Gang of 22 This forced O'Malley's hand and he had to declare his intention to stand against Haughey. The vote failed by 55 votes to 22. Those who made up the Gang of 22 were: The name is a pun on the Gang of Four, a political faction in the People's Republic of China who were imprisoned after the death of Mao Zedong. In September 1991 four backbench Fianna Fáil TDs: Noel Dempsey, Liam Fitzgerald, M. J. Nolan and Seán Power (known as the Gang of Four) put down a motion of no-confidence in Haughey's leadership in Power's name. This prompted Albert Reynolds
Gang of Four Premier was not one of the radicals, but the relatively unknown Hua Guofeng. Hua was also named First Vice Chairman of the party. On September 9, Chairman Mao died. For the next few weeks the Gang of Four retained control over the party's and government's media, and many articles appeared on the theme of "principles laid down" (or "established") by Mao near the end of his life. (The words "principles laid down" were themselves supposedly a quotation from Mao, but their canonical status was in dispute.) Urban militia units commanded by supporters of the radical group were placed on a