The two historically largest parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, arose from a split in the original Sinn Féin.
Fine Gael is the successor of Cumann na nGaedheal, the faction that supported the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, while Fianna Fáil arose from members of the anti-Treaty faction who opposed Sinn Féin's abstensionism.
[1][2] As of 2024[update], Fianna Fáil is the largest party in Dáil Éireann, followed by Sinn Féin in second, and closely by Fine Gael in third position.
It is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and is led by Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
When Sinn Féin refused to drop its abstentionist stand, de Valera led most of its TDs out of that party with a view toward republicanising the Free State from within.
It oversaw much of the industrial development of the Republic and has consequently drawn support from all social classes, making it a classic populist party.
The name Sinn Féin, meaning "ourselves" or "we ourselves", has been used by a number of political organisations in Ireland since 1905, when first used by Arthur Griffith.
It is a member of the centre-right European People's Party and is led by Tánaiste Simon Harris.
Counting the tenure of predecessor Cumann na nGaedheal, Fine Gael has been in government in the periods 1922–1932, 1948–1951, 1954–1957, 1973–1977, 1981–1982, 1982–1987, 1994–1997, and 2011 to date.
In June 2007, the Green Party entered coalition government with Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.
The Social Democrats were founded in July 2015 by three independent TDs Catherine Murphy, Róisín Shortall, and Stephen Donnelly (who has since left the party for Fianna Fáil).
Aontú is an all-Ireland republican party with a left-wing economic stance and a conservative social position.
It was founded in 2019 by Peadar Tóibín who left Sinn Féin because of its support for the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018.
The Human Dignity Alliance (HDA) was founded by Senator Rónán Mullen in June 2018.
100% Redress was founded in County Donegal in 2023, campaigning on the Irish defective block crisis.
Workers and Unemployed Action (WUA) is a left-wing political organisation formed in 1985 by Séamus Healy.
Independent Left have one councillor, former PBP member John Lyons, on Dublin City Council.