It was founded on 15 September 1932 in the Mansion House, Dublin,[1] with the support of several sitting TDs, including the three Farmers' Party members and thirteen Independents, all of whom feared for their political future if they did not coordinate in a common organisation.
The party's policies included the establishment of a central bank (at this time, the Free State was still part of the sterling area, and the Bank of Ireland served as lender to the government), deflation through pay cuts, protectionism, an end to the Anglo-Irish Trade War and the removal of rates on agricultural land.
Fianna Fáil, with its strength among small farmers and increasing popularity among the rural middle-class, was the most obvious threat to a rural-based party at this time.
These incidents contributed to the rise of the Army Comrades Association (more commonly known as the Blueshirts), which was formed to protect the establishment conservative parties from the perceived threat of political violence.
Although MacDermot became a vice-president of Fine Gael at its foundation, he differed from most of his party colleagues on issues such as the degree of emphasis to be given to Ireland's membership of the British Commonwealth.