up in 1947 by former IRA Chief of Staff Seán MacBride. The party contained a broad political spectrum of Irish Republicans, from former Communists to "traditionalist" Republicans. The party settled on a centre-left platform promoting Social Democracy and New Deal style politics that suited the new political era of post-World War 2 Europe. Initially, they hoped to overtake Fianna Fáil as the main Republican party in Irish politics and were projected to do very well, but savvy electoral manoeuvring by Éamon de Valera saw them falter in their first election. After they entered a coalition that included the traditional opponents of Irish Republicanism Fine Gael and ran into political turmoil over the Mother and Child Scheme, the party rapidly lost support. However, they were successful in formally declaring that Ireland was a Republic in 1948 . Their influence waned throughout the 1950s and they were formally wound up by 1965. Aontacht Éireann were an Irish Republican party set up in 1971 following a major political rift in Fianna Fáil caused by the Arms Crisis, in which Fianna Fáil ministers Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney were dismissed from cabinet following allegations they were involved in arranging for the IRA to be supplied with weaponry. The fallout of this caused many Fianna Fáil members to resign, amongst them Fianna Fáil minister Kevin Boland. Boland left Fianna Fáil and setup Aontacht Éireann to be a more openly Republican party in Irish politics. He was joined by the likes of sitting Fianna Fáil TD Seán Sherwin. Although there was quite an amount of interest in Aontacht Éireann initially, with branches set up across Ireland, the party struggled to maintain its momentum. When Boland had resigned from Fianna Fáil, he not only gave up his cabinet position but also his seat in the Dáil as well. Without the platform to the speak in the Dáil, Boland was somewhat sidelined. The party also struggled to meaningfully separate itself from Provisional Sinn Féin, with much of the policies and the rhetoric of the party membership mirroring each other. The party only managed to take 0.9% of the national vote at the 1973 Irish general election and by 1976 the vast majority of the original membership had moved on from the party. It was formally wound up in 1984, after a period in which a far-right group has usurped the party's name and used it for their own