Our Roots

Fine Gael was established as an independent party in 1933.

However, it can trace its history back to the struggle for Irish independence, which gathered new momentum in 1916 when the Irish Volunteers organised a rebellion against British rule in the Easter of that year.

The defeat of the Easter Rising, and the subsequent execution of many of its leaders by the British authorities, led to a sea of change in Irish public opinion.

As a result, in the 1918 General Election, the moderate Irish Parliamentary Party was supplanted by Sinn Féin ('We Ourselves') as the main voice of Irish opposition to Westminster rule.

Sinn Féin refused to attend Westminster and instead set up its own parliament, or Dáil.

The Anglo-Irish War that took place between 1919 and 1921 saw Michael Collins emerge as Sinn Féin's supreme guerrilla commander.

Michael Collins, Chairman of the Provisional Government, 1922

This war eventually led to negotiations between Sinn Féin and David Lloyd George' s British Government at Downing Street.

Though the IRA had been close to surrender before calling a truce, the British administration was unaware of the perilous nature of Sinn Féin's campaign and both sides signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty that established the Irish Free State, thereby giving Ireland 'the freedom to achieve freedom'.

Twenty-six counties of Ireland were given dominion status, while six Northern counties remained part of the United Kingdom.

When the Treaty was brought to the Dáil for a vote, Sinn Féin went through a bitter split.
The majority of the party voted in favour of the Treaty, and the Free State was created.

A minority, however, refused to recognise these new constitutional arrangements, thus sparking a Civil War.

The Civil War led to the assassination, early on, of Michael Collins.

Collins as first Commander in Chief of the National Army

The loss of Collins, coupled with the death of another prominent pro-Treaty leader, Arthur Griffith, meant there were tough challenges ahead for the new Free State Government.

Arthur Griffith