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Template:Infobox Irish Political Party

The Workers Party (in Irish Páirtí na nOibrithe, though the party's logo gives the Irish - incorrectly - as Pairti na nOibri) is an Irish left wing political party that evolved from Official Sinn Féin. They have had limited electoral success, more so in the Republic of Ireland than in Northern Ireland.

In 1970 Sinn Féin split with the "Officials" focusing on Marxist principles, with the "Provisionals" focusing on achieving a united Ireland by force. In 1977 the Officials, who were organised in Northern Ireland as under the name Republican Clubs, renamed themselves Sinn Féin The Workers Party, under which title it won its first seats in Dáil Éireann in 1981 and 1982. In 1982 became simply The Workers Party.

The Workers Party became a significant political force in the Republic in the 1980s, benefiting from disillusionment with poor public services and high taxes and unemployment. They reached their highest share of the vote in the European Parliament election of 1989, and succeeded in having the party president, Proinsias De Rossa, elected to the parliament, where he took a seat with the hardline communist Left Unity group.

The political party Democratic Left, which merged with the Labour Party in 1999, evolved from a split in the Workers Party in 1992. De Rossa along with all but one of the party's Dáil deputies left after failing to have changes to the party constitution passed at its annual conference.

The remainder of the Workers Party lost its only Dáil seat in the 1992 general election and from then on the party has gone into serious decline, losing all but three of its local authority seats in 1999, and losing a further one of these in 2004. Outside of Waterford City Council, there is now no local authority in Ireland with Workers' Party representation.

On June 20 2004, the BBC documentary program Panorama alleged that party president Seán Garland was involved in counterfeiting of U.S. dollars. On October 7 2005, Garland was arrested by the Police Service of Northern Ireland at the party's annual conference in Belfast. He was released on bail pending an extradition hearing to the United States. The U.S. government alleges that Garland conspired with the North Korean government to import counterfeit $100 notes into the UK.

External links

• Former official web site
• Current official website
• PANORAMA - THE SUPER DOLLAR — transcript of BBC documentary
• Campaign to Stop the Extradition of Seán Garland to the United States
• Workers' Party president in counterfeit probe — RTÉ News article

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