Leader of the Opposition (Ireland)

The Leader of the Opposition (Irish: Ceannaire an Fhreasúra) in Ireland is a term sometimes used to describe the politician who, de facto, leads the largest party in the Parliamentary Opposition in the lower house of the Irish Parliament, Dáil Éireann. When in the Dáil, the Leader of the Opposition sits on the right-hand side of the Ceann Comhairle and directly opposite of the Taoiseach. The role is not an official one and is not recognised in the Irish constitution, nor in legislation, but it mirrors a constitutional role which does exist in the UK and therefore has no standing in the Republic of Ireland.

Leader of the Opposition Ceannaire an Fhreasúra
Incumbent Mary Lou McDonald since 27 June 2020
Term length	While leader of the largest political party not in government
Inaugural holder	Thomas Johnson
Formation	6 December 1922

By convention, the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest party not in government, while the Second Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the second largest party not in government. Opposition leaders leading a political party with five members or more have full speaking rights under Dáil standing orders, meaning that smaller parties and independent politicians are unable to speak as often.

Historically the two largest parties have nearly always been Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, and so the position of Leader of the Opposition has alternated between them. However, immediately following Irish secession from the UK in 1922, the leader of the Labour Party acted as Leader of the Opposition as Sinn Féin, and later Fianna Fáil, refused to take their seats in Dáil Éireann. After the 2011 general election Fine Gael became the largest party in Dáil Éireann and the Labour Party for the first time became the second largest. However, since Labour and Fine Gael entered a coalition government, the third largest party, Fianna Fáil, led the opposition in the 31st Dáil.

To date there have been 18 Opposition Leaders, 10 of whom have served terms as Taoiseach. The current Leader of the Opposition is Mary Lou McDonald of the Sinn Féin party, following the opening of the 33rd Dáil on 27 June 2020. She is the first female Irish Opposition Leader and the first to come from a party other than Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael since the Labour Party’s Thomas Johnson in 1927. The current Deputy Leader of the Opposition is Pearse Doherty also of the Sinn Féin Party.

Leaders of the Opposition

• Leaders who later became Taoiseach are indicated in bold.

List of leaders of the opposition

No.	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Constituency	Term of office		Party		Taoiseach[nb 1]
				From	To
1.	Éamon de Valera (1882–1975)		Clare	9 January 1922	8 June 1922		Sinn Féin (Anti-Treaty)		Arthur Griffith (1922)
2.	Thomas Johnson (1872–1963)		Dublin County	9 September 1922	11 August 1927		Labour Party		W. T. Cosgrave (1922–32)
(1)	Éamon de Valera (1882–1975)		Clare	11 August 1927	9 March 1932		Fianna Fáil
3.	W. T. Cosgrave (1880–1965)		Cork Borough	9 March 1932	January 1944		Cumann na nGaedheal		Éamon de Valera (1932–48)
							Fine Gael
4.	Thomas F. O'Higgins (1890–1953)		Leix–Offaly	January 1944	9 June 1944
5.	Richard Mulcahy (1886–1971)		Tipperary	9 June 1944	18 February 1948
(1)	Éamon de Valera (1882–1975)		Clare	18 February 1948	13 June 1951		Fianna Fáil		John A. Costello (1948–51)
6.	John A. Costello (1891–1976)		Dublin South-East	13 June 1951	2 June 1954		Fine Gael		Éamon de Valera (1951–54)
(1)	Éamon de Valera (1882–1975)		Clare	2 June 1954	20 March 1957		Fianna Fáil		John A. Costello (1954–57)
(6)	John A. Costello (1891–1976)		Dublin South-East	20 March 1957	21 October 1959		Fine Gael		Éamon de Valera (1957–59)
									Seán Lemass (1959–66)
7.	James Dillon (1902–1986)		Monaghan	21 October 1959	21 April 1965
8.	Liam Cosgrave (1920-2017)		Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown	21 April 1965	14 March 1973
									Jack Lynch (1966–73)
9.	Jack Lynch (1917–1999)		Cork City North-West	14 March 1973	5 July 1977		Fianna Fáil		Liam Cosgrave (1973–77)
10.	Garret FitzGerald (1926–2011)		Dublin South-East	5 July 1977	30 June 1981		Fine Gael		Jack Lynch (1977–79)
									Charles Haughey (1979–81)
11.	Charles Haughey (1925–2006)		Dublin North-Central	30 June 1981	9 March 1982		Fianna Fáil		Garret FitzGerald (1981–82)
(10)	Garret FitzGerald (1926–2011)		Dublin South-East	9 March 1982	14 December 1982		Fine Gael		Charles Haughey (1982)
(11)	Charles Haughey (1925–2006)		Dublin North-Central	14 December 1982	10 March 1987		Fianna Fáil		Garret FitzGerald (1982–87)
12.	Alan Dukes (born 1945)		Kildare	10 March 1987	20 November 1990		Fine Gael		Charles Haughey (1987–92)
13.	John Bruton (born 1947)		Meath	20 November 1990	15 December 1994
									Albert Reynolds (1992–94)
14.	Bertie Ahern (born 1951)		Dublin Central	15 December 1994	26 June 1997		Fianna Fáil		John Bruton (1994–97)
(13)	John Bruton (born 1947)		Meath	26 June 1997	9 February 2001		Fine Gael		Bertie Ahern (1997–2008)
15.	Michael Noonan (born 1943)		Limerick East	9 February 2001	6 June 2002
16.	Enda Kenny (born 1951)		Mayo	6 June 2002	9 March 2011
									Brian Cowen (2008–11)
17.	Micheál Martin (born 1960)		Cork South-Central	9 March 2011	27 June 2020		Fianna Fáil		Enda Kenny (2011–2017)
									Leo Varadkar (2017–2020)
18.	Mary Lou McDonald (born 1969)		Dublin Central	27 June 2020	Incumbent		Sinn Féin		Micheál Martin (2020–present)

Third party leaders

• Leaders who later became Tánaiste are indicated in italics.

No.	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Constituency	Term of office		Party		Leader of the Opposition
1.	Denis Gorey (1874–1940)		Carlow–Kilkenny	9 September 1922	May 1927		Farmers' Party		Thomas Johnson (1922–27)
2.	Michael Heffernan (1885–1970)		Tipperary	May 1927	11 August 1927
3.	Thomas Johnson (1872–1963)		Dublin County	11 August 1927	11 October 1927		Labour Party		Éamon de Valera (1927–32)
4.	Thomas J. O'Connell (1882–1969)		Mayo South	11 October 1927	9 March 1932
5.	William Norton (1900–1963)		Kildare	9 March 1932	8 February 1933				W. T. Cosgrave (1932–44)
6.	Frank MacDermot (1886–1975)		Roscommon	8 February 1933	8 September 1933		National Centre Party
(5)	William Norton (1900–1963)		Kildare (1932–1937) Carlow–Kildare (1937–1948)	8 September 1933	7 January 1945		Labour Party
									Thomas F. O'Higgins (1944)
									Richard Mulcahy (1944–48)
7.	Joseph Blowick (1903–1970)		Mayo South	7 January 1945	18 February 1948		Clann na Talmhan
–	None			18 February 1948	13 June 1951				Éamon de Valera (1948–51)
(5)	William Norton (1900–1963)		Kildare	13 June 1951	2 June 1954		Labour Party		John A. Costello (1951–54)
8.	Seán MacBride (1904–1988)		Dublin South-West	2 June 1954	20 March 1957		Clann na Poblachta		Éamon de Valera (1954–57)
(5)	William Norton (1900–1963)		Kildare	20 March 1957	2 March 1960		Labour Party		John A. Costello (1957–59)
									James Dillon (1959–65)
9.	Brendan Corish (1918–1990)		Wexford	2 March 1960	14 March 1973
									Liam Cosgrave (1965–73)
–	None			14 March 1973	5 July 1977				Jack Lynch (1973–77)
10.	Frank Cluskey (1930–1989)		Dublin South-Central	5 July 1977	12 June 1981		Labour Party		Garret FitzGerald (1977–81)
–	None			12 June 1981	17 June 1981
11.	Michael O'Leary (1936–2006)		Dublin North-Central	17 June 1981	30 June 1981		Labour Party
12.	Joe Sherlock (1930–2007)		Cork East	30 June 1981	9 March 1982		Sinn Féin the Workers Party		Charles Haughey (1981–82)
(11)	Michael O'Leary (1936–2006)		Dublin Central	9 March 1982	1 November 1982		Labour Party		Garret FitzGerald (1982)
13.	Dick Spring (born 1950)		Kerry North	1 November 1982	14 December 1982
14.	Tomás Mac Giolla (1924–2010)		Dublin West	14 December 1982	21 December 1985		Workers' Party		Charles Haughey (1982–87)
15.	Desmond O'Malley (born 1939)		Limerick East	21 December 1985	29 June 1989		Progressive Democrats
									Alan Dukes (1987–90)
(13)	Dick Spring (born 1950)		Kerry North	29 June 1989	14 December 1992		Labour Party
									John Bruton (1990–94)
(15)	Desmond O'Malley (born 1939)		Limerick East	14 December 1992	12 October 1993		Progressive Democrats
16.	Mary Harney (born 1953)		Dublin South-West	12 October 1993	18 November 1994
(13)	Dick Spring (born 1950)		Kerry North	18 November 1994	15 December 1994		Labour Party
(16)	Mary Harney (born 1953)		Dublin South-West	15 December 1994	26 June 1997		Progressive Democrats		Bertie Ahern (1994–97)
(13)	Dick Spring (born 1950)		Kerry North	26 June 1997	13 November 1997		Labour Party		John Bruton (1997–2001)
17.	Ruairi Quinn (born 1946)		Dublin South-East	13 November 1997	25 October 2002
									Michael Noonan (2001–02)
									Enda Kenny (2002–11)
18.	Pat Rabbitte (born 1949)		Dublin South-West	25 October 2002	6 September 2007
19.	Eamon Gilmore (born 1955)		Dún Laoghaire	6 September 2007	9 March 2011
20.	Gerry Adams (born 1948)		Louth	9 March 2011	10 February 2018		Sinn Féin		Micheál Martin (2011–2020)
21.	Mary Lou McDonald (born 1969)		Dublin Central	10 February 2018	27 June 2020

See also

• Opposition Front Bench (Ireland)
• Politics of the Republic of Ireland
• Taoiseach

Notes

1. President of Dáil Éireann to 6 December 1922. President of the Executive Council to 29 December 1937.