Aontacht Éireann (; ) was an Irish

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

founded by

Kevin Boland Kevin Boland (15 October 1917 – 23 September 2001) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Leader of Aontacht Éireann from 1971 to 1976, Minister for Social Welfare from 1961 to 1966 and 1969 to 1970, Minister for Local Governm ...

, a former

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

government minister and advocate of

Irish republicanism Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish Republic, Irish republic, void of any British rule in Ireland, British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously ...

. The party mainly operated within the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. Boland resigned from

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

on 3 November 1970 rather than support a motion of confidence in

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Jack Lynch John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979. He was Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, ...

, who had sacked ministers

Neil Blaney Neil Terence Columba Blaney (1 October 1922 – 8 November 1995) was an Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1948 as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) representing Donegal East. A high-profile member of the party, Blane ...

and

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...

for their refusal to support

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

policy on

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

amid allegations of misuse of aid to Northern Ireland during the

Arms Crisis The Arms Crisis was an Irish political scandal in 1970 in which Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney were dismissed as cabinet ministers for alleged involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle arms to the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland. At t ...

. In May 1971, Boland resigned from Fianna Fáil; on 19 September 1971, he launched the new party before an audience of over one thousand delegates.Gallagher (1985)

Seán Sherwin Seán Sherwin (12 December 1946 – 30 April 2025) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. Life and career Sherwin was an unsuccessful candidate for the Dublin South-West (Dáil constituency), Dublin South-West constituency at the 1969 Irish gen ...

, Fianna Fáil TD for

Dublin South-West Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, part of the Wicklow Mountains range. Dublin i ...

, was the only serving member of the Dáil to join Aontacht Éireann. Sherwin would later return to Fianna Fáil and serve as its National Organiser. Boland tried to persuade Fianna Fáil dissidents

Paudge Brennan Patrick Brennan (18 February 1922 – 10 June 1998) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who sat for 25 years as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wicklow constituency, and was briefly a senator. Early life Patrick Brennan was born on 18 February 19 ...

and

Des Foley Desmond Foley (12 September 1940 – 5 February 1995) was an Irish Gaelic footballer and hurler of the 1950s and 1960s. He was also a politician and represented Fianna Fáil in Dáil Éireann. Sports Desmond Foley was born into a farming fam ...

to join his party, but they remained within Fianna Fáil, contesting the 1973 general election as independents. Captain James Kelly, who was implicated and then cleared in the Arms Trial, became Vice-Chairman of Aontacht Éireann. The party supported Northern Ireland's

republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

more vehemently than Fianna Fáil. It was described by Boland as "a return to what Fianna Fáil was when it was set up to subvert the Free State". Boland declared that "armed resistance was justified" and that "the enemy of the Irish people is still the same enemy that was successfully engaged in places like

Crossbarry Crossbarry () is a small village on the R589 road (Ireland), R589 regional road in Innishannon parish, County Cork, Ireland. It is about 20 km southwest of the city of Cork City, Cork. The River Owenabue flows through the village. The We ...

and Kilmichael - and co-operation with that enemy at present operating in the Six Counties means the same thing now as it did then". At the 1973 general election, Boland, Sherwin and eleven other candidates stood for Dáil Éireann under the Aontacht Éireann banner. None was successful and the party received less than 1% of the total national vote. Boland himself won only 6% of the vote in his constituency, Dublin County South. The party briefly had local representation, with Gerry Carroll serving as a member of

Cork City Council Cork City Council () is the local authority of the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Before 1 January 2002, the council was known as Cork Corporation. The council is responsible for ho ...

. Boland and most of the original members of the party resigned in 1976 after it was taken over by a number of

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

individuals.O'Maolain, Ciaran, ''The Radical Right: A World Directory (Keesing's Reference Publications)'', pg 164. The party was essentially defunct by the time it was formally wound up in 1984.Barberis, McHugh and Tyldesley (2005)

Notes

References

* Barberis, Peter, John McHugh and Mike Tyldesley, 2005. Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organisations. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. , * Gallagher, Michael, 1985. Political Parties in the Republic of Ireland. Manchester: Manchester University Press. , *
Elections Ireland
(incomplete record of AE election candidates) {{DEFAULTSORT:Aontacht Eireann 1971 establishments in Ireland 1984 disestablishments in Ireland Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland Irish republican parties Political parties established in 1971 Political parties disestablished in 1984