The Business and Professional Group (also known as the Businessmen's Party) was a minor political party in the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independ ...

that existed between 1922 and 1923. It largely comprised ex- Unionist businessmen and professionals.Barberis, McHugh and Tyldesley (2005), p. 206 It fielded five candidates in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

and Cork at the 1922 general election. One candidate, Michael Hennessy, was elected. At the 1923 general election, company directors John Good and

William Hewat William Hewat was an Irish politician and company director. He was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Businessmen's Party Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member ...

were elected in Dublin under the label of Businessmen's Party.

Andrew O'Shaughnessy Andrew O'Shaughnessy may refer to: * Andrew O'Shaughnessy (politician) (1866–1956), Irish politician and businessman, independent TD for Cork Borough 1923–1927 * Andrew O'Shaughnessy (historian) (born 1959), British historian * Andrew O'Shau ...

and Richard Beamish were elected under the label of ''Cork Progressive Association'' (CPA). Both CPA members however sat in the

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland r ...

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 ...

and in 1924 both took the

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; "Society of the Gaels") was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. In 1933 it merged with smaller groups to form the Fine Gael party. Origins In 1922 the pro-Treaty ...

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 ...

.John M. Regan, ''The Irish Counter-Revolution 1921-1936'', Gill & Macmillan, 1999, p. 223 The group's support base was largely

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

; its policies were pro-

Treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

and pro-economic orthodoxy, including low taxes and the

Treasury view In macroeconomics, particularly in the history of economic thought, the Treasury view is the assertion that fiscal policy has ''no'' effect on the total amount of economic activity and unemployment, even during times of economic recession. This vi ...

. It did not contest any general elections after 1923.

General election results

References

Sources

* Political parties established in 1922 Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland 1922 establishments in Ireland Political parties disestablished in 1923 1923 disestablishments in Ireland {{Republic-of-Ireland-party-stub