Donegal Progressive Party
Defunct Irish political party
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The Donegal Progressive Party was a minor political party in the Republic of Ireland.
Donegal Progressive Party | |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | November 2009 |
| Ideology | Protestant minority interests |
The party drew its support mostly from the unionist and Protestant community in eastern County Donegal.[1] It was opposed to a united Ireland. At the 1973 general election, the party's leader advised Protestants to vote for Fianna Fáil, as it had "the most stable policy" on the border question.[2] Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the party held a single seat on Donegal County Council, but it lost this at the 1999 local elections.[3][4] The party was registered to contest local elections only.
Jim Devenney, a butcher and member of the East Donegal Ulster Scots Association and the former deputy chairman of the Ulster-Scots Agency,[5] was the party's final representative. He contested Donegal North-East at the 1992 and 1997 general elections, and stood in Letterkenny again in 2004.[6][7] The party was removed from the Register of Political Parties in November 2009.[8]
Elections
Dáil Éireann
Local elections (Donegal County Council)
| Year | Candidate | Votes | % | Position | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | multiple | 4,520 | 3.1% | #3
(Donegal County) |
1 / 28 |
| 1974 | Winston Patterson | 1,745 | 13.1% | #3
(Letterkenny) |
1 / 28 |
| 1979 | William Buchanan | 1,728 | 11.7% | #4
(Letterkenny) |
1 / 28 |
| 1985 | William Buchanan | 1,506 | 10.4% | #1
(Letterkenny) |
1 / 29 |
| 1991 | Jim Devenney | 1,775 | 12.9% | #1
(Letterkenny) |
1 / 29 |
| 1999 | Jim Devenney | 1,229 | 10.86% | #6
(Letterkenny) |
0 / 29 |
| 2004 | Jim Devenney | 869 | 7.06% | #7
(Letterkenny) |
0 / 29 |
