Irish political party
This article is about the political party founded in 1933. For the organisation founded in 1922, see
Fine Ghaedheal .
Fine Gael ( FEEN -nə GAYL , FIN - ;[ 22] [ 23] Irish: [ˌfʲɪnʲə ˈɡeːl̪ˠ] ; lit. ' Family (or Tribe) of the Irish ' ) is a centre-right , liberal-conservative ,[ 24] [ 25] [ 26] Christian democratic [ 24] [ 27] [ 28] political party in Ireland . Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann .[ 29] [ 30] The party had a membership of 25,000 in 2021.[ 31] Simon Harris succeeded Leo Varadkar as party leader on 24 March 2024.[ 32]
Fine Gael was founded on 8 September 1933,[ 33] [ 34] following the merger of its parent party Cumann na nGaedheal , the National Centre Party and the Blueshirts . Its origins lie in the struggle for Irish independence and the pro-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War , with the party claiming the legacy of Michael Collins .[ 35] In its early years, the party was commonly known as Fine Gael – The United Ireland Party , abbreviated UIP ,[ 36] [ 37] [ 38] and its official title in its constitution remains Fine Gael (United Ireland) .[ 39]
Fine Gael holds a pro-European [ 40] stance and is generally considered to be more of a proponent of economic liberalism than its traditional rival, Fianna Fáil .[ 41] 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."[ 42] [ 43] In international politics, the party is highly supportive of the European Union , along with generally supporting strengthened relations with the United Kingdom and opposition to physical force Irish republicanism . The party's autonomous youth wing, Young Fine Gael (YFG), was formed in 1977.
Having governed in coalition with the Labour Party between 2011 and 2016, and in a minority government along with Independent TDs from 2016 to 2020, Fine Gael currently forms part of a historic coalition government with its traditional rival, Fianna Fáil, and the Green Party , with Simon Harris serving as Taoiseach since April 2024.
^ Kerstin Hamann; John Kelly (2010). Parties, Elections, and Policy Reforms in Western Europe: Voting for Social Pacts . Routledge. p. 1980. ISBN 978-1-136-94986-9 . Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2016 .
^ Cesáreo R. Aguilera de Prat; Jed Rosenstein (2009). Political Parties and European Integration . Peter Lang. p. 64. ISBN 978-90-5201-535-4 . Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2016 .
^ [ 1] [ 2]
^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Ireland" . Parties and Elections in Europe . Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2020 .
^ Haßler, Jörg; Magin, Melanie; Russmann, Uta; Fenoll, Vicente (2021). Campaigning on Facebook in the 2019 European Parliament election : informing, interacting with, and mobilising voters . Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 137. doi :10.1007/978-3-030-73851-8 . ISBN 9783030738518 . S2CID 240887708 .
^ Suiter, Jane; Farrell, David; Harris, Clodagh (2018). Constitutional acceleration within the European Union and beyond . London: Routledge. doi :10.4324/9781315453651-7 . ISBN 9781315453651 .
^ [ 5] [ 6] [ 7]
^ Sherlock, Cillian (17 April 2024). "Alan Farrell named Fine Gael chairman" . Sunday Business Post . Retrieved 17 April 2024 .
^ Richard Dunphy (2015). "Ireland" . In Donatella M. Viola (ed.). Routledge Handbook of European Elections . Routledge. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-317-50363-7 . Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2016 .
^ William Crotty; David E. Schmitt (1998). Ireland and the Politics of Change . Routledge. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-317-88118-6 . Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019 .
^ Nicholas Rees; Brid Quinn; Bernadette Connaughton (2010). "Ireland and the European Union" . In Nicholas Rees; Brid Quinn; Bernadette Connaughton (eds.). Europeanisation and New Patterns of Governance in Ireland . Manchester University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-84779-336-2 . Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2016 .
^ Kate Nicholls (2015). Mediating Policy: Greece, Ireland, and Portugal Before the Eurozone Crisis . Routledge. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-317-64273-2 . Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2016 .
^ [ 10] [ 11] [ 12] [ 13]
^ Keena, Colm (5 March 2020). "Sinn Féin is the richest political party in Ireland" . Irish Times . Retrieved 4 January 2022 . This will bring total membership for [Sinn Féin] to around 15,000. According to their party spokespeople, Fine Gael has 25,000 members, while Fianna Fáil has 20,000.
^ "Find a TD – Houses of the Oireachtas" .
^ "Find a Senator – Houses of the Oireachtas" .
^ "Full list of MEPs" . European Parliament . Retrieved 12 March 2022 .
^ "2019 Local contents" . ElectionsIreland.org .
^ "Progressive Programme for Government will improve rights and equality for LGBTI+ people" . 22 June 2020.
^ "Local government facts and figures: Ireland" . LGIU.org .
^ "Fine Gael" . Lexico UK English Dictionary . Oxford University Press . Archived from the original on 1 March 2021.
^ "Fine Gael" . Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English . Longman . Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019 .
^ a b Hamann, Kerstin; Kelly, John (2 November 2010). Parties, Elections, and Policy Reforms in Western Europe: Voting for Social Pacts . Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-94986-9 . Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2016 .
^ Prat, Cesáreo R. Aguilera de (2009). Political Parties and European Integration . Peter Lang. ISBN 978-90-5201-535-4 . Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2016 .
^ Wall, Eva (26 June 2020). "End to century of civil war politics as Fianna Fail and Fine Gael to enter historic coalition with Greens" . Extra.ie . Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020 .
^ Banchoff, Thomas F.; Smith, Mitchell P. (1999). Legitimacy and the European Union: The Contested Polity . Psychology Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-415-18188-4 . Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2016 .
^ Slomp, Hans (30 September 2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics . ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-39181-1 . Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2016 .
^ McAuliffe, Nora-Ide (10 February 2020). " 'Seismic break for two-party system': UK and US media react to Election 2020" . The Irish Times . Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144 . Retrieved 16 October 2024 .
^ Lawless, Jill; Dumitrache, Nicolae (7 February 2020). "Ireland's two-party system shaken by Sinn Fein surge" . Associated Press . Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020 .
^ "Join Fine Gael" . Fine Gael . Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2021 .
^ Brennan, Eve (24 March 2024). "Ireland set for youngest-ever PM after Simon Harris wins leadership of governing party" . CNN . Retrieved 16 October 2024 .
^ "History of Fine Gael" . Generalmichaelcollins.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010 .
^ Farrell, Mel (22 June 2020). "The evolution of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael" . RTE.ie . Retrieved 21 February 2022 .
^ Foley, Frank (5 February 2013). "Controversy and the Cult of Collins" . History Ireland . Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2021 .
^ "History of Fine Gael" . Fine Gael . Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2020 .
^ "Fine Gael | History, Policy, & Structure" . Encyclopedia Britannica . Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020 .
^ Duffy, Rónán (6 February 2020). "Q+A: Here's where the parties stand on a united Ireland and holding a border poll" . The Journal . Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020 .
^ "Fine Gael Constitution" (PDF) . Fine Gael. 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020 .
^ Dunphy, Richard (2015). "Ireland" . In Viola, Donatella M. (ed.). Routledge Handbook of European Elections . Routledge. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-317-50363-7 . Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2016 .
^ Fox, Benjamin (24 February 2011). "Ireland's politics on the brink of a seismic shift" . EUobserver . Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2024 .
^ Gael, Fine. "Our Values" . Fine Gael . Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016 .
^ "FG Values" . David Stanton website . Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2011 .