The Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) was a small left-wing political party in Ireland. The party was formed by a merger of the Socialist Party of Ireland with Jim Kemmy's Limerick Socialist Organisation. Kemmy was a member of Dáil Éireann who left the Labour Party in 1972.The Dynamics of Irish Politics by Paul Bew, Ellen Hazelkorn, Henry Patterson, (1989). A number of members of the British and Irish Communist Organisation also joined the party.
History The Democratic Socialist Party was founded in 1982. It had a political stance to the left of the Labour Party, and was strongly opposed to nationalist positions regarding Northern Ireland. Journalist Brian Trench claimed the DSP shared "the anti-republicanism and economism" of the 1980s Workers' Party, despite disagreeing with the WP on other issues. In 1983 the party made submissions to the New Ireland Forum reflecting its non-nationalist position. It also held a strongly secularist position, opposing the influence of the Catholic Church on issues such as contraception, divorce and abortion.
The party never held any Dáil seats other than Kemmy's seat in Limerick East. Outside of Limerick City its membership was very small, although its positions on Northern Ireland and the Catholic Church attracted members of the British and Irish Communist Organisation (BICO) to it. In 1982, the Socialist Party of Ireland joined.
It merged with the Labour Party in May 1990. Many of the BICO members in the party later joined the Democratic Left when that party was established in 1992.
A number of former members became successful electorally with the Labour Party such as Limerick TD Jan O'Sullivan, Dublin TD Michael Conaghan who was Lord Mayor of Dublin in 2004 and TD Eamonn Maloney. The historian John de Courcy Ireland was also a member of the party and a candidate in the 1984 European elections.
List of the DSP electoral candidates ElectionCandidateConstituency1st Pref. votes%February 1982 general electionJim KemmyLimerick East6,50213.71982 Dublin West by-electionMichael ConaghanDublin West6671.6November 1982 general electionGarry O'SullivanCork South-Central3690.8Philip O'ConnorDublin North-Central2240.6Séamus RattiganDublin South-Central3030.7Denis O'ConnorDublin South4790.9Michael ConaghanDublin West4761.0John de Courcy IrelandDún Laoghaire1,0362.1Jim KemmyLimerick East4,1258.71984 European Parliament electionJohn de Courcy IrelandDublin5,3501.91987 general electionPhilip O'ConnorDublin North-Central6811.6Eamonn MaloneyDublin South-West2230.5Michael ConaghanDublin West6001.2Jim KemmyLimerick East5,92011.91989 general electionMichael ConaghanDublin West6681.4Jim KemmyLimerick East9,16819.8
General election results Election Seats won ± Position First Pref votes % Government LeaderNov. 1982 None 7,012 0.4%No Seats Jim Kemmy1987 1 6th 7,424 0.4%Opposition Jim Kemmy1989 6th 9,836 0.6%Opposition Jim Kemmy
Local elections The party ran nine candidates in the 1985 local elections in Limerick Corporation (4 candidates, 3 elected), Dublin Corporation (3 candidates), and Dublin County Council (one candidate each in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown and Dublin–Belgard).
Election Seats won ± First-pref. votes %1985 3 3 5,472 0.4%
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