The Catholic Democrats was a minor

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

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 ideological or p ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

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 Nora Bennis (11 November 1940 – 11 February 2019) was an Irish housewife and political activist from Limerick, who was a prominent advocate of traditional Catholic family values in the 1990s. ; reprinted in * * Early and personal life Be ...

, a

Catholic 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 ...

values and anti-abortion 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 Family Solidarity is an Irish conservative advocacy group run by lay Catholics. Founded in 1984 by supporters of the campaign that led to the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, it campaigned against the introduction of divorce. Nor ...

. The creation of the party by the

Limerick 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. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

-based Bennis caused tension in conservative Catholic circles, because it followed the establishment of the

Christian Solidarity Party The Christian Solidarity Party ( ga, Comhar Críostaí) was a minor political party in the Republic of Ireland. It had no representation at local or national level. Founded in 1991 as the Christian Principles Party, it stood candidates in the 1 ...

by Gerard Casey and other

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

-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 Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of co ...

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 children referendum in 2012. Theresa Heaney from Cork ran, unsuccessfully, for the party in the 2014 European election in the South constituency. The party ran three candidates in the 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 The Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) ( ga, Coimisiún um Chaighdeáin in Oifigí Poiblí) is an independent body established in December 2001 by the Irish Government under the Standards in Public Office Act, 2001. It replaced the Public ...

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

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 {{Ireland-party-stub

History

General election results

European election results

See also

References