Farmers' Party (Ireland)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Farmers' Party or Farmers' Union was an agrarian political party in the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...
between 1922 and 1932. It was concerned almost exclusively with the interests of the agricultural community, and never sought to widen its scope beyond the countryside.


History

The party won seven seats in
Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...
at the 1922 general election, the first in the Free State, and increased that total to fifteen in the 1923 election. These seats were concentrated in richer rural areas, an indicator that the party's support base was farmers with large holdings of land rather than the more numerous and poorer small farmers. At the 1925 Seanad election, the party won three seats. During the 1920s, the Farmers' Party supported the
Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; ) was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. It was named after the original Cumann na nGaedheal organisation which merged with the Dungannon Clubs and the National Co ...
government. Support was strongest among the deputies who supported
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
. Among these members were the party leadership, particularly leader Denis Gorey, who proposed a merger of the Farmers' Party with Cumann na nGaedheal. Supporters of
protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations ...
favoured continuation as an independent party, more criticism of the government, and from 1926 co-operation with the
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
party, founded in 1926. This division, between the more conservative free-trading large farmers and the more radical protectionist small farmers, harmed the party and eventually led to the partitioning of its votes between the two main parties. The pro-independence side won the tactical debate, and Gorey joined Cumann na nGaedheal before for the June 1927 general election. The party lost nine of its fifteen TDs during 1927 to defections and two election defeats. It continued to support the Cumann na Gaedheal government throughout the late 1920s, most importantly in the
vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
that preceded the September 1927 election. After that election, Farmers' Party leader Michael Heffernan was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs to ensure his party's support for the resulting minority government. Heffernan would himself join Cumann na nGaedheal before the subsequent election. By the 1930s, the party had little representation and less hope for an independent future. The party's large farmer supporters had migrated to Cumann na nGaedheal, while it had never truly succeeded in becoming the dominant party among small farmers, whose affinity was with Fianna Fáil. After the 1932 general election, only a small core of intransigents unwilling to co-operate with either Cumann na nGaedheal or Fianna Fáil remained in Dáil Éireann. Later in 1932, the Farmers' Party disbanded and these three TDs joined the new National Centre Party, contesting the 1933 election under that banner before unifying with Cumann na nGaedhael later in the year to form
Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, 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 Éireann. The party had a member ...
. In the late 1930s attempts were made to found a new farmers' party. A new party, the Irish Farmers' Federation, split over the issue of
derating In electronics, derating is the operation of a device at less than its rated maximum capability to prolong its life. Typical examples include operations below the maximum power rating, current rating, or voltage rating. In electronics Power se ...
; many small farmers were opposed to such a measure, believing that the increase in
indirect tax An indirect tax (such as a sales tax, per unit tax, value-added tax (VAT), excise tax, consumption tax, or tariff) is a tax that is levied upon goods and services before they reach the customer who ultimately pays the indirect tax as a part of ...
ation which would be sure to result would harm their interests. These small farmers set up
Clann na Talmhan Clann na Talmhan (, "Family/Children of the land"; formally known as the ''National Agricultural Party'') was an Irish agrarian political party active between 1939 and 1965. Formation and growth Clann na Talmhan was founded on 29 June 1939 in ...
, which was launched in 1938. It was much more radical and left-wing than the original Farmers' Party, and was supported mainly by small farmers.


General election results


References


Books

* *


See also

* :Farmers' Party (Ireland) politicians {{Historic Irish parties 1922 establishments in Ireland 1932 disestablishments in Ireland Agrarian parties in Ireland Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland Political parties disestablished in 1932 Political parties established in 1922