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The Democratic Socialist Party was a small social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. It was founded by Jim Kemmy, an Irish politician and member of Dáil Éireann, after he left the Labour Party in 1972. [1]
The party had a political stance to the left of Labour, and was strongly opposed to nationalist positions regarding Northern Ireland. In 1983 the party made submissions to the New Ireland Forum reflecting its non-nationalist position. It also held a strongly secularist position, opposing the influence of the Catholic Church on issues such as contraception, divorce and abortion.
The party never held any Dáil seats other than Kemmy's seat in Limerick East, and in most general elections it only contested that constituency and one constituency in Dublin. Its membership was also quite small, although its positions on Northern Ireland and the influence of the Catholic Church attracted members of the British and Irish Communist Organisation (BICO) to it. In 1982, the Socialist Party of Ireland (not the current Socialist Party) joined.
It merged with the Labour Party in 1990. Many of the BICO members in the party later joined the Democratic Left when that party was established in 1992.
A number of former members became successful electorally with the Labour Party such as Limerick TD Jan O'Sullivan, and Cllr Michael Conaghan Lord Mayor of Dublin in 2004. Teacher, historian and socialist, John de Courcy Ireland was also a member of the party and a candidate in the 1984 european elections.[2]
Notes
- ^ The Dynamics of Irish Politics by Paul Bew, Ellen Hazelkorn, Henry Patterson, (1989).
- ^ John de Courcy Ireland Elections Ireland website
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