Green Party (Ireland)

The Green Party (Irish: Comhaontas Glas, lit. 'Green Alliance') is a green political party that operates in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It holds a pro-European stance. It was founded as the Ecology Party of Ireland in 1981 by Dublin teacher Christopher Fettes. The party became the Green Alliance in 1983 and adopted its current English language name in 1987 while the Irish name was kept unchanged. The party leader is Eamon Ryan, and the deputy leader is Catherine Martin and the cathaoirleach (chairperson) is Pauline O'Reilly. Green Party candidates have been elected to most levels of representation: local government (in both the Republic and Northern Ireland), Dáil Éireann, the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the European Parliament.

The Green Party first entered the Dáil in 1989. It has participated in the Irish government twice, from 2007 to 2011 as junior partner in a coalition with Fianna Fáil, and since June 2020 in a coalition with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Following the first period in government, the party suffered a wipeout in the February 2011 election, losing all six of its TDs. In the February 2016 election, it returned to the Dáil with two seats. Following this, Grace O'Sullivan was elected to the Seanad on 26 April that year of 2016 and Joe O'Brien was elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2019 Dublin Fingal by-election. In the 2020 general election, the party had its best result ever, securing 12 TDs and becoming the fourth largest party in Ireland.