Catholic Democrats (Ireland)

{{Short description|Conservative Catholic minor political party in Ireland}}

{{for|the American not-for-profit organisation|Catholic Democrats}}

{{Infobox political party

|name = Catholic Democrats

|logo = Catholic Democrats (Ireland) logo.jpg

|caption = Logo of the Catholic Democrats {{circa}} 2010s

|logo_size =

|foundation = {{start date|1995}}

|dissolution = {{circa}} 2019

|founder = Nora Bennis

|blank1_title = Address

|blank1 = 47 O'Connell St.
Limerick

|ideology = Social conservatism
Political Catholicism
Anti-abortion
Hard Euroscepticism{{cite web |url=http://www.iiea.com/documents/Saying%20No-publication-IIEA-Tony%20Brown.pdf |title="Saying No". An Analysis of the Irish Opposition to the Lisbon Trea |last=Brown |first=Tony |date=2010 |access-date=28 November 2020 |quote=Mothers Alliance Ireland is led by Nora Bennis who has been associated with small parties such as the Christian Democrats and the National Party. She polled more than 18,000 votes in the 1994 European Parliament election, standing as an Independent. Mothers Alliance Ireland opposes the EU, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306080810/http://www.iiea.com/documents/Saying%20No-publication-IIEA-Tony%20Brown.pdf |url-status=dead }}

|position = Right-wing

|colorcode = {{party color|Catholic Democrats (The National Party)}}

|country = the Republic of Ireland

}}

The Catholic Democrats was a minor conservative political party in Ireland that existed between 1995 and 2019.{{cite news|newspaper=The Irish Times|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/bennis-says-new-party-will-surprise-1.29723|title=Bennis says new party will surprise|date=13 February 1996|quote=At the launching of the fledgling conservative and "pro family" party in Dublin yesterday|page=4|author=Maol Muire Tynan}} It was initially known as the National Party and later as the Christian Democrats before adopting its final name.

History

It was founded in December 1995 by Nora Bennis, a Catholic values and anti-abortion activist. Bennis had attained approximately 5% of the vote in the 1994 European election in the Munster constituency, running under the Family First label. Bennis played a role in the campaign against the divorce referendum of that year, which passed with 50.3% of vote in favour. She had run a conservative pressure group called Family Solidarity. The creation of the party by the Limerick-based Bennis caused tension in conservative Catholic circles, because it followed the establishment of the Christian Solidarity Party by Gerard Casey and other Dublin-based activists, who named their party to show support for Bennis' group. The National Party aimed to attract the support of those who support traditional Catholic morality in legislation. The party's policies also included financial support for rural communities and a smaller role for the state in economic affairs.

The party had no electoral success at any level during its existence. The party was renamed the Christian Democrats in 1998,{{citation|url=http://www.refcom.ie/en/past-referendums/the-children-referendum/list-of-approved-bodies.pdf|title=List of Bodies Approved by the Referendum Commission under Section 7 of the Referendum Act 1998, in respect of the Referendum on the Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012|accessdate=13 January 2014}} and then again during the course of 2012 as the Catholic Democrats. As of 2016, it was listed on the Register of Political Parties as "Catholic Democrats (The National Party)".{{cite web |title=Register of Political Parties |url=http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/main/documentation/Regisgter-of-Political-Parties-10-December-2015.pdf |website=Houses of the Oireachtas |accessdate=25 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304135424/http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/main/documentation/Regisgter-of-Political-Parties-10-December-2015.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |date=10 December 2015}} They campaigned against the children referendum in 2012.{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/1106/1224326180040.html|title=No campaign bemoans lack of time and resources|last=Griffin|first=Dan|date=6 November 2012|newspaper=The Irish Times|accessdate=9 November 2012}} Theresa Heaney from Cork ran, unsuccessfully, for the party in the 2014 European election in the South constituency.

The party ran three candidates in the 2016 general election;{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/election-2016/parties/catholic-democrats/|title=Election 2016 - Catholic Democrats|work=RTÉ News|date=10 February 2016}}[http://www.limerickpost.ie/2016/02/11/nora-is-back-on-the-election-trail-in-limerick/ Nora is back on the election trail in limerick] Limerick Post, 11 February 2016. Bennis in Limerick City, Heaney in Cork South-West and Noel McKervey in Longford-Westmeath. None of them were elected.

By October 2016 they no longer appeared on the Register of Political Parties.{{cite web |title=Register of Political Parties |url=http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/main/documentation/Register.pdf |website=Houses of the Oireachtas |accessdate=25 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113000646/http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/main/documentation/Register.pdf |archive-date=13 January 2017 |date=20 October 2016}} In November 2017, the Standards in Public Office Commission stated that no statements of accounts had been received from the Catholic Democrats, in breach of the Electoral Act.{{cite news|url=http://www.thejournal.ie/political-parties-statements-accounts-sipo-3722678-Nov2017/|title=Nearly half of Ireland's political parties failed to submit accounts to watchdog|publisher=TheJournal.ie|last=Burke|first=Ceimin|date=29 November 2017|accessdate=1 December 2017}}

In February 2019 party founder and lynchpin Nora Bennis died, signalling the final demise of a party which had already begun to wind down.{{cite news |date=23 February 2019 |title=Nora Bennis obituary: anti-abortion and divorce campaigner |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/nora-bennis-obituary-anti-abortion-and-divorce-campaigner-1.3800396 |work=Irish Times |access-date=28 November 2020 |quote=Theresa Heaney, a member of the – now disbanded – Catholic Democrats and long-time friend of Nora Bennis}}

General election results

class="wikitable sortable"
Election ! Seats won ! ± ! Position ! First Pref votes ! % ! Leader
1997 \| {{Composition bar\|0\|166\|hex={{party color\|Catholic Democrats}}}} \| {{nochange}} \| {{Increase}}8 \| 19,077 \| 1.1% \| Nora Bennis
1998 Limerick East by-election \| {{Composition bar\|0\|1\|hex={{party color\|Catholic Democrats}}}} \| {{nochange}} \| {{nochange}} \| 700 \| 1.64% \| Nora Bennis
2002 \| {{Composition bar\|0\|166\|hex={{party color\|Catholic Democrats}}}} \| {{nochange}} \| {{nochange}} \| 479 \| 0.96% \| Nora Bennis
2016 \| {{Composition bar\|0\|158\|hex={{party color\|Catholic Democrats}}}} \| {{nochange}} \| {{decrease}}12 \| 2,013 \| 0.1% \| Nora Bennis

class="wikitable sortable"

Election

! Seats won

! ±

! Position

! First Pref votes

! %

! Leader

1997

| {{Composition bar|0|166|hex={{party color|Catholic Democrats}}}}

| {{nochange}}

| {{Increase}}8

| 19,077

| 1.1%

| Nora Bennis

1998 Limerick East by-election

| {{Composition bar|0|1|hex={{party color|Catholic Democrats}}}}

| {{nochange}}

| 700

| 1.64%

| Nora Bennis

2002

| {{Composition bar|0|166|hex={{party color|Catholic Democrats}}}}

| {{nochange}}

| 479

| 0.96%

| Nora Bennis

2016

| {{Composition bar|0|158|hex={{party color|Catholic Democrats}}}}

| {{nochange}}

| {{decrease}}12

| 2,013

| 0.1%

| Nora Bennis

European election results

class="wikitable sortable"
Election ! Seats won ! ± ! Position ! First Pref votes ! % ! Leader
2014 \| {{Composition bar\|0\|11\|hex={{party color\|Catholic Democrats}}}} \| {{nochange}} \| {{nochange}} \| 13,569 \| 0.8 \| Nora Bennis

class="wikitable sortable"

Election

! Seats won

! ±

! Position

! First Pref votes

! %

! Leader

2014

| {{Composition bar|0|11|hex={{party color|Catholic Democrats}}}}

| {{nochange}}

| 13,569