The Kerry Independent Alliance () is a minor political party 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 Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
. It was established as the South Kerry Independent Alliance by former
Labour Party members in the 1990s based in the
Kerry South constituency.
Since 1999, it has only contested local elections in the
Killarney
Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Cast ...
area in
County Kerry, and its only candidate has been
Michael Gleeson, who was a Killarney town councillor from 1991 to 2014, and has been
Kerry County Councillor since 1999.
Gleeson was de-selected by the Labour Party as a candidate to contest the
1992 general election in favour of
Breeda Moynihan-Cronin, which led to his leaving the party and later forming the SKIA with his supporters. The SKIA discussed a merger with the Labour Party in 2006, with Gleeson as the proposed Labour Party candidate at the
2007 general election, after Moynihan-Cronin announced her intention to retire from
Dáil Éireann.
However, the talks failed, Moynihan-Cronin stood for re-election, and subsequently lost her seat.
Michael Gleeson unsuccessfully contested the 2011 general election again, in the Kerry South Constituency.
For the
2016 general election Kerry South has been merged with most of
Kerry North–West Limerick to create a new
Kerry constituency, as a result the party changed its name to the Kerry Independent Alliance. In January 2016, the party decided not to contest the February election;
Radio Kerry
Radio Kerry is a full-service, licensed radio station that operates from the franchise area of County Kerry in Southwest Ireland.
Radio Kerry was established in 1989 and began broadcasting on 14 July 1990. The station headquarters are in Tral ...
said this was due to Gleeson's work commitments, while ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' said he expected a second election later in the year when brighter evenings would make canvassing easier.
References
{{Political parties in the Republic of Ireland, state=collapsed
1992 establishments in Ireland
Political parties established in 1992
Political parties in the Republic of Ireland