The Catholic Democrats was a minor
conservative political party in
Ireland that existed between 1995 and 2019.
It was initially known as the National Party and later as the Christian Democrats before adopting its final name.
History
It was founded in December 1995 by
Nora Bennis, a
Catholic values and
anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
activist. Bennis had attained approximately 5% of the vote in the
1994 European election in the Munster constituency, running under the ''Family First'' label. Bennis played a role in the campaign against the
divorce referendum of that year, which passed with 50.3% of vote in favour. She had run a conservative pressure group called
Family Solidarity. The creation of the party by the
Limerick-based Bennis caused tension in conservative Catholic circles, because it followed the establishment of the
Christian Solidarity Party by
Gerard Casey Gerard Casey may refer to:
* Gerard Casey (artist), Irish artist
* Gerard Casey (philosopher) (born 1951), member of the School of Philosophy, University College Dublin
* Gerard Casey (Irish republican) (died 1989), member of the Provisional Irish ...
and other Dublin-based activists, who named their party to show support for Bennis' group. The National Party aimed to attract the support of those who support traditional Catholic morality in legislation. The party's policies also included financial support for rural communities and a smaller role for the state in economic affairs.
The party had no electoral success at any level during its existence. The party was renamed the Christian Democrats in 1998,
and then again during the course of 2012 as the Catholic Democrats. As of 2016, it was listed on the Register of Political Parties as "Catholic Democrats (The National Party)". They campaigned against the Thirty-first Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, children referendum in 2012.
Theresa Heaney from Cork ran, unsuccessfully, for the party in the 2014 European Parliament election in Ireland, 2014 European election in the South (European Parliament constituency), South constituency.
The party ran three candidates in the 2016 Irish general election, 2016 general election; Bennis in Limerick City, Heaney in Cork South-West and Noel McKervey in Longford-Westmeath. None of them were elected.
By October 2016 they no longer appeared on the Register of Political Parties. In November 2017, the Standards in Public Office Commission stated that no statements of accounts had been received from the Catholic Democrats, in breach of the Electoral Act.
In February 2019 party founder and lynchpin Nora Bennis died, signalling the final demise of a party which had already begun to wind down.
General election results
European election results
See also
*National Party (Ireland, 2016)
References
1995 establishments in Ireland
Catholic political parties
Conservative parties in Ireland
Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland
Eurosceptic parties in Ireland
Political parties disestablished in 2019
Political parties established in 1995
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