152-653: The Labour Party ( Irish : Páirtí an Lucht Oibre , lit. ' Party of the Working People ' ) is a centre-left and social democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland . Founded on 28 May 1912 in Clonmel , County Tipperary , by James Connolly , James Larkin , and William O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trades Union Congress . Labour continues to be
304-521: A national army would treat the members of an invading army". In August 1920, the Dáil adopted a motion that the Irish Volunteers, "as a standing army", would swear allegiance to it and to the Republic. The Soloheadbeg ambush "and others like it that occurred during 1919 were not […] intended to be the first shots in a general war of independence, though that is what they turned out to be". It
456-547: A unique dialect of Irish developed before falling out of use in the early 20th century. With a writing system , Ogham , dating back to at least the 4th century AD, which was gradually replaced by Latin script since the 5th century AD, Irish has one of the oldest vernacular literatures in Western Europe . On the island, the language has three major dialects: Connacht , Munster and Ulster Irish . All three have distinctions in their speech and orthography . There
608-646: A "symbol of popular resistance and a source of legitimacy for fighting men in the guerrilla war that developed". The Dáil was outlawed by the British government in September 1919, and thereafter it met in secret. The First Dáil met 21 times and its main business was establishing the Irish Republic. It created the beginnings of an independent Irish government and state apparatus. Following the May 1921 elections ,
760-566: A Eurosceptic outlook in the 1961 general election, and in 1972, the party campaigned against membership of the European Economic Community (EEC). Between 1973 and 1977, the Labour Party formed a coalition government with Fine Gael. The coalition partners lost the subsequent 1977 general election , and Corish resigned immediately after the defeat. In 1977, shortly after the election defeat, members grouped around
912-414: A Family Income Supplement, a child care protection bill, a Maternity Benefit, a social employment scheme, the establishment of a Youth employment agency, and the adoption of an equa treatment directive. Nevertheless, as noted by one study, “voters did not reward them. Instead they were disappointed by Labour's inability to implement more of its own policies (Marsh and Mitchell 1999:49).” In the later part of
1064-564: A Government that is actually hurting people", and she resigned from the party in July 2013. In June 2013, Patrick Nulty and Colm Keaveney resigned from the Labour Party. Willie Penrose returned to the parliamentary Labour Party in October 2013. On 26 May 2014, Gilmore resigned as party leader after Labour's poor performance in the European and local elections . On 4 July 2014, Joan Burton won
1216-594: A Labour Party member of Dublin Corporation, was the only serving elected representative to be killed during the Easter Rising. O'Carroll was shot by John Bowen-Colthurst and died several days later, on 5 May 1916. The ICA was revived during Peadar O'Donnell 's Republican Congress but after the 1935 split in the Congress most ICA members joined the Labour Party. In Larkin's absence, William O'Brien became
1368-717: A bargaining chip during government formation in Northern Ireland, prompting protests from organisations and groups such as An Dream Dearg . Irish became an official language of the EU on 1 January 2007, meaning that MEPs with Irish fluency can now speak the language in the European Parliament and at committees, although in the case of the latter they have to give prior notice to a simultaneous interpreter in order to ensure that what they say can be interpreted into other languages. While an official language of
1520-575: A better future for Ireland and all her citizens." The Strategy was produced on 21 December 2010 and will stay in action until 2030; it aims to target language vitality and revitalization of the Irish language. The 30-page document published by the Government of Ireland details the objectives it plans to work towards in an attempt to preserve and promote both the Irish language and the Gaeltacht. It
1672-568: A coalition with Fianna Fáil , taking office in January 1993 as the 23rd government of Ireland . Fianna Fáil leader Albert Reynolds remained as Taoiseach , and Labour Party leader Dick Spring became Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs . After less than two years the government fell in a controversy over the appointment of Attorney General , Harry Whelehan , as president of the High Court . The parliamentary arithmetic had changed as
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#17327733567961824-437: A coherent national identity, lurched it to the left and insisted Labour was the natural party of social justice . In the late 1960s, Labour began to embrace the ' New Left ,' and Corish presented his A New Republic document at the 1967 Labour national conference, alongside a famous speech which declared that "The seventies will be socialist", which later became a Labour campaign slogan. Corish's new socialist direction for Labour
1976-478: A cultural and social force. Irish speakers often insisted on using the language in law courts (even when they knew English), and Irish was also common in commercial transactions. The language was heavily implicated in the "devotional revolution" which marked the standardisation of Catholic religious practice and was also widely used in a political context. Down to the time of the Great Famine and even afterwards,
2128-673: A cumulative total of twenty-five years served as part of a government, the third-longest total of any party in the Republic of Ireland after Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Led by Ivana Bacik , it is the joint fifth-largest party in Dáil Éireann , with six seats, and is the joint third-largest party in Seanad Éireann , with four seats, making Labour the fifth-largest party in the Oireachtas overall as of 2021. It currently has 1 MEP. The Labour Party
2280-553: A degree course in the NUI federal system to pass the subject of Irish in the Leaving Certificate or GCE / GCSE examinations. Exemptions are made from this requirement for students who were born or completed primary education outside of Ireland, and students diagnosed with dyslexia . NUI Galway is required to appoint people who are competent in the Irish language, as long as they are also competent in all other aspects of
2432-612: A democratic socialist party. Its constitution refers to the party as a "movement of democratic socialists, social democrats, environmentalists, progressives, feminists (and) trade unionists". It has been described as a "big tent" party by the Irish Independent . The stance of the Labour Party has changed dramatically over time. In 1964, American historian Emmet Larkin described the Irish Labour Party as "the most opportunistically conservative Labour Party anywhere in
2584-510: A full-scale devotional revival of Catholicism was reflected in the outlook and policies of the party. The ' Starry Plough ,' the traditional symbol of Labour, reflects a Catholic tradition and biblical reference to Isaiah 2:3-4, which is integral to its design. Like Fianna Fáil, Labour embraced corporatist policies, again influenced by the Catholic Church. This was deemed to be important for both in terms of winning electoral support from
2736-460: A fully recognised EU language for the first time in the state's history. Before Irish became an official language it was afforded the status of treaty language and only the highest-level documents of the EU were made available in Irish. The Irish language was carried abroad in the modern period by a vast diaspora , chiefly to Great Britain and North America, but also to Australia , New Zealand and Argentina . The first large movements began in
2888-493: A general election. Between 1994 and 1997 Fine Gael , the Labour Party, and Democratic Left governed in the 24th government of Ireland . Dick Spring became Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs again. Labour greatly influenced the policy document for the 1993-1994 coalition, with one observer noting that Fianna Fáil's policy document for the coalition "contained lots of our policies, While swaths of texts were lifted from our manifesto". (Bowcott 1993) The Labour Party presented
3040-581: A loss of 30 seats on its showing in 2011. On 20 May 2016, Brendan Howlin was elected unopposed as leader ; some controversy arose from the fact that there was no contest for the leadership because none of his parliamentary colleagues were prepared to second the nomination of Alan Kelly . Howlin stated that as leader he was prepared to bring Labour back into government, citing the lack of influence on policy from opposition. He denied any suggestions that Labour could lose any further support from their 2016 performance, stating "We're not some outfit that comes out of
3192-542: A means by which "a formal constitution for the new state was created". It also "provided the personnel and the authority to conclude the articles of agreement with Britain and bring the war to an end". The Irish state has commemorated the founding of the First Dáil several times, as "the anniversary of when a constitutionally elected majority of MPs declared the right of the Irish people to have their own democratic state". Seán MacEntee , who died on 10 January 1984 at
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#17327733567963344-585: A paper suggested that within a generation, non-Gaeltacht habitual users of Irish might typically be members of an urban, middle class, and highly educated minority. Parliamentary legislation is supposed to be available in both Irish and English but is frequently only available in English. This is notwithstanding that Article 25.4 of the Constitution of Ireland requires that an "official translation" of any law in one official language be provided immediately in
3496-575: A pass in Leaving Certificate Irish or English, and receive lessons in Irish during their two years of training. Official documents of the Irish government must be published in both Irish and English or Irish alone (in accordance with the Official Languages Act 2003, enforced by An Coimisinéir Teanga , the Irish language ombudsman). The National University of Ireland requires all students wishing to embark on
3648-483: A programme of social reform with which the party was in sympathy. In the 1943 general election the party won 17 seats, its best result since 1927. The Irish Labour Party and the Irish Trades Union Congress separated in 1930. Future leader William Norton was prominent in urging the separation of the political and industrial wings of the labour movement into autonomous organisations, arguing that
3800-625: A religious context. An Irish translation of the Old Testament by Leinsterman Muircheartach Ó Cíonga , commissioned by Bishop Bedell , was published after 1685 along with a translation of the New Testament. Otherwise, Anglicisation was seen as synonymous with 'civilising' the native Irish. Currently, modern day Irish speakers in the church are pushing for language revival. It has been estimated that there were around 800,000 monoglot Irish speakers in 1800, which dropped to 320,000 by
3952-464: A result of Fianna Fáil's loss of two seats in by-elections in June , where the Labour Party itself had performed disastrously. On the pretext that the Labour Party voters were not happy with involvement with Fianna Fáil, Dick Spring withdrew his support for Reynolds as Taoiseach. The Labour Party negotiated a new coalition, the first time in Irish political history that one coalition replaced another without
4104-619: A separate parliament in Dublin called Dáil Éireann ("Assembly of Ireland"). They declared Irish independence , ratifying the Proclamation of the Irish Republic that had been issued in the 1916 Easter Rising , and adopted a provisional constitution . Its first meeting happened on the same day as one of the first engagements of what became the Irish War of Independence . Although the Dáil had not authorised any armed action, it became
4256-482: A signatory to the famed Proclamation". Brugha then called upon Father Michael O'Flanagan to say a prayer. A number of short documents were then read out and adopted. These were the: These documents asserted that the Dáil was the parliament of a sovereign state called the " Irish Republic ". With the Declaration of Independence, the Dáil ratified the Proclamation of the Irish Republic that had been issued in
4408-557: A split in the Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) with Jack Macgougan leading anti- Partition members out and affiliating branches to the Dublin party, joined by other left-wing and nationalist representatives and branded locally as "Irish Labour". At Westminster, Jack Beattie held Belfast West from 1951 to 1955 ; the British Labour party refused Beattie its whip . At Stormont, Belfast Dock
4560-545: A wider meaning, including the Gaelic of Scotland and the Isle of Man , as well as of Ireland. When required by the context, these are distinguished as Gaeilge na hAlban , Gaeilge Mhanann and Gaeilge na hÉireann respectively. In English (including Hiberno-English ), the language is usually referred to as Irish , as well as Gaelic and Irish Gaelic . The term Irish Gaelic may be seen when English speakers discuss
4712-692: Is a member of the Progressive Alliance , Socialist International , and Party of European Socialists . James Connolly , James Larkin and William O'Brien established the Irish Labour Party on 28 May 1912, as the political wing of the Irish Trades Union Congress , in Clonmel Town Hall . This party was to represent the workers in the expected Dublin Parliament under the Third Home Rule Act 1914 . However, after
Labour Party (Ireland) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4864-498: Is a mere transition phase on the road to securing the support of the majority of our people. At the next general election (we) must face the electorate with a clear-cut alternative to the conservatism of the past and present; and emerge . . . . as the Party which will shape the seventies. What I offer now is the outline of a new society, a New Republic. Brendan Corish , The 1967 Labour national conference Brendan Corish became
5016-452: Is also An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , a standardised written form devised by a parliamentary commission in the 1950s. The traditional Irish alphabet , a variant of the Latin alphabet with 18 letters , has been succeeded by the standard Latin alphabet (albeit with 7–8 letters used primarily in loanwords ). Irish has constitutional status as the national and first official language of
5168-511: Is divided into four separate phases with the intention of improving 9 main areas of action including: The general goal for this strategy was to increase the number of daily speakers from 83,000 to 250,000 by the end of its run. By 2022, the number of such speakers had fallen to 71,968. Before the partition of Ireland in 1921, Irish was recognised as a school subject and as "Celtic" in some third level institutions. Between 1921 and 1972, Northern Ireland had devolved government. During those years
5320-587: Is only in Gaeltacht areas that Irish continues to be spoken as a community vernacular to some extent. According to data compiled by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht , Sport and Media , only 1/4 of households in Gaeltacht areas are fluent in Irish. The author of a detailed analysis of the survey, Donncha Ó hÉallaithe of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology , described
5472-412: Is still spoken daily to some extent as a first language . These regions are known individually and collectively as the Gaeltacht (plural Gaeltachtaí ). While the fluent Irish speakers of these areas, whose numbers have been estimated at 20–30,000, are a minority of the total number of fluent Irish speakers, they represent a higher concentration of Irish speakers than other parts of the country and it
5624-622: Is thus seen as one of the first actions of the Irish War of Independence . The Dáil did not debate whether it would "accept a state of war" with, or declare war on, the United Kingdom until 11 March 1921. It was agreed unanimously to give President de Valera the power to accept or declare war at the most opportune time, but he never did so. In September 1919 the Dáil was declared illegal by the British authorities and thereafter met only intermittently and at various locations. The Dáil also set about attempting to secure de facto authority for
5776-721: The Fíor-Ghaeltacht (true Gaeltacht ), a term originally officially applied to areas where over 50% of the population spoke Irish. There are Gaeltacht regions in the following counties: Gweedore ( Gaoth Dobhair ), County Donegal, is the largest Gaeltacht parish in Ireland. Irish language summer colleges in the Gaeltacht are attended by tens of thousands of teenagers annually. Students live with Gaeltacht families, attend classes, participate in sports, go to céilithe and are obliged to speak Irish. All aspects of Irish culture and tradition are encouraged. The Act
5928-464: The 1973 local elections . The Social Democratic and Labour Party founded in 1970 took most of Irish Labour's voters and soon had its formal endorsement. The seventies will be socialist. At the next general election Labour must . . . make a major breakthrough in seats and votes. It must demonstrate convincingly that it has the capacity to become the Government of this country. Our present position
6080-519: The 1997 general election , held just weeks after spectacular electoral victories for the French Socialist Party and British Labour Party , as the first-ever choice between a government of the left and one of the right; but the party, as had often been the case following its participation in coalitions, lost support and lost half of its TDs. Labour's losses were so severe that while Fine Gael gained seats, it still came up well short of
6232-634: The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 . Griffith argued that Irish nationalists should follow this "policy of passive resistance – with occasional excursions into the domain of active resistance". In April 1916, during the First World War, Irish republicans launched an uprising against British rule in Ireland , the Easter Rising . They proclaimed an Irish Republic . After a week of heavy fighting, mostly in Dublin,
Labour Party (Ireland) - Misplaced Pages Continue
6384-588: The February 2020 election , the party's first preference vote dropped to 4.4%, a record low. In the subsequent Seanad elections , Labour won 5 seats, which tied them with Sinn Féin as the third-largest party in the House. After the general election, Brendan Howlin announced his intention to step down as the leader of the Labour Party. On 3 April 2020 Alan Kelly was elected as party leader , edging out fellow Dáil colleague Aodhán Ó Ríordáin 55% to 45%. In July 2021,
6536-608: The Minister for Health James Reilly . On 13 December 2012 Colm Keaveney lost the party whip after voting against the cut to the respite care grant in the 2013 budget . Senator James Heffernan lost the party whip in December 2012 after voting against the government on the Social Welfare Bill. MEP Nessa Childers resigned from the parliamentary party on 5 April 2013, saying that she "no longer want[ed] to support
6688-547: The Paris Peace Conference . It stated that "the existing state of war between Ireland and England can never be ended until Ireland is definitely evacuated by the armed forces of England". Although this could have been a "rhetorical flourish", it was the nearest the Dáil came to a declaration of war. The Dáil Constitution was a brief provisional constitution. It stated that the Dáil had "full powers to legislate" and would be composed of representatives "chosen by
6840-576: The Republic of Ireland , and is also an official language of Northern Ireland and among the official languages of the European Union . The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island. Irish has no regulatory body but An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , the standard written form, is guided by a parliamentary service and new vocabulary by a voluntary committee with university input. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil ("The Official [Written] Standard ")
6992-668: The Royal Dublin Fusiliers , who had been prisoners of war in Germany, had ended shortly beforehand. Twenty-seven Sinn Féin MPs attended. Invitations had been sent to all elected MPs in Ireland, but the Unionists and Irish Parliamentary Party MPs declined to attend. The IPP's Thomas Harbison , MP for North East Tyrone , acknowledged the invitation but wrote he should "decline for obvious reasons". He expressed sympathy with
7144-622: The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) were killed in an ambush in County Tipperary by members of the Irish Volunteers. The Volunteers seized the explosives the officers had been guarding. This action had not been authorised by the Irish Volunteer leadership nor by the Dáil. Although the Dáil and the Irish Volunteers had some overlapping membership, they were separate and neither controlled the other. After
7296-634: The Socialist Party in 1996. The early 1990s saw a sustained period of growth for the Labour Party. In 1990 former Labour Senator Mary Robinson became the first President of Ireland to have been proposed by the Labour Party. Although she had contested the election as an independent candidate, having resigned from the party over her opposition to the Anglo Irish Agreement , her victory was generally considered as reflecting very well on Labour, who had supported her campaign. Not only
7448-409: The leadership election , defeating Alex White by 78% to 22%. On her election, she said that the Labour Party "would focus on social repair, and govern more with the heart". Burton was the first woman to lead the Labour Party. In the 2016 general election , Labour achieved a poor result, receiving only 6.6% of first preference votes, and 7 seats. It was the worst general election in its history, with
7600-590: The 105 Irish seats in the House of Commons. In 25 constituencies, Sinn Féin won the seats unopposed. Elections were held almost entirely under the ' first-past-the-post voting ' system. The recent Representation of the People Act had increased the Irish electorate from around 700,000 to about two million. Unionists (including the Ulster Unionist Labour Association ) won 26 seats, all but three of which were in east Ulster , and
7752-634: The 17th century, largely as a result of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , which saw many Irish sent to the West Indies . Irish emigration to the United States was well established by the 18th century, and was reinforced in the 1840s by thousands fleeing from the Famine . This flight also affected Britain. Up until that time most emigrants spoke Irish as their first language, though English
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#17327733567967904-515: The 1916 Rising, and pledged "to make this declaration effective by every means". It stated that "the elected representatives of the Irish people alone have power to make laws binding on the people of Ireland, and that the Irish Parliament is the only Parliament to which that people will give its allegiance". It also declared "foreign government in Ireland to be an invasion of our national right" and demanded British military withdrawal. Once
8056-670: The 1998 Good Friday Agreement , the language gradually received a degree of formal recognition in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, and then, in 2003, by the British government's ratification in respect of the language of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . In the 2006 St Andrews Agreement the British government promised to enact legislation to promote the language and in 2022 it approved legislation to recognise Irish as an official language alongside English. The bill received royal assent on 6 December 2022. The Irish language has often been used as
8208-507: The 2004 local elections, party leader Pat Rabbitte had endorsed a mutual transfer pact with Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny . Rabbitte proposed an extension of this strategy, named "the Mullingar Accord", going into the 2007 general election. Although Rabbitte's strategy was opposed by some influential members such as Brendan Howlin it was supported by approximately 80% of Labour conference delegates. However, at 2007 general election
8360-400: The 2021 census of Northern Ireland , 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it. From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming "some knowledge" of
8512-403: The 6th century, used the Latin alphabet and is attested primarily in marginalia to Latin manuscripts. During this time, the Irish language absorbed some Latin words, some via Old Welsh , including ecclesiastical terms : examples are easpag (bishop) from episcopus , and Domhnach (Sunday, from dominica ). By the 10th century, Old Irish had evolved into Middle Irish , which
8664-515: The Act all detailing different aspects of the use of Irish in official documentation and communication. Included in these sections are subjects such as Irish language use in official courts, official publications, and placenames. The Act was recently amended in December 2019 in order to strengthen the already preexisting legislation. All changes made took into account data collected from online surveys and written submissions. The Official Languages Scheme
8816-518: The British Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , " Lord French , is today the master of Ireland. He alone [...] will decide upon the type of government the country is to have, and it is he rather than any member of the House of Commons, who will be the judge of political and industrial reforms". Lord French's observer at the meeting, George Moore, was impressed by its orderliness and told French that the Dáil represented "the general feeling in
8968-496: The Catholic Church or to take on a more militant labour approach. Despite efforts in the 1930s to sternly downplay the idea of Communist influence over the party, by the 1940s internal conflict and complementary allegations of communist infiltration caused a split in the Labour Party and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Tensions peaked in 1941 when party founder Jim Larkin and a number of his supporters were re-admitted to
9120-559: The Declaration was read, Cathal Brugha said (in Irish): "Deputies, you understand from what is asserted in this Declaration that we are now done with England. Let the world know it and those who are concerned bear it in mind. For come what may now, whether it be death itself, the great deed is done". The Message to the Free Nations called for international recognition of Irish independence and for Ireland to be allowed to make its case at
9272-443: The Dublin membership of the ITGWU defected to the new union. O'Brien blocked the WUI from admission to the ITUC. Larkin was elected to Dáil Éireann at the September 1927 general election. However, the Labour Party prevented him from taking his seat as an undischarged bankrupt for losing a libel case against Labour leader Tom Johnson. In 1932, the Labour Party supported Éamon de Valera 's first Fianna Fáil government, which had proposed
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#17327733567969424-435: The Dublin region. At the 2009 European Parliament election held on the same day, the Labour Party increased its number of seats from one to three, retaining the seat of Proinsias De Rossa in the Dublin constituency , while gaining seats in the East constituency with Nessa Childers , and in the South constituency with Alan Kelly . It was the first time since the 1979 European Parliament Elections that Labour had equalled
9576-403: The Dáil and its declaration of independence was headline news in Ireland and abroad. However, the press censorship that began during the First World War was continued by the British administration in Ireland after the war. The Press Censor forbade all Irish newspapers from publishing the Dáil's declarations. That evening, a British unionist view of events was printed in a newspaper. It said that
9728-404: The European Union , only co-decision regulations were available until 2022, due to a five-year derogation, requested by the Irish Government when negotiating the language's new official status. The Irish government had committed itself to train the necessary number of translators and interpreters and to bear the related costs. This derogation ultimately came to an end on 1 January 2022, making Irish
9880-437: The First Dáil was succeeded by the Second Dáil of 1921–1922. In the early 20th century Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and was represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom by 105 Members of Parliament (MPs). From 1882, most Irish MPs were members of the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) who strove in several Home Rule Bills to achieve self-government for Ireland within
10032-518: The IPP won only six (down from 84), all but one in Ulster. The Labour Party did not stand in the election, allowing the electorate to decide between home rule or a republic by having a clear choice between the two nationalist parties. The IPP won a smaller share of seats than votes due to the first-past-the-post system. Sinn Féin's manifesto had pledged to establish an Irish Republic by founding "a constituent assembly comprising persons chosen by Irish constituencies" which could then "speak and act in
10184-431: The Irish Republic throughout the country. This included the establishment of a parallel judicial system known as the Dáil Courts . The First Dáil held its last meeting on 10 May 1921. After elections on 24 May the Dáil was succeeded by the Second Dáil which sat for the first time on 16 August 1921. The First Dáil and the general election of 1918 came to occupy a central place in Irish republicanism and nationalism. Today
10336-425: The Irish language policy followed by Irish governments as a "complete and absolute disaster". The Irish Times , referring to his analysis published in the Irish language newspaper Foinse , quoted him as follows: "It is an absolute indictment of successive Irish Governments that at the foundation of the Irish State there were 250,000 fluent Irish speakers living in Irish-speaking or semi Irish-speaking areas, but
10488-412: The Labour Party failed to increase its seat total and had a net loss of 1 seat, returning with 20 seats. Fine Gael, the Labour Party, the Green Party and independents did not have enough seats to form a government. Pat Rabbitte resisted calls to enter negotiations with Fianna Fáil on forming a government. Eventually, Fianna Fáil entered government with the Progressive Democrats and the Green Party with
10640-427: The Labour Party was the major opposition party in the Dáil . Labour attacked the lack of social reform by the Cumann na nGaedheal government. From 1927, a large number of the Labour Party's voters were pre-empted by Fianna Fáil, with its almost identical policies. Labour lacked Fianna Fáil's 'republican' image, which was a contributing factor to this loss. Larkin returned to Ireland in April 1923. He hoped to resume
10792-406: The Labour Party won a record 19.3% of the first preference votes, more than twice its share in the 1989 general election . The party's representation in the Dáil doubled to 33 seats in a momentum swing dubbed by the Irish national media as the "Spring Tide", who attributed much of the surge in the party's popularity to its leader Dick Spring . After a period of negotiations, the Labour Party formed
10944-469: The Labour Party's candidate, Michael D. Higgins was elected as the 9th (and current) President of Ireland . On the same day, Labour's Patrick Nulty won the Dublin West by-election , making the Labour Party the first government party in Ireland to win a by-election since 1982. Labour lost seven parliamentary members over the course of the 31st Dáil. On 15 November 2011 Willie Penrose resigned over
11096-750: The Labour Party. From 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, the Labour Party was the second-largest partner in the two inter-party governments (the largest being Fine Gael ). William Norton, the Labour Party leader, became Tánaiste on both occasions. During the First Inter-Party Government he served as Minister for Social Welfare , while during the Second Inter-Party Government he served as Minister for Industry and Commerce . (See first inter-party government and second inter-party government .) The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 and Ireland Act 1949 precipitated
11248-732: The Labour Party. The split and the anti-communist assault put Labour on the defensive. It launched its own inquiry into communist involvement, which resulted in the expulsion of six members. Alfred O'Rahilly in The Communist Front and the Attack on Irish Labour widened the assault to include the influence of British-based unions and communists in the ITUC. The National Labour Party juxtaposed itself against this by emphasising its commitment to Catholic Social Teaching. However, Labour also continued to emphasise its anti-communist credentials. It
11400-690: The Labour banner against Unionist candidates). It also refrained from contesting the 1921 elections . As a result, the party was left outside Dáil Éireann during the vital years of the independence struggle, though Johnson sat in the First Dáil . The Anglo-Irish Treaty divided the Labour Party. Some members sided with the Irregulars in the Irish Civil War that quickly followed, however O'Brien and Johnson encouraged its members to support
11552-549: The Liaison Committee for the Labour Left split from Labour and formed the short-lived Socialist Labour Party . From 1981 to 1982 and from 1982 to 1987, the Labour Party participated in coalition governments with Fine Gael . While serving in coalition Labour was successful in averting steep cuts in social welfare favoured by Fine Gael. labour ministers also presided over a number of social policy initiatives such as
11704-562: The Marxist and more radical Workers' Party , particularly in Dublin. Fianna Fáil formed a minority government from 1987 to 1989 and then a coalition with the Progressive Democrats . The 1980s saw fierce disagreements between the wings of the party. The more radical elements, Labour Left, led by such figures as Emmet Stagg , Sam Nolan , Frank Buckley and Helena Sheehan , and Militant Tendency, led by Joe Higgins , opposed
11856-564: The Republic of Ireland ), new appointees to the Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland , including postal workers , tax collectors , agricultural inspectors, Garda Síochána (police), etc., were required to have some proficiency in Irish. By law, a Garda who was addressed in Irish had to respond in Irish as well. In 1974, in part through the actions of protest organisations like the Language Freedom Movement ,
12008-489: The Treaty. In the 1922 general election the party won 17 seats, having fielded 18 candidates. Winning 21.4% of the first preference vote, this remains the party's highest ever share of the vote as of 2022. However, there were a number of strikes during the first year and a loss in support for the party. In the 1923 general election the Labour Party only won 14 seats. From 1922 until Fianna Fáil TDs took their seats in 1927,
12160-794: The United Kingdom. This resulted in the Government of Ireland Act 1914 , but its implementation was postponed with the outbreak of the First World War . The founder of the small Sinn Féin party, Arthur Griffith , believed Irish nationalists should emulate the Hungarian nationalists who had gained legislative independence from Austria . In 1867, Hungarian representatives had boycotted the Imperial parliament in Vienna and unilaterally established their own legislature in Budapest, resulting in
12312-625: The assembly. As a result, the British administration was fully aware what was being planned. The first meeting of Dáil Éireann began at 3:30 pm on 21 January in the Round Room of the Mansion House , the residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin . It lasted about two hours. The packed audience in the Round Room rose in acclaim for the members of the Dáil as they walked into the room, and many waved Irish tricolour flags. A tricolour
12464-693: The beginning of the following academic year. For a number of years there has been vigorous debate in political, academic and other circles about the failure of most students in English-medium schools to achieve competence in Irish, even after fourteen years of teaching as one of the three main subjects. The concomitant decline in the number of traditional native speakers has also been a cause of great concern. In 2007, filmmaker Manchán Magan found few Irish speakers in Dublin , and faced incredulity when trying to get by speaking only Irish in Dublin. He
12616-586: The bill, with spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe arguing that the bill was unconstitutional. Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family . It is a member of the Goidelic language group of the Insular Celtic sub branch of
12768-409: The call for Ireland to have a hearing at the Paris Peace Conference . Sir Robert Henry Woods was the only unionist who declined rather than ignored his invitation. Sixty-nine Sinn Féin MPs had been elected (four of whom represented more than one constituency), but thirty-four were in prison, and eight others could not attend for various reasons. Those in prison were described as being "imprisoned by
12920-553: The closure of an army barracks in his constituency. On 1 December 2011 Tommy Broughan lost the party whip after voting against the government in relation to the Bank Guarantee Scheme. On 6 December 2011 Patrick Nulty lost the party whip after voting against the VAT increase in the 2012 budget . On 26 September 2012 Róisín Shortall resigned as Minister of State for Primary Care and lost the party whip after conflict with
13072-516: The country". The Irish Times , then the voice of the Unionist status quo, called the events both farcical and dangerous. Irish republicans, and many nationalist newspapers, saw the meeting as momentous and the beginning of "a new epoch". According to one observer: "It is difficult to convey the intensity of feeling which pervaded the Round Room, the feeling that great things were happening, even greater things impending, and that in looking around
13224-550: The defeat of the trade unions in the Dublin Lockout of 1913 the labour movement was weakened; the emigration of James Larkin in 1914 and the execution of James Connolly following the Easter Rising in 1916 further damaged it. The Irish Citizen Army (ICA), formed during the 1913 Lockout, was informally the military wing of the Labour Movement. The ICA took part in the 1916 Rising. Councillor Richard O'Carroll ,
13376-576: The dominant figure in the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) and wielded considerable influence in the Labour Party. O'Brien also dominated the Irish Trades Union Congress. The Labour Party, led by Thomas Johnson from 1917, declined to contest the 1918 general election in order to allow the election to take the form of a plebiscite on Ireland's constitutional status (although some candidates did run in Belfast constituencies under
13528-482: The election of the Dáil and its declaration of independence had given them the right to pursue the republic in the manner they saw fit". It began to refer to itself as the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The First Dáil was "a visible symbol of popular resistance and a source of legitimacy for fighting men in the guerrilla war that developed". On the same day as the Dáil's first meeting, two officers of
13680-474: The end of the famine, and under 17,000 by 1911. Irish is recognised by the Constitution of Ireland as the national and first official language of Republic of Ireland (English being the other official language). Despite this, almost all government business and legislative debate is conducted in English. In 1938, the founder of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League), Douglas Hyde , was inaugurated as
13832-614: The family and is indigenous to the island of Ireland . It was the majority of the population's first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century, in what is sometimes characterised as a result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022
13984-560: The first President of Ireland . The record of his delivering his inaugural Declaration of Office in Roscommon Irish is one of only a few recordings of that dialect. In the 2016 census, 10.5% of respondents stated that they spoke Irish, either daily or weekly, while over 70,000 people (4.2%) speak it as a habitual daily means of communication. From the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 (see History of
14136-460: The foreigners" ( fé ghlas ag Gallaibh ). Michael Collins and Harry Boland were marked in the roll as i láthair (present), but the record was later amended to show that they were as láthair (absent). At the time, they were in England planning the escape of Éamon de Valera from Lincoln Prison , and did not wish to draw attention to their absence. Being a first and highly symbolic meeting,
14288-409: The former leader Dick Spring. Members of Democratic Left in Northern Ireland were invited to join the Irish Labour Party but were not permitted to organise. Quinn resigned as leader in 2002 following the poor results for the Labour Party in the 2002 general election . Former Democratic Left TD Pat Rabbitte became the new leader, the first to be elected directly by the members of the party. Prior to
14440-491: The founding of the Dáil, steps were taken to make the Volunteers the army of the new self-declared republic. On 31 January 1919 the Volunteers' official journal, An tÓglách ("The Volunteer"), stated that Ireland and England were at war, and that the founding of Dáil Éireann and its declaration of independence justified the Irish Volunteers in treating "the armed forces of the enemy – whether soldiers or policemen – exactly as
14592-573: The idea of Labour entering into coalition government with either of the major centre-right parties (Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael). At the 1989 Labour Party conference in Tralee a number of socialist and Trotskyist activists, organised around the Militant Tendency and their internal newspaper, were expelled. Amongst those expelled included future TDs Clare Daly , Ruth Coppinger and Mick Barry as well as Joe Higgins , who went on to found
14744-479: The known world," due to its Catholic outlook in an Ireland where 95 percent of the population was Roman Catholic. It was known for its longstanding unwillingness (along with Ireland's other major parties) to support any policy that could be construed as sympathetic to secularism or communism. However, from the 1980s it was associated with advocacy for socially liberal policies, with former leader Eamon Gilmore stating in 2007 that "more than any other political movement, it
14896-716: The language family, is derived from the Old Irish term. Endonyms of the language in the various modern Irish dialects include: Gaeilge [ˈɡeːlʲɟə] in Galway, Gaeilg / Gaeilic / Gaeilig [ˈɡeːlʲəc] in Mayo and Ulster , Gaelainn / Gaoluinn [ˈɡeːl̪ˠən̠ʲ] in West/Cork, Kerry Munster , as well as Gaedhealaing in mid and East Kerry/Cork and Waterford Munster to reflect local pronunciation. Gaeilge also has
15048-410: The language was in use by all classes, Irish being an urban as well as a rural language. This linguistic dynamism was reflected in the efforts of certain public intellectuals to counter the decline of the language. At the end of the 19th century, they launched the Gaelic revival in an attempt to encourage the learning and use of Irish, although few adult learners mastered the language. The vehicle of
15200-476: The language. For most of recorded Irish history , Irish was the dominant language of the Irish people , who took it with them to other regions , such as Scotland and the Isle of Man , where Middle Irish gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx . It was also, for a period, spoken widely across Canada , with an estimated 200,000–250,000 daily Canadian speakers of Irish in 1890. On the island of Newfoundland ,
15352-592: The leadership role in the ITGWU which he had previously left, but O'Brien resisted him. Larkin also created a pro-communist party called the Irish Worker League . O'Brien regarded Larkin as a "loose cannon." Following a failed challenge to O'Brien's leadership and association with communist militancy, Larkin was expelled from the ITGWU and created the WUI, a communist alternative to the ITGWU, in 1924. Two-thirds of
15504-494: The legalisation of civil partnerships and adoption for same-sex couples. The Fianna Fáil government amended the bill to delay it for six months time, however the Dáil was dissolved for the 2007 Irish general election before this could happen. Labour again brought this bill before the Dáil in 2007 but it was voted down by the government, with the Green Party , who had formerly supported gay marriage, also voting in opposition to
15656-538: The lower and middle classes. However, Labour later became associated with increasing secularism and championing socially liberal causes in relation to contraception, divorce, LGBT rights and abortion. Its support base also shifted greatly towards postmaterialists . The Labour Party also changed its position from Euroscepticism in 1972 to pro-Europeanism and ideological integration with European social democratic parties. The Labour Party has been involved in various campaigns for LGBT rights and put forward many bills. The party
15808-517: The mid-18th century, English was becoming a language of the Catholic middle class, the Catholic Church and public intellectuals, especially in the east of the country. Increasingly, as the value of English became apparent, parents sanctioned the prohibition of Irish in schools. Increasing interest in emigrating to the United States and Canada was also a driver, as fluency in English allowed
15960-476: The morning mist and disappears again. We're the oldest party in the state". In the Irish local elections and the European Parliament election of May 2019, despite a decreased vote share by 1.4%, Labour increased their seat count on local authorities to 57, an increase of six. However, the party failed to win a European seat, leaving the S&;D Group unrepresented by an Irish MEP for the first time since 1984. At
16112-497: The move was necessary to broaden the party's electoral appeal beyond a trade union constituency. The party was socially conservative compared to similar European parties, and its leaders from 1932 to 1977 ( William Norton and his successor Brendan Corish ) were members of the Catholic fraternal organisation the Knights of Saint Columbanus . The early to mid-20th century marked constant battles within Labour about whether to appease
16264-484: The name Dáil Éireann is used for the lower house of the modern Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland . Successive Dála (plural for Dáil) continue to be numbered from the "First Dáil" convened in 1919. The current Dáil, elected in 2020, is accordingly the " 33rd Dáil ". The 1918 general election was the last time the whole island of Ireland voted as a unit until elections to the European Parliament over sixty years later. The landslide victory for Sinn Féin
16416-569: The name of the Irish people". Once elected the Sinn Féin MPs chose to follow through with their manifesto. Sinn Féin had held several meetings in early January to plan the first sitting of the Dáil. On 8 January, it publicly announced its intention to convene the assembly. On the night of 11 January, the Dublin Metropolitan Police raided Sinn Féin headquarters and seized drafts of the documents that would be issued at
16568-804: The name of the language is Gaeilge , from the South Connacht form, spelled Gaedhilge prior the spelling reform of 1948, which was originally the genitive of Gaedhealg , the form used in Classical Gaelic . The modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent ⟨dh⟩ in Gaedhilge . Older spellings include Gaoidhealg [ˈɡeːʝəlˠəɡ] in Classical Gaelic and Goídelc [ˈɡoiðʲelɡ] in Old Irish . Goidelic , used to refer to
16720-406: The new Labour leader in 1960. As leader, he advocated for more socialist policies to be adopted by the party; although initially tempering by this describing these policies as "a form of Christian socialism ", he would later feel comfortable enough to drop the "Christian" prefix. In contrast to his predecessors, Corish adopted an anti-coalition stance. He attempted to give his fractious, divided party
16872-469: The new immigrants to get jobs in areas other than farming. An estimated one quarter to one third of US immigrants during the Great Famine were Irish speakers. Irish was not marginal to Ireland's modernisation in the 19th century, as is often assumed. In the first half of the century there were still around three million people for whom Irish was the primary language, and their numbers alone made them
17024-655: The number now is between 20,000 and 30,000." In the 1920s, when the Irish Free State was founded, Irish was still a vernacular in some western coastal areas. In the 1930s, areas where more than 25% of the population spoke Irish were classified as Gaeltacht . Today, the strongest Gaeltacht areas, numerically and socially, are those of South Connemara , the west of the Dingle Peninsula , and northwest Donegal, where many residents still use Irish as their primary language. These areas are often referred to as
17176-607: The number of seats held in Europe by either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. On 11 June 2010, a poll by MRBI was published in The Irish Times which, for the first time in the history of the state, showed the Labour Party as the most popular, at 32%, ahead of Fine Gael at 28% and Fianna Fáil at 17%. Eamon Gilmore's approval ratings were also the highest of any Dáil leader, standing at 46%. At the 2011 general election , Labour received 19.5% of first preference votes, and 37 seats. It
17328-503: The other official language, if not already passed in both official languages. In November 2016, RTÉ reported that over 2.3 million people worldwide were learning Irish through the Duolingo app. Irish president Michael D. Higgins officially honoured several volunteer translators for developing the Irish edition, and said the push for Irish language rights remains an "unfinished project". There are rural areas of Ireland where Irish
17480-624: The party and subsequently accused of "taking over" Labour branches in Dublin. In response William X. O'Brien left with six TDs in 1944, founding the National Labour Party , whose leader was James Everett . O'Brien also withdrew the ITGWU from the Irish Trades Unions Congress and set up his own congress. The split damaged the Labour movement in the 1944 general election . The ITGWU attacked "Larkinite and Communist Party elements" which it claimed had taken over
17632-544: The party gained a seventh TD in the Dáil after Ivana Bacik won the 2021 Dublin Bay South by-election . In March 2022, Kelly resigned suddenly as leader, less than two years into the role and having not lead the party into an election. He did so upon being informed by Sean Sherlock and Duncan Smith , both of whom had supported him in his leadership bid, along with Mark Wall, that the parliamentary party had lost "collective confidence" in his leadership. The plan to remove him
17784-404: The people of Ireland from the present constituencies of the country". It established an executive government or Ministry ( Aireacht ) made up of a president ( Príomh-Aire ) chosen by the Dáil, and ministers of finance, home affairs, foreign affairs and defence. Cathal Brugha was elected as the first, temporary president. He would be succeeded, in April, by Éamon de Valera. The first meeting of
17936-670: The political arm of the Irish trade union and labour movement and seeks to represent workers' interests in the Dáil and on a local level. Unlike many other Irish political parties, Labour did not arise as a faction of the original Sinn Féin party, although it merged with the Democratic Left in 1999, a party that traced its origins back to Sinn Féin . The party has served as a partner in coalition governments on eight occasions since its formation: seven times in coalition either with Fine Gael alone or with Fine Gael and other smaller parties, and once with Fianna Fáil . This gives Labour
18088-557: The political party holding power in the Stormont Parliament , the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was hostile to the language. The context of this hostility was the use of the language by nationalists. In broadcasting, there was an exclusion on the reporting of minority cultural issues, and Irish was excluded from radio and television for almost the first fifty years of the previous devolved government. After
18240-465: The proceedings of the Dáil were held wholly in the Irish language , although translations of the documents were also read out in English and French. George Noble Plunkett opened the session and nominated Cathal Brugha as acting Ceann Comhairle (chairman or speaker ), which was accepted. Both actions "immediately associated the Dáil with the 1916 Rising, during which Brugha had been seriously wounded, and after which Plunkett's son had been executed as
18392-456: The provision of goods and services on grounds listed including sexual orientation. At the 2002 general election , only the manifestos of the Green Party and Labour explicitly referred to the rights of same-sex couples. In 2003, Labour LGBT was founded. This was the first time a political party in Ireland had formed an LGBT wing. In December 2006, Labour TD Brendan Howlin tabled a private member's civil unions bill in Dáil Éireann , proposing
18544-492: The relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx). Gaelic is a collective term for the Goidelic languages, and when the context is clear it may be used without qualification to refer to each language individually. When the context is specific but unclear, the term may be qualified, as Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic or Manx Gaelic. Historically the name "Erse" ( / ɜːr s / URS )
18696-432: The requirement for entrance to the public service was changed to proficiency in just one official language. Nevertheless, Irish remains a required subject of study in all schools in the Republic of Ireland that receive public money (see Education in the Republic of Ireland ). Teachers in primary schools must also pass a compulsory examination called Scrúdú Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge . As of 2005, Garda Síochána recruits need
18848-647: The revival was the Gaelic League ( Conradh na Gaeilge ), and particular emphasis was placed on the folk tradition, which in Irish is particularly rich. Efforts were also made to develop journalism and a modern literature. Although it has been noted that the Catholic Church played a role in the decline of the Irish language before the Gaelic Revival, the Protestant Church of Ireland also made only minor efforts to encourage use of Irish in
19000-467: The rising was put down by British forces. About 3,500 people were taken prisoner by the British, many of whom had played no part in the Rising. Most of the Rising's leaders were executed. The rising, the British response, and the British attempt to introduce conscription in Ireland , led to greater public support for Sinn Féin and Irish independence. In the 1918 general election , Sinn Féin won 73 out of
19152-559: The room he saw a glimpse of the Ireland of the future". One American journalist was more accurate than most when he forecast that "The British government apparently intends to ignore the Sinn Fein republic until it undertakes to enforce laws that are in conflict with those established by the British; then the trouble is likely to begin". Members of the Irish Volunteers , a republican paramilitary organization, "believed that
19304-404: The second of these coalition terms, the country's poor economic and fiscal situation required strict curtailing of government spending , and the Labour Party bore much of the blame for unpopular cutbacks in health and other public services . The nadir for the Labour party was the 1987 general election where it received only 6.4% of the vote. Its vote was increasingly threatened by the growth of
19456-437: The support it needed to keep Bruton in office. This, combined with a poor showing by Labour Party candidate Adi Roche in the subsequent election for President of Ireland , led to Spring's resignation as party leader. In 1997 Ruairi Quinn became the new Labour Party leader. Following negotiations in 1999, the Labour Party merged with Democratic Left , keeping the name of the larger partner. This had been previously opposed by
19608-488: The support of independents. In the aftermath, Rabbitte resigned as Labour Party leader in late August, taking responsibility for the general election result. In his wake Eamon Gilmore was elected, unopposed, as the new Labour leader. Following the onset of the post-2008 Irish economic downturn , Labour's political fortunes began to alter rapidly. At the local elections of 5 June 2009, the Labour Party added 31 new councillors to their tally and performed particularly well in
19760-620: The vacancy to which they are appointed. This requirement is laid down by the University College Galway Act, 1929 (Section 3). In 2016, the university faced controversy when it announced the planned appointment of a president who did not speak Irish. Misneach staged protests against this decision. The following year the university announced that Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh , a fluent Irish speaker, would be its 13th president. He assumed office in January 2018; in June 2024, he announced he would be stepping down as president at
19912-594: The work of such writers as Geoffrey Keating , is said to date from the 17th century, and was the medium of popular literature from that time on. From the 18th century on, the language lost ground in the east of the country. The reasons behind this shift were complex but came down to a number of factors: The change was characterised by diglossia (two languages being used by the same community in different social and economic situations) and transitional bilingualism (monoglot Irish-speaking grandparents with bilingual children and monoglot English-speaking grandchildren). By
20064-523: Was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919 to 1921. It was the first meeting of the unicameral parliament of the revolutionary Irish Republic . In the December 1918 election to the Parliament of the United Kingdom , the Irish republican party Sinn Féin won a landslide victory in Ireland. In line with their manifesto , its MPs refused to take their seats , and on 21 January 1919 they founded
20216-465: Was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within the education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968. In response to
20368-465: Was Labour and its allies which drove the modernisation of the Irish state." In the past Labour has been referred to, derisively, as "the political wing of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul ." That Labour was influenced by Catholicism is not unusual in the Irish context (likewise, both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were also products of a predominantly Catholic society). Labour's ethos and often its language
20520-516: Was also displayed above the lectern. Among the audience were the Lord Mayor Laurence O'Neill and Maud Gonne . Scores of Irish and international journalists were reporting on the proceedings. Outside, Dawson Street was thronged with onlookers. Irish Volunteers controlled the crowds, and police were also present. Precautions had been taken in case the assembly was raided by the British authorities. A reception for British soldiers of
20672-531: Was also sometimes used in Scots and then in English to refer to Irish; as well as Scottish Gaelic. Written Irish is first attested in Ogham inscriptions from the 4th century AD, a stage of the language known as Primitive Irish . These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain. Primitive Irish underwent a change into Old Irish through the 5th century. Old Irish, dating from
20824-416: Was confirmed as the new leader of the party unopposed at a conference in Dublin. At the 2024 European Parliament election , Aodhán Ó Ríordáin was elected in the Dublin constituency, the first MEP elected for the party since 2009. The Labour Party holds a pro-European stance and is a party of the centre-left which has been described as a social democratic party but is referred to in its constitution as
20976-472: Was devised by the parliamentary party in the home of Senator Marie Sherlock , in the absence of Kelly. An internal report reportedly showed that every one of the party's nationally elected representatives were at risk of losing their seats in the next general election. Kelly became emotional as he announced his resignation, stating that the decision by the parliamentary party was a "surprise" to him, but that he accepted it immediately. On 24 March 2022 Ivana Bacik
21128-609: Was enacted 1 July 2019 and is an 18-page document that adheres to the guidelines of the Official Languages Act 2003 . The purpose of the Scheme is to provide services through the mediums of Irish and/or English. According to the Department of the Taoiseach, it is meant to "develop a sustainable economy and a successful society, to pursue Ireland's interests abroad, to implement the Government's Programme and to build
21280-535: Was establishing itself as the primary language. Irish speakers had first arrived in Australia in the late 18th century as convicts and soldiers, and many Irish-speaking settlers followed, particularly in the 1860s. New Zealand also received some of this influx. Argentina was the only non-English-speaking country to receive large numbers of Irish emigrants, and there were few Irish speakers among them. First D%C3%A1il The First Dáil ( Irish : An Chéad Dáil )
21432-505: Was generally well-received internally; the membership's faith in Corish had already been bolstered by encouraging election results in 1965 and 1967 . Although Labour's share of the vote improved to 17% in the 1969 Irish general election , the best in 50 years, the party only won 17 seats - 5 fewer than in the 1965 general election. The result dented Corish's confidence and caused him to reconsider his anti-coalition stance. Labour promoted
21584-593: Was in government in 1993 when homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland, and it was President Mary Robinson, herself a longstanding LGBT advocate, who signed the bill into law. Mervyn Taylor published the Employment Equality Bill in 1996, which was enacted in 1998, outlawing discrimination in the workplace on the grounds of sexual orientation. Taylor also published the Equal Status Bill in 1997, enacted in 2000, outlawing discrimination in
21736-423: Was it the first time a woman held the office but it was the first time, apart from Douglas Hyde , that a non- Fianna Fáil candidate was elected. It was also in 1990 that Limerick East TD Jim Kemmy 's Democratic Socialist Party merged into the Labour Party, and in 1992 Sligo–Leitrim TD Declan Bree 's Independent Socialist Party also followed suit and joined the Labour Party. At the 1992 general election
21888-431: Was only after Larkin's death in 1947 that an attempt at unity could be made. After the 1948 general election National Labour had five TDs – Everett, Dan Spring , James Pattison , James Hickey and John O'Leary . National Labour and Labour (with 14 TDs) both entered the First Inter-Party Government, with the leader of National Labour becoming Minister for Posts and Telegraphs . In 1950, the National Labour TDs rejoined
22040-403: Was passed 14 July 2003 with the main purpose of improving the number and quality of public services delivered in Irish by the government and other public bodies. Compliance with the Act is monitored by the An Coimisinéir Teanga (Irish Language Commissioner) which was established in 2004 and any complaints or concerns pertaining to the Act are brought to them. There are 35 sections included in
22192-411: Was profoundly Christian. Following the official separation of the Irish Labour Party and Irish Trade Union Congress into two different organisations in 1930, early drafts of Labour's constitution referred to the responsibilities of the 'Christian state', but these had all been removed by the time the constitution was put before the new party's conference for approval. However, the Free State's commitment to
22344-400: Was seen by Irish republicans as an overwhelming endorsement of the principle of a united independent Ireland. Until recently republican paramilitary groups, such as the Provisional IRA , often claimed that their campaigns derived legitimacy from this 1918 mandate, and some still do. The First Dáil "created the beginnings of an independent Irish governmental and bureaucratic machine", and was
22496-527: Was spoken throughout Ireland, Isle of Man and parts of Scotland . It is the language of a large corpus of literature, including the Ulster Cycle . From the 12th century, Middle Irish began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, into Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and into the Manx language in the Isle of Man . Early Modern Irish , dating from the 13th century, was the basis of the literary language of both Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland. Modern Irish, sometimes called Late Modern Irish, as attested in
22648-436: Was strongest in Warrenpoint and Newry UDCs, winning control of the former in 1949 and the latter in 1958 , retaining seats in both until their 1973 abolition . Tommy Markey was expelled from the party in 1964 for taking a salute as Newry council chair from the Irish Guards . Party branches still existed in Warrenpoint and Newry as late as 1982, though candidates were heavily defeated in Newry and Mourne District Council at
22800-402: Was the most seats the Labour party had ever won in the Dáil, and their highest percentage of first-preference-votes since the Spring Tide of 1992. On 9 March 2011, it became the junior partner in a coalition government with Fine Gael for the period of the 31st Dáil . Eamon Gilmore was appointed as Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade . In October 2011
22952-442: Was unable to accomplish some everyday tasks, as portrayed in his documentary No Béarla . There is, however, a growing body of Irish speakers in urban areas, particularly in Dublin. Many have been educated in schools in which Irish is the language of instruction. Such schools are known as Gaelscoileanna at primary level. These Irish-medium schools report some better outcomes for students than English-medium schools. In 2009,
23104-433: Was won by Murtagh Morgan in 1953 and Paddy Devlin in 1962 , but Devlin in 1964 left for the Republican Labour Party and Irish Labour contested no further Westminster or Stormont elections. In the 1949 local elections it won 7 seats on Belfast City Council , 6 (unopposed) on Armagh urban district council (UDC) and one on Dungannon UDC. In Derry , the party collapsed when Stephen McGonagle left after 1952. It
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