irish government did not actually end its own collection of annuities that were costing its farmers over £4 million annually. In the background, unemployment

9514-419: The cases were heard by the executive committee, which would summon both parties, call witnesses, examine evidence presented by the parties, make the judgment and assign a penalty if the code had been broken. Sometimes, juries would be called from the local communities and the plaintiff occasionally acted as prosecutor. Despite the trappings of common-law procedure, American historian Donald Jordan emphasizes that

9648-431: The century, but only due to emigration from rural areas and not from growth of the towns and cities. Land in Ireland was concentrated into relatively few hands, many of them absentee landlords . In 1870, 50% of the island was owned by 750 families. Between 1850 and 1870, landlords extracted £340 million in rent—far exceeding tax receipts for the same period—of which only 4–5% was reinvested. This led landlords to take on

9782-468: The congested western areas, it meant being granted larger holdings that their families had held previous to the Great Famine evictions. For radicals such as Michael Davitt, it meant land nationalization. The fusion between land agitation and nationalist politics was based on the idea that the land of Ireland rightfully belonged to the Irish people but had been stolen by English invaders who had foisted

9916-522: 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. 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

10050-534: The course of 2024, several sitting Fianna Fáil councillors and former party members left to join the right-wing Independent Ireland party. 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. The party claimed that in 2005 they had 50,000 registered names, but only an estimated 10,000–15,000 members were considered active. However, from

10184-439: The crime he has committed... if the population of a county in Ireland carry out this doctrine, that there will be no man ... [who would dare] to transgress your unwritten code of laws. Charles Stewart Parnell , at Ennis meeting, 19 September 1880 One of the Land League's main tactics was the famous boycott , whose target at first was " land grabbers ". Land League speakers including Michael Davitt began to advocate

10318-432: 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. Although this phenomenon was nothing new (the most famous example being Neil Blaney 's "Donegal Mafia"). Since

10452-504: 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". 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". Between 1989 and 2011, Fianna Fáil led coalition governments with parties of both

10586-725: The economic dispute. In 1933 De Valera removed the Oath of Allegiance (to the Constitution of the Free State and statement of fidelity to George V as "King in Ireland") as required by the 1922 Constitution. In late 1936 he took advantage of the Edward VIII abdication crisis to enact the Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 and the Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act 1937 . This had

10720-693: The effect of ending the role of the Governor-General of the Irish Free State in Irish internal affairs, and replacing him with the government of the day. In 1934-36 the government was concerned at legislative delays caused by the Senate (In Irish: Seanad Éireann), by passing the Constitution (Amendment No. 24) Act 1936 . The modern Seanad Éireann was created by the 1937 Constitution, and first sat in January 1939. Remarkably, despite

10854-577: 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 . 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 John A. Costello . De Valera's reign

10988-544: The election. Cowen's premiership was sharply criticised in the media, with The Sunday Times describing Cowen's tenure as Taoiseach as "a dismal failure" and in 2011 the Irish Independent calling Cowen the "worst Taoiseach in the history of the State." 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

11122-602: The fact that many ranches had been created after the famine from land formerly tilled by evicted smallholders. Organised by the United Irish League and Laurence Ginnell , the Ranch War involved cattle drives, public rallies, boycotting, and intimidation. Between August and December 1907 alone, 292 cattle drives were reported to the authorities. It was most intense in areas of Connacht, North and East Leinster and North Munster where large grazing farms and uneconomic smallholdings existed side by side. The campaign resulted in

11256-545: The failure both of his government's policy of coercion and the Land League's No Rent strategy. Agrarian outrages decreased significantly after the founding of the Irish National League in 1882, due to the latter's system of dispute resolution for agrarian issues which imposed boycotting as its most severe punishment. British officials often claimed that the National League's effectiveness was due to

11390-531: The failure to develop industrially under free market conditions. It was also to compensate for the drastic fall in demand for Irish agricultural products on international markets, due to the Great Depression which had begun in 1929. Other means had also to be found to help the disastrously undermined balance of trade and the mounting national debt. A vigorous campaign was set in motion to make the Free State agriculturally and industrially self-sufficient by

11524-526: The fear of violence from lawless elements if the litigant did not comply. Sociologist Samuel Clark argued that the threat of violence helped the Land League enforce its rulings and silence its enemies. In 1889, the Special Commission on Parnellism and Crime found no links between the IPP and agrarian crime. One British official explained that, while he was certain that the League did not plan or commit crimes, "without outrage and intimidation

11658-498: 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". The party embarked on its first ever recruitment drive north of

11792-424: The further unity and cooperation of the people on the island and arrangements for a future poll on Irish reunification . 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". Fianna Fáil joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) party on 16 April 2009, and

11926-570: The general economic hardship, the government vote held up in 1932–38. Firstly de Valera had called the 1933 election within a year of taking office, before the worst effects had been felt. The July 1937 election saw a drop in support for him, but also for his main rival, the Fine Gael party, and he continued in office with the tacit support of the Labour Party . The number of Dáil seats contested in 1937 had been reduced from 153 to 138 seats, leaving less chance for smaller parties to win seats. On

12060-470: The government as a minority government , made possible by a confidence and supply agreement with Fianna Fáíl. In 2018 the party was divided internally over how the party would handle that year's referendum on the Eighth Amendment , the provision in the Irish constitution which forbade abortion , with a significant portion of both the parliamentary party and the ordinary membership in favour of

12194-478: The grounds that their tenants were participating in anti-landlord agitation. Irish historian Paul Bew notes that five of the largest landlords in Connacht also refused to contribute any money to relief funds, despite collecting more than £80,000 annually in rent. According to historians such as William Vaughan and Phillip Bull, the serious agricultural recession combined with a unified nationalist leadership set

12328-615: The historic principles of European republican philosophy , namely liberty, equality and fraternity ". The party's main goal at its beginning was to reunite the North and the South. Fianna Fáil is supportive of the European Union . Although part of the liberal Renew group in the European Parliament, its liberal nature has been disputed. As of 2009, Fianna Fáil did not always support Renew's positions on civil liberties though

12462-462: The history of the Irish state. This loss was described as "historic" in its proportions and "unthinkable". The party sank from being the largest in the Dáil to the third-largest, losing 58 of its 78 seats. 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

12596-625: The impounded goods and at least one person was killed, for example at the Copley Street riot in Cork, by the so-called " Broy Harriers ". The government's senators would not attend a September 1934 Senate debate on the outcome of the incident in Cork. With farmers having little money to spend, there was a considerable decline in the demand for manufactured goods, so that industries were also affected. The introduction of new import tariffs helped some Irish industries to expand when Lemass introduced

12730-437: The largest opposition party, and it entered a confidence and supply arrangement with a Fine Gael–led minority government . 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

12864-492: 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 the Roman Catholic Church. 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. In 1967, Jack Lynch described

12998-408: 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 . The party's name and logo incorporates the words 'The Republican Party'. According to Fianna Fáil, "Republican here stands both for the unity of the island and a commitment to

13132-407: The meeting, having come from all parts of Mayo and counties Roscommon and Galway . The main issue was rent, which was typically paid in the spring; due to the poor harvest tenants could not afford to pay and many had been threatened with eviction. The crowd was guided and led into position by local Fenians—recruited by Davitt in an earlier trip with help from local IRB leader Pat Nally —even though

13266-491: 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 . Haughey was forced to resign as Taoiseach and party leader in 1992 following revelations about his role in a phone tapping scandal . Although the two parties had seemed poised to be bitter enemies owing to

13400-400: 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, forming its first government on 9 March 1932. It was in power for 61 of the 79 years between then and

13534-419: 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 more and more socially liberal in the 1970s under Garret FitzGerald , the party reacted by embracing social conservatism and populism. In

13668-511: The party did legalize same-sex civil partnerships in 2010. 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". In recent years, Fianna Fáil has increasingly been seen as divided on social issues, and as moving towards

13802-404: The party in this era and grew particularly intense when Charles Haughey later became party leader. 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

13936-687: 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 . Prior to this, the party was part of the Eurosceptic Union for Europe of the Nations parliamentary group between 1999 and 2009. Party headquarters, over the objections of some MEPs, had made several attempts to sever

14070-648: 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

14204-411: 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

14338-716: 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. 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. The following day on 24 June 2014 Crowley had

14472-413: 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 . 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. In the 2011 general election , it suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government in

14606-465: The party. 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

14740-543: 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. 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. Secondly,

14874-579: 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

15008-427: The previous five years were lifted. Although the period of the Economic War resulted in severe social suffering and heavy financial loss for Ireland, its outcome was publicised as favourable. Ireland was still entitled to impose tariffs on British imports to protect new Irish industries. The treaty also settled the potential £3 million-per-annum land annuities liability by a one-off payment to Britain of £10 million, and

15142-559: The previous year. At the Land League conference in April 1880, Parnell's program of conciliation with landlords was rejected in favour a demand for the abolition of "landlordism", promoted by Davitt and other radicals. On 17 May, Parnell was elected to the presidency of the IPP. Local chapters of the Land League frequently were formed from previous associations such as Tenants' Defence Associations or Farmers' Clubs, which decided to join

15276-469: The public debt of the United Kingdom. The Free State's liability to supervise and pass on land annuities payments led to controversy and debate on whether they were private or public debts. In 1932, de Valera interpreted that the annuities were part of the public debt from which the Free State had been exempted, and decided that the Free State would no longer pay them to Britain. His government passed

15410-423: The rest of the community." Larger farmers and landlords were better able to cope with a boycott, by weathering temporary loss of income, hiring scabs, or ordering supplies by mail. While the effectiveness of boycotting has been disputed the phrase and tactic has passed into the language of non-violent action. Rent strikes were used as a means of pressuring landlords to reduce the rent. Withheld rents often went to

15544-431: The same day as the 1937 election the Constitution of Ireland was adopted by a plebiscite , moving the state further away from the constitutional position envisaged by the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty . The new Constitution was approved by 56.5% of voters who, because of the high numbers abstaining or spoiling votes, comprised just 38.6% of the whole electorate. In 1935 tensions began to ease between Britain and Ireland. With

15678-576: The same time emigration (which acted as a pressure valve for political tension) decreased by more than half. Nevertheless, as late as 1877 the areas which would be heavily affected by Land League agitation were completely calm, without any hint of what was to come. In 1878, the Irish-American Clan na Gael leader John Devoy offered Charles Stewart Parnell , then a rising star in the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP),

15812-557: 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. 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". In

15946-476: The stage to produce a powerful and lasting popular movement. The Land War began on 20 April 1879 at a mass meeting in Irishtown, County Mayo organised by local and Dublin-based activists, led by Davitt and James Daly . The activists tried to mobilize an alliance of tenant farmers, shopkeepers and clergy in favour of land reform. Although the clergy refused to participate, some 7,000 to 13,000 people attended

16080-422: The state", but that there was "deep ambiguity concerning what type of party Fianna Fáil really is". In the modern era, Fianna Fáil is seen as a typical catch-all party and has defined itself as such. It has presented itself as a " broad church " and attracted support from across disparate social classes . In the 1980s, Brian Lenihan Snr declared "there are no isms or [ide]ologies in my party"; further, in

16214-432: The then minister for Industry and Commerce, Seán Lemass . Every effort was taken to add to the measures brought in by the previous government to boost tillage farming and industry and to encourage the population to avoid British imports and "Buy Irish Goods". The government sought to go further and end the repayment to Britain of land annuities. These originated from the government loans granted to Irish tenant farmers by

16348-444: The tribunals essentially were an extension of the local branch judging if its own rules had been violated. These courts were described as a "shadow legal system" by British academic Frank Ledwidge. According to historian Charles Townshend , the formation of courts was the "most unacceptable of all acts of defiance" committed by the Land League. In 1881, Chief Secretary for Ireland William Edward Forster grumbled that Land League law

16482-461: Was a means to achieving his objective of self-government. Prime Minister Gladstone attempted to resolve the land question with the Land Law (Ireland) Act 1881 . The Act gave greater rights to tenant farmers, so-called dual ownership , but failed to eliminate tenant evictions. Parnell and his party lieutenants, William O'Brien, John Dillon and Willie Redmond went into a bitter verbal offensive against

16616-407: Was a tension between English law, which protected the absolute property rights of the landlord, and Irish custom on the other hand in which the tenant enjoyed an "interest" in the property, which he could buy or sell. This "interest" could be as much as 4–6 years rent, which incoming tenants had to pay with capital that they might otherwise have spent on their own improvements. In the decades following

16750-498: Was also described as cruel, as new rent strikes would inevitably result in more evictions and boycotting as before, with all the associated intimidation and violence. Other reporters saw it as a matter of justice and of continuing concern to genuine liberals. The Campaign led on to events such as the Mitchelstown massacre in 1887 and the imprisonment of IPP MPs such as William O'Brien for their involvement. The violent aspects of

16884-637: Was announced that a former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) councillor, Colonel Harvey Bicker , had joined Fianna Fáil. Bertie Ahern announced on 7 December 2007 that Fianna Fáil had been registered in Northern Ireland by the UK Electoral Commission . 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

17018-509: Was ascendant: ... all law rests on the power to punish its infraction. There being no such power in Ireland at the present time, I am forced to acknowledge that to a great extent, the ordinary law of the country is powerless; but the unwritten law is powerful, because punishment is sure to follow its infraction. From 1882, the Irish National League organised courts to replace those of the earlier organisation. The key provisions forbade paying rent without abatements, taking over land from which

17152-461: Was enormous and exacerbated class tensions in the rural Free State. In 1935, a "Coal-Cattle Pact" eased the situation somewhat, whereby Britain agreed to increase its import of Irish cattle by a third in return for the Free State importing more of Britain's coal. As the cattle industry remained in dire straits, the government purchased most of the surplus beef for which it paid bounties for each calf slaughtered as they could not be exported. It introduced

17286-435: Was extremely high, the effects of the Great Depression compounded the difficulties, removing the outlet of emigration and reducing remittances from abroad. The government urged people to support the confrontation with Britain as a national hardship to be shared by every citizen. Farmers were urged to turn to tillage to produce enough food for the home market. The hardship of the Economic War, which particularly affected farmers,

17420-449: Was intended to uphold the League's image of being in favour of the rule of law, just Irish law instead of English law. When a man takes a farm from which another has been evicted, you must shun him on the roadside when you meet him, you must shun him in the streets of the town, you must shun him at the shop-counter, you must shun him in the fair and at the marketplace, and even in the house of worship... you must shun him your detestation of

17554-721: Was purchased by larger farmers. In 1850, the Tenant Right League briefly dominated Irish politics with the demand for free sale, fixity of tenure, and fair rent . Although it never caught on with the poor smallholders in Connacht which it was intended to help, the League spurred the creation of the Independent Irish Party . In 1870, the Liberal Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone pushed through

17688-437: 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 emerged in third place, in what was widely seen as a political realignment in the wake of the post-2008 Irish economic downturn . By 2016, it had recovered enough to become

17822-534: Was unable to hire anyone to harvest the crops in his charge. Boycott was forced to leave the country; and the tactic spread throughout the country. The use of "intimidation" to enforce a boycott had to be criminalized in the Prevention of Crime (Ireland) Act 1882 . According to the Inspector General, boycotting "constituted a form of imprisonment for the victim who was isolated and separated from

17956-465: Was widely commented in the press as far afield as London. Initially, the movement was non-sectarian in character and Protestant tenants also took part in meetings. The focus of the leadership shifted from agitation to organization to harness the new energy for the nationalist cause. On 16 August 1879, the Land League of Mayo was founded in Castlebar , at which point the first overtures were made to

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