Young Progressive Democrats
Encyclopedia
The Young Progressive Democrats were the youth wing of the Irish
political party
, the Progressive Democrats
. Weakened after the party's poor showing in the 1997 elections, they were completely reformed on a national basis after the 2002 general election. A special conference of the Young Progressive Democrats (YPD) was held in party headquarters on 18 October 2008. This was in response to the announcement of the Parliamentary Party interest in winding up the Progressive Democrats Party. After a November 2008 special congress of the Progressive Democrats, the party came to an end (Officially dissolved 20 November 2009). By extension the Young Progressive Democrats also ceased to exist.
, Dublin Institute of Technology
, University College Dublin
, Cork Institute of Technology
and University College Cork. They also had a regional organisation in Dublin that comprised young people who were not in college as well as the students from the Dublin colleges.
They also had members from NUI Maynooth
, NUI Galway
, Dublin City University
, University of Limerick
, Waterford IT
, Griffith College Dublin
and National College of Ireland
.
The Young Progressive Democrats earned coverage in the national media in the past. In 2003 they received media attention after the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell
, was allegedly almost assaulted by protesters while trying to address the UCD branch of the Young Progressive Democrats.
The following September, a satirical leaflet produced by the Young Progressive Democrats that compared all of the political parties to pizzas was covered in the Sunday Independent
.
In November 2004 a debate organised by the Trinity College, Dublin
Young Progressive Democrats between the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell
, and the General Secretary of Sinn Féin
, Robbie Smyth, received front page coverage on the Sunday Independent
and was also covered in the Irish Examiner
.
In September 2005 the Young Progressive Democrats received huge media coverage for a leaflet which compared politics to Star Wars
. They received front page coverage on the Irish Independent
and the Sunday Tribune
as well as coverage from the Irish Sun, the Irish Mirror, the Sunday Times, the Observer, 98FM
and several other radio stations.
In November 2005, comments made by the Tánaiste
Mary Harney
at a Trinity College, Dublin
Young Progressive Democrat event made the front page of the Sunday Tribune
. They quoted her as saying that she had no preference as to whether she was in government with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.
In March 2006 a Young Progressive Democrat workshop on the future of the Irish language
received broad coverage throughout the Irish language media.
They have also received mixed coverage from the political satire magazine The Phoenix
. Two articles were printed highlighting bitter fights between the Dublin and Cork
regions of the youth party. A "young blood" profile was published of the then Chairperson Diane Duggan. In April 2006, The Phoenix
published an article detailing how the Young Progressive Democrats had successfully launched a campaign to prevent Ógra Fianna Fáil
becoming members of the European Liberal Youth
.
Barry Saul was the first YPD member to serve as a public representative when he was co-opted to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in 2003. Alan McGaughey (YPD Chairperson 2002) was subsequently co-opted onto South Dublin County Council in January 2008. Colm Fahey (YPD Chair 2006) was elected Chairperson of Dublin South Progressive Democrats in January 2008.
In the 2009 Local elections, both Barry Saul (Now FG), and Paul McAuliffe (FF) were elected to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, and Dublin City Council Respectively.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
, the Progressive Democrats
Progressive Democrats
The Progressive Democrats , commonly known as the PDs, was a pro-free market liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland.Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Malley and other politicians who had split from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the Progressive Democrats took liberal positions on...
. Weakened after the party's poor showing in the 1997 elections, they were completely reformed on a national basis after the 2002 general election. A special conference of the Young Progressive Democrats (YPD) was held in party headquarters on 18 October 2008. This was in response to the announcement of the Parliamentary Party interest in winding up the Progressive Democrats Party. After a November 2008 special congress of the Progressive Democrats, the party came to an end (Officially dissolved 20 November 2009). By extension the Young Progressive Democrats also ceased to exist.
Branches
They had branches in Trinity College, DublinTrinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, Dublin Institute of Technology
Dublin Institute of Technology
Dublin Institute of Technology was established officially in 1992 under the but had been previously set up in 1978 on an ad-hoc basis. The institution can trace its origins back to 1887 with the establishment of various technical institutions in Dublin, Ireland...
, University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
, Cork Institute of Technology
Cork Institute of Technology
Cork Institute of Technology , formerly the Regional Technical College, Cork, is an Institute of Technology in Ireland, located in Cork, Ireland opened in 1973. The institute has 17,000 students in art, business, engineering, music and science disciplines...
and University College Cork. They also had a regional organisation in Dublin that comprised young people who were not in college as well as the students from the Dublin colleges.
They also had members from NUI Maynooth
National University of Ireland, Maynooth
The National University of Ireland, Maynooth , was founded by the Universities Act, 1997 as a constituent university of the National University of Ireland. It is Ireland's second oldest university, having been formed from St Patrick's College, Maynooth, itself founded in 1795.The university is...
, NUI Galway
National University of Ireland, Galway
The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...
, Dublin City University
Dublin City University
Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...
, University of Limerick
University of Limerick
The University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...
, Waterford IT
Waterford Institute of Technology
Waterford Institute of Technology is a state funded third-level educational institution situated in the city of Waterford, Ireland. The Institute has six Schools and 16 Departments....
, Griffith College Dublin
Griffith College Dublin
Griffith College Dublin is a private third level college in the Republic of Ireland. It is based in and named after the former Griffith Barracks on the South Circular Road in Dublin. It offers courses accredited by a number of institutions and bodies in Ireland and Britain...
and National College of Ireland
National College of Ireland
National College of Ireland offers full and part-time courses from foundation to degree and postgraduate level. All courses are fully accredited and delivered from the IFSC campus and across a network of regional centres....
.
Media coverage
Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell is a Senior Counsel in the Bar Council of Ireland and a former politician. A grandson of Irish revolutionary Eoin MacNeill, McDowell was a founding member of the Progressive Democrats political party in the mid-1980s...
, was allegedly almost assaulted by protesters while trying to address the UCD branch of the Young Progressive Democrats.
The following September, a satirical leaflet produced by the Young Progressive Democrats that compared all of the political parties to pizzas was covered in the Sunday Independent
Sunday Independent
The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...
.
In November 2004 a debate organised by the Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
Young Progressive Democrats between the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell is a Senior Counsel in the Bar Council of Ireland and a former politician. A grandson of Irish revolutionary Eoin MacNeill, McDowell was a founding member of the Progressive Democrats political party in the mid-1980s...
, and the General Secretary of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
, Robbie Smyth, received front page coverage on the Sunday Independent
Sunday Independent
The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...
and was also covered in the Irish Examiner
Irish Examiner
The Irish Examiner, formerly The Cork Examiner and then The Examiner, is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country...
.
In September 2005 the Young Progressive Democrats received huge media coverage for a leaflet which compared politics to Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
. They received front page coverage on the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
and the Sunday Tribune
Sunday Tribune
The Sunday Tribune was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tabloid. Former editors include Conor Brady, Vincent Browne,...
as well as coverage from the Irish Sun, the Irish Mirror, the Sunday Times, the Observer, 98FM
98FM
98FM may refer to these radio stations using 98MHz:* 98FM * WKCQ* WDZH, also known as "98-7 Amp Radio"....
and several other radio stations.
In November 2005, comments made by the Tánaiste
Tánaiste
The Tánaiste is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. The current Tánaiste is Eamon Gilmore, TD who was appointed on 9 March 2011.- Origins and etymology :...
Mary Harney
Mary Harney
Mary Harney is a former Irish politician. She served as Tánaiste from 1997–2006, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 1997–2004, and as Minister for Health and Children from 2004 to 2011...
at a Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
Young Progressive Democrat event made the front page of the Sunday Tribune
Sunday Tribune
The Sunday Tribune was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tabloid. Former editors include Conor Brady, Vincent Browne,...
. They quoted her as saying that she had no preference as to whether she was in government with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.
In March 2006 a Young Progressive Democrat workshop on the future of the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
received broad coverage throughout the Irish language media.
They have also received mixed coverage from the political satire magazine The Phoenix
The Phoenix (magazine)
The Phoenix is Ireland's best selling political and current affairs magazine. Inspired by the British magazine Private Eye, and a source of investigative journalism in Ireland...
. Two articles were printed highlighting bitter fights between the Dublin and Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
regions of the youth party. A "young blood" profile was published of the then Chairperson Diane Duggan. In April 2006, The Phoenix
The Phoenix (magazine)
The Phoenix is Ireland's best selling political and current affairs magazine. Inspired by the British magazine Private Eye, and a source of investigative journalism in Ireland...
published an article detailing how the Young Progressive Democrats had successfully launched a campaign to prevent Ógra Fianna Fáil
Ógra Fianna Fáil
Ógra Fianna Fáil is the youth wing of Fianna Fáil, a political party in Ireland. Within Fianna Fáil it is simply called Ógra . 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...
becoming members of the European Liberal Youth
European Liberal Youth
European Liberal Youth is an international organisation of Liberal youth movements - mostly the youth wings of members of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party....
.
Electoral Success
Several members of the Young Progressive Democrats have run for election in both local elections and general elections. These include Jason O'Mahoney, Noelle Ryan, Bob Quinn, Paul McAuliffe, Ben Howe and Barry Saul.Barry Saul was the first YPD member to serve as a public representative when he was co-opted to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in 2003. Alan McGaughey (YPD Chairperson 2002) was subsequently co-opted onto South Dublin County Council in January 2008. Colm Fahey (YPD Chair 2006) was elected Chairperson of Dublin South Progressive Democrats in January 2008.
In the 2009 Local elections, both Barry Saul (Now FG), and Paul McAuliffe (FF) were elected to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, and Dublin City Council Respectively.
International links
The Young Progressive Democrats was a member of two international youth organisations:- The International Federation of Liberal YouthInternational Federation of Liberal YouthThe International Federation of Liberal Youth is an international liberal youth organization. It consists of a global membership of national youth organizations. These are often but not exclusively affiliated with political parties that are members of Liberal International.IFLRY continues the...
(IFLRY), which acts as the youth organisation of Liberal InternationalLiberal InternationalLiberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
. - The European Liberal YouthEuropean Liberal YouthEuropean Liberal Youth is an international organisation of Liberal youth movements - mostly the youth wings of members of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party....
(LYMEC), which acts as the youth organisation of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform PartyEuropean Liberal Democrat and Reform PartyThe European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party is a European political party mainly active in the European Union, composed of 56 national-level liberal and liberal-democratic parties from across Europe...
.