Ógra Fianna Fáil
| Ógra Fianna Fáil | |
|---|---|
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| Founded | 1975 |
| Headquarters | 65–66 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2 |
| Ideology | Irish republicanism, Conservatism |
| Mother party | Fianna Fáil |
| European affiliation | none |
| Website | www.ogra.ie |
Ógra Fianna Fáil[1] is the youth wing of Fianna Fáil, a political party in Ireland. Within Fianna Fáil it is simply called Ógra (Irish for youth). It was founded in 1975 by party leader Jack Lynch under the guidance of party general secretary, Séamus Brennan. In the Republic, it is active in some major Third Level Institutes and in some Dáil constituencies. It began recruiting members in Northern Ireland, beginning on 25 September 2007 in Derry at Magee College of the University of Ulster, and proceeding to Queen's University Belfast the following day.
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[edit] Organisation
Ógra is a full member of Fianna Fáil itself. The national leadership of Ógra is the Central Officer Board, which is elected at the National Youth Conference which takes place every year to 18 months.
Five members of the Board are on the Ard Comhairle (the national governing body) of Fianna Fáil. This also includes the Uachtarain who is elected by all the members, one representative from third-level institution branches, and also the National Events Director, the National Policy & Campaigns Director and the National Membership & Recruitment Director.
There are five further members of the Central Officer Board: An Organiser from each Euro constituency and a Northern Ireland Organiser.
[edit] Uachtarain Ógra
The Uachtarain (chair) is the highest elected position within Ógra Fianna Fáil. The Uachtarain is elected at the National Youth Conference every year. It is the Uachtarain who acts as the main spokesperson and representative of Ógra Fianna Fáil. The current Uachtarain is Eamon Quinlan from Waterford.
[edit] Kevin Barry Cumann – UCD
The Kevin Barry Cumann is the branch of the Fianna Fáil political party in University College Dublin (UCD). The society, or cumann predates the founding of Ogra Fianna Fáil which was established in 1974 and has records of being active dating to as early as 1948 when Seán Lemass addressed the cumann.[2] The cumann formally dates to 1957 when led by Gerry Collins, then a student organiser in UCD and later Minister for Foreign Affairs and an MEP. The Cumann is named after Kevin Barry (1902–1920), a former medical student of the University who fought and was executed during the Irish War of Independence. It is the largest cumann in Fianna Fáil with recruitment occurring mainly throughout freshers week.
[edit] Members
Prominent Fianna Fáil members who were members of the Cumann include former European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, previous Irish government ministers Dick Roche and Mary Coughlan, Clare TD Timmy Dooley and RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy. The author and former political lobbyist Frank Dunlop was a member. The Cumann is run by an officer board elected by members annually at its annual general meeting. In 2011, KBC lost its place as the largest political organisation on campus for the first time to UCD Young Fine Gael.
[edit] Central Officer Board
Members of the Central Officer Board for Ógra Fianna Fáil were elected in November 2011 in Cork (city), at the National Youth Conference. Members of the Board also sit on the Ard Comhairle, the National Executive of Fianna Fáil.
[edit] Members of the Central Officer Board 2011/12
Uachtarain-Eamon Quinlan, Waterford.
Third Level Organiser-Brendan Finucane, Cork South Central.
National Events Director-Ciaran Fitzgerald, Meath East.
National Membership and Recruitment Director-Eoin Scully, Laois.
National Policy and Campaigns Director-Ger Fogarty, Tipperary North.
Connacht-Ulster Organiser-Gemma McGrory, Donegal North East.
Dublin Organiser-Paul Anthony Ward, Dublin Central.
Leinster Organiser-Pat McKee, Kilkenny.
Munster Organiser-Kevin Nelligan, Kerry North-West Limerick.
Northern Organiser-Vacant
[edit] Other Third Level branches
- Dublin City University – Patrick Pearse Cumann
- National University of Ireland, Galway – Cumann De Barra
- National University of Ireland, Maynooth – Seán Lemass Cumann
- Queen's University Belfast – William Drennan Cumann
- Trinity College, Dublin – Wolfe Tone Cumann
- University College Cork – Donogh O'Malley Cumann
- University of Limerick – Conn Colbert Cumann
- University of Ulster
- Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology
[edit] References
- ^ In the Irish language, the initial letter of a proper noun in the genitive, as in [Youth of] Fianna Fáil, is lenited, and therefore the grammatically correct spelling is Ógra Fhianna Fáil.
- ^ Tom Garvin, Preventing The Future: Why was Ireland so poor for so long? (Gill & Macmillan, Dublin, 2004) paperback. pp.225 ISBN 0-7171-3970-0
[edit] External links
- Ógra Online – Official website
- Fianna Fáil website
- Queens University Belfast Ógra Cumann website
- Kevin Barry Cumann
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