Micheál Martin TD, An Taoiseach and Uachtaráin Fhianna Fáil Speech - Dinner marking 100th anniversary of foundation of Fianna Fáil - Laois, Saturday 7th February 2026

 

 

A cháirde, it is a great pleasure to be with you this evening to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fianna Fáil, the Republican Party.

 

I’m particularly happy that the first event marking this centenary year is here in Laois, a county which has always been a bedrock for the party.

 

Through good times and bad Laois Fianna Fáil has always been one of our strongest local organisations – known for its commitment to our party’s values and the democratic republican tradition which has defined us from our first days.

 

Fianna Fáil is nothing without its members and supporters. This is something which most commentators outside the party have never really understood.

 

The thousands of people in every part of the country who selflessly give their time to the party. They are never scared to make their voices heard and they are relentless in pushing those of us who have the honour to hold elected office to be true to what is one of the most successful parties in the history of democratic Europe.

 

So, I have to start with a thank you to you all. Not just for being here but for everything you do for the party.

 

In his absence, I would like to acknowledge our friend, former leader and Taoiseach Brian Cowen. Brian is one of the most famous sons of Offaly, and of course proud of this, but he was also proud to be TD for Laois as well as his native county for 27 years.

 

Brian served his constituents, his party and his country with dignity and honour throughout his long career. It was a privilege to serve with and under him in government.

 

Brian is a true democratic Irish republican. One of the things which distinguished him as a leader was his respect for those who disagreed with him. He always understood that people of good faith could be on the opposite sides of an issue as long as they treated each other with respect.

  

Over the past century Laois has had a long record of electing Fianna Fáil representatives who have made important contributions locally, nationally and in Europe.

 

I want to acknowledge our excellent team of Laois councillors and in particular Councillor Seamus McDonald from Rosenallis.

 

Two years ago, Seamus won his ninth election in a row and last year was honoured for his 40th year as a Fianna Fáil member of Laois County Council.

 

Thank you for your service, Seamus.

 

Laois has returned Deputies who went on to serve as ministers, committee chairmen and highly influential voices in important debates.

 

The late Paddy Lalor held the distinction of being the last person to captain Laois in an All-Ireland final. He came from a family steeped in our revolutionary struggles.

 

His grandfather had been an important Land League activist and his mother a member of Cumann na mBán deemed dangerous enough by the authorities that she was interned in Kilmainham Gaol.

 

Paddy began his career as chairman of his local Abbyleix Cumann and was elected to the Dáil in 1961, which was followed by a full third of a century hold important roles.

 

He was a member of cabinet and then returned to the European Parliament for three elections.

 

He served as a Vice-President for 5 years and was an important voice on issues for Irish farmers and for the different concerns of the Midlands.

 

I also want to remember the service of Liam Hyland as a TD, Minister in the Department of Agriculture and as an MEP – and Mountmellick’s own John Moloney who as a TD and as Minister of State for Mental Health began many important initiatives which help thousands of people every year.

 

Finally, I want to acknowledge the 29 years of service of Deputy Sean Fleming. Sean is one of the most hard-working members of Dáil Éireann. He has served as Chairman of the PAC, as a Minister in the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Finance and today as Chairman of the Committee which is overseeing the largest and most important development plan in Irish history.

 

The centenary of one of democratic Europe’s most successful political parties is an important moment. Not only is our country one of the only states which remained democratic throughout the past 100 years, by every available measure Ireland and its place in the world have been transformed.

 

We face serious challenges, but no one can deny how far our country has come.

 

This didn’t happen by chance. It came from the choices made by the Irish people and the leadership of Fianna Fáil and its programme of progressive republicanism.

 

When our founders gathered on Sunday May 16th, 1926, they knew that no matter how illustrious their service to the nation had been, they were starting afresh.

 

That day they woke up to unseasonably freezing temperatures. Dublin was covered by thick, dark clouds. Yet records say that, as the day progressed, the skies cleared and there was a mood of excitement and expectation amongst hundreds who answered the call of Eamon de Valera to found a new political movement gathered.

 

With Constance Markiewicz in the chair, and many of the great names of 1916 and the War of Independence present, it might have been expected that they would be angry and looking back to the idealism of our revolution.

 

Exactly the opposite was the case. And this spoke to the core of why Fianna Fáil was founded.

 

De Valera and his colleagues were determined to find new ways forward. They rejected the idea that programmes and methods had to remain fixed in time.

 

To them the essence of republicanism was not a focus on the past, but the ability to respond to the needs of today and the years ahead.

 

One of the laziest but most persistent comments about Irish politics is that we have been defined by civil war politics.

 

The fact is that Fianna Fáil was founded because we refused to carry on the civil war divide.

 

Our founders wanted a party which was open to new people and new policies. They wanted to show people who had been on the other side in both the War of Independence and Civil War that there was a new party which was willing to work with them to serve the people.

 

The programme set out for Fianna Fáil in those days emphasised core ideals which are as important today as they have ever been.

 

A rejection of the sterile ideologies of the left and the right.

 

A practical patriotism which believed in achieving both economic development and social control.

 

Securing Ireland’s ability to be a truly sovereign nation.

 

Active engagement with other countries as a voice for peace and progress.

 

And of course, a belief that all people who share this island have a common interest which would be best served though sharing an independent state.

 

They understood that our new state was failing in critical ways.

 

We were the poorest state in Europe.

 

We had a rapidly falling population, low employment and no plans for addressing critical issues like slum conditions experienced by hundreds of thousands of people.

 

We also had a political situation defined by inflexibility, a lack of ambition and a refusal to build Irish sovereignty in a more assertive way.

 

The party Eamon de Valera announced 100 years ago showed from its very first moments that it would be different.

 

It had few resources, zero media support and the active opposition of a highly politicised state administration – but Fianna Fáil showed an energy and determination which rapidly overcame these hurdles.

 

The foundation and the corner stone of the new party was in its reliance on a comprehensive national network of members and supporters. The party organisation wasn’t an afterthought – it was the first priority.

 

There are many stories about leaders like Seán Lemass travelling the country to reach out to old comrades who had turned away from politics. But much more than this, our party threw open its doors to people from all backgrounds and never insisted on a litmus test relating to the past.

 

Within a year of being founded Fianna Fáil received over 100,000 more votes than republicans had won – and within six years this splinter group from a defeated party doubled its vote and became the largest party in Dáil Éireann.

 

While Ireland, like every country, has seen enormous political changes and we are now a highly diverse European democracy, as we look back at our history we are entitled to be proud of the fact that we are today the largest party in Dáil Éireann, the largest party in Seanad Éireann and the largest party in local government.

 

There have been many great figures and moments over the past hundred years so there’s only time to reflect on a few. For me there are certain themes to be found across the decades, and which define Fianna Fáil practical patriotism, its core democratic republicanism.

 

From our party’s very first days in government we showed our determination that Ireland would be a strong, democratic and secure republic.

 

The scale and pace of change implemented by de Valera, Lemass, Ryan and the other members of that radical government was breathtaking, leaving behind it, a lasting and positive impact.

 

Our government at that time represented the only example in the world of a revolutionary group which secured power and then introduced strong legal controls on its use of power.

 

De Valera’s profoundly republican Bunreacht na hÉireann was the first constitution in world history adopted in a free referendum.

 

Our party has every right to be proud of a constitution introduced in 1937 which protected minorities, strengthened the rule of law and called for peace and international law to govern relations between nations.

 

As this demonstrated, our party was, from its very first days, always a believer in strong international cooperation.

 

We made Ireland a strong voice against the drift towards war in the League of Nations – and we took a lead in supporting practical action for peace in the United Nations.

 

It was in this spirit that we should remember the last great public service of our founding generation. Seán Lemass, who as schoolboy had served in the GPO in 1916, with the strong support of the party, understood that to be truly secure and to prosper, Ireland needed to be part of an effective, rules-based community of European democracies.

 

In a pure expression of the republicanism of Wolfe Tone, Fianna Fáil successfully argued to the Irish people about securing sovereignty through having the confidence to share it.

 

It is because we believe in empowering the Irish people that a commitment to education has defined us from our earliest days.

 

Every major expansion in educational opportunity in our history, has been initiated by Fianna Fáil.

 

The introduction of new types of schools. Free secondary education. The creation of special needs provision.

 

The creation of new third level colleges. The creation of research and infrastructure funding.

 

These and many more initiatives from our party have been the core reasons why Ireland today has one of the highest levels of educational achievement in the world.

 

It is also why hundreds of thousands of people have well paid jobs which can only be conducted by a highly educated workforce.

 

It is why we have a dynamic combination of innovative Irish industry and world-leading international companies.

 

A unique feature of Fianna Fáil from our very first days is that we have shown how you can both support business and support strong social programmes – and we have shown that a strong economy can be the basis of real social progress.

 

We’ve used Ireland’s success to invest in health and education. To increase pensions and other social supports. And to invest in community services.

 

Our commitment to building a shared future for all on this island is as strong as it has ever been. The achievement of the first ever agreed blueprint on the future of our island is something we will always be proud of.

 

But where others focus on talking to their own side, we know that the only way forward is through active engagement and understanding. It’s through showing a real, long-term commitment to challenging your own to do things differently and create a new agenda.

 

This is the essence of the spirit of the party founded one hundred years ago. A determination to find new ways forward – and this is the spirit which we bring to great challenge of leading the government of this modern, European republic.

 

That is why we are driving forward the investment and innovation of the Shared Island Initiative – which is creating new contacts and understanding across historic divides.

 

That is why we are leading our country in support of a strong Europe and democratic values – acting in both word and deed to support the people of Ukraine and the Palestinian people.

 

It is our founding spirit that is why we are pushing forward the largest public investment programme in our history.

 

It is why we are determined to make our schools more inclusive and tackle disadvantage.

 

And of course, it is why we are determined to accelerate the new era of home building which is underway and which is a defining social challenge of our time.

 

The country which our party was founded to change has been transformed in the past century.

 

We continue to face many challenges, but our country has achieved sustained progress of a type which even the most optimistic dreamers did not foresee.

 

Ours is democratic republic which has overcome great hurdles to take its place amongst the nations of the world.

 

The generations who worked to build and renew Fianna Fáil the Republican Party over the past century deserve our thanks and they deserve our commitment to continue their record of service for the people of Ireland.