LAST UPDATE | 23 Jun

THE FAR-RIGHT IRISH Freedom Party is to lose its official status as a political party after the Registrar of Political Parties moved to cancel its registration today.

In practical terms, if the decision stands, the party will no longer be recognised as an official registered political party in Ireland. That means it will lose the right to have its name appear alongside candidates on ballot papers, and will no longer be treated as a registered party for electoral purposes.

Candidates will still be able to run in elections, but only as independents unless the party is re-registered.

In a statement to The Journal, the party’s founder Herman Kelly suggested that members may ultimately run under a different party name. 

The move to cancel the registration of the party was confirmed this morning by the Registrar, acting through An Coimisiún Toghcháin, and the party has been informed.

The Commission said it had received two recent applications to update the party’s details on the register, but both were found to contain insufficient and conflicting information.

Despite repeated requests for clarification, the Registrar said he was not satisfied that the Irish Freedom Party met the legal requirements for registration.

As a result, the Registrar said that it is required to proceed with cancellation, subject to a 21-day appeal period.

The Eurosceptic, anti-immigration party which has consistently aligned itself with far-right elements in Ireland was founded in 2018 by Kelly.

The party has contested elections at local, national and European level, but currently holds no seats on local councils.

While they won their first and only local council seat (Glen Moore on South Dublin County Council) in the June 2024 local elections, Moore resigned from the party in February 2025 and now sits as an independent.

In a statement, Kelly told The Journal that party members will continue to stand for election, perhaps under a different party name should that be required. 

“Members of the Irish Freedom Party will continue to be active in Irish politics and elections, either under the Irish Freedom Party banner or a new one if need be because of the Electoral Commission,” he said. 

Kelly added that the decision by the registrar was “open to appeal” and the action taken by the Electoral Commission comes as a result of “a handful of disruptive members” of his party. 

“With a validly elected Ard Chomlaire, we have control of the continuity party website, email system, database, Stripe account and social media accounts. Yet because a handful of disruptive members set up a new website, this is the supposed pretext for Electoral Commission action,” Kelly said.