Analysis: This is not the first general election where parties and independent candidates with fringe views will be asking for votes
By Séan Ó Duibhir, University of Galway
This year's local and European elections proved to be something of an ‘Independents’ Day’, as a plethora of non-party voices entered the fray. Not all welcomed this phenomenon: veteran politician, former government minister and one-time Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte, pulled few rhetorical punches in communicating his displeasure. "There is a proliferation of Independents and fruitcakes all over the place", he said. "I never saw an election with so many fruitcakes.’
Despite criticism of his terminology, the prevailing view was that Rabbitte’s assessment remained accurate and the June election - like the forthcoming general election - featured a wide range of eclectic, eccentric and sometimes extreme candidates. There is a popular historical memory which only stretches to a time when Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour dominated Irish politics. Add in the influence of social media (which amplifies atypical voices) and many believe the kind of radical positions now adopted by some candidates is a new feature of electoral contests.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, focus on the large number of independents running in this month's general election
But the reality is more nuanced and the broader canvass of Irish political history is coloured by both failed and sometimes successful personalities whose views raised eyebrows in their day. The State’s early years boasted a cornucopia of Independents and small political parties with (now) unusual tastes: from ‘Independent Unionists’, quietly yearning for the Free State’s return to the United Kingdom, to a Communist Party that openly advocated for Ireland to join a ‘socialist federation’ with Britain.
One of the more eccentric characters to emerge during this decade was a loyal member of the 20th century’s most successful party. Martin Corry was a Cork Fianna Fáil TD who was infamous for unrestrained Anglophobia and was not averse to using racist language in parliament from time to time. To end partition, he once advocated stockpiling poison gas, with a view to unleashing it on Northern Ireland once the ‘wind was in the right direction’. That the largely nationalist border areas would likely suffer most from such a scheme did not temper Corry’s enthusiasm for a little ethnic cleansing.
To end partition, Corry once advocated stockpiling poison gas with a view to unleashing it on Northern Ireland once the 'wind was in the right direction'.
Whilst the Blueshirts remain Ireland’s best-remembered dalliance with Europe’s shirted fascists of the 1930s, there were much more committed advocates of totalitarian governance vying for votes. In 1940, the anti-Treaty IRA established Córas na Poblachta (Republican System), which railed against ‘Masonic’ influence, embraced fascism, and included openly pro-Nazi and antisemitic elements.
While the electoral fortunes of Córas were dismal, its sister party, Ailtirí na hAiséirghe (Architects of the Resurrection) enjoyed marginally more success. Founded in 1942 by former Córas member, Gearóid Ó Cuinneagáin, the openly antisemitic Ailtirí advocated for a fascist state to be headed by a 'Ceannaire' (akin to Germany’s ‘Führer’), and proposed a conscript army to invade Northern Ireland. Perhaps surprisingly given emerging reports of Nazi concentration camps in Europe, this proudly fascist organisation won nine seats in the 1945 local elections. However, this success was not to be repeated, and the party evaporated in the 1950s.
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From the Alan Kinsella Project, profile of 1940s' fascist party Ailtirí na hAiséirghe who were led by Gearóid Ó Cuinneagáin
Although the Ailtirí never gained a Dáil seat, they had a stalwart ally in parliament. Oliver J Flanagan of the Monetary Reform Party shared much of the Ailtirí’s corporatist ideology as well as their conspiratorial bent, with Flanagan lamenting what he viewed as the malign influence of the ‘Jew-Masonic System’ on Irish society. Flanagan’s antisemitism became the stuff of legend and he encouraged the Government in 1943 to ‘rout the Jews out of this country’. This early conspiracism did little damage to his political career: he usually topped the poll in his constituency, later joined Fine Gael and even became Minister for Defence in 1976.
Niche candidates returned to prominence again in the 1980s. One notable Independent elected to parliament in 1981 was Seán Loftus or ‘Dublin Bay Loftus’, as he was more popularly known. This socially conservative and eccentric environmental activist had numerous sobriquets, owing to his penchant for legally changing his name to highlight issues or influence his placement on a ballot paper. Indeed, if his famous designations were taken together, his full name would have been ‘Séan Alderman-Daniel-Christian Democrat-Dublin Bay-Rockall Loftus.’
While a long career on Dublin Corporation saw some personal successes, his Dáil legacy was a vote against the infamous children’s shoes budget of 1982. This heralded the fall of the government of the day and the loss of Loftus’ own seat in the ensuing election.
Our last pick of quixotic campaigners brings us to the ‘Deflector’ candidates. For years, parts of Ireland enjoyed effectively free access to UK television channels via unregulated deflector aerial systems. However, a move towards multichannel multipoint distribution services (MMDS) – provided by private cable television operators – saw a clampdown on deflectors in the 1990s.
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From RTÉ Archives, Prime Time reporter Mike Milotte profiles successful smaller party and independent candidates in the 1997 general election including Michael Lowry, Joe Higgins, Jackie Healy Rae, Mildred Fox, Harry Blaney, Thomas Gildea and Tony Gregory
This prompted a number of anti-MMDS candidates to run in the 1997 general election, with Tom Gildea, unexpectedly capturing a seat held by Fianna Fáil in Donegal. Perhaps more surprisingly, Gildea and three other Independents put Bertie Ahern’s minority Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats' coalition in power.
This arrangement almost came a cropper in 2001 when Gildea attacked former minister Nora Owen, accusing her of corruption and labelling her a ‘handmaiden’ of the cable companies. An Opposition motion to discipline Gildea placed Coalition deputies in a quandary because a successful Dáil censure would threaten the other Independents’ support for the Government. Ultimately, Government TDs sided with Gildea in the vote, and the four Independent "buttons" continued to hold the FF-PDs trousers in place until the end of the Dáil term in 2002.
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Dr Séan Ó Duibhir is a part-time lecturer at the Centre for Adult Learning and Professional Development at University of Galway.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
