A (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

for association; plural ) is the lowest local unit or branch of a number of

political parties. The term ''cumann'' may also be used to describe a non-political association. Traditionally,

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

and

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

have called their local branches by that term.

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

also uses the term to describe its local branches in the Clare constituency.

Structure of Fianna Fáil

The structure of Fianna Fáil is as follows; the elementary units of the party are the , the (Area Council), and the (Constituency Council). The is a form of district unit covering a number of over a geographic area (usually a

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

local electoral area), while the is a collection of all the or all the in a Dáil (parliamentary) constituency or county.

Structure of Sinn Féin

In Sinn Féin, the party structure is similar to that of Fianna Fáil. The principal units of the party are the and the (Area Council), which consists of elected members from the area's . The is a form of district unit covering a number of ''cumainn'' over a geographic area (usually a

constituency). The functions as the

national committee and executive; it is composed of elected board members on an all-Ireland basis.

Structure of Fianna Fáil

Structure of Sinn Féin

See also

Further reading