Independent Left was founded in
Dublin in January 2019 in the run up to the
2019 local elections. Its members include John Lyons, Niamh McDonald and
Conor Kostick. In the
2014 local elections, John Lyons was elected to
Dublin City Council in the
local electoral area (LEA) of Beaumont–Donaghmede for
People Before Profit. Lyons stood for election in the
Dáil constituency of
Dublin Bay North in the
2016 general election. He was not elected, being eliminated on the fourteenth count in seventh place for a five-seat constituency with 8,476 votes. On 7 January 2019, John Lyons left People Before Profit, saying the decision was a hard one, but "the difficulties I've had with the leadership of PBP over the future direction of the party in the Dublin Bay North area over the past six months could ultimately not be resolved." At the
2019 Dublin City Council election, the local electoral boundaries were revised, and Lyons stood for Independent Left in the
Artane–
Whitehall LEA, being elected to the third (of six) seat on the sixth count. Niamh McDonald, who stood in the Donaghmede LEA, obtained 562 first preference votes and was not elected. He was eliminated on the 13th count with 6,421 votes after transfers. His first preference vote was 1,882. Lyons, listed on the ballot as an independent candidate, was re-elected to Dublin City Council in the
2024 local elections. ==Policies==