Clann na Poblachta (literally meaning "Family of the Republic") was an Irish republican political party founded by former IRA Chief of Staff Sean MacBride in 1946. The West Cork Flying Column during the War of Independence. ... The term Chief of Staff can refer to: The White House Chief of Staff, the highest-ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. ... Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 – 15 January 1988) was a senior Irish politician, barrister, revolutionary & statesman. ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

In 1946 Sean MacBride founded a new political party - Clann na Poblachta. The party appealed to disillusioned young urban voters, and republicans who had lost hope of achieving anything through violence. Many had become alienated from Eamon de Valera's Fianna Fáil, the main republican party in Ireland but which in the view of extreme republicans had betrayed republicans during World War II by executing IRA prisoners, in part due to IRA connections with German Nazis. Clann na Poblachta party also drew support from people who were tired of the old nationalist policies and wanted more concern for social issues. In post-war Europe many people blamed the social evils of unemployment, poor housing, poverty and disease for the rise of fascism and communism. This new mood influenced people in Ireland also. Some people saw Clann na Poblachta as a replacement for Fianna Fáil. Others a replacement for the marginalised Sinn Féin, more a break from the traditional pro- and anti-treaty Irish Civil War division. The new party grew rapidly during 1947. 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 – 15 January 1988) was a senior Irish politician, barrister, revolutionary & statesman. ... Eamon de Valera (born Edward George de Valera, Irish name Éamonn de Bhailéara (October 14, 1882 – August 29, 1975), was an Irish politician, best known as a leader of Irelands struggle for independence from Britain in the early 20th Century, and the Republican anti-Treaty opposition in the... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (IPA ; English translation: Soldiers of Destiny) is the largest political party in Ireland. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: Immense human sacrifice, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons - the atom bomb being the ultimate. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... // Nationalism is an ideology which holds that the nation, ethnicity or national identity is a fundamental unit of human social life, and makes certain political claims based on that belief, above all the claim that the nation is the only legitimate basis for the state, and that each nation is... World map showing location of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Dorothea Langes Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California during the Great Depression. ... Poverty is the state of being without, often associated with need, hardship and lack of resources across a wide range of circumstances. ... Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a popular movement. ... The name Sinn Féin (pronounced in English, in Irish), which means ourselves or we ourselves (not as sometimes incorrectly translated, ourselves alone or we alone) has been applied to a series of political movements since 1905 in Ireland, each of which claim or claimed sole descent from the original... The Irish Civil War (June 1922–April 1923) was a conflict between supporters and opponents of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 6, 1921, which established the Irish Free State, precursor of todays Republic of Ireland. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Clann were formed at a time when both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael - the two major parties of the state - were weak. Fine Gael were in disarray because of their rival's seemingly hegemonic dominance and because of a perceived failure to be able offer anything to disillusoned FF supporters. At the same time FF were visibly losing support because of the failure of the party's republican programme to end mass unemployment, poverty and emmigration, Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (IPA ; English translation: Soldiers of Destiny) is the largest political party in Ireland. ... Fine Gael (IPA in English and in Irish, approximate English translation: Family of the Irish) is the second largest political party in both the Republic of Ireland and Ireland as a whole. ...

During 1947 Clann na Poblachta won several by-elections. The Taoiseach, Eamon de Valera, saw the threat posed by the new party and in February 1948 he called a snap general election to try and catch Clann na Poblachta off guard. At the time Clann had, not entirely unrealistic, hopes of both replacing Fianna Fáil as the majority republican party and as the leading party of the state. Dev's tactic was successful; Clann na Poblachta only won ten seats - far fewer than was expected. De Valera may have saved his party's dominance, but the election did produce enough seats among the opposition groups for them to be able to form a non-Fianna Fáil government, the first time in sixteen years. That First Inter-Party Government was made up of Fine Gael, Labour, National Labour, Clann na Talmhan, Clann na Poblachta and some independents. 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Taoiseach (plural: Taoisigh) or, more formally, An Taoiseach, is the head of government of the Republic of Ireland and the leader of the Irish cabinet1. ... Eamon de Valera (born Edward George de Valera, Irish name Éamonn de Bhailéara (October 14, 1882 – August 29, 1975), was an Irish politician, best known as a leader of Irelands struggle for independence from Britain in the early 20th Century, and the Republican anti-Treaty opposition in the... February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... A general election is an election in which all members of a given political body are up for election. ... The 13th Dáil was elected on February 4, 1957 and first met on February 18 when the 5th Government of Ireland was appointed. ... Fine Gael (IPA in English and in Irish, approximate English translation: Family of the Irish) is the second largest political party in both the Republic of Ireland and Ireland as a whole. ... Logo of the Irish Labour Party The Irish Labour Party (Irish: Páirti an Lucht Oibre) is the third largest political party in the Republic of Ireland. ... The National Labour Party was an Irish political party which was founded in 1944 as a split-off from the Irish Labour Party. ... Clann na Talmhan (literally meaning Party of the Land) was an Irish political party. ...

Clann had stood on the platform of "get them out" and so clearly a coalition with Fianna Fáil was not an option - even if the larger party would consider it. But the republicans in Clann were unwilling to serve under Fine Gael and in particualr under Fine Gael's leader Richard Mulcahy. At the suggestion of William Norton, the Labour leader, it was agreed that no party leader would be Taoiseach. Former Cumann na nGaedhael Attorney-General John A. Costello became Fine Gael's choice for Taoiseach. Labour's William Norton became Tánaiste while MacBride of Clann na Poblachta became Minister for External Affairs. Clann was an uneasy coalition of socialists and republicans and to placate the left wing, MacBride appointed maverick Noel Browne as Minister for Health. However many of the party's republicans remained unreconciled to serving with Fine Gael and the very act of joining the government weakened the party. Richard Mulcahy (1886-1971) was an Irish Fine Gael politician. ... William Norton (1900-1963), Irish politician, Labour Party leader (1932-1960). ... John Aloysius Costello (20 June 1891 - 5 January 1976), a successful barrister, was one of the main legal advisors to the government of the Irish Free State after independence, Attorney-General of Ireland from 1926-1932 and Taoiseach from 1948-1951 and 1954-1957. ... The Taoiseach (plural: Taoisigh) or, more formally, An Taoiseach, is the head of government of the Republic of Ireland and the leader of the Irish cabinet1. ... The Tánaiste (plural: Tánaistithe), or more formally An Tánaiste, is the deputy prime minister of the Republic of Ireland1. ... Noel Browne (20 December 1915-21 May 1997) was an Irish politician and doctor. ...

As Minister for External Affairs, and a strong republican, MacBride was seen as instrumental in the repeal of the External Relations Act, 1936, under which King George VI, proclaimed King of Ireland in December 1936, fulfilled the diplomatic functions of a head of state.¹ In September 1948 Costello made the formal announcement in Canada that the government was about to declare Ireland a Republic. At Easter 1949 the Republic of Ireland came into existence, with the King's remaining functions granted instead to the President of Ireland. The Executive Authority (External Relations) Act, 1936 was an enactment of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) in 1936. ... His Majesty King George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George WINDSOR ), ( 14 December 1895–6 February 1952 ) was the third British monarch of the House of Windsor, reigning from 11 December 1936 until his death. ... Henry VIII, became King of Ireland in 1542. ... December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... September is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with the length of 30 days. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Broadly defined, a republic is a state or country that is led by principles established by the state for the benifit of its own populace, independent of the political power of outside influences. ... Easter is the most important religious holiday of the Christian liturgical year, observed in March, April, or May to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead after his death by crucifixion (see Good Friday), which Christians believe happened at about this time of year around AD 30-33. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... The President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of the Republic of Ireland. ...

MacBride regarded Ireland as a republic in any case (in much the same way as De Valera did) and saw the repeal of the Act as merely removing the last vestiges of the British connection. He was, though, deeply angry that Costello had stolen his idea and refused to attend the offical ceremony marking the inauguration of the Republic of Ireland.

The Government and opposition jointly mounted what it called the Anti-Partition Campaign, arguing that the opinion that partition was the only obstacle preventing a united Ireland. At foreign conferences, whether it was appropriate or not, Irish delegates stated their cause for the ending of partition. This campaign had no effect whatsoever on the unionist government in Northern Ireland. In retrospect it also underlined Ireland's diplomatic isolation - as in a world dominated by the Cold War, reconstruction and the immanent thrteat of nuclear anniliation, Ireland's claims seemed small beer, particularly coming from a country that refused to fight Hitler. Northern Ireland is one of four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. ... For the generic term for a high-tension rivalry between countries, see cold war (war). ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ...

As Minister for External Affairs, MacBride declined the offer of Ireland joining NATO to resist Soviet aggression. He refused because it would mean that the Republic recognised Northern Ireland. He did however state that Ireland was strongly opposed to Communism. In 1950 he offered a bi-lateral alliance to the United States but this was rejected. Ireland remained outside the military alliance. In 1949 Ireland joined the Organisation for European Economic Co-Operation (OEEC) and the Council of Europe as founder-members. The flag of NATO NATO 2002 Summit The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C., on April 4, 1949. ... The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: (СССР)   listen?; tr. ... Northern Ireland is one of four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a popular movement. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ...

MacBride also argued for the "return of sterling assets" to Ireland - essentially a decoupling of the Irish Pound from Sterling by selling British gilts and investing the money in domestic enterprise. Officials in the Irish Finance department, who had an excellent relationship with the British Treasury and thought a decoupling would isolate Ireland and discourage investment, resisted. The matter came to a head at the time of the 1949 devaluation of sterling. Despite two government meetings to discuss decoupling, it was decided to retain the sterling link - which remained until 1979. The Irish pound (Irish: punt) was the currency unit of the Republic of Ireland until 1999. ... The pound sterling, which strictly speaking refers to basic currency unit of sterling, now the pound, is the currency of the United Kingdom (UK). ... A sovereign bond is a bond issued by a national government as opposed to a municipal bond which is issued by a subdivision of a national government. ... The new eastern entrance to HM Treasury HM Treasury (Her/His Majestys Treasury) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for and putting into effect the UK Governments financial and economic policy. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Devaluation is reduction in the value of a currency. ... 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ...

Clann na Poblachta TD and Health Minister Noel Browne, proved highly controversial. A medical doctor, he became famous for two policies. He spearheaded a successful anti-tuberculosis (TB) campaign. Free mass X-rays were introduced to identify TB sufferers. Sufferers were given free hospital treatment. New drugs were also introduced to fight the disease. Though Browne made a significant contribution to the campaign, it had actually originated with a Parliamentary Secretary (junior minister) in de Valera's government, Conor Ward; it was Ward's preparatory work and Browne's practical implementation that produced the acclaimed scheme that practically wiped out TB in Ireland. A TD or Teachta Dála (Irish for Dáil Deputy, pronounced chock-ta dawla) is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower chamber of the Irish Oireachtas (pronounced orr-och-tas) or National Parliament. ... Noel Browne (20 December 1915-21 May 1997) was an Irish politician and doctor. ... Tuberculous lungs show up on an X-ray image Tuberculosis is an infection with the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (miliary TB), genitourinary system, bones and joints. ... In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ...

Browne's second initiative was much more controversial. In 1950 Browne tried to put the parts of the Fianna Fáil Health Act into effect. This Act would give free health care to all mothers and children up to the age of sixteen regardless of income. However, the Mother and Child Scheme, as it became known, faced stiff opposition from Irish doctors and the Catholic Bishops of Ireland. Doctors opposed the deal because they feared a reduction in their incomes and they were worried about state interference between patient and doctor. The Catholic Bishops opposed the Act because it seemed a dangerously communistic idea to them. They feared it might lead to the supply of birth control and abortion. Browne met with the Bishops and thought that he had satisfied them. However his handling of the affair alienated possible supporters in the hierarchy, notably Bishop William Philbin, and those elements of the medical profession privately supportive of the Mother and Child Scheme. In addition his poor attendance at cabinet meetings and strained relationships with cabinet colleagues meant that they too failed to support him. On 11 April 1951 MacBride as party leader demanded Browne's resignation and he withdrew from the Cabinet. Several other Clann na Poblachta TD's followed him out of the coalition and so destroyed the fragile internal unity of the party. In essence this was the moment Clann died as an effective politcial force - though it lingered on for many years yet. 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (IPA ; English translation: Soldiers of Destiny) is the largest political party in Ireland. ... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... Birth control (also called family planning or contraception) is any plan or method for preventing or reducing the likelihood of pregnancy without abstaining from sexual intercourse. ... April 11 is the 101st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (102nd in leap years). ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... A TD or Teachta Dála (Irish for Dáil Deputy, pronounced chock-ta dawla) is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower chamber of the Irish Oireachtas (pronounced orr-och-tas) or National Parliament. ...

In 1951 the coalition faced increasing pressure to remain afloat and so an election was called. Clann na Poblachta was reduced to just two seats. Noel Browne was elected but not as a Clann na Poblachta TD. He, and some other former Clann na Poblachta TD's, supported de Valera's minority government; he later joined Fianna Fáil. In 1954 another general election was called and the Second Inter-Party Government was elected, again under Costello as taoiseach, though with less parties. Though Clann na Poblachta TDs supported the coalition, they did not sit in cabinet. 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... A TD or Teachta Dála (Irish for Dáil Deputy, pronounced chock-ta dawla) is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower chamber of the Irish Oireachtas (pronounced orr-och-tas) or National Parliament. ... A TD or Teachta Dála (Irish for Dáil Deputy, pronounced chock-ta dawla) is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower chamber of the Irish Oireachtas (pronounced orr-och-tas) or National Parliament. ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 15th Dáil was elected on May 18, 1954 and first met on June 2 when the 7th Government of Ireland was appointed. ... A TD or Teachta Dála (Irish for Dáil Deputy, pronounced chock-ta dawla) is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower chamber of the Irish Oireachtas (pronounced orr-och-tas) or National Parliament. ...

During the 1950s the Irish economy remained stagnant. By the end of the 1950s MacBride lost his Dáil seat and Clann na Poblachta disintegrated. The party contested the 1961 general election but only one candidate was elected to Dáil Éireann. The party didn't contest the 1965 general election and ceased to exist. // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the height of the baby-boom from returning... Dáil Éireann[1] is the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland. ... 1961 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Dáil Éireann[1] is the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland. ... 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ...

Footnote

¹ In a bizarre quirk created by de Valera, Ireland had a king (in statute but not constitutional law) and a president. The question often arose as to which one if either was the actual Irish head of state. As a key definitionary role of a head of state is their diplomatic representation role (ie, signing treaties or having them signed in his or her name, accrediting ambassadors and having ambassadors accredited to them) and this role was explicitly denied to the President between 1937 and 1949, it is clear that in this respect the president was not the head of state. Because that role was granted under the External Relations Act to the King the international community regarded King George VI as Irish head of state until 1949. John A. Costello in a speech to Seanad Éireann in effect confirmed that the King, not the President was head of state until April 1949. See President of Ireland.
The President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of the Republic of Ireland. ... Seanad Éireann (English: Senate of Ireland), the Irish Senate, is the upper house of the Oireachtas: the parliament of the Republic of Ireland1. ... The President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of the Republic of Ireland. ...