History UsefulNotes / IrishPoliticalSystem

* '''The National Party''': A far right Eurosceptic party in a similar vein to the IFP led by Justin Barrett. Notably had a candidate run in the vein 2020 general election who ran with the slogan "There are too many immigrants" despite himself being [[BoomerangBigot an American immigrant]].

Erskine Childers (1905--1974), not to be confused with his father Robert Erskine Childers (author of ''The Riddle of the Sands'' and executed in the Civil War) was the fourth president of Ireland. He died in office in November 1974. His wife Rita wanted to take over his office but Fianna Fáil didn't support this action. His daughter Nessa was an MEP for the East Ireland constituency from 2009 to 2019.

* The Irish language is the 'first official language', even though few speak it (''deirtear gur teanga deacair í a fhoghlaim, agus ní mhúintear maith í sa scoil freisin''), while English is a 'second language', despite being the mother tongue of 95 plus percent of citizens.

* The name of the State is simply '''Ireland''' (Irish: '''''Éire'''''). 'Republic of Ireland' is a description of the state and a convenient way to tell it apart from the island Ireland and the UK part of Northern Ireland. Éire conveniently means the 26 counties of the Republic. Calling it that in conversation will usually get you funny looks.

* '''Aontú''' (1 [=TD=], 3 local); [=NI=]: 2 local: Unite (ayn-to), minor all-Ireland republican party founded by a TD who resigned from Sinn Féin over his opposition to abortion. Combines elements of social conservatism with advocacy for a united Ireland and centre-left economics.

* '''Aontú''': A pro life, pro reunification party founded by Peadar Tóibín when he broke away from Sinn Féin after going against the party line on abortion. Essentially, Sinn Féin's equivalent to Renua.

* '''Fine Gael''' ("finnuh gale"; "Tribe of Gaels/Family of the Irish"): (50 [=TDs=], 19 Sen, 4 [=MEPs=], 234 local).\\

* '''Fianna Fáil''' ("fee-anna fawl"; "Warriors of Ireland" or "Soldiers of Destiny") (44 [=TDs=], 14 Sen, 1 [=MEP=], 262 local).\\

* '''Labour Party''' (''Páirtí an Lucht Oibre'') (7 [=TDs=], 4 Sen, 50 local).\\
[[AC: Current Leader: Brendan Howlin (TD, Wexford)]]. \\

* '''Sinn Féin''' ("shin fane"; "We Ourselves"[[note]]Sometimes translated—inaccurately, if more poetically—as "ourselves alone." This is a translation you will see in some older works.[[/note]]) ([=RoI=]: 23 [=TDs=], 7 Sen, 3 [=MEPs=], 156 local; [=NI=]: 4 [=MPs=], 28 [=MLAs=], 1 MEP, 105 local).\\

* '''Solidarity-People Before Profit''' ([=RoI=]: 6 [=TDs=], 28 local; [=NI=]: 2 [=MLAs=][[note]]Standing only on a [=PBPA=] ticket, minus Solidarity.[[/note]]).\\

* The '''Social Democrats''' (''Daonlathaigh Shóisialta'') (2 [=TDs=], 4 local).\\
[[AC: Current Leader: Catherine Murphy (TD, Kildare North) and Róisín Shortall (TD, Dublin North-West).]] \\
A new political party formed in 2015 by former independents. Broadly centre-left in policies.\\

* '''Workers and Unemployed Action Group''' (1 [=TD=], 1 local): mainly based in Co. Tipperary.\\

* '''Independent''' politicians play a large role in Irish politics, making up 19 [=TDs=] and 14 Sen, with 8 Independent [=TDs=] currently forming part of the Fine Gael-led minority government.\\

* The '''Socialist Party''' (''Páirtí Sóisialach''): A {{Trotsky}}ist party with considerable support in North Dublin.

* '''Clann na Poblachta''' ("Family of the People") (1946-69): an extremist republican party.

* '''Clann na Talmhan''' ("Family of the Land") (1938-65): an agrarian party.

* Minister for '''Foreign Affairs and Trade'''
** Minister of State for '''Trade and Development'''
** Minister of State for '''European Affairs'''

** Minister of State for '''Food, Horticulture and Food Safety'''
* Minister for '''Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht''' (''Irish-speaking part of Ireland'')
** Minister of State for '''Gaeltacht Affairs'''
* Minister for '''Children and Youth Affairs'''
* Minister for '''Communications, Energy and Natural Resources'''
** Minister of State for '''the [=NewERA=] Project''' (''a government economic stimulus plan'') (''also with the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government'')
* Minister for Education and Skills
** Minister of State for '''Research and Innovation''' (''also with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation'')
** Minister of State for '''Training and Skills'''
* Minister for '''Environment, Community and Local Government'''
** Minister of State for '''Housing and Planning'''
** Minister of State for '''the [=NewERA=] Project''' (''a government economic stimulus plan'') (''also with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources'')
* Minister for '''Finance'''
** Minister of State for '''Public Service Reform''' and the '''Office of Public Works''' (''also with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform'')
* Minister for '''Health'''
** Minister of State for '''Primary Care'''
** Minister of State for '''Disability, Equality and Mental Health'''
* Minister for '''Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation'''
** Minister of State for '''Small Business'''
** Minister of State for '''Research and Innovation''' (''also with the Department of Education and Skills'')
* Minister for '''Justice and Equality'''

** Minister of State at the Department of Defence
* Minister for '''Public Expenditure and Reform'''
** Minister of State for '''Public Service Reform''' and the '''Office of Public Works''' (''also with the Department of Finance'')

* Minister for '''Transport, Tourism and Sport'''
** Minister of State for '''Tourism and Sport'''
** Minister of State for '''Public and Commuter Transport'''

On the 9 March 2011, Fine Gael and the Labour Party, the two biggest winners in the late February election, formed a coalition government. Their political differences were well highlighted during the election campaign and it remains to be seen what compromises they make in government.

Mary [=McAleese=] (b 1951) was the eighth president and the second woman to hold the office. She was also the first president of Ireland to be from UsefulNotes/NorthernIreland; she was born in Belfast but had moved to Dublin for university and later a career as a barrister; she eventually became Reid Professor of [[CrimeAndPunishmentTropes Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology]] at Trinity College, Dublin, succeeding, er, Mary Robinson (same one). Like her predecessor, she concerned herself during her presidency with social justice issues, human rights and LGBT rights. She was known for reaching out to the Unionist people of Northern Ireland and trying to maintain [[UsefulNotes/TheTroubles peace between the two]] main religions in Ireland. She has liberal views regarding female priests and LGBT people despite being a practicing Catholic. She presided over the first visit of a UK monarch to Ireland in a hundred years in 2011 when she welcomed [[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen Queen Elizabeth II]].

* '''The National Party''': A far right Eurosceptic party in a similar vein to the IFP led by Justin Barrett. Notably had a candidate run in the vein 2020 general election who ran with the slogan "There are too many immigrants" despite himself being [[Boomerang Bigot an American immigrant]].

* '''Irexit Freedom Party''': An extreme Eurosceptic party founded by Hermann Kelly in 2018, their goal is for Ireland to withdraw from the European Union, essentially making them an Irish UKIP. While not the first attempt at a party with this goal in mind, they have certainly become one of the most publicised. They contested the European elections in 2019 and won no seats, though Kelly has been very vocal on Irish media, being a journalist by profession.

* '''Fianna Fáil''' ("fee-anna fawl"; "Warriors of Ireland") (44 [=TDs=], 14 Sen, 1 [=MEP=], 262 local).\\

A left-wing republican party with "close ties" to the Provisional IRA. They were historically the party that split off from the "original" Sinn Féin in 1970 when it changed its name to the Workers' Party (for which see below) and decided to participate in [=RoI=] electoral politics; they nevertheless began taking seats in the Republic (and later, the NI Assembly) starting in the early 1980s. With the reversal of the Greens' policy on the EU, Sinn Féin is now the only Eurosceptic political party in the country with representation in the Dáil[[note]]Although it should be noted that they are also the most ''pro''-European party in the Northern Irish Assembly[[/note]]. Had a remarkably good time of the 2011 elections, picking up nine seats and becoming the fourth-largest party in the Dáil.[[note]]And an even better time in the 2020 elections, winning the most votes, and the second most seats in the Daíl, nearly equal to FF and FG\\

A left-wing republican party with "close ties" to the Provisional IRA. They were historically the party that split off from the "original" Sinn Féin in 1970 when it changed its name to the Workers' Party (for which see below) and decided to participate in [=RoI=] electoral politics; they nevertheless began taking seats in the Republic (and later, the NI Assembly) starting in the early 1980s. With the reversal of the Greens' policy on the EU, Sinn Féin is now the only Eurosceptic political party in the country with representation in the Dáil[[note]]Although it should be noted that they are also the most ''pro''-European party in the Northern Irish Assembly[[/note]]. Had a remarkably good time of the 2011 elections, picking up nine seats and becoming the fourth-largest party in the Dáil.\\

An environmentalist party, founded in 1981. Until relatively recently it had a vocal eurosceptic wing but is now strongly pro-UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion. Had a ridiculously bad time of the 2011 elections; having been Fianna Fáil's coalition partners, they found themselves totally wiped out, but have since regained two seats in the Dáil as of 2016 and had a resurgence during the 2019 local and European elections dubbed the "Green Wave".\the \

*** After years of campaigning for a referendum, the amendment was successfully repealed in 2018, with 66.4% voting Yes. Legislation is expected to be enacted later in the year.

* BadassMustache: His one was particularly [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Douglas_Hyde_2.jpg/379px-Douglas_Hyde_2.jpg large and impressive]].
* RaisedCatholic: Averted - Hyde was a Church of Ireland member.
* TheSmartGuy: He was a scholar that was [[{{Main/Omniglot}} fluent in]] Irish, French, Latin, German, Greek and Hebrew.

* TheAlcoholic: De Valera worried about his drinking but O'Kelly managed to remain dignified and avoided any scandals despite his love of drink.
* RaisedCatholic: He was known to be an extremely devout Catholic, even more so than most Irish people at the time. When ''de Valera'' himself criticises you for being too pious, you know something's wrong!
* TinyGuyHugeGirl: O'Kelly was a short man and his second wife Phyllis Ryan towered above him. One time when he went to throw in the ball during a football game, someone yelled out to cut the grass, since they can't see the president.

* PermanentElectedOfficial: It certainly seemed like this after he became president after having been in charge of Ireland as Taoiseach and being involved in politics for nearly 60 years by the time he left office as president in 1973, shortly before he died.

Erskine Childers (1905--1974), not to be confused with his father Robert Erskine Childers (author of ''The Riddle of the Sands'' and executed in the Civil War) was the fourth president of Ireland. He died in office in November 1974. His wife Rita wanted to take over his office but Fianna Fáil didn't support this action. His daughter Nessa has been an MEP for the East Ireland constituency since 2009

* RaisedCatholic: Averted -- as in Hyde's case, he was a member of the Church of Ireland. It makes sense, since he was actually born in England although he had Irish ancestry.

* ArchEnemy: Liam Cosgrave, the Taoiseach at the time.
** Conor Cruise O'Brien, a Labour minister also in office at the time.

* BoringButPractical: Hillery was seen as somewhat boring and lacklustre but he brought much-needed stability and dignity to the office.
* TheMistress: There were rumours that he had one living with him in the Áras around the time of the Pope's visit in 1979. They turned out to be false, however.

* AllLovingHero: As well as being a human rights activist in general, she stood up for and campaigned for the rights of groups such as LGBT people and immigrants.
* TheRival: Dustin the Turkey, a children's tv show puppet, often took good natured jabs at her both during her campaign and her presidency, having claimed he was running for president himself. Several people actually voted for him, despite him not being on the ballot paper. Robinson herself would later appear on ''The Den'' to confront Dustin.

* TheHeretic: Some people, such as the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin (of course) saw her as this for taking communion in a Church of Ireland cathedral in 1997, even though the majority of Irish people approved of it.
** The Archbishop of Boston in 1998, Bernard Francis Law criticised her attempts at peace with the protestants and effectively called her a disgrace when he met her back then. They had a heated argument about it at the time.

* BoringButPractical: Seen this way during the 2011 presidential elections. In a very divisive and varied battle, his quiet, non-obtrusive manner throughout the campaign and debates won him the election. He pulled a repeat performance for the 2018 election, in which three other candidates were the stars of ''Series/DragonsDen'' with no background in politics and spent most of the race sniping at each other, and the other two were little-known and generally ineffective.
* CurbStompBattle: The 2018 presidential election is widely regarded as a complete joke. Despite a low turnout, Higgins achieved 55.81% of the vote, a full 32% more than the next nearest candidate. His opponents were three members of the ''Series/DragonsDen'' cast, a Sinn Fein MEP who was only run so that Sinn Fein could contest the election for the sake of it, and a charity worker who was way out of her depth. And that's not even getting into the candidates who failed to get nominated, such as [[MadArtist Kevin Sharkey]] or [[ConspiracyTheorist Gemma O'Doherty]]. In fact, Higgins was able to win the election comfortably despite not turning up for at least two televised debates.
* FanNickname: Universally referred to as "Michael D". There's also the affectionate "Miggledy Higgins".
* LargeHam: For a man of his stature, he is well able to [[ChewingTheScenery chew the scenery]] with the best of them, especially when he's angry.
* MiniatureSeniorCitizens: Leading to many affectionate "[[Literature/TheHobbit hobbit president]]" jokes.
* TheShortGuyWithGlasses: He is a noted scholar and a poet.
* TinyGuyHugeGirl: Higgins is a very short man, standing only 5'4". His wife Sabina is much taller than he is.

Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh [[labelnote:''Pronunciation'']] Cya-ROOL O Dawlig. For reference, in English translation, it'd be ''Cyril Daly'', but that was never his legal name and as such, should never be substituted for "Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh".[[/labelnote]] (1911--1978) took over after Childers died. He was in office for less than two years, since he did not get on well with the Fine Gael/Labour coalition and in particular Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave. The only president to resign the position.

An environmentalist party, founded in 1981. Until relatively recently it had a vocal eurosceptic wing but is now strongly pro-UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion. Had a ridiculously bad time of the 2011 elections; having been Fianna Fáil's coalition partners, they found themselves totally wiped out, but have since regained two seats in the Dáil as of 2016.\\

* '''Irexit Freedom Party''': An extreme Eurosceptic party founded by Hermann Kelly in 2018, their goal is for Ireland to withdraw from the European Union, essentially making them an Irish UKIP. While not the first attempt at a party with this goal in mind, they have certainly become one of the most publicised. They contested the European elections in 2019 and won no seats, they have yet to contest any elections, though Kelly has been very vocal on Irish media, being a journalist by profession.