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Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party, more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist Irish republican political party in Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál ("Fál" being a legendary name for Ireland). Historically Fianna Fáil has been seen as to the left of Fine Gael and to the right of the Labour Party and is generally seen as a classic "catch all" populist party - representing a broad range of people from all social classes with the belief in the coincidence of economic growth and social progress. Fianna Fáil has led governments including parties of the left (Labour Party and Green Party) and of the right (Progressive Democrats) and is often seen as a pragmatic party of the establishment. It is currently led by Micheál Martin.

Since the formation of the first Fianna Fáil government on 9 March 1932, the party has been in power for 61 of the last 79 years. Its longest continuous period in office was 15 years and 11 months (March 1932–February 1948). Its single longest period out of office, in that time, has been 4 years and 4 months (March 1973–July 1977). Seven of the party's eight leaders have served as Taoiseach. It was the largest party in the Oireachtas at every general election from the 1932 general election until the 2011 general election, when it suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government in the history of the Irish state, a loss described as "historic" in its proportions, where it saw its electoral support base diminished by 75%, as a reaction to the intervention, in the running of the Irish economy, of the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank in November 2010. After the February 2011 election, it moved from being the largest party to the third-largest party in the 31st Dáil Éireann.

Fianna Fáil joined the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party on 16 April 2009, and has sat in its associated Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group in the European Parliament since the 2009 European elections.

Organisational structure
Fianna Fáil is organised on an all-Ireland 32 county basis, with membership to the party open to all residents on the island from the ages of 16 and over.


 * Cumann: The basic unit of the Party structure is the Cumann (local branch) which are organised throughout Ireland. In general a Cumann represents a parish or polling station area. As of 2012, there are approximately 3000 active Fianna Fáil Cumainn across Ireland north and south.
 * Comhairle Ceantair: The Comhairle Ceantair (District Executive) manages Fianna Fáil’s affairs within the local electoral area (County Council area) in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Each Comhairle Ceantair (CC) is managed by an elected officer board made up of local party members.
 * Comhairle Dáil Ceantair: The Comhairle Dáil Ceantair (Constituency Executive) manages Fianna Fáil within its respective constituency or county. (In Dublin there is no Comhairle Ceantair structure so each Cumann sends its delegates directly to the Comhairle Dáil Ceantair. (CDC)
 * Ard Comhairle: The Fianna Fáil Ard Chomhairle (National Executive) meets every month and is responsible for dealing with all matters not provided for in the Corú. When the Ard Fheis is not in session the Ard Chomhairle is the supreme governing body of the Party.
 * Ard Fheis: The Ard Fheis (National Conference takes place on an annual basis where party members and representatives meet to discuss proposed motions and rule changes to the Party. The Party’s officers and a special group known as the Committee of 20 are elected to the Ard Chomhairle at the Ard Fheis.