1992
Democratic Left was formed after a split in the Workers' Party
At a Workers Party Ard Comhairle meeting on 22nd February 1992, several members and six of the party’s TDs left the party and formed a new party led by Proinsias de Rossa. Initially called New Agenda, it was renamed Democratic Left at its founding conference the following month.
Divisions in the party between more Marxist and social-democratic orientations had culminated in a special conference at which a motion for significant restructuring of the party — proposed by De Rossa (then party leader) and allies — was narrowly defeated.
The Workers’ Party analysis of the split is outlined in this document:
