Hidden Histories: Clann na Poblachta

On The Record with Gavan Reilly Highlights

English - February 23, 2020 12:32 - 14 minutes - 848 Bytes
Education radio Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed

Previous Episode: Martin Kenny, Sinn Féin TD for Sligo Leitrim & Party’s Spokesperson on Justice & Equality

Next Episode: Alan Shatter, Former Minister for Justice and Fine Gael TD

In the long history of Irish electoral upsets, General Election 2020 will certainly feature, but could anything match the story of Clann na Poblachta?
Created by Séan MacBride, a former Chief of Staff of the IRA and later founder of Amnesty International, the party took ten seats in the chaotic 1948 General Election, coming to hold the balance of power and to topple what many people thought would never fall - Fianna Fáil.
What would emerge, the state’s first inter-party government, was a volatile experiment - so what are the lessons to be learned today in the story of Clann na Poblachta, who were subsequently wiped out electorally and who never returned to government?
Donal Fallon spoke to Gavan about this important moment in Irish political history.