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Farmers' Party Páirtí na bhFeirmeoirí[1] | |
|---|---|
| Leader |
|
| Founded | 1922 |
| Dissolved | 1932 |
| Ideology | Agrarianism |
TheFarmers' Party orFarmers' Union (Irish:Páirtí na bhFeirmeoirí) was anagrarian political party in theIrish Free State between 1922 and 1932.[2]
The party won seven seats inDáil Éireann at the1922 general election, the first in the Free State, and increased that total to fifteen in the1923 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 the1925 Seanad election, the party won three seats.
During the 1920s, the Farmers' Party supported theCumann na nGaedheal government. Support was strongest among the deputies who supportedfree trade. Among these members were the party leadership, particularly leaderDenis Gorey, who proposed a merger of the Farmers' Party with Cumann na nGaedheal. Supporters ofprotectionism favoured continuation as an independent party, more criticism of the government, and from 1926 co-operation with theFianna Fáil 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 theJune 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 thevote of no confidence that preceded theSeptember 1927 election. After that election, Farmers' Party leaderMichael Heffernan was appointed asParliamentary 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 the1932 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 newNational Centre Party, contesting the1933 election under that banner before unifying with Cumann na nGaedhael later in the year to formFine Gael.
In the late 1930s attempts were made to found a new farmers' party. A new party, the Irish Farmers' Federation, split over the issue ofderating; many small farmers were opposed to such a measure, believing that the increase inindirect taxation which would be sure to result would harm their interests. These small farmers set upClann na Talmhan, 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.
| Election | Seats won | ± | Position | First Pref votes | % | Government | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | 7 / 128 |  7 | 4th | 48,718 | 7.8% | Opposition | Denis Gorey |
| 1923 | 15 / 153 | 8 | 3rd | 127,184 | 12.1% | Opposition | Denis Gorey |
| 1927 (Jun) | 11 / 153 |  4 | 4th | 101,955 | 8.9% | Opposition(supported CnG Minority Gov't) | Michael Heffernan |
| 1927 (Sep) | 6 / 153 | 5 |  4th | 74,626 | 6.4% | Arrangement with CnG Minority Gov't | Michael Heffernan |
| 1932 | 3 / 153 | 3 | 4th | 22,899 | 1.8% | Opposition |
