Fine Gael

This article is about the political party founded in 1933. For the organisation founded in 1922, see Fine Ghaedheal.

Fine Gael
LeaderSimon Harris
General SecretaryJohn Carroll
Deputy leaderHelen McEntee
ChairpersonAlan Farrell[1]
Seanad leaderSeán Kyne
Founders
Founded8 September 1933; 91 years ago (1933-09-08)
Merger of
Headquarters51 Mount Street Upper, Dublin, Ireland
Youth wingYoung Fine Gael
LGBT wingFine Gael LGBT[2]
Membership (2020)Decrease 25,000[3][needs update]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right[16]
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party
International affiliationCentrist Democrat International
Colours
  •   Dark blue (official)
  •   Blue (customary)
Dáil Éireann[17]
32 / 160
Seanad Éireann[18]
16 / 60
European Parliament[19]
4 / 14
Local government[20]
246 / 949
Website
www.finegael.ie Edit this at Wikidata

Fine Gael (/ˌfiːnə ˈɡeɪl, ˌfɪn-/ FEEN-nə GAYL, FIN-,[21][22] Irish: [ˌfʲɪnʲə ˈɡeːl̪ˠ]; lit. 'Family (or Tribe) of the Irish') is a liberal-conservative[23][24][25] and Christian democratic[23][26][27] political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann.[28][29] The party had a membership of 25,000 in 2021.[30] Simon Harris succeeded Leo Varadkar as party leader on 24 March 2024.[31]

Fine Gael was founded on 8 September 1933[32][33] 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.[34] In its early years, the party was commonly known as Fine Gael – The United Ireland Party, abbreviated UIP,[35][36][37] and its official title in its constitution remains Fine Gael (United Ireland).[38]

Fine Gael holds a pro-European[39] stance and is generally considered to be more of a proponent of economic liberalism than its traditional rival, Fianna Fáil.[40] 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."[41][42] 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.

  1. ^ Sherlock, Cillian (17 April 2024). "Alan Farrell named Fine Gael chairman". Sunday Business Post. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Progressive Programme for Government will improve rights and equality for LGBTI+ people". 22 June 2020.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Eva Wall (26 June 2020). "End to century of civil war politics as Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to enter historic coalition with Greens". Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  7. ^ [4][5][6]
  8. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Ireland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Suiter, Jane; Farrell, David; Harris, Clodagh (2018). Constitutional acceleration within the European Union and beyond. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315453651-7. ISBN 9781315453651.
  11. ^ [8][9][10]
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ [12][13][14][15]
  17. ^ "Find a TD – Houses of the Oireachtas".
  18. ^ "Find a Senator – Houses of the Oireachtas".
  19. ^ "Full list of MEPs". European Parliament. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  20. ^ "2019 Local contents". ElectionsIreland.org.
  21. ^ "Fine Gael". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Fine Gael". Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Longman. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ 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.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ "Join Fine Gael". Fine Gael. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  31. ^ Brennan, Eve (24 March 2024). "Ireland set for youngest-ever PM after Simon Harris wins leadership of governing party". CNN. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  32. ^ "History of Fine Gael". Generalmichaelcollins.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  33. ^ Farrell, Mel (22 June 2020). "The evolution of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael". RTE.ie. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  34. ^ 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.
  35. ^ "History of Fine Gael". Fine Gael. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  36. ^ "Fine Gael | History, Policy, & Structure". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  37. ^ 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.
  38. ^ "Fine Gael Constitution" (PDF). Fine Gael. 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  39. ^ 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.
  40. ^ 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.
  41. ^ Gael, Fine. "Our Values". Fine Gael. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  42. ^ "FG Values". David Stanton website. Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2011.