Aontú (; "Unite") is an
all-Ireland political party that was formally launched in January 2019, and operates in both 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. ...
and
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
.
Ideologically, Aontú is opposed to abortion and combines elements of social conservatism with advocacy for a united Ireland and centre-left economics. It has been led by
Peadar Tóibín since its foundation.
History
The party was founded by Peadar Tóibín, a
TD who resigned from
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gr ...
on 15 November 2018 due to his anti-abortion views after opposing the
party whip
A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideolog ...
on the
Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018.
He began canvassing elected representatives, securing support within a week from two
local councillors in the Republic. Tóibín held meetings across the island addressing interested potential members. The first
Northern Ireland local councillor declared on 7 January 2019. eight councillors had joined. A second councillor in Northern Ireland joined on 26 February 2019.
The name ''Aontú'' was announced at a meeting in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
on 28 January 2019.
The ''
Meath Chronicle
The ''Meath Chronicle'' is a local newspaper serving County Meath, Ireland and based in the town of Navan. Publication is weekly. It is owned by Celtic Media Group
Celtic Media Group provides publishing, printing and pre-press (graphic desi ...
'' said that the announcement of the name was precipitated by its unexpected publication on the
UK Electoral Commission website.
Tóibín said the party had sought registration in both jurisdictions, that "Aontú obviously means unity and our major objective is
the unity of Irish people north and south".
He recalled that Belfast was the birthplace of the
United Irishmen of 1798. Aontú would "seek to build an all-Ireland economy to mitigate the worst effects of
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...
, economic justice for all and to protect the
right to life
The right to life is the belief that a being has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including capital punishment, with some people seeing it a ...
."
Tóibín said he was talking with Sinn Féin,
SDLP and
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independe ...
representatives in Northern Ireland, and that "people from Sinn Féin, SDLP and
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...
backgrounds would feel comfortable" in the party.
Aontú's then deputy leader Anne McCloskey came under criticism for her comments about the effectiveness of masks during the
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
pandemic, with party leader Peadar Tóibín defending her right to her view on the topic. McCloskey stepped down as a councillor in October 2020, and was replaced by party member Emmet Doyle. She was replaced as deputy leader by Denise Mullen. At the 2022 Ard Fheis, Mullen stepped down from the position of deputy leader was and replaced by Gemma Brolly, Aontú candidate for
East Derry at the
May 2022 Assembly election.
In November 2020, the
Standards in Public Office Commission announced that Aontú were one of five political parties who failed to provide them with a set of audited accounts for 2019, in breach of statutory obligations. In response, Aontú released a statement claiming that they had submitted the account statements and apologising for the delay, citing the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
Ideology
While Aontú was founded in a split from
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gr ...
, Aontú members and elected representatives come from diverse political backgrounds: two councillors are former members of the
Social Democratic and Labour Party, one councillor is a former member of
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...
, and two other councillors never held political office prior to joining Aontú. The party retains the ideology of
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate.
The develop ...
and related policies; for example, Aontú maintains a policy of
abstentionism, which means that while it runs candidates in Northern Ireland in British general elections, should an Aontú candidate be elected they would not take up their seat in the British parliament.
The party was described by the unionist ''
Belfast News Letter'' as "
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
conservative"
and by ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' as "
socially conservative",
while
Harry McGee described the party's ideology as "rural conservatism and
traditionalism
Traditionalism is the adherence to traditional beliefs or practices. It may also refer to:
Religion
* Traditional religion, a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group
* Traditionalism (19th-century Catholicism), a 19th–c ...
". It is
anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respo ...
.
The party holds left-leaning views on economics, migration and climate change.
[ Tóbín advocates for "sustainable levels" and "managed" immigration into Ireland and has called for "a nuanced debate that lies neither in walls nor in open borders." In 2021, deputy leader, Denise Mullen, called for greater action during the Afghan refugee crisis and for Ireland to be "a leader in accepting Afghan refugees". '' The Irish Catholic'' editor Michael Kelly believed the party could "capitalise" on the "abandon]ent
Ents are a species of beings in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth who closely resemble trees; their leader is Treebeard of Fangorn forest. Their name is derived from an Old English word for giant.
The Ents appear in ''The Lor ...
fmany of the values that were key to a largely Catholic electorate in the North" by "the traditional parties of nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
".
As of early 2020, the party's published policies included proposals for a United Ireland; a referendum on a "right to collective bargaining and trade union membership"; an end to zero hours contracts; and increased state spending on public housing. Their site states Ireland should model itself on the " best practice in Scandinavian countries." In their 2021 budget submission, they called on changes to the state pension scheme, reducing Leap Card fares and increasing the Banking Levy.
Elections
2019 local elections
At the 2019 Northern Ireland local elections on 2 May, Aontú nominated 16 candidates across 7 of the 11 local councils. It won one seat, Anne McCloskey in Ballyarnett DEA on Derry and Strabane Council, with its two outgoing councillors losing their seats. Several months after the election, a councillor for the SDLP in Mid Ulster joined Aontú.
The party nominated 53 candidates for the Republic's local elections on 24 May, including its seven sitting councillors. Three were elected. It did not run any candidates in the elections for the European Parliament held in Northern Ireland or in the Republic.
2019 Dáil by-elections
Aontú contested two of the four 2019 Dáil by-elections. Finian Toomey came 7th in Cork North-Central with 1,008 votes (3.9%), being eliminated on the fifth count. Jim Codd came 6th in Wexford with 2,102 votes (5.2%), being eliminated on the second count.
2019 United Kingdom general election
Aontú contested 7 of the 18 Northern Ireland seats in the 2019 United Kingdom general election
The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party receiving a landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 48 seats and won 43.6% of the popular vote ...
. The party received 9,814 votes (1.2%).
2020 Irish general election and Seanad election
Aontú fielded 25 candidates in the 2020 Irish general election, including leader Peadar Tóibín (Meath West), deputy leader Anne McCloskey (Sligo-Leitrim) and a number of sitting local councillors. Tóibín was the only successful candidate. As Tóibín was not invited to participate in a televised debate alongside the leaders of other parties, the party threatened a High Court action against RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...
. The party, however, did not proceed with the action noting that there "was not enough time to have the action heard" before the debate.
In the 2020 Seanad election, Paul Lawless contested the Cultural and Educational Panel receiving 2.6% of votes.
2021 Dublin Bay South Dáil by-election
Mairéad Tóibín unsuccessfully contested the 2021 Dublin Bay South by-election, coming 9th with 740 first preference votes (2.9%) on the first count, being eliminated on the fifth count.
2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election
Aontú fielded 12 candidates in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election
The 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on 5 May 2022. It elected 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It was the seventh assembly election since the establishment of the assembly in 1998. The election was held three month ...
. None of Aontú's candidates were elected, with the party coming in 8th place with 12,777 first preference votes (1.5%).
Representatives
The party has one representative, TD Peadar Tóibín, at national level (in Dáil Éireann). As of early 2020, Aontú had five sitting representatives at local level, including three county councillors in the Republic of Ireland and two local councillors in Northern Ireland.
Election results
Dáil Éireann
Northern Ireland Assembly
Westminster elections
Local elections
Ógra Aontú
Aontú's youth branch, Ógra Aontú, was formed in May 2020. Membership of the branch is open to Aontú members aged between 16 and 30.
Footnotes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2019 establishments in Ireland
All-Ireland political parties
Anti-abortion organisations in the Republic of Ireland
Anti-abortion organisations in the United Kingdom
Conservative parties in Ireland
Conservative parties in the United Kingdom
Eurosceptic parties in Ireland
Irish republican parties
Political parties established in 2019
Political parties in Northern Ireland
Political parties in the Republic of Ireland
Sinn Féin breakaway groups
Syncretic political movements