The Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) was a small left-wing

political party in the Republic of Ireland There are a number of political parties in Ireland, and coalition governments are common. The two historically largest parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, arose from a split in the original Sinn Féin, Fine Gael from the faction Cumann na nGaed ...

. The party was formed by a merger of

Jim Kemmy James Kemmy (14 September 1936 – 25 September 1997) was an Irish socialist politician from Limerick, who started his political career in the Labour Party. He later left Labour, was elected as an Independent Teachta Dála (TD), and founded the ...

's Limerick Socialist Organisation and the Socialist Party of Ireland. Jim Kemmy was an Irish politician and member of

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

. He left the Labour Party in 1972. A number of members of the

British and Irish Communist Organisation The British and Irish Communist Organisation (B&ICO) was a small group based in London, Belfast, Cork, and Dublin. Its leader was Brendan Clifford. The group produced a number of pamphlets and regular publications, including ''The Irish Comm ...

also joined the party.

History

The Democratic Socialist Party was founded in 1982. It had a political stance to the left of the Labour Party, and was strongly opposed to

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

positions regarding

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Journalist

Brian Trench Brian Trench (born 13 July 1945) is a writer and academic living in Dublin, who has been centrally involved in developing science communication and science-in-society studies in Ireland. Early life Brian Trench is the son of artist Bea Orpen ...

claimed the DSP shared "the anti-republicanism and

economism Economism, sometimes spelled economicism, is a term referring to the distraction of working class political activism from a global political project to purely economic demands. The concept encompasses rewarding workers in socialism with money inc ...

" of the 1980s Workers' Party, despite disagreeing with the WP on other issues. In 1983 the party made submissions to the

New Ireland Forum The New Ireland Forum was a forum in 1983–1984 at which Irish nationalist political parties discussed potential political developments that might alleviate the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The Forum was established by Garret FitzGerald, then T ...

reflecting its non-nationalist position. It also held a strongly

secularist Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...

position, opposing the influence of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

on issues such as

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

, divorce and abortion. The party never held any Dáil seats other than Kemmy's seat in

Limerick East Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. With a populati ...

. Outside of Limerick City its membership was very small, although its positions on Northern Ireland and the Catholic Church attracted members of the

(BICO) to it. In 1982, the Socialist Party of Ireland joined. It merged with the Labour Party in May 1990. Many of the BICO members in the party later joined the Democratic Left when that party was established in 1992. A number of former members became successful electorally with the Labour Party such as Limerick TD

Jan O'Sullivan Jan O'Sullivan (; born 6 December 1950) is a former Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2014 to 2016 and as a Minister of State from 2011 to 2014. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Lime ...

, Dublin TD Michael Conaghan who was

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The ...

in 2004 and TD Eamonn Maloney. The historian

John de Courcy Ireland John Evan de Courcy Ireland (19 October 1911 – 4 April 2006) was an Irish maritime historian and political activist. Biography de Courcy Ireland was born at Lucknow, India, son of British Army major de Courcy Ireland and Gabrielle (née Byro ...

was also a member of the party and a candidate in the 1984 European elections.

List of the DSP electoral candidates

General election results

Local elections

References

{{Historic Irish parties 1972 establishments in Ireland 1990 disestablishments in Ireland Anti-nationalist parties Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland Democratic socialist parties in Europe Political parties disestablished in 1990 Political parties established in 1972 Secularism in Ireland Socialist parties in Ireland