History of Fianna Fáil Deputy Leader and Communications Spokesperson. He resigned from these positions due to dissatisfaction with his party's position on the Fiscal Compact Referendum. Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin stated that Ó Cuív would face expulsion from the parliamentary party if he did not vote with the party on the Fiscal Compact in the Dáil. Coming just a week before their Ard Fhies, Ó Cuív's resignation caused a split down the middle of the Fianna Fáil party. History of Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil was founded on 23 March 1926 when a group of Dail deputies led by Éamon de Valera split from
Progressive Democrats governments four times, on each occasion with Fianna Fáil (1989–1992; 1997–2002; 2002–2007; 2007–2009), and also with the Green Party from 2007–2009. In 2005 Michael McDowell publicly took a firmly anti-republican position and named Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and Martin Ferris as members of the IRA Army Council. The convention in Irish politics at this time was not to accuse Sinn Fein politicians of being members of the Army Council, in doing so McDowell broke with convention. He said that until the IRA disbanded Sinn Fein could not be involved in government, North or South. On 7 September 2006 Mary Harney