I know nothing about this Party or its policies. Sean Maloney later joined the Labour Party and then Fine Gael.
Letterkenny has another small party these days represented on the council “The Letterkenny Residents Party” which I have no literature for but would love to get some. I gather they may be a break away from The Socialist Party.
The late Tony Gregory spent 25 years in the Dail, yet it was for “The Gregory Deal” in his first term that many remember him most for. He was an avid community activist and worker, staunchly anti drugs and was jailed for his stand with the Street traders. This leaflet is from the 1985 Local elections.
A Nail the Lies leaflet from the Fianna Fail Feb 1982 campaign.Hitting out at Fine Gaels 1981 promises. Mentions the famous Vat on clothing and footwear that brought down that government.
Mention too of ‘housewives’… you wouldn’t get that today.
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Fianna Fail Dun Laoghaire November 1982.The line up including Lady Valerie Goulding.
How often, if ever has a ‘Lady’ or ‘Lord’ run for Fianna Fail? (Henry Mountcharles ran for Fine Gael in Louth in 1992 and later as an Independent for the Seanad.)
Included too are David Andrews, Owen Hammond and the supposed author of the infamous 1977 Fianna Fail Manifesto Martin O’Donoghue. David Andrwews won a seat, O’Donoghue lost his seat at this election as Fine Gael took 3 of the five seats in Dun Laoghaire.
It was also the first electoral outing of now Labour Leader Eamon Gilmore who stood for the Workers Party.
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This Leaflet was produced after the initial set up and discussion on policies. Pictured on the Front are the PD TDs Mary Harney, Pearse Wyse, Bobby Molly , Michael Keating and Dessie O’Malley.
Lots of interesting stuff here… The Parties original aims including ‘Institutional Reforms’ and in the Social Welfare section “encouraging a more self reliant society”.
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I got this in September 1989. Mentions Roger Garlands recent election to the Dail. Its also far more left wing and idealistic than todays Green Policies. No mention of Global Warming as it wasn’t known about then (or at least by most people).
This is a joint document from the 1997 Rainbow Government. Highly unusual that 3 parties have a joint platform for an Irish General election. For the odd referendum you may find a common leaflet but certainly for a General Election its fairly Unique.
Their 21 goals for the 21st Century are spelt out as are their achievements in Government to date. Some nice poses from the three party leaders too.
In 1997 the Rainbow government went to the country looking for a new term. It was an already agreed joint platform which is highly
unusual. Each party had a ‘Partnership works’ slogan on their literature asking voters to continue their preferences to other
Government parties.
They also produced a joint policy document. And some joint election material.
In previous times Fine Gael/Labour had on occassion asked voters to continue preferences to the other party. At times it was unrequited as Fine Gael asked , but Labour didn’t. Indeed there are examples here where Fine Gael asked for Transfers to Labour where no Labour Party candidate stood.
Berties commitments for Aer Lingus/ Aer Rianta 1997 according to Martin Brady anyhow. Although 12 years ago, it illustates how things change and theres still no Rapid Rail link to the airport…
Tony Clarke Independent Socialist Dun Laoghaire November 1982. Although the fashion may be out of date, some of his ideas were slightly ahead of their time. Equal rights for Fathers wasn’t something talked about much then , at least openly anyhow. The salaries of TDs is a common complaint and of course the demand for Irish Unity was mainstream at the time. A demand too for a Divorce Referendum…. He polled 205 votes.
A copy of Marxist-Leninist Weekly from 3rd Feb 1988. Hits out at Britain and also Israeli Zionism. I’m not sure if this is the full version of the paper or a smaller pamphlet (Tabloid!) version of that weeks edition.
I can only presume that the group organizing the advertised Rally and march to the British Embassy ,”The Spirit of Freedom Committee” was the CPI-ML in ‘disguise’. A theme that runs through a lot of the Irish Left literature I have and I’d imagine internationally.
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With Jim Fitzsimons staying in Europe. Colm Hilliard was the only sitting Fianna Fail TD to contest the 1987 General Election in Meath.
Hilliard, Former TD Michael Lynch and newcomers Mary Wallace and Noel Dempsey were on the Fianna Fail ticket.
Lynch topped the poll as Fianna Fail won three of the five seats with Colm Hilliard and Noel Dempsey joining him in the Dail.
In 1989 Lynch lost his seat pipped on the final count by party colleague Dempsey.
In that 1989 election on the first count just 723 votes separated the four Fianna Fail candidates.
Lynch was unlucky that the two Dail terms he served were short, one period was from February to November 1982 and the other from 1987 to 1989.
Fine Gael in November 1982. Garret Fitzgerald is used prominently. Note the reference to “after the Shambles of Fianna Fail”. Most elections up until the late 90s FF would have campaigned on the benefits and stability of single party government. This was a good dig at that. The outgoing Fianna Fail government had had all sorts of scandals as well as the usual internal dissent over Haugheys leadership.
In the the 1999 local elections, the Socialist Workers Party put forward 8 candidates, none of whom were close to being elected. This is the literature of Grace Lally who stood in the Rathmines Ward. Contains information on the candidate, the SWP Election Manifesto and of course the “Get Involved” form too.
The National Party were formed on the back of the success of Nora Bennis in the 1994 Euro Elections where she suprisingly outpolled Kathleen Lynch of the Democratic Left, Dan Boyle of the Greens as well as amongst others the Workers Party and Sinn Fein Candidates. During the count she overtook the third Fianna Fail candidate, the sitting MEP Paddy Lane.
The National Party had candidates in the 1997 and 2002 General elections. In 1997 many of their candidates polled over 1000 votes with Joh Harold Barry recieving 2,125 votes in Tipperary South. However all their candidates lost their deposits.
Peter McNamee and Máire Kirrane’s leaflets below.
A Leaflet from the 1997 general election asking voters to ‘Vote Christian’. The National Party and Christian Solidarity Party were both Pro-Life as were the rest of the candidates listed.
Eamon Murphy in Dublin Central had been in the shortlived Christian Centerist Party, Cllr Richard Greene had a party Muintir na hEireann which had literature for that election but must not have been registered. Sean Lyons and Sean Dublin Bay Loftus would have also been Pro-Life.
All of the candidates listed, bar Sean Dublin Bay Loftus, lost their deposits.
From the 1999 local elections a flyer from Mick Murphy of The Socialist Party running in Tallaght Central. Murphy polled 753 votes and failed to win a seat.
Mildred Fox an Independent TD for Wicklow, was first elected in 1995 in a By Election caused by the death of her father Johnny Fox. Johnny Fox was a Fianna Fail Councillor who ran as an Independent candidate in the 1992 General Election , having failed to get a nomination from Fianna Fail.
This Leaflet is from the 1997 General election. The issues addressed are mainly of a rural nature.
Irish Election Literature 
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