III.

In Power

In 1932 the party was elected to power and remained in government until 1948. On the domestic front, de Valera suppressed threats to the stability of the state from quasi-fascist Blueshirts and the IRA, which had supported him during earlier elections. Fianna Fáil also implemented much-needed social reforms, including slum clearance in the larger cities. In 1932 de Valera refused to pay agreed annuities to the British exchequer for land purchased by Irish farmers prior to independence in 1922. In retaliation, the British imposed tariffs on Irish goods. The ensuing “economic war” aided Fianna Fáil’s policy of self-sufficiency, and small Irish industries thrived behind the new tariff wall.

Fianna Fáil soon started to dismantle the Anglo-Irish Treaty settlement of 1921 by abolishing the oath of allegiance to the British Crown and ignoring its representative, the governor-general. In 1937, Fianna Fáil enacted its own more republican constitution, which failed to recognize the British Crown or Commonwealth of Nations. It also claimed jurisdiction over Northern Ireland, and gave the Roman Catholic Church special recognition within the state.

Under Fianna Fáil, Eire, as Ireland was named under the new constitution, remained neutral during World War II (1939-1945). De Valera led the party until 1959, when he was succeeded by Sean Lemass. The party presided in government over a decade of unprecedented economic growth during the 1960s and abandoned the economic isolationism of the 1930s by encouraging foreign investment in the economy. With the outbreak of violence in Northern Ireland in 1968, Fianna Fáil, despite its revolutionary and republican origins, adopted a largely non-interventionist policy.

Removed from office in 1973 in favor of a Fine Gael/Labour Party coalition, the party was returned with a huge majority in 1977 under John Mary (Jack) Lynch. Lynch was defeated in a leadership contest in 1979, and was succeeded by one of the most dynamic Irish ministers of the 1960s, Charles James Haughey. Haughey initially continued the policy of high borrowing and spending that typified 1970s Irish fiscal policy.