Fís Nua

The party was formed in June 2010, mainly by former members of the Green Party who were unhappy with that party's participation in the then coalition government with Fianna Fáil. Fís Nua intended to campaign on the issues of political transparency, environmental issues and social justice, and hoped to draw support from existing supporters of both the Greens and the Labour Party.{{Cite news |last=Donal Thornton |date=28 June 2010 |title=New political party for Ireland |url=http://www.irishcentral.com/news/New-political-party-for-Ireland-97294769.html |access-date=7 February 2011 |work=Irish Central}}{{Cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Tim |date=28 June 2010 |title=Political party to register 'within weeks' |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0628/1224273468181.html |access-date=7 February 2011 |work=The Irish Times {{subscription required}}}} "Fís Nua" means "New Vision" in Irish.

The party was registered on 4 February 2011,{{Cite web |date=14 January 2011 |title=Iris Oifigiúil |url=http://www.irisoifigiuil.ie/currentissues/Ir140111.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/10702/20110311204232/http://www.irisoifigiuil.ie/currentissues/Ir140111.pdf |archive-date=11 March 2011 |access-date=7 February 2011 |publisher=Government of Ireland}} and on the following day it was announced that they would run six candidates in the 2011 general election.{{Cite news |last=Gartland |first=Fiona |date=7 February 2011 |title=New party targets corruption |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0207/1224289183570.html |access-date=7 February 2011 |work=The Irish Times {{subscription required}}}} Subsequently, that same month the party clashed with a rival group which had also adopted the name "New Vision".{{Cite news |last=McGreevy |first=Ronan |date=1 February 2011 |title=New Vision of informed Independents emerges at meeting held by McWilliams |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0201/1224288695000.html |access-date=7 February 2011 |work=The Irish Times {{subscription required}}}}{{Cite news |last=Dunne |first=Stephen |date=10 February 2011 |title=Fís Nua clarifies position after new grouping launched |url=http://www.wicklownews.net/index.php/2011/02/fis-nua-clarifies-position-after-new-grouping-launched/ |access-date=10 February 2011 |work=Wicklow News}} This group was formed by a son of former Fianna Fáil Minister Neil Blaney as an umbrella group for independent politicians based on four pillars: separation of bank debt and sovereign debt; overhaul of the public service; a strategy to create jobs; and what they call "the restructure" of the state's energy resources. Neither group changed their name but the latter appeared to have disappeared from public life shortly after its founding.{{Cite web |title=A Clarification about Fis Nua and New Vision. - Indymedia Ireland |url=http://www.indymedia.ie/article/98835?userlanguage=ga&save_prefs=true |access-date=2017-05-25 |website=www.indymedia.ie}}

The party previously had one town councillor in Wicklow, Pat Kavanagh, who was elected as a member of the Green Party, but quit that party and ran in the 2011 election as a Fís Nua candidate.{{Cite web |date=21 January 2011 |title=Kavanagh to contest election for Fís Nua Party |url=http://www.wicklownews.net/index.php/2011/01/kavanagh-to-contest-election-for-fis-nua-party/ |website=WicklowNews.net}} She then became an Independent politician.

In 2016, one of the party's two candidates in that year's general election, Niamh Ó Brien, was convicted and sentenced to four months imprisonment on charges of dangerous driving and failure to provide an intoxicant sample, after refusing to produce documentation after being stopped by Garda patrol which led to the injury of one officer who believed her to be under the influence of cannabis.{{Cite news |date=2016-06-02 |title=General Election Candidate Tells Court She Was In Fear For Her Life |url=http://www.clare.fm/news/general-election-candidate-tells-court-she-was-in-fear-for-her-life/ |access-date=2017-05-25 |work=Clare FM |language=en-GB}}{{Cite news |title=Election candidate 'lied through her teeth' at roadside incident with gardaí |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/circuit-court/election-candidate-lied-through-her-teeth-at-roadside-incident-with-garda%C3%AD-1.3096490 |access-date=2017-05-25 |work=The Irish Times |language=en-US}}

In November 2017, the Standards in Public Office Commission stated that no statements of accounts had been received from the Fís Nua, in breach of the Electoral Act.{{Cite news |last=Burke |first=Ceimin |date=29 November 2017 |title=Nearly half of Ireland's political parties failed to submit accounts to watchdog |url=http://www.thejournal.ie/political-parties-statements-accounts-sipo-3722678-Nov2017/ |access-date=1 December 2017 |publisher=TheJournal.ie}}

Fís Nua has not contested any elections since 2016, though as of July 2024, it remains a registered political party.{{Cite web |title=Register of Political Parties |url=https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/members/partyRegister/2022/2022-03-10_register-of-political-parties-10-march-2022_en.pdf |access-date=16 May 2022 |website=Houses of the Oireachtas}} Its official Facebook account has, as of 2022, not made any posts since 2019. Some of the final posts by the account included posts encouraging users to support far-right conspiracy theorist Gemma O'Doherty, a post informing users that the party did not have the funds required to contest the 2019 European Parliament election in Ireland and instead encouraged them to spoil their votes, and finally another post discussed the possibility of the party merging with the right-wing populist group Direct Democracy Ireland.{{Cite web |title=An Fís Nua on Facebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/anfisnua |access-date=16 May 2022 |publisher=Fís Nua |via=Facebook}}

The party ran five candidates in the 2011 general election: one each in Dublin Central, Dublin South-East and Waterford and two in Wicklow.{{Cite web |title=Fís Nua candidates |url=http://www.electionsireland.org/party.cfm?election=2011&party=FN&order=ConstituencyName&elected=all |access-date=9 February 2011 |website=ElectionsIreland.org}}{{Cite web |date=9 February 2011 |title=General Election 2011. Nominations Received, Dublin South–East |url=http://www.dublincityreturningofficer.com/2011_general_election/nominations_received/dublin_south_east.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302144216/http://www.dublincityreturningofficer.com/2011_general_election/nominations_received/dublin_south_east.php |archive-date=2 March 2011 |access-date=10 February 2011 |publisher=Dublin City Returning Officer}}{{Cite web |title=Candidates |url=http://fisnua.com/?page_id=669 |access-date=14 February 2011 |publisher=Fís Nua}} At the press launch on 5 February the party announced that it would also contest Cork South-West but their candidate failed to be nominated by the deadline of 9 February.{{Cite news |last=Jackie Keogh |title=Thirteen males seeking election in Cork South-West |url=http://www.southernstar.ie/article.php?id=2495 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721130525/http://www.southernstar.ie/article.php?id=2495 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |access-date=10 February 2011 |work=The Southern Star}}

Although registered on 4 February 2011, the party's name did not appear on the ballot, as the Register of Political Parties in use was that in force on 1 February when the writ for the general election was issued.{{Cite web |title=Electoral Act 1992, Section 25(14) |url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1992/en/act/pub/0023/sec0025.html |access-date=10 February 2011 |website=Irish Statute Book |publisher=Office of the Attorney General}}

All candidates polled less than 5% of the vote. Peadar Ó Ceallaigh, the candidate in Dublin South-East, polled the lowest first preference vote of all the candidates in the election, and the second-lowest on record.{{Cite web |title=Dublin South east 2011 |url=http://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=2011&cons=104 |access-date=15 May 2012 |publisher=ElectionsIreland.org}}

The party contested the Dublin West by-election held in October 2011. This was the first election at which the party's name appeared on the ballot paper.{{Cite web |title=Dublin West By Election |url=http://fisnua.com/?page_id=1116 |access-date=12 November 2011 |publisher=Fís Nua}} The party's candidate, Peadar Ó Ceallaigh, came last of the 13 candidates, securing 40 votes or 0.1% of the total first preferences.{{Cite web |title=Dublin West by-election |url=http://www.electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=2011B&cons=112%20&ref=127 |access-date=30 September 2011 |website=ElectionsIreland.org}}{{Cite news |date=28 October 2011 |title=Dublin West By-Election |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/vote2011/dublin-west.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111029132114/http://www.rte.ie/news/vote2011/dublin-west.html |archive-date=29 October 2011 |access-date=28 October 2011 |publisher=RTÉ News}}

The party had candidates in each of the three constituencies for European Parliament elections, the Dublin West by-election for a seat in Dáil Éireann and also a number of candidates for local elections: all elections were held on Friday 23 May 2014.{{Cite web |title=Elections May 2014 |url=http://fisnua.com/elections-may-2014/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518223506/http://fisnua.com/elections-may-2014/ |archive-date=18 May 2014 |access-date=18 May 2014 |publisher=Fís Nua}}

The party's candidate was Daniel Boyne. He received 113 first preference votes, this being 0.4% of the votes cast; he was last of the ten candidates and was eliminated after the first count.{{Cite news |date=24 May 2014 |title=Dublin West By-Election |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/elections/byelections/dublin-west-byelection |url-access=subscription |access-date=25 May 2014 |work=The Irish Times}}

The party ran two candidates in the general election held on 26 February 2016. They were Niamh Ó Brien in Clare and Cordelia Nic Fhearraigh in Donegal.{{Cite news |title=Fís Nua: All Candidates |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/election-2016/parties/fis-nua/ |access-date=20 March 2016 |work=Election 2016 |publisher=RTÉ News}} O'Brien came thirteenth of sixteen candidates, receiving 1,154 first preference votes, and was eliminated on the second count.{{Cite web |title=General election 2016: Clare |url=http://www.electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=2016&cons=42 |access-date=16 February 2016 |website=ElectionsIreland.org}} Nic Fhearraigh came last of the sixteen candidates in Donegal, receiving 70 first preference votes, and was eliminated on the first count.{{Cite web |title=General election 2016: Donegal |url=http://www.electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=2016&cons=68 |access-date=20 February 2016 |website=ElectionsIreland.org}} Nic Fhearraigh, who made all her election communications exclusively through the Irish language, was one of the lowest-polling candidates in the country.{{Cite news |last=Cormac Fitzgerald |date=29 February 2016 |title=The low-downs: The 11 candidates who secured the fewest votes this election |url=http://www.thejournal.ie/lowest-votes-general-election-2633546-Feb2016/ |access-date=20 March 2016 |work=TheJournal.ie}}

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{Cite web |title=Fís Nua Website |url=http://fisnua.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111185812/http://fisnua.com/ |archive-date=11 November 2021}}

{{Historic Irish parties}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fis Nua}}

Category:2010 establishments in Ireland

Category:Green parties in Europe

Category:Left-wing politics in Ireland

Category:Political parties established in 2010

Category:Political parties in the Republic of Ireland