Ireland Labour Party

Ireland Labour Party, political party in the Republic of Ireland. The party grew out of the Irish labour movement that was led by James Connolly, Jim Larkin, and William O’Brien in the early part of the 20th century. In 1912 the Irish Trade Union Congress voted to establish a political wing, renaming itself the Irish Trade Union Congress and Labour Party (from 1918, the Irish Labour Party and Trade Union Congress). The party stood aside at the general elections of 1918 and 1921, but in the first general election of the Irish Free State in June 1922 it achieved strong support, winning 21.3 per cent of the vote, with 17 of its 18 candidates elected to the Dáil Éireann. In the ensuing Irish Civil War the Labour Party took a neutral position, and in the aftermath consistently opposed the government of William Cosgrave, repudiating its infringements of personal liberty and calling for the release of those they considered to be “political” prisoners.

After 1927, when Eamon De Valera abandoned his policy of abstentionism, and with the Fianna Fáil party returned to the Dáil, the Labour Party became increasingly marginalized. Although its revolutionary socialism had become reformist, Irish politics became characterized by conservative nationalism, dominated by the “national question” of Ireland’s constitutional relationship with Britain. Thereafter, with party allegiances divided along old Civil War lines, the Labour Party’s share of the vote fell to about 10 per cent.

The party formally split from the Irish trade union movement in 1930, although early leaders Thomas Johnson (1918-1927), T. J. O’Connell (1927-1932), and William Norton (1932-1960) remained closely associated with it. From 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957 the party participated in the country’s first inter-party governments, sharing power with Fine Gael and several minor parties. Subsequent leaders Brendan Corish (1960-1977), Frank Cluskey (1977-1981), and Michael O’Leary (1981-1982) sought to cultivate a broader electoral platform, during which time the party entered three further coalitions with Fine Gael (1973-1977, 1981-1982, and 1982-1987).

Under the leadership of Dick Spring (1982-1997), the Labour Party’s electoral support greatly expanded, culminating in 1990 when it achieved 19.3 per cent of the vote. From 1992 to 1994 the party shared power in government with Fianna Fáil, and from 1994 to 1997 it served in a coalition government with Fine Gael and Democratic Left. Following a poor performance in the general election of 1997, Dick Spring resigned as party leader and was succeeded by Ruairi Quinn. In January 1999 the party merged with Democratic Left. At the 2002 general election Labour maintained its position as the country’s third-largest party with 21 seats. In October of the same year, Quinn was succeeded as party leader by Pat Rabbitte. At the 2007 general election the party proved unable to improve on its performance at the 2002 election, losing one seat.