Irish nationalist
Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
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 ...
.
Origins
The organisation's origins lay in
National Unity
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
, a political study group founded in 1959. It failed to unite nationalists as it had hoped, and so it worked with
Gerry Quigley
Gerry Quigley (3 November 1928 – 23 December 2003) was a trade unionist and political activist in Northern Ireland.
Quigley grew up in the Donegall Pass area of Belfast. He studied at St Joseph's Training College before working as a primary s ...
, Secretary of the
Irish National Teachers' Organisation
The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) ( ga, Cumann Múinteoirí Éireann), founded in 1868, is the oldest and largest teachers' trade union in Ireland. It represents teachers at primary level in the Republic of Ireland, and at prima ...
, to call a conference of all nationalists.Brendan Lynn, ''Holding the Ground: The Nationalist Party in Northern Ireland, 1945 - 72'' (1997),
The conference was held on 19 April 1964 in
Eddie McAteer
Eddie McAteer (25 June 1914 – 25 March 1986) was an Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland.
Born in Coatbridge, Scotland, McAteer's family moved to Derry in Northern Ireland while he was young. In 1930 he joined the Inland Revenu ...
rejected his invitation, and other Nationalist MPs were reluctant to accept criticisms raised of them. The conference founded the National Political Front, with Anne McFadden as its secretary.
The National Political Front aimed to develop policy for the Nationalist Party and any other sympathetic politicians, and to play a role in selecting future nationalist candidates. Despite this, the Nationalist Party chose to organise its own convention to choose a candidate for Fermanagh and South Tyrone at the 1964 general election.
In the run-up to the election, McAteer wrote to leaders of other opposition parties to discuss forming a united opposition, and this produced talks with the
Republican Labour Party
The Republican Labour Party (RLP) was a political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1964, with two MPs at Stormont, Harry Diamond and Gerry Fitt. They had previously been the sole Northern Ireland representatives of the Socialist R ...
. They released a joint programme entitled "39 Points", largely based on the demands of the National Political Front. However, the relationship between the Front and the Nationalists again soured before the end of 1964. As a result, some politicians resigned from the Nationalist Party, including
John Hume
John Hume (18 January 19373 August 2020) was an Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the recent political history of Ireland, as one of the architects of the Northern Irela ...
.
National Party
In February 1965, the National Political Front founded a new organisation, the National Party, at a conference in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
. Prominent Nationalist Party members McAteer and
Gerry Lennon
James Gerrard Lennon (1907–February 1976), known as Gerry Lennon, was a solicitor and Irish nationalist politician.
Lennon stood unsuccessfully for the National League of the North in South Armagh at the 1933 Northern Ireland general election ...
attended as observers. This new group was chaired by Quigley, and aimed to organise supporters of a
united Ireland
United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the maj ...
in urban areas, to link with reinvigorated Nationalist Party groups in rural areas. Indeed, they pointedly did not organise in areas which already had a Nationalist MP.Thomas G. Mitchell, ''Native Vs. Settler'' In particular, they called on the Nationalist Party to adopt a
constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
based structure with a
party conference
The terms party conference (UK English), political convention ( US and Canadian English), and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party membe ...
and agreed party programme.
National Democratic Party
By June 1965, the Nationalist Party had taken no action on the issues raised by the National Party. The new group decided to maintain the pressure, and renamed itself the "National Democratic Party". Nationalist Senator
Paddy McGill
Patrick Francis McGill (1913–1977) was a journalist and nationalist politician in Ireland.
McGill was the editor-in-chief of the '' Ulster Herald'' series of newspapers, and was a Nationalist Party member of the Senate of Northern Ireland fr ...
was concerned that the NDP would try to take over the Nationalist Party. McAteer decided to aim for a close relationship with the new group, noting that they shared the "39 Points" programme.
Closely associated with the new party was the National Democrats
ginger group
The Ginger Group was not a formal political party in Canada, but a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who advocated socialism. The term ginger group also refers to a small group with new, radical ideas trying to act ...
. This had the same aims as the NDP and was chaired by
Ciaran McKeown
Ciaran McKeown (1943 – 1 September 2019) was a peace activist in Northern Ireland.
Early life and education
Born in Derry to a Roman Catholic family, the son of a schoolmaster Richard Deutsch, ''Mairead Corrigan, Betty Williams'', pp.69–70 ...
.
At the
1965 Northern Ireland general election
The 1965 Northern Ireland general election was held on 25 November 1965. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a u ...
, former
Independent Labour Group
:''See also the Independent Labour Party, which was active in Ireland in the early twentieth century.''
The Independent Labour Group was a nationalist political party in Northern Ireland from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s. Sometimes known as t ...
politician
John Joseph Brennan
John Joseph Brennan (1913–1976) was a Northern Irish politician. He stood for the British House of Commons in Belfast West at the 1959 UK general election, representing the Independent Labour Group, receiving 37.6% of the vote.
In 1962 he ...
won the constituency of Belfast Central, without facing any opposition. Among the party's candidates were future MPs
Eddie McGrady
Edward Kevin McGrady (3 June 1935 – 11 November 2013) was an Irish nationalist politician of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Down from 1987 to 2010.
McGrady was also a Member ...
and
Alasdair McDonnell
Dr Alasdair McDonnell (born 1 September 1949) is an Irish politician who is a member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and was its leader from 2011 to 2015. He was the Member of Parliament for Belfast South from 2005 to 2017 and ...
.
Dissolution
The next few years saw the start of
The Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
, and great radicalisation among Irish nationalists. Brennan lost his seat in 1969. Hume founded the
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...
(SDLP), bringing together independent nationalist politicians elected in 1969 and some representatives of existing parties. A large number of NDP members left to join the SDLP - making up 80% of its first 400 members. Facing a massive drop in membership, the NDP dissolved itself in October 1970, passing a resolution that all members should join the SDLP. These members included political strategist Ben Caraher, who was to greatly influence the approach of the early SDLP.Jorg Neuheiser and Stefan Wolff, ''Peace at Last?''
British National Front
The National Front (NF) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is currently led by Tony Martin. As a minor party, it has never had its representatives elected to the British or European Parliaments, although it gaine ...