The Irish Independence Party (IIP) was a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

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, ...

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 ...

, founded in October 1977 p. 135. by Frank McManus (former Unity MP for Fermanagh & South Tyrone between 1970 and 1974) and Fergus McAteer (son of Eddie McAteer, who had been leader of the Nationalist Party between 1953 and 1969). The party was effectively a merger of Unity and the Nationalist Party, as the bulk of activists and councillors from the two movements joined IIP. However several independent councillors also joined the party. It was boosted in the late 1970s by the defection of a prominent Protestant Larne

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (M ...

(SDLP) councillor, John Turnley, later the party chairman, who was killed in 1980 in Carnlough,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, by an attack claimed by the Ulster Defence Association. The party first came to prominence by standing four candidates in the 1979 UK general election. Its best result came in the Mid Ulster constituency where Patrick Fahy captured 12,055 votes (19%), however the main effect was to split the Nationalist vote and prevent the SDLP from gaining the seat. The IIP continued to grow as it became involved in the campaign to support prisoners in the Maze prison who were "on the blanket" and later

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

. The IIP won 21 seats on councils in the local elections of 19811981 local elections results
, ARK.ac.uk, accessed 2 August 2013 as a result of its involvement with the campaign, although this support was fairly localised, with 17 of the 21 seats being won in just four councils: Fermanagh,

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

Omagh Omagh (; from , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. Northern Ireland's c ...

and Newry & Mourne. However, for a short period of time it came to be accepted by some as a voice 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 ...

(although a number of other groups had similar but smaller localised support, with both the People's Democracy and the Irish Republican Socialist Party securing two seats each in Belfast at the same election). The IIP boycotted p. 23. the Assembly elections in October 1982, leaving the field clear for

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

, who began standing candidates in elections in the early 1980s. As a result, the IIP lost republican support, for example in the first by-election in which Sinn Féin stood, in Omagh in 1983, the IIP were only able to poll 5% in a seat that they had held, while the Sinn Féin candidate took 60%. Meantime moderate nationalists had remained with the SDLP. The party remained active until at least

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, when it had four councillors elected in local council elections, but appears to have been disbanded before the next local elections in 1989.

References

{{Authority control 1977 establishments in Northern Ireland Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland Irish nationalist parties Political parties established in 1977 Political parties disestablished in 1985