Fine Gael

an Irish political party. It is one of the two main parties in the Republic of Ireland and is usually considered the more conservative. In 1985 the Fine Gael government signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement with the British government.

Compare Fianna Fáil.

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(Irish; "Gaelic Nation")

Major political party in Ireland, also known as United Ireland Party.

It was founded in 1933 in the amalgamation of several parties, including the Cumann na nGaedheal ("Society of Gaels"), which had been formed by members of the Dáil (assembly) who accepted the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921. It held power briefly in 1948, but Fianna Fáil dominated Irish politics until 1973. From the mid-1970s, both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil vied for power in competitive elections, with Fine Gael forming several coalition governments.

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▪ political party, Ireland

Introduction

Irish“Gaelic Nation”

      centrist political party that has provided the major political opposition to the Fianna Fáil party in Ireland.

History

      Fine Gael was founded in September 1933 in the amalgamation of the Society of Gaels (Cumann na nGaedheal)—the party of William Thomas Cosgrave (Cosgrave, William Thomas), first president of the Irish Free State—and two lesser parties, the Centre Party (formerly the Farmers' Party) and the National Guard (formerly the Army Comrades Association), also known as the “Blueshirts.” The Society of Gaels represented the supporters of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, which brought into existence the Irish Free State. Identifying itself as the party of peace and stability, the Society of Gaels gained 41 percent of the seats in the Free State's first elections in 1923 and formed a minority government under Cosgrave; it remained in power until it was defeated by its main opposition, Fianna Fáil, in 1932. In response, Cosgrave created a larger and more heterogeneous party, which he called Fine Gael, in 1933. The new party, however, did not achieve national office until 1948, when John Costello (Costello, John A) formed a five-party coalition government (1948–51). Fine Gael soon led another coalition into office (1954–57) but then returned to the political wilderness until a preelection deal with the Labour Party enabled it to return to power (1973–77) under Liam Cosgrave (Cosgrave, Liam), the son of Fine Gael's founder. This partnership was the result of a new pragmatism in the Labour Party and Fine Gael's shift toward an agenda of social reform, which was accelerated when Garret FitzGerald (FitzGerald, Garret) succeeded Cosgrave as party leader following election defeat in 1977. Fine Gael later governed in coalition with Labour (1981–82; 1982–87) and with Labour and Democratic Left (1994–97). The party subsequently suffered a major decline in support, falling from 54 seats in 1997 to only 31 in 2002. Fine Gael fared much better in the 2007 elections, capturing 51 seats, but it was still unable to form a government.

Policy and structure

      Although its roots lay in the controversy surrounding the “national question,” Fine Gael was essentially a conservative party whose raison d'être was to oppose Fianna Fáil. A reform program, “Planning for a Just Society” (1965), signified a desire among some members of Fine Gael for a new identity. It took another decade for this desire to have any significant effect on party policies, however, as many members were reluctant to embrace the so-called “liberal” agenda, especially the reform of laws relating to divorce and contraception. Party members remained relatively conservative on these issues. By the end of the century the party considered itself a member of Europe's Christian Democratic family—an economically interventionist, centrist party committed to the market economy, social responsibility, and strong support for European integration. Its nationalism was more moderate than that of Fianna Fáil.

      The basic unit of party organization is the local branch. Above this level is a delegate body representing local council constituencies, for local councils, and above that is another body representing Dáil (lower house of Parliament) constituencies, comprising local public representatives plus delegates from local branches. These bodies select candidates for local councils and the Dáil, respectively. Traditionally, constituencies were relatively independent of the centre and were often dominated by local deputies, but under FitzGerald the party structure was reformed to weaken their power. More recently the party introduced a one-member, one-vote system for candidate selection, though the head office may still add candidates to a list. In theory the Ard-Fheis (Annual Conference) is the supreme governing body, but in practice it cedes most of its power to a much smaller Executive Committee, and policy is effectively determined by senior ministers or—when the party is in opposition—by spokesmen. The Ard-Fheis elects the president of the party, usually the parliamentary party leader, who already has been elected by the party's representatives in the Oireachtas (Parliament) and the European Parliament.

      Fine Gael long averaged about 30 percent of the national vote, though its support began to drop below that figure after 1982. Its support is disproportionately rural, coming particularly from large farmers, and has suffered as that segment of the population has declined in numbers. It has done particularly well among the middle class, and at its peak in 1982, when it won 39 percent of the vote and had real hopes of mounting a serious challenge to Fianna Fáil as Ireland's largest party, it did well in all groups.

Michael Marsh

Additional Reading

Michael Gallagher, Political Parties in the Republic of Ireland (1985), provides a lucid introduction. Maurice Manning, The Blueshirts (1970), is the best account of the early history of the party. Stephen O'Byrnes, Hiding Behind a Face: Fine Gael Under Garret FitzGerald (1986), is a readable insider's account of the FitzGerald years.

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