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Christian Solidarity Party Comhar Críostaí | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Daire Fitzgerald[1] |
| Founder | Gerard Casey |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Dissolved | 2014 (year deregistered) |
| Headquarters | 14 North Frederick Street, Dublin 1 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| Colours | Lemon yellow |
The Christian Solidarity Party (Irish: Comhar Críostaí) was a minor political party in the Republic of Ireland. It had no representation at local or national level. Founded in 1991 as the Christian Principles Party, it stood candidates in the 1991 local elections, it was reformed as the Christian Centrist Party and ran candidates in the 1992 general election receiving 0.2% of first preference votes. It was renamed in 1994 to incorporate the word "Solidarity" following a mutual pledge of support between the party and the conservative advocacy group, Family Solidarity. Its first candidate was Catherine Kelly, contesting the 1994 Cork South-Central by-election,[2] who received 1,704 (4.0%) first preference votes. The CSP took part in the 1997 general election and contested each general election, and a number of other by-elections until 2011. It also fielded candidates in Local and European Parliament elections.
In the 2013 Meath East by-election the CSP supported the Direct Democracy Ireland candidate Ben Gilroy taking out newspaper adverts to support him, previously some CSP candidates included DDI on their election literature.
In 2013 the party lobbied the Standards in Public Office to Committee against the mandatory requirement for political parties accounts to be audited by an external body, claiming this would be a very high expense for a small party,[3] where as parties represented in the Dáil have access to public funds for this. In January 2014 the party's entry in the official register of political parties was cancelled,[4][5]
In 2015, the Christian Solidarity party was registered as a third party with the Standards in Public Office, to receive donations for political purposes.
Despite no longer being registered as a political party, the party continues to campaign on a socially conservative platform, most recently, to oppose the 2024 constitutional referendums on the Family and Care[6]
- ^ "People Comhar Críostaí". Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ Catherine Kelly Candidate History Archived 10 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. electionsireland.org
- ^ Draft Political Party Accounts Archived 21 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine Letter to the Standards in Public Office, 9 September 2013
- ^ "ELECTORAL ACTS 1992 AND 2012 Register of Political Parties" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 14 January 2014. p. 80. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
- ^ "Register of Political Parties in Ireland". Houses of the Oireachtas. 11 February 2014. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ O'Brien, Tim (15 February 2024). "Christian Solidarity Party urges 'No' vote in amendment campaign". The Irish Times.