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
Fianna Fáil Front Bench six sitting front bench TDs, including the deputy leader Mary Hanafin, were not re-elected. Positions also reflected the restructuring of government departments by the incoming Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition. In May 2016 Martin announced his third front bench. Fianna Fáil is the largest opposition party in the Dáil and therefore that party's leader takes the title Leader of the Opposition, a largely nominal role. The other parties that occupy the opposition benches include Sinn Féin and the United Left Alliance. The "Official Opposition" is viewed as the party tasked with keeping the government in check. It is also generally viewed