Forum for Peace and Reconciliation
Regular sessions -- Delegates
Table:
Party
No. of delegates
Delegates
Alternates

Fianna Fáil
9
Bertie Ahern, Mary O'Rourke, Albert Reynolds, Noel Dempsey, Jim McDaid, Séamus Kirk, Ann Ormonde, Éamon Ó Cuív, Brian Lenihan Snr (died 1995)
Charlie McCreevy, Jimmy Leonard, Joe Jacob, Brendan Daly

SDLP
5
John Hume, Seamus Mallon, Eddie McGrady, Joe Hendron, Bríd Rodgers
Sean Farren, Denis Haughey, Mark Durkan, John Fee, Alex Attwood

Fine Gael
6
John Bruton, Austin Currie, Olivia Mitchell, Andrew Boylan, Paul Bradford, Frances Fitzgerald
John Connor, Helen O'Donnell, Tom Honan

Labour
5
Dick Spring, Ruairi Quinn, Brian Fitzgerald, Ann Gallagher, Jan O'Sullivan
Seán Kenny, Seán Malone

Sinn Féin
3
Gerry Adams, Pat Doherty, Lucilita Bhreathnach
Martin McGuinness, Dodie McGuinness

Progressive Democrats
2
Mary Harney, Des O'Malley
Bobby Molloy, Michael McDowell

Alliance
3
John Alderdice, Seamus Close, Seán Neeson
Philip McGarry, Stewart Dickson

Democratic Left
2
Proinsias De Rossa, Seamus Lynch
Liz McManus

Green Party
1
Trevor Sargent
Vincent MacDowell

Independent TDs
1
Neil Blaney (died 1995)
Tom Foxe

Independent Senators
1
Joe O'Toole, David Norris, Mary Henry, Feargal Quinn, Joe Lee
(Each nominee served as delegate and alternate in rotation.)

Workers' Party
1
John Lowry
—

"Attended in a personal capacity"[3]
1
Gordon Wilson (died 1995)[13]
—

Using the following table as well as the context snippets provided at the end.

Provide an answer to this question: The party whose only alternate was born in Newry in 1925 was founded by who ? Return your answer as JSON: {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}.

Fianna Fáil ( /fiˌænə ˈfɔɪl , ˌfiːənə -/ fee-AN-ə FOYL , Irish : [ ˌfʲiən̪ˠə ˈfˠaːlʲ ] ( listen ) ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny ' or 'Warriors of Fál ' ) , officially Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party ( Irish : Fianna Fáil - An Páirtí Poblachtánach ) , is a political party in Ireland . The party was founded as an Irish republican party on 16 May 1926 by Éamon de Valera and his supporters after they split from the anty-treaty wing of Sinn Féin on the issue of abstentionism in the aftermath of the Irish Civil War . Since 1927 Fianna Fáil has been one of Ireland 's two major parties , along with Fine Gael ; both are seen as being centre-right parties , and as being 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 1989 and 2011 , it led coalition governments with parties of both the left and the right . Fianna Fáil was last in government from 1997 to 2011 under Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen , with a periodic high of 81 seats in 2002 , reduced to 77 in 2007 and then to 20 in 2011 ( during the post-2008 economic downturn ) , the lowest in the party 's history . At the 2016 general election , Fianna Fáil won 44 seats and became the largest opposition party in both houses ( Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann ) of the Oireachtas , with party leader Micheál Martin entering into a confidence and supply arrangement with a Fine Gael-led minority government at the beginning of the 32nd Dáil . Fianna Fáil is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and of Liberal International . Since 9 February 2019 , Fianna Fáil has been in partnership with the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland .
Bartholomew Patrick Bertie Ahern ( born 12 September 1951 ) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008 , Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008 , Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997 , Tánaiste and Minister for Arts , Culture and the Gaeltacht from November 1994 to December 1994 , Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994 , Minister for Industry and Commerce in January 1993 , Minister for Finance from 1991 to 1994 , Minister for Labour from 1987 to 1991 , Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at the Department of Defence from March 1982 to December 1982 and Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1986 to 1987 . He served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) from 1977 to 2011 . In 1994 , Ahern was elected the sixth Leader of Fianna Fáil . Under Ahern 's leadership , Fianna Fáil led three coalition governments . Ahern is the second-longest serving Taoiseach , after Éamon de Valera . Ahern resigned as Taoiseach on 6 May 2008 , in the wake of revelations made in Mahon Tribunal , and was succeeded by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen . The Mahon Tribunal in 2012 , found that Ahern , while not judged corrupt , had received monies from developers and the Tribunal disbelieved his explanations of those payments . Fianna Fáil proposed to expel politicians censured by the tribunal , but Ahern resigned from the party prior to the expulsion motion being moved . In November 2016 , it was announced that a decision had been made by Fianna Fáil to give Ahern the option of rejoining the party .
Mary O'Rourke ( née Lenihan ; born 31 May 1937 ) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Leader of Seanad Éireann and Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad from 2002 to 2007 , Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2002 , Minister for Public Enterprise from 1997 to 2002 , Minister for Health and Children from 1991 to 1992 and Minister for Education from 1987 to 1991 . She served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) from 1982 to 2002 and 2007 to 2011 . She served as a Senator from 1981 to 1982 for the Cultural and Educational Panel and 2002 to 2007 , upon being Nominated by the Taoiseach .
Albert Reynolds ( 3 November 1932 - 21 August 2014 ) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1992 to 1994 , Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994 , Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991 , Minister for Industry and Commerce from 1987 to 1988 , Minister for Industry and Energy from March 1982 to December 1982 , Minister for Transport from 1980 to 1981 and Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1979 to 1981 . He served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) from 1977 to 2002 . Reynolds was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a TD for Longford-Westmeath in 1977 , and was re-elected at each election ( from 1992 serving as TD for Longford-Roscommon ) , until his retirement in 2002 . During his first term as Taoiseach he led a Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats coalition , and in his second term he was head of one between Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party .
Noel Dempsey ( born 6 January 1953 ) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Transport from 2007 to 2011 , Minister for Communications , Marine and Natural Resources from 2004 to 2007 , Minister for Education and Science from 2002 to 2004 , Minister for the Environment and Local Government from 1997 to 2002 , Minister of State at the Department of Finance from 1993 to 1994 , Minister of State at the Department of Defence and Government Chief Whip from 1992 to 1994 . He served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) from 1987 to 2011 .
James Joseph McDaid ( born 3 October 1949 ) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Donegal North-East constituency from June 1989 until he resigned in November 2010 . He also served as Minister for Tourism , Sport and Recreation between 1997 and 2002 and as Minister of State for Transport between 2002 and 2004 . McDaid has had a concurrent career as a medical doctor and continues to work as a general practitioner in Letterkenny .
Séamus Kirk ( born 26 April 1945 ) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann from 2009 to 2011 and Minister of State for Horticulture from 1987 to 1992 . He served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Louth constituency from 1982 to 2016 .
Ann Ormonde ( born 20 January 1935 ) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician and was a member of Seanad Éireann from 1993 to 2011 . She was elected by the Cultural and Educational Panel . She was first elected to the Seanad in 1992 and re-elected at every subsequent election until she lost her seat at the 2011 election . Born in Kilmacthomas , County Waterford , she was educated at the Presentation Convent , Clonmel and University College Dublin . She is a former Career Guidance Counsellor . She served as a member of South Dublin County Council for the Terenure / Rathfarnham from 1985-2004 . She was an unsuccessful candidate for the Dáil in the Dublin South constituency at the 1987 , 1989 , 1992 and 1997 general elections .
Éamon Ó Cuív ( Irish pronunciation : [ ˈeːmˠənˠ oː ˈkiːvʲ ] ; born 23 June 1950 ) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Galway West constituency since the 1992 general election . He previously served as Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2011 to 2012 , Minister for the Environment , Community and Local Government and Minister for Defence January 2011 to March 2011 , Minister for Social Protection from 2010 to 2011 , Minister for Community , Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs from 2002 to 2010 , Minister of State at the Department of Arts , Heritage , Gaeltacht and the Islands from 2001 to 2002 and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture , Food and Rural Development from 1997 to 2002 . He served as a Senator for the Cultural and Educational Panel from 1989 to 1992 . He unsuccessfully contested the leadership of Fianna Fáil after the resignation of Brian Cowen , but lost to Micheál Martin . Martin appointed Ó Cuív as Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil , following Brian Lenihan Jnr 's death . However , Ó Cuív ceased to be Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil on 29 February 2012 , because of his opposition to his party 's stance on the European Fiscal Compact .
Brian Patrick Lenihan ( 17 November 1930 - 1 November 1995 ) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Tánaiste from 1987 to 1990 , Minister for Defence from 1989 to 1990 , Minister for Agriculture from March 1982 to December 1982 , Minister for Fisheries from 1977 to 1979 , Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1987 to 1989 , 1979 to 1981 and January 1973 to March 1973 , Minister for Transport and Power from 1969 to 1973 , Minister for Education from 1968 to 1969 , Minister for Justice from 1964 to 1969 , Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Justice and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Lands from 1961 to 1964 . He served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) from 1961 to 1973 and from 1977 to 1995 . He served as a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel from 1957 to 1961 and 1973 to 1977 . He also served as a Member of the European Parliament ( MEP ) for the Oireachtas from 1973 to 1977 . He was a member of a family political dynasty ; his father , Patrick Lenihan , and sister both followed him into Dáil Éireann ; his sister Mary O'Rourke sitting in cabinet with him . Two of his sons , Brian Lenihan Jnr and Conor Lenihan , became TDs in the 1990s . Brian Lenihan Jnr served as Minister for Finance and Conor was Minister of State in the government of Taoiseach Brian Cowen . Two phrases associated with Lenihan Snr , No problem and On mature recollection , entered the Irish political lexicon . [ citation needed ]
Charles McCreevy ( born 30 September 1949 ) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services from 2004 to 2010 , Minister for Finance from 1997 to 2004 , Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1993 to 1994 and Minister for Social Welfare from 1992 to 1993 . He served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Kildare constituency ( and later the Kildare North constituency ) from 1977 to 2004 . When McCreevy resigned his Dáil seat on his appointment to the European Commission , his son , Charlie Jr. , declined the opportunity to be the Fianna Fáil candidate in the resulting by-election . The seat was won by the Independent candidate , Catherine Murphy .
James Leonard ( born 5 June 1927 ) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician . Leonard was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Cavan-Monaghan constituency at the 1973 general election . He lost his seat at the 1981 general election but regained it at the February 1982 general election and retained it until retiring at the 1997 general election . After his retirement , his daughter Ann Leonard unsuccessfully stood for his seat as a Fianna Fáil candidate at the 1997 general election . She was then nominated by the Taoiseach to the Seanad .
Joe Jacob ( born 1 April 1939 ) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician . Jacob was born in Kilrush , County Clare in 1939 . He was educated at De La Salle in Wicklow and Terenure College in Dublin . He is a former publican and a distribution manager with Nitrigin Éireann Teoranta . Jacob was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the constituency of Wicklow at the 1987 general election . He held his seat at each subsequent election , until retiring at the 2007 general election . Jacob was a member of Wicklow County Council from 1985 to 1997 for the Wicklow area . He was appointed a Minister of State at the Department of Public Enterprise with special responsibility for Energy in 1997 , a post he held until 2002 . He was not re-appointed to a ministerial position after the 2002 general election . He was Chairman of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party from 1992 until 1995 and served as Leas-Cheann Comhairle of the Dáil from 1993 until 1997 . Jacob caused controversy in 2001 when , during a radio interview on The Marian Finucane Show as the Minister responsible , he demonstrated an apparent lack of knowledge over the use of iodine tablets and the emergency plans in the event of a terrorist attack similar to September 11 attack in the United States .
Brendan Daly ( born 2 February 1940 ) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician . He was a long-serving Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Clare constituency , a government minister , and Senator . Daly was born in February 1940 in Cooraclare , County Clare , and educated locally at CBS Kilrush school . His political career began at the 1973 general election , when he was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD for Clare . He held his seat at six further general elections before losing it at the 1992 general election . He was returned at the 1997 general election but was defeated again in the 2002 general election . Daly was a strong supporter of Charles Haughey during his period as Fianna Fáil leader . In 1980 Daly became Minister of State at the Department of Labour . In 1982 he joined the Cabinet as Minister for Fisheries and Forestry . When Fianna Fáil returned to power after the 1987 general election he once again became a minister , this time as Minister for the Marine in the Twentieth Government of Ireland . Daly lost his Cabinet seat when Fianna Fáil entered into coalition with the Progressive Democrats after the 1989 general election . He returned to the Cabinet in February 1991 as Minister for Defence .
The Social Democratic and Labour Party ( SDLP ) ( Irish : Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre ) is a social-democratic , Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland . The SDLP currently has 12 MLAs in the Northern Ireland Assembly and two MPs in Westminster . The SDLP party platform advocates Irish reunification , and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom . During the Troubles , the SDLP was the most popular Irish nationalist party in Northern Ireland , but since the Provisional IRA ceasefire in 1994 , it has lost ground to the republican party Sinn Féin , which in 2001 became the more popular of the two parties for the first time . Established during the Troubles , a significant difference between the two parties was the SDLP 's rejection of violence , in contrast to Sinn Féin 's support for the Provisional IRA and physical force republicanism . Since February 2019 , the SDLP have been in partnership with Fianna Fáil .
John Hume , KCSG ( born 18 January 1937 ) is an Irish former politician from Derry , Northern Ireland . He was a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party , and was co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize , with David Trimble . He was the second leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party ( SDLP ) , a position he held from 1979 until 2001 . He has served as a Member of the European Parliament and a Member of the UK Parliament , as well as a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly . He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the recent political history of Ireland and one of the architects of the Northern Ireland peace process . He is also a recipient of the Gandhi Peace Prize and the Martin Luther King Award , the only recipient of the three major peace awards . In 2010 he was named Ireland 's Greatest in a public poll by Irish national broadcaster RTÉ to find the greatest person in Ireland 's history . In 2012 , Pope Benedict XVI made Hume a Knight Commander of the Papal Order of St. Gregory the Great .
Seamus Frederick Mallon ( /ˈʃeɪməs ˈmælən/ ; 17 August 1936 - 24 January 2020 ) was an Northern Irish politician who served as deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2001 and Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party from 1979 to 2001 .
Edward Kevin McGrady ( 3 June 1935 - 11 November 2013 ) was an Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland and a member of the United Kingdom Parliament for South Down .
Joseph Gerard Hendron ( born 12 November 1932 ) is a Northern Ireland politician , a member of the moderate Irish nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party ( SDLP ) . Hendron , also a local GP physician for 40 years , was first elected as a political representative of Belfast West in 1975 to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention . He was later elected to Belfast City Council in 1981 and in 1982 to the Northern Ireland Assembly . Hendron was the Member of Parliament ( MP ) for Belfast West between April 1992 and May 1997 in the UK Parliament in London . He had taken the seat from Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams at his third attempt with a majority of 1% . He became the only nationalist MP to defeat Adams . The seat had previously been held for the SDLP by Gerry Fitt ( later Lord Fitt ) until 1983 . Hendron attracted unprecedented cross-community support from Nationalists and Unionists in the constituency . This was the only example where an SDLP candidate received a high amount of Unionist votes in Belfast West that un-seated a Sinn Fein candidate . Adams regained the seat at the next election in May 1997 . In 1996 Hendron was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum and in 1998 to the newly reconvened Northern Ireland Assembly . However he lost his seat in the 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election to a member of Ian Paisley 's Democratic Unionist Party .
Bríd Rodgers ( née Stratford ; born 20 February 1935 ) in Gweedore , County Donegal , Ireland , is an Irish nationalist former politician . Although born and brought up in a Gaeltacht area in the west of County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland , she was politically active in Northern Ireland , where she was Deputy-Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party ( SDLP ) and Member of the Legislative Assembly for Upper Bann .
Sean Nial Farren ( born 6 September 1939 ) is an Irish politician and academic in Northern Ireland . Farren studied at the National University of Ireland , University College Dublin ( BA ) , University of Essex ( MA ) and the University of Ulster ( PhD ) . He worked as a teacher in Dublin , Switzerland and Sierra Leone before becoming a lecturer at the University of Ulster . Farren contested the Westminster seat of North Antrim as a member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party ( SDLP ) at the 1979 general election , and stood at each subsequent general election until 2004 . In 1982 , Farren was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in North Antrim . In line with SDLP policy , he instead sat on the New Ireland Forum ( 1983-4 ) . Farren was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996 , again for North Antrim , and held this seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998 and 2003 , before standing down at the 2007 election . Since 2008 he has been a Visiting Professor in the School of Education at the Ulster University . He has also been involved in a number of projects aimed at strengthening democratic institutions in the Middle East , North Africa , West and East Africa . He is currently a member of the Governing Authority of Dublin City University , a Trustee of Concern Worldwide ( UK ) , a member of the Standing Committee of the Development Studies Association of Ireland ( DSAI ) and a committee member of the Sierra Leone Ireland Partnership ( SLIP ) . He is married to Patricia Clarke . They have four children .
Denis Haughey ( born 3 October 1944 ) is a former Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland . Born in Coalisland , Haughey studied politics at Queens University , Belfast , becoming involved in the civil rights movement and the first Chair of the Tyrone Civil Rights Association and a founder member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party ( SDLP ) , before becoming a teacher . From 1972 until 1977 , he was the party 's Chairman . Haughey stood against Frank McManus for the Westminster seat of Fermanagh and South Tyrone in February 1974 , splitting the nationalist vote and letting in Harry West of the Ulster Unionist Party . He unsuccessfully contested North Antrim in the 1975 election to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention In 1980 , Haughey left teaching to work as the full-time assistant to SDLP leader John Hume . During this period , he served as the party 's International Secretary , and represented the SDLP on the Executives of the Party of European Socialists and the Socialist International . At the 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election , Haughey was elected to represent Mid Ulster , but with other SDLP candidates did not take his seat , and instead joined the New Ireland Forum . He stood unsuccessfully for the Westminster seat of Mid Ulster at every general election from 1983 until 1997 . In 1989 , Haughey was elected to Cookstown District Council , later becoming the leader of the SDLP group on the council . He led the SDLP team in the Brooke-Mayhew Talks and later the talks which led to the Good Friday Agreement . In 1996 he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Northern Ireland Forum election in Mid-Ulster . At the 1998 Assembly election , he was again elected for Mid Ulster .
Mark Durkan ( born 26 June 1960 ) is an Irish politician from Northern Ireland . Durkan was the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2001 to 2002 , and the Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party from 2001 to 2010 . He contested the Dublin constituency for Fine Gael at the 2019 European Parliament election .
John Fitzgerald Fee ( 7 December 1963 - 10 November 2007 ) was an Irish nationalist politician from County Armagh who served in the Northern Ireland Assembly .
Alex Attwood ( born 26 April 1959 ) is an Irish politician , who served as Minister for Environment in the Northern Ireland Executive . He is a member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party and formerly represented Belfast West in the Northern Ireland Assembly .
Fine Gael ( /ˌfiːnə ˈɡeɪl , ˌfɪn-/ FEE-nə GAYL , FIN-ə -⁠ , Irish : [ ˌfʲɪnʲə ˈɡeːl̪ˠ ] ; English : Family ( or Tribe ) of the Irish ) is a liberal-conservative political party in Ireland . Fine Gael is currently the governing and largest party in Ireland in terms of members of the Oireachtas and Irish members of the European Parliament . The party has a membership of 21,000 and is the senior partner governing in a minority coalition with several independent politicians , with party leader Leo Varadkar serving as Taoiseach . Varadkar succeeded Enda Kenny as party leader on 2 June 2017 and as Taoiseach on 14 June ; Kenny had been leader since 2002 , and Taoiseach since 2011 . Fine Gael was founded on 8 September 1933 following the merger of its parent party Cumann na nGaedheal , the National Centre Party and the National Guard . Its origins lie in the struggle for Irish independence and the pro-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War and Michael Collins , in particular , is often identified as the founder of the movement . Fine Gael is generally considered to be more of a proponent of market liberalism than its traditional rival , Fianna Fáil . Apart from brief minority governments ( as in 1987 ) , Fine Gael has rarely governed Ireland without a coalition that also included the Labour Party , a social-democratic , centre-left party . Fine Gael describes itself as a party of the progressive centre which it defines as acting in a way that is right for Ireland , regardless of dogma or ideology . It lists its core values as equality of opportunity , free enterprise and reward , security , integrity and hope . It is strongly in favour of the European Union and opposed to physical force Irish republicanism . The party 's youth wing , Young Fine Gael , was formed in 1977 , and has approximately four thousand members .
John Gerard Bruton ( born 18 May 1947 ) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997 , Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2004 to 2009 , Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001 , Leader of the Opposition from 1990 to 1994 and 1997 to 2001 , Deputy Leader of Fine Gael from 1987 to 1990 , Minister for the Public Service from January 1987 to March 1987 , Minister for Finance from 1981 to 1982 and 1986 to 1987 , Minister for Industry , Trade , Commerce and Tourism from 1983 to 1986 , Minister for Industry and Energy from 1982 to 1983 , Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Commerce from 1973 to 1977 . He served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) from 1969 to 2004 . He led a Rainbow Coalition government of Fine Gael-Labour-Democratic Left . Bruton was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a TD for the Meath constituency in 1969 , and served continuously until his retirement from domestic politics in 2004 . He served as the Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2004 to 2009 , and is a former Vice-President of the European People 's Party ( EPP ) .
Joseph Austin Currie ( born 11 October 1939 ) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister of State for Justice from 1994 to 1997 . He served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Dublin West constituency from 1989 to 2002 and Member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland ( MP ) for East Tyrone from 1964 to 1972 . Currie was born in County Tyrone , Northern Ireland , to a Catholic family . He was educated in Dungannon and at Queen 's University Belfast . Between 1964 and 1972 , he was the Nationalist Party Stormont MP for East Tyrone . On 20 June 1968 , with others including mediator Father Tom Savage , he began a protest about discrimination in housing allocation by squatting ( illegally occupying ) in a house in a new council development in Caledon , County Tyrone . The house had been allocated by Dungannon Rural District Council to a 19-year-old unmarried Protestant woman , Emily Beattie , who was the secretary of a local Unionist politician . All 14 houses in the new council development had been allocated to Protestants . The protesters were evicted by officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary ( RUC ) , one of whom was Emily Beattie 's brother . The next day the annual conference of the Nationalist Party unanimously approved of the protest action by Austin Currie in Caledon . This was one of the catalysts of the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland . He became an active member in the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association .
Olivia Mitchell ( born 31 July 1947 ) is a former Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Dublin South constituency from 1997 to 2016 . Mitchell was born in Birr , County Offaly . She was educated at Dominican College on Eccles Street and at Trinity College Dublin where she qualified with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Politics . She was an Economics teacher before entering politics . She first became involved in politics in 1985 when she was elected to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council . She was Cathaoirleach ( Chair ) of the council from 1995 to 1996 . She served on the council until 2003 . She was an unsuccessful candidate for Dublin South at the 1989 and 1992 general elections . Mitchell was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD for the Dublin South constituency at the 1997 general election , and was re-elected at the 2002 general election with 5,568 first preferences . She increased this vote significantly at the 2007 general election , polling 9,037 first preferences . In 2001 , she received her first front bench position as spokesperson on Housing and Local Government . She has also served as Opposition spokesperson on Health and Children ( 2002-04 ) .
Andrew Boylan ( born January 1939 ) is a former Irish Fine Gael politician . Boylan was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Cavan-Monaghan constituency at the 1987 general election , and retained his seat until losing it at the 2002 general election . He was a member of Cavan County Council and Cavan Town Council between 1991 and 2014 .
Paul Bradford ( born 1 December 1963 ) is a former Irish politician who served as a Senator for the Agricultural Panel from 1987 to 1989 and 2002 to 2016 . He served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Cork East constituency from 1989 to 2002 .
Frances Fitzgerald ( née Ryan ; born 1 August 1950 ) is an Irish politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament ( MEP ) from Ireland for the Dublin constituency since July 2019 . She is a member of Fine Gael , part of the European People 's Party . She previously served as Tánaiste from 2016 to 2017 , Minister for Business , Enterprise and Innovation from June 2017 to November 2017 , Minister for Justice and Equality from 2014 to 2016 , Minister for Children and Youth Affairs from 2011 to 2014 , Leader of the Opposition in the Seanad and Leader of Fine Gael in the Seanad from 2007 to 2011 . She was a Teachta Dála ( TD ) from 1992 to 2002 and 2011 to 2019 . She was also a Senator for the Labour Panel from 2007 to 2011 . She was the second Fine Gael politician to ever hold the office of Tánaiste , after Peter Barry in 1987 .
John Connor ( born 14 February 1944 ) is a former Irish Fine Gael politician . He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1981 general election as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Roscommon constituency . He lost his seat at the February 1982 general election , but subsequently was nominated by the Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald to the 17th Seanad . He was elected to the Agricultural Panel of the 18th Seanad in 1987 . At the 1989 general election he re-gained his Dáil seat for the Roscommon constituency and was re-elected for the new Longford-Roscommon constituency at the 1992 general election . He again lost his Dáil seat at the 1997 general election but was again elected to the Agricultural Panel of the 21st Seanad . At the 2002 general election he failed to get elected to the Dáil and he also lost his Seanad seat . In 1999 , he was elected to Roscommon County Council , and was re-elected at the 2004 local elections . He did not contest the 2009 local elections .
The Labour Party ( Irish : Páirtí an Lucht Oibre ) is a social democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland . Founded in 1912 in Clonmel , County Tipperary , by James Larkin , James Connolly , and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trades Union Congress , it describes itself as a democratic socialist party in its constitution . Labour continues to be 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 the other main Irish political parties , Labour did not arise as a faction of the original Sinn Féin party ( although it incorporated Democratic Left in 1999 , a party that did trace its origins back to Sinn Féin ) . The party has served as a partner in coalition governments on seven occasions since its formation : six times in coalition either with Fine Gael alone or with Fine Gael and other smaller parties , and once with Fianna Fáil . This gives Labour a cumulative total of nineteen years served as part of a government , the second-longest total of any party in the Republic of Ireland after Fianna Fáil . The current party leader is Brendan Howlin . It is currently the joint-fifth-largest party in Dáil Éireann , with six seats . In November 2018 , Labour announced that they were considering running candidates again in Northern Ireland , in response to a potential merger between Fianna Fáil and the Social Democratic and Labour Party , with whom Labour have long had fraternal links . The last time Labour had contested elections in the region was in 1973 , shortly after the SDLP 's formation . The Labour Party is a member of the Progressive Alliance , Socialist International , and Party of European Socialists ( PES ) .
Dick Spring ( born 29 August 1950 ) is an Irish businessman and former politician . He was a Labour Party Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Kerry North from 1981 to 2002 . He became leader of the Labour Party in 1982 , and held this position until 1997 . He served as Minister for the Environment ( 1982-83 ) , Minister for Energy ( 1983-87 ) and Minister for Foreign Affairs ( 1993-Nov. 1994 , Dec. 1994-97 ) . He served as Tánaiste during those three governments . Prior to his political career Spring was a successful sportsman who played for the Ireland national rugby union team .
Ruairi Quinn ( born 2 April 1946 ) is a former Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2011 to 2014 , Leader of the Labour Party from 1997 to 2002 , Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1989 to 1997 , Minister for Finance from 1994 to 1997 , Minister for Enterprise and Employment from 1993 to 1994 , Minister for the Public Service from 1986 to 1987 , Minister for Labour from 1983 to 1986 , Minister of State for Urban Affairs and Housing from 1982 to 1983 . He served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Dublin South-East constituency from 1977 to 1981 and 1982 to 2016 . He was a Senator from 1976 to 1977 , upon being Nominated by the Taoiseach and again from 1981 to 1982 for the Industrial and Commercial Panel .
Brian Fitzgerald ( born 22 March 1947 ) is an Irish politician . He was a Labour Party Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Meath constituency from 1992 to 1997 , and since 1999 has been an independent local councillor on Meath County Council .
Ann Gallagher ( born 2 March 1967 ) is a former Labour Party politician from County Leitrim in Ireland . She was a senator from 1993 to 1997 . She obtained an honours law degree from Trinity College Dublin and is a solicitor by profession . Gallagher stood as a Labour candidate for Dáil Éireann in the Cavan-Monaghan constituency at the 1992 general election and nearly won a seat , coming 6th in a five-seater constituency . In the subsequent elections to the 20th Seanad Éireann , she topped the poll and was elected on the Industrial and Commercial Panel . She served as a Senator in the Irish Parliament from 1993 to 1997 . She was a member of the Northern Ireland Forum for Peace and Reconciliation . She was a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Women 's Rights and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs . She was also appointed to the Oireachtas Committee to Review the Constitution . She was the party 's Spokesperson for Justice , Equality and Law Reform . At the 1994 European Parliament election she stood unsuccessfully in the Connacht-Ulster constituency but achieved the highest percentage vote for any Labour Party candidate to date , and after a further defeat in the 1997 general election , she did not stand in the 1997 elections to the 21st Seanad . She continued her career as a solicitor but also qualified as a barrister .
Jan O'Sullivan ( née Gale ; born 6 December 1950 ) is an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2014 to 2016 , Minister of State for Housing and Planning from 2011 to 2014 and Minister of State for Trade and Development from March 2011 to December . She is a former Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Limerick City constituency from 2011 to 2020 , and previously from 1998 to 2011 for the Limerick East constituency .
Seán Kenny ( born 1 October 1942 ) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Dublin North-East constituency from 1992 to 1997 and 2011 to 2016 . He also served as Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1991 to 1992 . A former executive officer in CIÉ , Kenny was elected to Dáil Éireann for Dublin North-East during the swing to Labour in the 1992 general election . During his time in the Dáil , he was a member of the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation and served as Chairman of the Social Affairs Committee . Like many other Labour TDs elected in 1992 , he lost his seat at the 1997 general election . Kenny had previously unsuccessfully contested every general election from 1981 to 1989 . He did not contest the 2002 general election or the 2007 general election . From 1979 to 2011 , he was a member of Dublin City Council as a local councillor for Donaghmede . He was Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1991 to 1992 . Kenny was re-elected to Dáil Éireann for Dublin North-East at the 2011 general election , but did not contest the 2016 general election .
Sinn Féin ( /ʃɪn ˈfeɪn/ shin FAYN , Irish : [ ʃɪnʲ ˈfʲeːnʲ ] ; English : [ We ] Ourselves ) is a centre-left to left-wing Irish republican political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland . The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith , but has split substantially on a number of occasions since then - notably giving rise to the two traditionally dominant parties of southern Irish politics - Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael - in the aftermath of the Irish Civil War . The party took its current form in 1970 after another split ( with the other faction eventually becoming the Workers ' Party of Ireland ) . It has historically been associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) . Mary Lou McDonald became party president in February 2018 . Sinn Féin is one of the two largest parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly , winning just one seat less than the Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP ) at the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election . In that assembly it is the largest Irish nationalist party , and it holds four ministerial posts in the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive as of 2020 [ update ] . In the UK House of Commons , Sinn Féin holds seven of Northern Ireland 's 18 seats , making it the second-largest bloc after the DUP ; there it follows a policy of abstentionism , refusing to sit in parliament or vote on bills . In the Oireachtas ( the parliament of the Republic of Ireland ) , Sinn Féin won the largest share of first-preference votes at the 2020 Irish general election .
Gerard Adams ( Irish : Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh ; born 6 October 1948 ) is an Irish republican politician who was the President of Sinn Féin political party between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018 , and served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for Louth from 2011 to 2020 . From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011 , he was an abstentionist Member of Parliament ( MP ) of the British Parliament for the Belfast West constituency . In 1984 , Adams was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt by several gunmen from the Ulster Defence Association ( UDA ) , including John Gregg . From the late 1980s onwards , Adams was an important figure in the Northern Ireland peace process , initially following contact by the then-Social Democratic and Labour Party ( SDLP ) leader John Hume and then subsequently with the Irish and British governments . Under Adams , Sinn Féin changed its traditional policy of abstentionism towards the Oireachtas , the parliament of the Republic of Ireland , in 1986 and later took seats in the power-sharing Northern Ireland Assembly . In 2005 , the Provisional Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) stated that its armed campaign was over and that it was exclusively committed to peaceful politics . In 2014 , he was held for four days by the Police Service of Northern Ireland for questioning in connection with the abduction and murder of Jean McConville in 1972 . He was freed without charge and a file was sent to the Public Prosecution Service , which later stated there was insufficient evidence to charge him , as had been expected since shortly after his release . Adams announced in November 2017 that he would step down as leader of Sinn Féin in 2018 , and that he would not stand for re-election to his seat in the Dáil in the next election . He was succeeded as President of Sinn Féin by Mary Lou McDonald at a special ardfheis ( party conference ) on 10 February 2018 .
Patrick Doherty ( born 18 July 1945 ) is a retired Sinn Féin politician , and was the abstentionist Member of Parliament for West Tyrone from 2001 to 2017 . He was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for the Assembly constituency of the same name from June 1998 to June 2012 . Doherty served as Vice President of Sinn Féin from 1988 to 2009 , when Mary Lou McDonald became the party 's new Vice President .
Lucilita Bhreatnach is an Irish republican politician and member of Sinn Féin . Growing up in Dublin , Bhreatnach joined Sinn Féin at the age of sixteen . She was Chairperson and secretary of Comhaltas Ceolteoirí Éireann local group 'Dúchas ' . As a teenager she co-organised Irish language youth groups 'Ógras ' where she grew up and taught Irish and was a member of Conradh na Gaeilge [ Gaelic League ] the Women 's Section of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement and The Irish Council of Civil Liberties . She was subsequently active in the Anti H-Block campaign , becoming the Chair of the National Stop the Strip-Searching Campaign . She is the daughter of the journalist , the late Deasún Breatnach and Luci Bhreatnach member of Amnesty International and Irish Council of Civil Liberties . She worked for the Sinn Féin newspaper An Phoblacht in 1982 , then on the International Department in the party 's Foreign Affairs Bureau . In a part-time job she co organised a Union for part-time 'night-time cleaning workers ' in 'Ellen Park , Vincents Hospital , Dublin . In 1986 , Bhreatnach was elected to the party 's Ard Chomhairle from the Ard Fheis [ National party conference ] , and in 1988 , she became its General Secretary and brought the Sinn Féin Irish republican party through transitional changes . At the 1994 European Parliament election , Bhreatnach stood in Leinster , but took only 2.5% of the votes cast and lost her deposit . At the Northern Ireland Forum election in 1996 , Bhreatnach did not stand in a constituency , but was elected as she was placed first on Sinn Féin 's top-up list . Bhreatnach was part of the Sinn Féin delegation in talks with the British and Irish governments , Political parties , business , Trade Union and civic society representatives .
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness ( Irish : Séamus Máirtín Pacelli Mag Aonghusa ; 23 May 1950 - 21 March 2017 ) was an Irish republican Sinn Féin politician who was the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from May 2007 to January 2017 . A former Provisional Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) leader , McGuinness was the MP for Mid Ulster from 1997 until his resignation in 2013 . Like all Sinn Féin MPs , McGuinness abstained from participation in the Westminster Parliament . Following the St Andrews Agreement and the Assembly election in 2007 , he became deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland on 8 May 2007 , with the Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP ) leader Ian Paisley becoming First Minister . On 5 June 2008 he was re-appointed as deputy First Minister to serve alongside Peter Robinson , who succeeded Paisley as First Minister . McGuinness previously served as Minister of Education in the Northern Ireland Executive between 1999 and 2002 . He was Sinn Féin 's candidate for President of Ireland in the 2011 election . Working alongside US Special Envoy George Mitchell , McGuinness was also one of the main architects of the Good Friday Agreement which formally cemented the Northern Ireland peace process . On 9 January 2017 , McGuinness resigned as deputy First Minister in a protest over the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal . He announced on 19 January that he would not be standing for re-election to the Northern Ireland Assembly in the 2 March 2017 election due to ill health . He reportedly suffered from amyloidosis , a condition that attacks the vital organs , and retired shortly before his death on 21 March 2017 , aged 66 .
Dodie McGuinness ( born 1950 ) is an Irish Republican politician . Born Anne Harkin , McGuinness worked at Altnagelvin Hospital before becoming involved in the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association , then joining Sinn Féin in 1972 . She was present at the events of Bloody Sunday . Harkin married the brother of Martin McGuinness , becoming known as Dodie McGuinness . In 1985 , she was elected to Derry City Council as a Sinn Féin member , holding the seat until 1993 . McGuinness stood as one of three Sinn Féin candidates in the European election in 1994 , but was unsuccessful . By that year , she was a member of the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle . In 1996 , she was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum as one of four Sinn Féin members in Belfast West . McGuinness did not stand for the Northern Ireland Assembly , and by 2003 , she was the head of the Sinn Féin Bureau in England . As of 2007 [ update ] , she remains a member of the Ard Chomhairle , representing Derry . She is distantly related to the author Clive Cussler .
The Progressive Democrats ( Irish : An Páirtí Daonlathach , literally The Democratic Party , PDs ) was a conservative-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 divorce , contraception , and other social issues . The party also supported economic liberalisation , advocating measures such as lower taxation , fiscal conservatism , privatisation , and welfare reform . It enjoyed an impressive début at the 1987 general election , winning 14 seats in Dáil Éireann and capturing almost 12 per cent of the popular vote to temporarily surpass the Labour Party as Ireland 's third-largest political party . Although the Progressive Democrats never again won more than 10 seats in the Dáil , they formed coalition governments with Fianna Fáil during the 26th Dáil ( 1989-92 ) , the 28th Dáil ( 1997-2002 ) , the 29th Dáil ( 2002-07 ) and the 30th Dail ( 2007-09 ) . These successive years as the government 's junior coalition partner gave the party an influence on Irish politics and economics disproportionate to its small size . In particular , the party has been credited with shaping the low-tax , pro-business environment that contributed to Ireland 's Celtic Tiger economic boom during the 1990s and 2000s , as well as blamed for contributing to the subsequent Irish financial and economic crisis . On 8 November 2008 the party began the process of disbanding , and was formally dissolved on 20 November 2009 . The two Progressive Democrat politicians elected to the 30th Dáil , Mary Harney and Noel Grealish , continued to support the government as independent TDs , and Mary Harney also continued as Minister for Health and Children . The party was a member of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party ( ELDR ) . Its youth wing was the Young Progressive Democrats .
Mary Harney ( born 11 March 1953 ) is an Irish former politician and the current Chancellor of the University of Limerick . She was leader of the Progressive Democrats party between 1993 and 2006 and again from 2007 to 2008 , resuming her role in 2007 after her successor , Michael McDowell , lost his seat at the 2007 general election . She is the longest-ever serving female member of Dáil Éireann , serving as a member Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Dublin South-West and Dublin Mid-West constituencies from 1981 to 2011 . She was Ireland 's first female Tánaiste from 1997 - 2006 and the first woman to lead a party in Dáil Éireann .
Desmond Joseph O'Malley ( born 2 February 1939 ) is an Irish former politician . Once prominent as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála ( TD ) and government minister in the 1970s and 1980s , he went on to found the Progressive Democrats and serve as the party 's first leader from 1985 until 1993 . He retired from politics at the 2002 general election .
Robert Molloy ( 9 July 1936 - 2 October 2016 ) was an Irish Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats politician , who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions , most notably as Minister for Local Government , Minister for Defence and Minister for Energy . Molloy was born in Galway and was educated at Coláiste Iognáid and University College Galway . Molloy was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Galway West constituency at the 1965 general election . In 1968 he was also elected Mayor of Galway . The following year he was appointed to the Cabinet as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education . From 1970 to 1973 he served as Minister for Local Government . When Fianna Fáil returned to power in 1977 he became Minister for Defence in the final government of Jack Lynch . In 1979 Molloy supported George Colley in the Fianna Fáil leadership contest . However Charles Haughey was the eventual victor . After this Molloy was dropped from the Cabinet , becoming a member of the Gang of 22 who opposed Haughey 's leadership of the party . In 1986 Molloy resigned from Fianna Fáil and joined the newly formed Progressive Democrats . In 1989 the party entered into coalition with Fianna Fáil , with Molloy becoming Minister for Energy .
Michael McDowell ( born 29 May 1951 ) is an Irish Independent politician and barrister who served as Tánaiste from 2006 to 2007 , Minister for Justice , Equality and Law Reform from 2002 to 2007 , Leader of the Progressive Democrats from 2006 to 2007 and Attorney General of Ireland from 1999 to 2002 . He served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Dublin South-East constituency from 1987 to 1989 , 1992 to 1997 and 2002 to 2007 . He has been a Senator for the National University of Ireland since April 2016 . A grandson of Irish revolutionary Eoin MacNeill , McDowell was a founding member of the Progressive Democrats in the mid-1980s . On three occasions he was elected as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Dublin South-East constituency , serving in the 25th Dáil ( 1987-89 ) , the 27th Dáil ( 1992-97 ) , and the 29th Dáil ( 2002-07 ) . He lost his Dáil seat at the general elections of 1989 , 1997 , and 2007 . McDowell led the Progressive Democrats to a disastrous performance in the 2007 general election , in which the party lost six of its eight seats in Dáil Éireann , including his own . After conceding his seat to John Gormley at the RDS count centre in Dublin , McDowell abruptly resigned as party leader and announced his immediate retirement from public life . He has since resumed his private legal career . He returned to politics in 2016 and was elected to Seanad Éireann on the National University of Ireland panel .
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland ( APNI ) is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland . It is Northern Ireland 's fifth-largest party overall , with eight seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly . It made breakthroughs in recent elections , placing third in first preference votes in the most recent European Parliament and United Kingdom general election , winning one of the three Northern Ireland seats in the European Parliament , and one seat , North Down in the House of Commons respectively . Founded in 1970 from the New Ulster Movement , the Alliance Party originally represented moderate and non-sectarian unionism . However , over time , particularly in the 1990s , it moved towards neutrality on the Union , and has come to represent wider liberal and non-sectarian concerns . It opposes the consociational power-sharing mandated by the Good Friday Agreement as deepening the sectarian divide , and , in the Northern Ireland Assembly , it is designated as neither unionist nor Irish nationalist , but 'Other ' . In general election in May 2010 the Alliance Party won their first House of Commons seat in a UK-wide general election , in the Belfast East constituency , unseating Peter Robinson , First Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP ) . Naomi Long was the first MP from the Alliance Party since Stratton Mills , who joined the party from the Ulster Unionist Party ( UUP ) in 1973 . However , the DUP regained the seat at the 2015 general election following an electoral pact with the UUP , leaving the Alliance Party with no representation in the House of Commons . In the 2019 general election , Alliance regained its foothold in the House of Commons , with Stephen Farry winning the North Down seat vacated by independent Unionist , Sylvia Hermon . Earlier that year , leader and former MP , Naomi Long won the first seat in Strasbourg for the Alliance Party in the 2019 European elections . The Alliance Party is a member of the Liberal International and Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe , and is aligned with the Liberal Democrats in Great Britain .
John Thomas Alderdice , Baron Alderdice ( born 28 March 1955 ) is a Northern Ireland politician . He was Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1998-2004 , leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland 1987-1998 , and since 1996 has sat in the House of Lords as a Liberal Democrat .
Seamus Anthony Close OBE ( 12 August 1947 - 7 May 2019 ) was a Northern Irish politician , member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Lagan Valley and a deputy leader of the Alliance Party . In August 1981 , he was the Alliance candidate for the second Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election . The following year under the redistribution and expansion of Northern Ireland 's constituencies his local political base became part of the new Lagan Valley constituency which he has contested in the Alliance interest in all elections since 1983 apart from the 1986 by-election called in protest against the Anglo-Irish Agreement when the local Alliance branch declined to contest the seat as they believed the by-election was a political stunt . Close also held several positions in the Alliance , including serving as Chair between 1981 and 1982 and as Deputy Leader from 1991 until 2001 . He was often a member of the key Alliance delegations in successive talks about the future of the province , culminating in the Belfast Agreement of 1998 . In the 1996 elections for the Northern Ireland Forum , Close stood at the head of the Alliance 's list for Lagan Valley but the party failed to secure enough votes to win one of the local seats . Close was also included on the province-wide list and as the most senior Alliance member to not be elected locally he won one of Alliance 's two seats . In the 1998 election for the new Northern Ireland Assembly he topped the poll in Lagan Valley and gained a further personal triumph in the 2001 general election when he had the highest vote share of any Alliance candidate . In June 2001 , he resigned as Deputy Leader of the party , citing differences with the leadership of Seán Neeson . Close has remained a member of the Assembly and successfully held his seat in the 2003 Assembly election . In July 2005 , Mr Close proposed that the Lisburn Council deny gay couples access to the council 's designated wedding facility if they were seeking a civil partnership under the Civil Partnership Act 2004 . The council adopted his recommendation to the great annoyance of many liberal campaigners .
Seán Neeson ( born 9 February 1946 ) is a politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland between 1998 and 2001 .
Stewart Dickson is an Alliance Party of Northern Ireland politician and member of the Northern Ireland Assembly , where he represents East Antrim . He sought re-election on 2 March 2017 in a snap election and was re-elected to the Assembly as one of five MLAs for this constituency . Dickson entered politics in 1977 , when he was elected to Carrickfergus Borough Council representing Area A , the predecessor of the Knockagh Monument electoral area . He lost his seat to the Democratic Unionist Party in the 1981 local elections but regained it at the 1985 local elections and has been re-elected at each local election since then . He served as Mayor from 1992 to 1993 . Dickson unsuccessfully contested the East Antrim constituency at the 1996 Northern Ireland Forum election and the Assembly elections of 1998 , 2003 and 2007 , before winning the seat held by former Alliance leader Sean Neeson at the 2011 elections . He is Chief Whip of the Alliance Party Assembly Group and a member of the party 's Executive Committee . Dickson is a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly Committees for Social Development , Justice , and the Assembly Business committee , where he contributes to the formulation of the Assembly 's weekly agenda . In addition to his Committee responsibilities , Dickson is a member of the Assembly All Party Groups on Diabetes ( Vice Chair ) and International Development . He was elected chair of the Assembly all Party Group on Social Enterprise . Outside political life , he is a retired member of the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance trade union and the Greenisland Presbyterian Church where he and his wife Sandra are both Elders . He has served as Captain of First Greenisland Boys ' Brigade , through which he has run drug awareness courses , he is a former long-serving member and chair of the Boards of Governors of Carrickfergus Central and Silverstream Primary Schools .
Democratic Left ( Irish : Daonlathas Clé ) was a left-wing political party in Ireland between 1992 and 1999 . It came into being after a split in the Workers ' Party , and after seven years in existence it was incorporated into the Irish Labour Party in 1999 . The Democratic Left served in a three-party coalition government with Fine Gael and the Labour Party from December 1994 to June 1997 .
Proinsias De Rossa ( born 15 May 1940 ) is a former Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Social Welfare from 1994 to 1997 , Leader of Democratic Left from 1992 to 1999 and Leader of the Workers ' Party from 1988 to 1992 . He served as Member of the European Parliament ( MEP ) for the Dublin constituency from 1989 to 1992 and 1999 to 2012 . He was a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Dublin North-West constituency from 1989 to 2002 .
Seamus Lynch ( born 1945 ) 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 . He was a strong supporter of the Official IRA 's ceasefire in 1972 and Official Sinn Féin 's vocal socialism . As a result , he became active in the Republican Clubs movement , and stood for the organisation in Belfast North at the Northern Ireland Assembly , 1973 . He received only 1.7% of the first preference votes cast and was not elected . He stood again for the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention , but his vote dropped to just 1.3% . He was elected to Belfast City Council in 1977 , representing Area G , but lost his seat in 1981 . Lynch next stood in the Westminster seat of Belfast North at the 1979 general election , increasing his vote to 4.5% , the best result for Republican Clubs in Northern Ireland , and at the 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election , he increased his share to 7.1% .
Liz McManus ( born 23 March 1947 ) is a former Irish Labour Party politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 2002 to 2007 and Minister of State at the Department of the Environment from 1994 to 1997 . She served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Wicklow constituency from 1992 to 2011 .
The Green Party - An Comhaontas Glas ( Irish : Comhaontas Glas , literally Green Alliance ) is a green political party that operates in Ireland - both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland . It was founded as the Ecology Party of Ireland in 1981 by Dublin teacher Christopher Fettes . The party became the Green Alliance in 1983 and adopted its current English name in 1987 while the Irish name was kept unchanged . Its leader is Eamon Ryan , its deputy leader is Catherine Martin and its chairperson is Hazel Chu . Green Party candidates have been elected to most levels of representation : local ( in the Republic ) , Dáil Éireann , Northern Ireland Assembly and European Parliament . The Green Party first entered the Dáil in 1989 . It has served in the Irish government once , from 2007 to 2011 as junior partner in a coalition with Fianna Fáil . The party suffered a wipeout in the February 2011 election , losing all six of its TDs . In the February 2016 election , it returned to the Dáil with two seats . Following this , Grace O'Sullivan was elected to the Seanad on 26 April that year of 2016 and Joe O'Brien was elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2019 Dublin Fingal by-election . The party gained its first representation in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2007 , the Green Party in Northern Ireland having become a regional branch of the party the previous year . It currently has two representatives in the Assembly .
Trevor Anthony Sargent ( born 26 July 1960 ) is a former Irish Green Party politician who served as Minister of State for Food and Horticulture from 2007 to 2010 and Leader of the Green Party from 2001 to 2007 . He served as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Dublin North constituency from 1992 to 2011 .
Vincent MacDowell ( 1925-2003 ) was an Irish political activist . He was the vice chairman of Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association in the 1960s , and later a representative of the Green Party and the Irish Labour Party . Born in Newry , County Down , MacDowell was interned for IRA membership in the 1940s . He was a member of the Socialist Republican Party in Belfast , where he edited the party 's newspaper the Northern Star . MacDowell advocated the Irish Labour Party re-organising in Northern Ireland , and supported the party in elections in the late 1940s and early 1950s in Belfast . He was elected as a Green Party councilor in Dún Laoghaire in 1999 , after previously standing as an Independent and Labour party member , he also stood unsuccessfully for the Green Party in the 1996 Forum elections in Newry and Armagh . MacDowell left the Green Party over the dispute regarding the nomination of Ciarán Cuffe as the candidate in the Dáil election , initially joining the Labour Party but ran as an independent in the 2002 general election . He is the father of former Green MEP for Leinster Nuala Ahern ( née MacDowell ) . He died aged 78 on 31 August 2003 .
A TD ( plural TDanna in Irish or TDs in English ; in full Teachta Dála /ˌtjɒxtə ˈdɔːlə/ TYOKH-tə DAW-lə , Irish : [ ˌtʲaxt̪ˠə ˈd̪ˠaːlˠə ] ( listen ) ; plural Teachtaí Dála ) [ a ] is a member of Dáil Éireann , the lower house of the Oireachtas ( the Irish Parliament ) . It is the equivalent of terms such as Member of Parliament ( MP ) or Member of Congress used in other countries . The official translation of the term is Deputy to the Dáil , although a more literal translation is Assembly Delegate . [ citation needed ]
Neil Terence Columba Blaney ( 1 October 1922 - 8 November 1995 ) was an Irish politician . He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1948 as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála ( TD ) representing Donegal East . Blaney served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs ( 1957 ) , Minister for Local Government ( 1957-1966 ) and Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries ( 1966-1970 ) . He was Father of the Dáil from 1987 until his death .
Thomas Foxe ( 1 June 1937 - 8 February 2000 ) was an Irish independent politician and former owner of Tom Foxe 's Bar in Roscommon Town in County Roscommon , where Foxe was from . Foxe was elected to Dáil Éireann as an independent Teachta Dála ( TD ) on his first attempt , at the 1989 general election , when he stood as an independent candidate in the Roscommon constituency . He unseated the sitting Fianna Fáil TD and former minister Seán Doherty . [ citation needed ] He was re-elected at the 1992 general election , for the new constituency of Longford-Roscommon , but lost his seat at the 1997 general election . At the 1991 local elections , he was elected to Roscommon County Council for Roscommon town , and served until his death on 8 February 2000 . [ citation needed ]
Seanad Éireann ( /ˌʃænəd ˈɛərən , -əð -/ ( listen ) SHAN-əd ( h ) AIR-ən , Irish : [ ˈʃan̪ˠəd̪ˠ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ ] ; Senate of Ireland ) is the upper house of the Oireachtas ( the Irish legislature ) , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann ( the lower house ) . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members senators ( seanadóirí in Irish , singular : seanadóir ) . Unlike Dáil Éireann , it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by various methods . Its powers are much weaker than those of the Dáil and it can only delay laws with which it disagrees , rather than veto them outright . It has been located , since its establishment , in Leinster House .
Joseph John O'Toole ( born 20 July 1947 ) is a former Irish independent politician , who was a member of Seanad Éireann from 1987 to 2011 . He was born and brought up in Dingle , County Kerry , O'Toole was a teacher for ten years and then a school principal in County Dublin . From 1990 to 2001 , he was appointed General Secretary of the Irish National Teachers ' Organisation ( INTO ) , and from 2001 to 2003 , he was President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions ( ICTU ) . He lives in Kilsallaghan , County Dublin . He was first elected to the 18th Seanad in 1987 for the National University of Ireland ( NUI ) constituency , and was re-elected by the same constituency at each subsequent election until he retired from politics at the 2011 Seanad election . In the Seanad , he was a member of the Parliamentary Joint Finance Committee . His autobiography Looking under stones : roots , family and a Dingle childhood , was published in 2003 .
David Patrick Bernard Norris ( born 31 July 1944 ) is an Irish scholar , independent Senator and civil rights activist . Internationally , Norris is credited with having managed , almost single-handedly , to overthrow the anti-homosexuality law which brought about the downfall of Oscar Wilde , a feat he achieved in 1988 after a fourteen-year campaign . He has also been credited with being almost single-handedly responsible for rehabilitating James Joyce in once disapproving Irish eyes . Norris is a former university lecturer and a member of the Oireachtas , serving in Seanad Éireann since 1987 . He was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in Ireland . A founder of the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform , he is also a prominent member of the Church of Ireland . He was a candidate for President of Ireland in the October 2011 election . He topped numerous opinion polls and was favourite among members of the Irish public for the position but withdrew from the race months before the election , before returning to the race in September 2011 .
Mary Elizabeth Frances Henry ( born 11 May 1940 in Blackrock , Cork ) is a former Irish politician and medical doctor . She was an independent member of Seanad Éireann . She was elected Pro-Chancellor of the University of Dublin in 2012 . By profession she is a University Professor and medical practitioner . In 1966 she married John McEntagart of Dublin , Merchant and they have three children . She is a member of the Church of Ireland . She is a graduate of the University of Dublin ( B.A . in English and History of Medicine 1963 , M.B . ( Honours ) ( 1965 ) , M.A . ( 1966 ) M.D . ( 1968 ) ) . As an undergraduate , among many other distinctions she won the Sir James Craig Memorial Prize in Medicine .
Feargal Quinn ( 27 November 1936 - 24 April 2019 ) was an Irish businessman , politician and television personality . He founded the Superquinn supermarket chain and served as a Senator for the National University of Ireland constituency from 1993 to 2016 .
John Joseph Lee ( born 9 July 1942 ) ( commonly known as J.J. Lee ) , is an Irish historian and former senator . He has held the chairs of Modern History in University College Cork and Professor of History and Glucksman Professor for Irish Studies and Director of Glucksman Ireland House , at New York University .
The Workers ' Party ( Irish : Páirtí na nOibrithe ) is a Marxist-Leninist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland . It arose as the original Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith , but took its current form in 1970 following a division within the party , in which it was the larger faction . This majority group continued under the same leadership as Sinn Féin ( Gardiner Place ) or Official Sinn Féin , while the breakaway group became known as Sinn Féin ( Kevin Street ) or Provisional Sinn Féin ( giving rise to the contemporary party known as Sinn Féin ) . The party name was changed to Sinn Féin - The Workers ' Party in 1977 and then to the Workers ' Party in 1982 . Throughout its history , the party has been closely associated with the Official Irish Republican Army . Notable organisations that derived from it include Democratic Left and the Irish Republican Socialist Party . The party has one representative at local government level : Ted Tynan on Cork City Council .
For the 19th-century baseball player , see John Lowry ( baseball ) , for the film restorer see John D. Lowry . John Terence Lowry is the General Secretary of the Workers ' Party in Ireland . He is a native of the Lower Falls area of Belfast . Lowry first stood for the Workers ' Party in the 1986 Lagan Valley by-election . As the only candidate to challenge Jim Molyneaux of the Ulster Unionist Party , he picked up 9.3% of the vote . Lowry stood again in Lagan Valley at the 1987 general election , but owing to his facing several candidates , his vote dropped below 3% . For the 1992 general election he moved to contest Belfast West , and has contested this unsuccessfully at each subsequent election , except in 2010 and the 2011 by-election when he did not stand . Lowry was also the Workers ' Party 's candidate in the Northern Ireland constituency at the European Parliament election in 1994 , coming well down the field with only 0.45% of the votes cast . He topped the party 's list in Belfast West for the Northern Ireland Forum election of 1996 , and has contested the same seat at each election to the Northern Ireland Assembly . Lowry has also stood for Belfast City Council in the Lower Falls ward in each election since 1993 . In 2005 , Lowry was one of three people to post bail for Workers ' Party President Seán Garland , but forfeited £9,000 after Garland failed to appear in court . Lowry is registered with the Electoral Commission as the leader and nominating officer of the Workers ' Party in Northern Ireland .
Gordon Wilson ( 25 September 1927 - 27 June 1995 ) was a draper in Enniskillen , County Fermanagh , who became known as a peace campaigner during the Troubles in Northern Ireland . On 8 November 1987 a bomb planted by the Provisional IRA exploded during Enniskillen 's Remembrance Day parade , injuring Wilson and fatally injuring his daughter Marie , a nurse . The bomb was planted in a nearby building and timed to go off at 10:43 am , just before the ceremony was due to start . An emotional television interview Wilson gave to the BBC only hours after the bombing brought him to national and international prominence as he described his last conversation with his dying daughter as they both lay buried in rubble . Wilson 's response to the bombing , I bear no ill will . I bear no grudge , was reported worldwide , becoming among the most-remembered quotations from the Troubles . Whereas IRA attacks in Northern Ireland often resulted in reprisals by loyalists , Wilson 's calls for forgiveness and reconciliation came to be called the Spirit of Enniskillen . As a peace campaigner , Wilson held many meetings with members of Sinn Féin . He also met once with representatives of the Provisional IRA . Wilson sought to understand the reasons for the Remembrance Day bombing in Enniskillen . He also held talks with loyalist paramilitaries in an attempt to persuade them to abandon violence . On Remembrance Day 1997 , Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams formally apologised for the bombing .