Labour Party (Ireland)

Labour Party
Páirtí an Lucht Oibre
LeaderIvana Bacik
Seanad leaderRebecca Moynihan[1]
Parliamentary Party ChairpersonSeán Sherlock
ChairpersonLisa Connell
General SecretaryBillie Sparks
Founders
Founded28 May 1912; 112 years ago (28 May 1912)
Headquarters2 Whitefriars, Aungier Street, Dublin
Youth wingLabour Youth
Women's wingLabour Women
LGBT wingLabour LGBT
Membership (2020)~3,000[2][needs update]
IdeologySocial democracy
Pro-Europeanism
Political positionCentre-left
European affiliationParty of European Socialists
European Parliament groupProgressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
International affiliation
Colours  Red
Anthem"The Red Flag"
Dáil Éireann
6 / 160
Seanad Éireann
4 / 60
Local government
57 / 949
European Parliament
1 / 14
Website
labour.ie Edit this at Wikidata
Part of a series on
Organised labour
Labour movement
Labour rights
Trade unions
Strike action
Labour parties
Academic disciplines

The Labour Party (Irish: Páirtí an Lucht Oibre, lit. 'Party of the Working People') is a centre-left[3][4][5] and social democratic[6][7] political party in the Republic of Ireland.[8] Founded on 28 May 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin, and William O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trades Union Congress.[9]

Labour continues to be the political arm of the Irish trade union and labour movement and seeks to represent workers' interests in the Dáil and on a local level. Unlike many other Irish political parties, Labour did not arise as a faction of the original Sinn Féin party, although it merged with the Democratic Left in 1999, a party that traced its origins back to Sinn Féin. The party has served as a partner in coalition governments on eight occasions since its formation: seven times in coalition either with Fine Gael alone or with Fine Gael and other smaller parties, and once with Fianna Fáil. This gives Labour a cumulative total of twenty-five years served as part of a government, the third-longest total of any party in the Republic of Ireland after Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

Led by Ivana Bacik, it is the joint fifth-largest party in Dáil Éireann, with six seats, and is the joint third-largest party in Seanad Éireann, with four seats, making Labour the fifth-largest party in the Oireachtas overall as of 2021. It currently has 1 MEP. The Labour Party is a member of the Progressive Alliance,[10] Socialist International,[11] and Party of European Socialists.[12]

  1. ^ "Labour Party Spokespeople" (PDF). Labour Party.
  2. ^ Kenny, Aisling (13 April 2020). "Covid-19 to hit parties' votes on government formation". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  3. ^ Paul Teague; James Donaghey (2004). "The Irish Experiment in Social Partnership". In Harry Charles Katz; Wonduck Lee; Joohee Lee (eds.). The New Structure of Labor Relations: Tripartism and Decentralization. Cornell University Press. p. 17. ISBN 0-8014-4184-6. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  4. ^ Brigid Laffan; Jane O'Mahony (2008). Ireland and the European Union. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-137-04835-6. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  5. ^ Buckley, Fiona (16 March 2016). Miller, Michelle Ann; Bunnell, Tim (eds.). Politics and Gender in Ireland. Routledge. p. 32. ISBN 978-1134908769. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  6. ^ Almeida, Dimitri (2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. CRC Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-136-34039-0. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  7. ^ Collin, Richard; Martin, Pamela L. (2012). An Introduction to World Politics: Conflict and Consensus on a Small Planet. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 218. ISBN 978-1-4422-1803-1. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  8. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Ireland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Labour's proud history". labour.ie. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Participants". Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  11. ^ "Socialist International – Progressive Politics For A Fairer World". Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  12. ^ "Parties". Party of European Socialists. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.