Formation The party was founded in 2016, by
Justin Barrett as party president and
James Reynolds as party vice president. The National Party had planned to hold its press launch in the
Merrion Hotel in
Dublin but the event was cancelled by the hotel, which subsequently said it had done so for "public safety reasons". Barrett, who was raised in
County Tipperary, has a background in
anti-abortion and
anti-immigration politics, formerly being a leading figure in
Youth Defence and campaigning against the
Treaty of Nice. Barrett attracted media attention due to his participation in events in both
Germany and
Italy organised by
far-right parties, the
National Democratic Party and
Forza Nuova, respectively, in the 1990s. Barrett denied sharing their far-right views and said he attended these events in his capacity as an anti-abortion campaigner. In 2016, in an interview where he incorrectly overstated the levels of migration to Ireland by a factor of three, he called his attendance at these meetings "a mistake". Reynolds, from
County Longford, was the County Longford affiliate for Youth Defence in the early 1990s. He was associated with the
Libertas Ireland political party in 2009, and campaigned for a No vote in the
Fiscal Compact referendum in 2012 as chairman of the small
Farmers for No group. Reynolds was previously the
Longford county chairman of the
Irish Farmers' Association, and national treasurer of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. He was suspended from the IFA in 2012 for "bringing the county executive into disrepute". In March 2017 he secured a temporary
High Court injunction preventing his dismissal as national treasurer of the ICSA, but the High Court upheld his dismissal from the role in June 2017. The party held its first
Ardfheis in November 2017, at the
Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Ireland in County Clare. Approximately fifty delegates attended. Barrett criticised
Fine Gael in his speech for not calling its annual conference an
ardfheis.
John Wilson, a guest speaker from
County Cavan, challenged
homophobic comments made by deputy leader James Reynolds. Barrett defended Reynolds' comments and reportedly answered in the affirmative when asked by Wilson whether the National Party was "only for straight Irish people". Wilson then walked out in protest. Abortion Never presented itself as "an Irish nationalist anti-abortion campaign." At the launch of the campaign, Barrett stated that if the abortion referendum passed, it would lead to euthanasia for the elderly; "It doesn't just begin with abortion and stop there. It ends in euthanasia, because they already have a plan. You see discussions in the newspapers sometimes, 'What are we going to do about the pensions crisis?'". At the same event, he called for the abortion referendum campaign to be "as divisive as possible". The referendum was ultimately approved by 66.4% of voters. In November 2020, the
Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) announced that the National Party were one of five political parties who failed to provide them with a set of audited accounts for 2019, in breach of statutory obligations. SIPO later reported that the National Party had never filed any audited accounts or details of party finances, despite a legal obligation to do so. The party supported a 'No' vote in the March 2024 referendums on family and carers. The party's application to become an 'approved body' during the campaign was rejected by the Electoral Commission due to the contested nature of the party's leadership.
Protests In September 2019, party president Justin Barrett
had a milkshake thrown over him when he along with other members the National Party were confronted by counter-protesters after unfurling a banner reading 'Ireland belongs to the Irish' in Galway. During the
COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland, members of the National Party participated in several anti-mask and anti-lockdown protests. There were violent clashes at several events promoted and attended by party members in October 2020 and February 2021. In July 2020, the National Party organised a protest against
Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman, who they accused of being sympathetic to paedophiles. During that protest, members of the party unfurled a banner and signs depicting a
noose. At an anti-mask protest held on 12 September 2020, a National Party member, Michael Quinn, assaulted LGBTQ+ activist
Izzy Kamikaze with a wooden plank wrapped in the Irish flag, while she was observing the protest. In June 2021, Quinn pleaded guilty to assault using a weapon under Section 11 of the Firearms and Offensives Weapons Act, 1990. The party leadership has made no public comment on the assault or conviction. In the wake of the original assault, far-right social media accounts had claimed the victim had faked her injuries. Representatives of the party attending
the 2022–2023 anti-immigration protests across Ireland has been widely reported. Members of the party were involved in an "anti-government" protest, held outside Leinster House, in September 2023. The party has featured prominently in protests, including leading street blockades against buses of refugees. The party described the November
2023 Dublin riot as "spontaneous", "organic", and an eruption of "righteous anger". A party spokesperson stated: "Whilst the National Party does not endorse any illegal activity, yesterday evening's events were an outburst of passion in response to overt injustice... Ireland's open borders immigration policy has allowed the dregs of foreign countries to settle in Ireland, often being entitled to housing and welfare whilst Irish people struggle." Councillor Patrick Quinlan spoke on behalf of the party at the April 2025 anti-immigration 'National Protest' in Dublin, held to commemorate the
Easter Rising. He spoke alongside Dublin councillors
Malachy Steenson, Gavin Pepper, and
Philip Sutcliffe. Quinlan railed against “the den of rats inside Dáil Éireann". He continued, "They fear not chaos but our awakening... the holy fire that blazed in our patriot dead lives on here today. The heroes of 1916 triumphed, and so shall we.” At a June 2025 protest, Quinlan accused the Irish government of being "traitors akin to the former British colonial overlords".
2022 Ard Fheis The party's annual Ard Fheis held in the Lough Erne Resort, County Fermanagh was disrupted by a group of far-left protesters who arrived by minibus, some of whom were armed with hammers and covered their faces with scarves and balaclavas. A fire extinguisher was also used by a member of the anti-fascist group as a weapon. Two people were treated at the scene for their injuries and four others were taken to hospital following the incident. One protester, Daniel Comerford from Dublin, was arrested and charged with having a hammer as an offensive weapon, causing criminal damage to a glass door, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm and affray. The party Ard Fheis continued shortly after the disturbance. In his speech, the then deputy leader, James Reynolds, condemned the attack on the conference by "red communist thugs". In a subsequent statement, the party said: "The far-left in Ireland feel entitled to bludgeon people...Why? Because the NGO sector and media establishment give it moral sanction. The same people demand 'hate speech' legislation to create a two-tier justice system where they are on top." The matter was reported to
An Garda Síochána, however Gardaí did not commence a criminal investigation as they sought to establish legal ownership of the gold. It was reported that Gardaí had determined the location of gold. A Garda source described the matter as "an internal party dispute" and as one for the civil courts. Barrett stated that the gold "formed the main part of the party's reserves in case of a mishap in general or more particularly a collapse in the value of
fiat currency". He claimed to have expelled Reynolds and the other members. The origin of the gold raised concern from politicians such as Senator
Michael McDowell and Fine Gael councillor Emma Blain. Blain’s complaint, on the source of the party's funding and its failure to publish accounts, prompted the
Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) to pledge to investigate, stating that concerns "will be followed up to ensure proper compliance with the requirements of the Electoral Acts. All matters relating to possible noncompliance with the requirements of the Electoral Acts that are brought to the attention of the Commission, are followed up and enquiries made as appropriate". SIPO further stated that, if they were of the opinion that an offence had occurred, "it may refer the matter to the
Director of Public Prosecutions". The National Party issued a statement on 31 July 2023 on its official social media channels in which it stated that Barrett had been removed as leader in mid-July, before "claims emerged that gold bars worth an estimated €400,000 had been removed from a party vault". The party's statement of 31 July claimed that Barrett was dismissed "due to an overwhelming lack of confidence from active party members in Mr Barrett's continued ability to lead the party" and that Reynolds had been elected as leader. It criticised Barrett's "hands-off leadership style" which had "allowed the party to go to seed". Barrett denied being removed as leader and claimed the statement was "farcical" and blamed it on "social media password possession" by the faction which had ousted him. He further claimed it was issued by someone who "never read the National Party Constitution or... does not know it is lodged with the Electoral Commission and is legally enforceable" and said he was still "President of the National Party in law". Since July 2023, both Reynolds and Barrett made further submissions to the Electoral Commission. A decision on which faction could use the National Party name in elections was reportedly expected in February 2024. The party also accused Barrett of having "greedily use[d] the party's funds for selfish reasons" when he was leader, including the use of €13,000 to purchase himself a car. The
Irish Times reported that Barrett's posting of a quote from
Mein Kampf and his decision to expel Philip Dwyer "raised questions about his judgement" among party members and that the "bulk of the party's support base appears to have deserted him" and "only a small handful of party members, including his wife, are standing by him". In February 2024, it was reported that the party had failed in its bid to be granted
"approved body" status in referendums. The refusal to grant the status was linked to the ongoing confusion about which faction of the party had the right to use the party name. In April 2024, Barrett formed a new organisation called 'Clann Éireann' (Irish for 'Family Ireland'), though he insisted it was not a political party, and that he had not conceded the leadership of the National Party to Reynolds. He used the organisation to attack the Reynolds-led faction within the National Party, and rallied support for his side in the leadership dispute. As of April 2024, the leadership was still in dispute, with competing submissions being made to the
Electoral Commission. Both factions ran candidates in the
June 2024 European elections, with two candidates each running in the Dublin and Midlands-Northwest constituencies. Both Barrett and Reynolds ran unsuccessfully in the latter constituency. One councillor, Patrick Quinlan, was elected to Fingal County Council in the
local elections. Following the June 2024 elections, Reynolds described the National Party brand as "toxic" and said he would never run for them again. In September 2024, the Electoral Commission issued a final ruling on the leadership dispute, stating that both Barrett and Reynolds remained officers. It stated that "The Board was not satisfied that reasonable notice was given of the relevant meeting of the party's National Directorate, and that the resolutions made at that meeting were therefore not validly made," further stating that the meeting called to remove Barrett was attended by only one person, namely James Reynolds. The fate of the gold bullion was not mentioned in the decision. In March 2025, the Electoral Commission processed another application to amend the Register of Political Parties, removing Barrett as a party officer and changing the party's registered headquarters to a Dublin 4 address. Barrett appealed against this decision, which was "under consideration" by the Electoral Commission as of March 2025. In September 2025, the Electoral Commission rejected an appeal by Barrett to prevent his removal from the party on foot of an AGM held on 19 October 2024. The body rejected his claims of a "coup" and that the AGM was "rigged" against him or his supporters. Following this, the National Party stated that Patrick Quinlan was the president of the party. The Register of Political Parties was subsequently updated, on 24 September 2025, to reflect the removal of Barrett and Reynolds and the inclusion of Quinlan.
Galway Bay FM described Barrett as having been "deposed" as leader. The alliance announced a leadership consisting of Ireland First leader Derek Blighe, the Irish People leader Anthony Cahill, and National Party councillor Patrick Quinlan. Ahead of the election, the National Party announced that
Stardust campaigner and survivor Antoinette Keegan would stand for the party and was "committed to implementing the National Party's pro-Irish position". However, Keegan subsequently stated that she had withdrawn as a National Party candidate and from the election and that her "principles are 'incompatible' with the party". The National Alliance promoted policies which were anti-abortion, anti-green and anti-immigration.
Quinlan leadership, 2025-present The leadership of Patrick Quinlan was confirmed in Autumn 2025. Gerry Kinneavy, the party's Galway cumann spokesman, was elected deputy leader in January 2026. Kinneavy, from
Oughterard in
Connemara, was formerly the secretary of the
Immigration Control Platform in the 2000s. Since the split with its co-founders, the National Party has "attempted to rehabilitate its brand by affiliating with pan-European identitarian ideology", according to Dr Eoin Lenihan in his book
Vandalising Ireland. This has been undertaken by a "younger, more aesthetically savvy" faction which has dominated the party since 2024. == Ideology and policies ==