National Labour Party (Ireland)

The National Labour Party (Irish: Páirtí Náisiúnta an Lucht Oibre[1]) was an Irish political party active between 1944 and 1950. It was founded in 1944 from a rebel faction of the Labour Party, inspired by the intransigence of the incumbent leadership of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) against the majority of the party.[2]

National Labour Party

Páirtí Náisiúnta an Lucht Oibre
LeadersWilliam O'Brien,
James Everett
Founded1944
Dissolved1950
Split fromLabour Party
Merged intoLabour Party
IdeologySocial democracy
Union AffiliationIrish Transport and General Workers' Union
James Everett
William O'Brien
James Hickey
Everett, O'Brien and Hickey were amongst the most prominent members of the party

The split in the Labour Party was preceded by divisions in the broader labour movement, specifically the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union under William O'Brien and the Workers' Union of Ireland under James Larkin.[3] Larkin had rejoined the party in 1941, and two years later, he was nominated by the Dublin North-East branch of the Labour Party to contest the 1943 general election. The Administrative Council of the national party, with ITGWU members in the majority, refused to ratify this nomination. However, the Dublin party and Dublin-based candidates supported Larkin, as did Labour leader William Norton, and eventually Larkin was a victorious Labour candidate. When the ITGWU faction sought the expulsion of Dublin officials as revenge, it was routed. Two weeks later, the ITGWU disaffiliated from the Labour Party. Five of the eight TDs sponsored by the union resigned from the parliamentary party to form the National Labour Party, led by William O'Brien and James Everett.

There was much bitterness between the two parties. The ITGWU claimed that communists had taken over the Dublin Labour Party.[2] The Catholic press supported the ITGWU's allegations, which were founded on James Larkin's communist activities in groups like the Irish Worker League.[3] The number of communists in the movement had increased since 1941, when the Communist Party of Ireland had disbanded and its members had joined the Labour movement.[4] Based on conservative labour support, the National Labour Party won four seats in the 1944 election and five seats in the 1948 election. After the latter election, the National Labour Party entered the First Inter-Party Government against the wishes of the ITGWU. National Labour was represented at cabinet level by James Everett, now its leader, and so the party was obliged to work with several coalition partners, including the Labour Party. Co-operation in government, the retirement of O'Brien and the death of Larkin removed the causes of animosity from the labour movement.[3] In 1950, the National Labour Party folded back into Labour.

List of National Labour candidates
Election Constituency Candidate 1st Pref. votes %
1944 general election Kerry North Dan Spring 8,429 24.7
Kilkenny James Pattison 6.239 21.7
Wexford John O'Leary 6,864 15.9
Wicklow James Everett 4,992 19.2
1948 general election Carlow–Kilkenny James Pattison 4,707 10.3
Cork Borough James Hickey 4,507 10.0
Dublin North-Central George Walker 271 1.1
Dublin North-East Frank Robbins 476 1.1
Seán O'Moore 440 1.0
Kerry North Dan Spring 5,877 16.3
Wexford John O'Leary 5,513 13.1
Wicklow James Everett 4,834 18.3

General election results
Election Seats won ± Position First Pref votes % Government Leader
1944
4 / 138
 4 5th 32,732 2.7% Opposition James Everett
1948
5 / 147
 1 6th 34,015 2.6% Coalition (FG-LP-CnP-CnT-NLP) James Everett

See also
  • Category:National Labour Party (Ireland) politicians

References
  1. http://tuairisc.ie/agus-ta-na-torthai-istigholltoghchan-eile/
  2. Barberis, McHugh and Tyldesley (2005).
  3. Manning (1972).
  4. The Communist Party of Ireland A Critical History, Part 3 by DR O'Connor Lysaght, 1976.

Sources
  • Barberis, Peter, John McHugh and Mike Tyldesley. Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organisations. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005 ISBN 0-8264-5814-9, ISBN 978-0-8264-5814-8
  • Manning, Maurice. Irish Political Parties: An Introduction. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1972 ISBN 978-0-7171-0536-6
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