Irish Politics 101

Following is Mary Alice’s brief overview of Irish politics. Tom and I stopped by the pub where a Clinic was being held. One of the ministers, I believe Joe O’Keefe, was there. He said he hasn’t been to Michigan, but has been to Milwaukee (and UWM) quite a few times. He spoke about a collaboration of some sorts, but as we were talking, people were coming in and there was a lot of the normal politicking going on.

He said the government is officially at the 5 year mark on June 6^th, so the very latest an election can be held is July 4^th – which is when it is scheduled.

Per MAW:

When politicians come to the village it is called a "Clinic" - what we would call a town hall meeting or during an election a campaign stop.

Poli-sci 101 in a nutshell follows. Ireland has a democratic parliamentary form of government. The Irish Parliament (Oireachtais) is a bicameral body, modelled after the British and other parliamentary models in some ways. One legislative body is the Dail (pronounced doll) Eireann. Members are called TDs (Teachta Dala or in English- Deputy). The other body is Seanad Eireann-- the Senate. You seem to hear much more about the TDs than about the Senators. The Prime Minister is called the Taoiseach (tee-shock) and is the head of government, of late usually a coalition government comprised of at least two parties which got the most seats. The government stands and Taoiseach holds office either until the government cannot hold together, usually because the coalition falters, or at the five year mark. That is, an election must be held at least once every five years.

The Presidency is a primarily ceremonial office but the President is held in high regard and has certain duties to protect the Constitution. The President is considered head of state and holds office for 7 years, being elected by a vote of the people. At least 2 women have been President, Mary Robinson and the current president Mary McAleese.

Until relatively recently the politics of Ireland were essentially aligned along Civil War lines -- dating back to the early 1920s; that is party allegiance was based on how family ancestors felt about the 1921Treaty with Britain that partitioned Ireland into the 26 Counties of the Republic with the 6 Counties of the North as part of the UK.

The major parties are:

Fianna Fail - the Republicans, those who opposed the Treaty that resulted in the partition of Ireland after the Civil War. The current Taoiseach is Bertie Ahern a FF man.

Fine Gael is the party of those who favored the Treaty or partitioning the country into the 26 Counties of the Republic and the 6 counties of Northern Ireland.

Sinn Fein is the political arm of the old IRA and was/is the most politically radical, advocating on-going armed resistance to British rule, until just recently. This is the party of Gerry Adams.

The Labour Party has roots in trade unionism and the rights of workers- they have a following in Galway City connected to the University and for a long time were the only party not rooted solely in Civil War politics as the 3 above were/are.

Progressive Democrats are the youngest party with any serious clout -- they were formed in the mid-eighties and while we were there in 90 ran candidates for the first time and surprised everyone by garnering some seats. They have continued to grow in power- representing a focus on economic growth, tax reform, European membership, and a deliberate movement away from civil war politics, which was a very controversial and radical departure from how people had aligned themselves for 70 years. They have probably cost Fine Gael the most votes, since Fianna Fail folks are pretty loyal. They have been players in three (I think) coalition governments (including the current one) since the late eighties/early nineties.

There are also any number of other smaller parties, including the Greens, who may garner some seats in the oireachtais.

Another point of interest is that there are no primaries-- if 25 people run then 25 people are on a preferential ballot meaning you don't just get one vote but you rank order the candidates by your preference; it's actually a pretty cool way to do it but that is another lesson.

I’m sure this is way too simplistic coming from a Yank but it is a quick and dirty overview that may help as you follow the election season which is mercifully brief compared to ours. Voter turnout is astonishingly high in Ireland, in part because everyone seems to take politics very seriously and people keep informed; in part because it is a small country geographically and everyone seems to know everyone else, including national figures; and in part because there are still people living (although dwindling in numbers) who know what it was like to be disenfranchised and the price that was paid for the vote and for an indigenous representative government.