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[3]
Pro-Europeanism[4]
Political positionCentre-left[5]
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
56 / 949
European Parliament
1 / 14
Website
labour.ie Edit this at Wikidata
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The Labour Party (Irish: Páirtí an Lucht Oibre, literally "Party of the Working People") is a centre-left[6][7][8] and social-democratic[9][10] political party in the Republic of Ireland.[3] 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,[11] it describes itself as a "democratic socialist party" in its constitution.[12]

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 fifth-largest party in Dáil Éireann, with seven 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. The Labour Party is a member of the Progressive Alliance,[13] Socialist International,[14] and Party of European Socialists.[15]

  1. ^ "Rebeccamoynihan, Author at the Labour Party". Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  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. ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Ireland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  4. ^ Richard Dunphy (2015). "Ireland". In Donatella M. Viola (ed.). Routledge Handbook of European Elections. Routledge. pp. 247–248. ISBN 978-1-317-50363-7. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  5. ^ Richard Dunphy (2015). "Ireland". In Donatella M. Viola (ed.). Routledge Handbook of European Elections. Routledge. pp. 247–248. ISBN 978-1-317-50363-7. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Fiona Buckley (16 March 2016). Michelle Ann Miller; Tim Bunnell (eds.). Politics and Gender in Ireland. Routledge. p. 32. ISBN 978-1134908769. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  9. ^ Dimitri Almeida (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.
  10. ^ Richard Collin; Pamela L. Martin (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.
  11. ^ "Labour's proud history". labour.ie. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  12. ^ "Party Constitution". labour.ie. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  13. ^ "Participants". Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  14. ^ "Socialist International – Progressive Politics For A Fairer World". Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  15. ^ "Parties". Party of European Socialists. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.