Democratic Left (Ireland)
Encyclopedia
Democratic Left was a democratic socialist political party
active in Ireland
between 1992 and 1999. It came into being after a split in the Workers' Party
and, after just seven years in existence, it merged into the Irish Labour Party
.
, which in turn had its origins in the 1970 split in Sinn Féin. The reasons for the split were twofold. Firstly, a faction led by Proinsias De Rossa wanted to move the party towards an acceptance of free market economics. Following the collapse of communism in eastern Europe they felt that the Workers' Party's Marxist stance was now an obstacle to winning support at the polls. Secondly, media accusations had once again surfaced regarding the continued existence of the Official IRA
who it was alleged remained armed and were involved in fund-raising robberies, money laundering and other forms of criminality. The majority (or at least a large minority, depending on accounts) of the Workers' Party left the party in 1992 after their attempt to amend its constitution (to break all alleged links with the Official IRA
and replace its democratic centralist
structures with parliamentarism) fell just short of the required two-thirds majority at a special congress. The members who left included the party leader Proinsias De Rossa
and five more of the party's seven members of Dáil Éireann
(Pat Rabbitte
, Eamon Gilmore
, Eric Byrne
, Pat McCartan
and Joe Sherlock
). The party's President for most of the previous 30 years, Tomás Mac Giolla refused to join the breakaway and remained with the Workers' Party although he had reluctantly supported the constitutional amendments. The new party was provisionally named New Agenda until its founding conference adopted the name Democratic Left. Proinsias De Rossa became leader of the new party.
, in which it stood in two constituencies in Northern Ireland
and polled 2,133 votes. The election was fought under the "New Agenda" label.
In the North the party contested elections in 1996 for the Northern Ireland Forum
but with less than 1% of the vote they failed to have any members elected. On the foundation of the Party they did inherit a number of Councillors, Seamus Lynch
lost his Belfast City Council
seat in 1993, Gerry Cullen had been elected for the Workers' Party
in 1989 in Dungannon Town and was re-elected in 1993
and 1997 local elections
.
In the 1992 Irish general election
the party lost two of its six Dáil seats (Eric Byrne
narrowly following a week of counting and recounting, Pat McCartan
and Joe Sherlock
losing their seats, and Liz McManus
winning a seat in Wicklow), gaining 2.8% of the vote compared to 5% for the pre-split Workers' Party in the preceding general election.
Joe Sherlock was elected on the Labour Panel to Seanad Éireann
as part of a election pact with their politically polar opposites Progressive Democrats
.
The party subsequently won two seats in by-election
s, Eric Byrne regaining his seat in Dublin South Central and Kathleen Lynch in Cork North Central.
After the collapse of the Fianna Fáil
-Labour Party
coalition government in 1994, Democratic Left joined the new coalition government with Fine Gael
and the Labour Party. Proinsias De Rossa served as Minister for Social Welfare
, initiating Ireland's first national anti-poverty strategy.
Democratic Left lost two of its six seats, both of its by-election victors being unseated. The party won 2.5% of the vote. The party had also accrued significant financial debts. In 1999 Democratic Left merged with the Labour Party, keeping the name of the larger partner but excluding members in Northern Ireland from organising. This left Gerry Cullen, their councillor in Dungannon Borough Council, in a state of limbo
, representing a party for whom he could no longer seek election. The launch of the merged party was in the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital
in Dublin. Labour Party leader Ruairi Quinn
became leader of the unified party, while De Rossa took up the largely titular position of party president. In 1999 De Rossa successfully contested the European Parliament
election in Dublin. He held his Dáil seat until he stood down at the 2002 general election
. He successfully held his European Parliament seat in the 2004 election
and 2009 election
In 2002, the former Democratic Left TD
s Pat Rabbitte
and Liz McManus
were elected as Labour Party leader and deputy leader respectively. Of the 38 Labour Party TDs currently in the Dáil, 6 (Pat Rabbitte, Ciarán Lynch
, Seán Sherlock
, Eamon Gilmore
, Eric Byrne
and Kathleen Lynch) are former members of the Democratic Left. The independent TD
Catherine Murphy
is also a former member. When Rabbite stepped down as Labour leader after the 2007 general election, Gilmore was elected unopposed as his successor.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
active in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
between 1992 and 1999. It came into being after a split in the Workers' Party
Workers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
and, after just seven years in existence, it merged into the Irish Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
.
Origins
Democratic Left was formed after a split in the Workers' PartyWorkers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
, which in turn had its origins in the 1970 split in Sinn Féin. The reasons for the split were twofold. Firstly, a faction led by Proinsias De Rossa wanted to move the party towards an acceptance of free market economics. Following the collapse of communism in eastern Europe they felt that the Workers' Party's Marxist stance was now an obstacle to winning support at the polls. Secondly, media accusations had once again surfaced regarding the continued existence of the Official IRA
Official IRA
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA is an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to create a "32-county workers' republic" in Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of "The Troubles"...
who it was alleged remained armed and were involved in fund-raising robberies, money laundering and other forms of criminality. The majority (or at least a large minority, depending on accounts) of the Workers' Party left the party in 1992 after their attempt to amend its constitution (to break all alleged links with the Official IRA
Official IRA
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA is an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to create a "32-county workers' republic" in Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of "The Troubles"...
and replace its democratic centralist
Democratic centralism
Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party...
structures with parliamentarism) fell just short of the required two-thirds majority at a special congress. The members who left included the party leader Proinsias De Rossa
Proinsias De Rossa
Proinsias De Rossa is an Irish Labour Party politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency. He a former President of the Workers' Party and subsequently leader of Democratic Left, and later, a senior member of the Labour Party. He was Minister for Social Welfare from...
and five more of the party's seven members of Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
(Pat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources since March 2011...
, Eamon Gilmore
Eamon Gilmore
Eamon Gilmore is an Irish Labour Party politician and the current Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has been the Leader of the Labour Party since September 2007, and a Teachta Dála for the Dún Laoghaire constituency since 1989, first with the Workers' Party of Ireland, and...
, Eric Byrne
Eric Byrne
Eric Byrne is an Irish Labour Party politician and is currently a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South Central constituency.He was formerly a member of Sinn Féin the Workers Party, the Workers' Party and Democratic Left...
, Pat McCartan
Pat McCartan
Pat McCartan is an Irish Circuit Court judge and a former politician. A native of Wexford he was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1987 general election as a Workers' Party Teachta Dála for the Dublin North East constituency...
and Joe Sherlock
Joe Sherlock
Joe Sherlock was an Irish politician from County Cork. A member of Sinn Féin, then the Workers' Party and then the Labour Party, he was a Teachta Dála for Cork East from 1981–1982, 1987–1992 and 2002–2007....
). The party's President for most of the previous 30 years, Tomás Mac Giolla refused to join the breakaway and remained with the Workers' Party although he had reluctantly supported the constitutional amendments. The new party was provisionally named New Agenda until its founding conference adopted the name Democratic Left. Proinsias De Rossa became leader of the new party.
Electoral history and participation in government
The party's first contest was the 1992 UK general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
, in which it stood in two constituencies in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and polled 2,133 votes. The election was fought under the "New Agenda" label.
In the North the party contested elections in 1996 for the Northern Ireland Forum
Northern Ireland Forum
The Northern Ireland Forum was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998....
but with less than 1% of the vote they failed to have any members elected. On the foundation of the Party they did inherit a number of Councillors, Seamus Lynch
Seamus Lynch
Seamus Lynch is a former Irish republican and socialist politician.Born in North Belfast, Lynch became a republican activist around the start of The Troubles, and sided with the Official wing of Sinn Féin in the split of 1970. He was imprisoned from October 1971 until the following year...
lost his Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...
seat in 1993, Gerry Cullen had been elected for the Workers' Party
Workers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
in 1989 in Dungannon Town and was re-elected in 1993
Northern Ireland local elections, 1993
Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 19 May 1993.-Overall:-Belfast:-References:...
and 1997 local elections
Northern Ireland local elections, 1997
Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 21 May 1997, shortly after the 1997 general election across the entire United Kingdom.-Overall:-Belfast:-References:...
.
In the 1992 Irish general election
Irish general election, 1992
The Irish general election of 1992 was held on Wednesday, 25 November 1992, almost three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 5 November. However, after difficulties in forming a government the newly elected 166 members of the 27th Dáil did not assemble at Leinster House until 4 January 1993...
the party lost two of its six Dáil seats (Eric Byrne
Eric Byrne
Eric Byrne is an Irish Labour Party politician and is currently a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South Central constituency.He was formerly a member of Sinn Féin the Workers Party, the Workers' Party and Democratic Left...
narrowly following a week of counting and recounting, Pat McCartan
Pat McCartan
Pat McCartan is an Irish Circuit Court judge and a former politician. A native of Wexford he was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1987 general election as a Workers' Party Teachta Dála for the Dublin North East constituency...
and Joe Sherlock
Joe Sherlock
Joe Sherlock was an Irish politician from County Cork. A member of Sinn Féin, then the Workers' Party and then the Labour Party, he was a Teachta Dála for Cork East from 1981–1982, 1987–1992 and 2002–2007....
losing their seats, and Liz McManus
Liz McManus
Elizabeth "Liz" McManus is a former Irish politician. She served as a Teachta Dála for the Wicklow constituency from 1992 to 2011.-Personal life:...
winning a seat in Wicklow), gaining 2.8% of the vote compared to 5% for the pre-split Workers' Party in the preceding general election.
Joe Sherlock was elected on the Labour Panel to Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...
as part of a election pact with their politically polar opposites Progressive Democrats
Progressive Democrats
The Progressive Democrats , commonly known as the PDs, was a pro-free market liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland.Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Malley and other politicians who had split from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the Progressive Democrats took liberal positions on...
.
The party subsequently won two seats in by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
s, Eric Byrne regaining his seat in Dublin South Central and Kathleen Lynch in Cork North Central.
After the collapse of the Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
-Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
coalition government in 1994, Democratic Left joined the new coalition government with Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
and the Labour Party. Proinsias De Rossa served as Minister for Social Welfare
Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Ireland)
The Minister for Social Protection is the senior minister at the Department of Social Protection in the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Social Protection is Joan Burton, TD.-Overview:...
, initiating Ireland's first national anti-poverty strategy.
Merger with Labour
In the 1997 general electionIrish general election, 1997
The Irish general election of 1997 was held on Friday, 6 June 1997. The 166 newly elected members of the 28th Dáil assembled on 26 June 1997 when a new Taoiseach and government were appointed....
Democratic Left lost two of its six seats, both of its by-election victors being unseated. The party won 2.5% of the vote. The party had also accrued significant financial debts. In 1999 Democratic Left merged with the Labour Party, keeping the name of the larger partner but excluding members in Northern Ireland from organising. This left Gerry Cullen, their councillor in Dungannon Borough Council, in a state of limbo
Limbo
In the theology of the Catholic Church, Limbo is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other...
, representing a party for whom he could no longer seek election. The launch of the merged party was in the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital
Rotunda Hospital
The Rotunda Hospital is one of the three main maternity hospitals in the city of Dublin, the others being the The Coombe and The National Maternity Hospital...
in Dublin. Labour Party leader Ruairi Quinn
Ruairi Quinn
Ruairi Quinn is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Minister for Education and Skills since March 2011. He is currently a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South East constituency. He was Minister for Finance from 1994 to 1997, and leader of the Labour Party from 1997 to 2002.-Early...
became leader of the unified party, while De Rossa took up the largely titular position of party president. In 1999 De Rossa successfully contested the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
election in Dublin. He held his Dáil seat until he stood down at the 2002 general election
Irish general election, 2002
The Irish general election of 2002 was held on Friday, 17 May 2002 just over three weeks after the dissolution of the 28th Dáil on Thursday 25 April by President Mary McAleese, at the request of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern...
. He successfully held his European Parliament seat in the 2004 election
European Parliament election, 2004 (Ireland)
The 2004 European Parliament election in Ireland was the Irish component of the 2004 European Parliament election. The voting was held on Friday, 11 June 2004. The election coincided with the 2004 local elections...
and 2009 election
European Parliament election, 2009 (Ireland)
The 2009 European Parliament election in Ireland was the Irish component of the 2009 European Parliament election and was held on Friday, 5 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections...
In 2002, the former Democratic Left TD
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
s Pat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources since March 2011...
and Liz McManus
Liz McManus
Elizabeth "Liz" McManus is a former Irish politician. She served as a Teachta Dála for the Wicklow constituency from 1992 to 2011.-Personal life:...
were elected as Labour Party leader and deputy leader respectively. Of the 38 Labour Party TDs currently in the Dáil, 6 (Pat Rabbitte, Ciarán Lynch
Ciarán Lynch
Ciarán Lynch is an Irish Labour Party politician. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Cork South Central constituency since 2007....
, Seán Sherlock
Seán Sherlock
Seán Sherlock is an Irish Labour Party politician. He has been a Teachta Dála for Cork East since May 2007, and is the Minister of State for Research and Innovation.-Early life:...
, Eamon Gilmore
Eamon Gilmore
Eamon Gilmore is an Irish Labour Party politician and the current Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has been the Leader of the Labour Party since September 2007, and a Teachta Dála for the Dún Laoghaire constituency since 1989, first with the Workers' Party of Ireland, and...
, Eric Byrne
Eric Byrne
Eric Byrne is an Irish Labour Party politician and is currently a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South Central constituency.He was formerly a member of Sinn Féin the Workers Party, the Workers' Party and Democratic Left...
and Kathleen Lynch) are former members of the Democratic Left. The independent TD
TD
TD may stand for:* Atlantis European Airways IATA designator* MG TD Midget, a car manufactured in the United Kingdom between 1950 and 1953* TD, an ITU prefix assigned to Guatemala * T.D...
Catherine Murphy
Catherine Murphy
Catherine Murphy may refer to:* Catherine Murphy , Irish independent politician and TD for Kildare North* Catherine Murphy , last woman to suffer execution by burning in England...
is also a former member. When Rabbite stepped down as Labour leader after the 2007 general election, Gilmore was elected unopposed as his successor.
See also
- :Category:Democratic Left (Ireland) politicians