The Socialist Labour Party (SLP) was a minor

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 the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

formed under the leadership of

Matt Merrigan Matthew Merrigan (1922 – 15 June 2000) was an Irish socialist and trade unionist from Dublin, known for his catchphrase "Profits are wages that have not been distributed yet." Biography Early life Born in Dolphin's Barn, Dublin, Merrigan was th ...

(Dublin Secretary of the ATGWU) and

Noël Browne Noël Christopher Browne (20 December 1915 – 21 May 1997) was an Irish politician who served as Minister for Health from 1948 to 1951 and Leader of the National Progressive Democrats from 1958 to 1963. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1 ...

, Teachta Dála, TD in 1977. Another key figure was the radical journalist Brian Trench, former head of the Communications Department at Dublin City University along with the former Clann na Poblachta TD Jack McQuillan. The founders came from the Liaison Committee of the Labour Left, which in 1975/76 had tried to build the "Left Alternative",Goodwillie, John (Aug/Sept 1983). "Glossary of the Left in Ireland". Gralton: an Irish Socialist Review 9: 17-20. a coalition of progressivism, progressive organisations and individuals, aimed at addressing what they saw as the cultural and economic impoverishment of Irish society by the establishment parties of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The SLP regarded itself as highly progressive. It allowed for the right of factions to organise within the Party. The most notable were the ''Socialist Workers Tendency'', organised around members of the Socialist Workers Party (Ireland), Socialist Workers' Movement which left in 1980, the ''Workers Alliance for Action'' organised around members of the Irish Workers' Group which left in 1979 and the ''Republican Socialist Tendency'', organised around members of People's Democracy (Ireland), People's Democracy, which also left in 1979. In the 1981 Irish general election, 1981 general election the party fielded 7 candidates, with Noël Browne elected for Dublin North-Central (Dáil constituency), Dublin North-Central. Following a continuing decline in membership, the SLP was dissolved in 1982.

Candidates in the 1981 Irish general election

References

{{Historic Irish parties 1977 establishments in Ireland 1982 disestablishments in Ireland Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland Labour parties in Ireland Political parties disestablished in 1982 Political parties established in 1977 Socialist parties in Ireland