An Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD, Uachtaráin Fhianna Fáil Launch of Party programme to commemoration centenary of foundation Tuesday 24th February 2026

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Thank you all for attending. This is the first national event to commemorate 100 years of Fianna Fáil, the Republican Party.

The centenary of the foundation of a political party is no small matter. This is especially true when, throughout those 100 years, it has been, at all stages, a significant electoral force central to public debates and competing to lead government.

Fianna Fáil has, in fact, been one of the most successful political parties in Europe and the democratic world through the last century. In looking at this the first thing to understand is that there was nothing inevitable about this.

The party founded in May 1926 by Eamon de Valera and his colleagues faced very significant barriers to success. They had left a party which had in place a well-established organisation and clear public support. They were starting effectively from scratch.

They faced the sustained opposition not just of those they had left, but also a governing party which projected a sense of having a right to govern and a willingness to use many informal levers to frustrate opponents.

What has always struck me about their decision to found a new party is their sense of optimism.

They were fully realistic in their assessment of the hurdles they faced, but they knew that change was essential. At the very core of this was a search for a new agenda.

As I have said on many occasions in the past, if you try to understand Irish politics simply as a continuation of the civil war then you can’t understand Irish politics.

It ignores the fact that so many people changed their allegiance and that this state evolved dramatically.

It evolved to become a successful, international and open democracy – and this has been reflected in a more diverse and often splintered politics. The challenges of today, and the politics of today, are radically different to those of 1926 and this is a sign of success.

The fact is that Fianna Fáil was explicitly founded because a generation of leaders wanted to move on. They refused to stay stuck with an agenda defined solely by the issues of early 1922. They wanted to reach people outside of the boundaries of the civil war and to take a more radical approach to both asserting Irish sovereignty and addressing national needs.

The generation of leaders who founded the party were still young even though most of them had been active in politics and revolution for most of the past decade.

While we believe that 1916 belongs to no party, we have a right to be proud of how many of our founders had participated in the Rising, including many of the most senior surviving officers. To them, the lost leaders and volunteers of that period were not abstract figures – they were their friends and comrades. And it was their belief that the way to be loyal to their spirit and sacrifice was to show that republicanism was a living force for good.

When gathered together in the La Scala Theatre on the third Sunday in May no one really knew how this new party would be received.

Chairing the meeting was of course Constance Markiewicz. She had been subject, like most republican women, to propaganda describing her as a hysterical radical. But her motivation throughout her life had always been both constitutional and social.

For her, republicanism was about helping the people, and if that required taking a new route so be it.

One of the clearest demonstrations of her sincerity and substance is the fact that other political parties so regularly quote her and try to claim her.

We’ve even seen the leader of our largest opposition party claim Markiewicz as one of theirs, and her party’s shop sells posters of the founding Chairperson of Fianna Fáil. Even for them, this historical revisionism is pretty special.

On a more serious level, we have to continue to point out that irrespective of where people stood on the civil war, when it ended the Irish people were absolutely clear in not wanting to return to conflict.

Eamon de Valera’s speech at the Party’s founding meeting was a combination of dealing with the politics of the moment and steering people towards a very different direction.

Ultimately his objective, as shown in the programme, which was quickly developed by Seán Lemass and others, was to bring into power a radical government which would assert sovereignty, address pressing social concerns and develop employment through new industries.

They were remarkably gifted organisers and tacticians. They promised that their new national movement would be built on a foundation of community activists in every part of the country.

Where the government-controlled patronage and the established media, they would outwork them on the ground and in the quality of their programme.

In American political history the civil war is seen as having been at the centre of political campaigns for many decades.

The tactic of what was termed “waving the bloody shirt” was successful time and again. In contrast to that, while of course there was some civil war rhetoric, the approach here was very different.

One newspaper reported Lemass giving a speech in those early years in which he said, “anybody who came before the people and referred to incidents in the Civil War, to try to fan back to flame the dying fires of hatred, should be turned down as a public enemy”.

After 1923 no party contesting an Irish election while advocating armed conflict won more than 4% of the vote. That is a remarkable fact given the extreme political ideologies of the last century and the efforts of small groups here to promote conflict.

The new party also rejected the narrow and exclusionary nationalism which was developing rapidly in much of Europe. A strong belief in international law and an inclusive definition of the nation was there from the very beginning.

Bhí tábhacht ar leith ag baint le bunú Fhianna Fáil a chinntigh agus a dheimhnigh meas fadtéarmach agus infheistíocht sa chultúr Gaelach agus sa Ghaeilge.

Nuair a fhéachtar siar áfach ar na blianta luatha sin den pháirtí is den tábhacht é a aithint nach raibh náisiúnachas teoranta ag breathnú isteach i gceist.

Within just over a decade Fianna Fáil had not only become the majority party, but it had also implemented a truly radical series of economic, social and constitutional policies.

This was the only case in Europe of a revolutionary group achieving power democratically and then actually strengthening the democracy.

Guaranteeing rights to all citizens, introducing strong separation of powers between the judiciary and the political system and drafting the first democratic constitution in the world ratified through a free referendum. These are not small things especially in the context of the 1930s.

There are many, many areas where members of Fianna Fáil take great pride in a record of practical patriotism on behalf of the people.

It is a simple fact that that Ireland has gone from being the poorest country in Europe to having records in employment, life span, educational attainment and public investment.

But equally we have no interest in the type of cynical whitewashing of history which others engage in. We fully understand that over a period as long as 100 years, and with many thousands holding elected positions through that time, you have mistakes to acknowledge and opportunities missed.

During our commemoration of this centenary, we will take opportunities to highlight key achievements and especially bringing together members and supporters to remember great figures and great achievements.

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of attending the first commemorative event in Laois. Over 350 members and supporters attended a wonderful evening.

In Kerry I attended an exhibition profiling the founding TD’s of the party there, and on Thursday we will launch a biography of James Ryan.

There will be many such events throughout the country during this year.

However, our primary focus is to be true to the founding spirit of the party by talking about areas where our country has progressed and ways in which we can move forward.

The centenary Árd Fheis in May will take the time to properly reflect on the Party’s traditions, while the core focus will remain on discussing policies to address the great economic, social, environmental and international challenges of this moment.

I want to acknowledge the Centenary Committee working under Deputy Shane Moynihan with the support of our headquarters staff.

They have come up with many more ideas than we could possibly implement, but the programme they have produced will be both broad and deep. A great balance between reflection on the past and looking forward.

I won’t repeat Shane’s contribution by listing all of the plans, but I’m particularly looking forward to the series of podcast discussions which will be recorded and distributed dealing with various issues like education, Europe and economic development.

In May 1926 a group of republicans gathered to take a risk and to show faith in the idea that a new, positive future for Ireland could be built.

Our programme to commemorate their faith will be true to their spirit by focusing on the substance of both what Ireland ahs achieved and how much more it can achieve in the years ahead.