National Center Party (Ireland)

The National Center Party (or for short: Center Party , Irish An Lár-Pháirtí Náisiúnta ) was a political party at the time of the Irish Free State in the 1930s .

The Center Party was founded in the late 1932 and was originally called the National Farmers and Ratepayers League ( National Association of Farmers and Landowners ). The most famous members of the party included leader Frank MacDermott and James Dillon , son of John Dillon, then leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party . In the 1933 general election, the party already won 7 seats, although the election took place only a month after the party was founded.

The National Center Party merged with Cumann na nGaedheal and the Army Comrades Association (Blueshirts) in September 1933 to form Fine Gael , for a long time the largest opposition party and at times also the ruling party. MacDermott and a few other party members opposed the merger. While MacDermott Fianna Fáil joined, most of the others ran as independents.