From the inception of the organisation until 2011 Ógra was chaired by the youngest member of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party. Since 2011 Ógra have elected a president of the organisation. The first president of Ógra was Eamon Quinlan, who later became mayor of Waterford City in 2015.[4]
In 2013 Blackrock's Kate Feeney was elected as the first female leader of Ógra.[5][6] She is a daughter of former senator Geraldine Feeney and was elected to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council while president of Ógra in 2014.[citation needed]
Eoin Neylon won the election for president of Ógra two years in a row, in both 2014 and 2015.[7]
James Doyle of Dublin Fingal was elected to the office in November 2016, serving one term. Dún Laoghaire's Ian Woods was elected to the role in March 2018.[citation needed]
Lawrencetown native Tom Cahill was elected as President (Uachtarán) in November 2019. He was replaced by Bryan Mallon in March 2021. On 20 December 2021 a motion to remove Mallon as president received 62% of support from members, but failed to reach the required 66.7% for it to pass, and so he was not removed from office.[8]
Organisation
Ógra Fianna Fáil is organised across all the 32 counties of Ireland, maintaining a presence in most local communities and Third Level institutes. Within Ógra Fianna Fáil there four different types of units that can be formed: Ógra Comhairle Dáil Ceantair (CDC) in the Republic of Ireland, Council District Constituency (CDC) in Northern Ireland, Ógra Comhairle Ceantair (CC), Ógra Third Level Cumann, and Ógra Coiste Áitiúil. The three governing bodies of Ógra Fianna Fáil are the National Youth Conference, Ógra Central Officer Board and Ógra National Council.
[9]
Ógra Comhairle Dáil Ceantair (Ógra CDC) – The Ógra CDC covers the area of the Dáil constituency as set out by the Constituencies Commission, or in some cases where a constituency crosses a County border; it covers the area of that County.[10]
Ógra Council District Constituency (CDC) - The Ógra CDC covers the area of the Local government in Northern Ireland. They have the same status as Comhairle Dáil Ceantair within the organisation.
Ógra Comhairle Ceantair (Ógra CC) – This type of unit is smaller than an Ógra CDC, it only includes the Ógra members who are in a particular part of the constituency, most likely a local electoral area (LEA). Ógra CC members may also be members of a Third Level Cumann and an Ógra CDC.[11]
Ógra Third Level Cumann – Most higher education institutions have an Ógra Fianna Fáil Cumann. These branches generally have similar status to an Ógra CDC.[12]
Ógra Coiste Áitiúil – Ógra members in a particular local area are encouraged to form local units to allow the local members to come together to discuss issues and to organise events to promote Fianna Fáil. This form of Ógra unit was instigated to support the organisation in places where may not be practical or possible for Ógra members to travel long distances to Ógra CC or CDC meetings, or not possible to establish an Ógra CC.[13]
Ógra National Youth Conference (NYC) – The National Youth Conference is the supreme decision-making body of Ógra. The conference takes place every 12–18 months with the venue being decided by interested units presenting their bids to the delegates at National Council. The location for the NYC is rotated between each of the regions: Connacht, Leinster, Dublin, Ulster and Munster. The Conference gives the young members of Fianna Fáil a forum to express their views and opinions and develop national policies. All votes for policy motions and COB positions are carried out via One Member One Vote (OMOV).[14]
Ógra Central Officer Board (COB) – The Central Officer Board is responsible for the management of Ógra. It consists of a President, Policy Director, Campaigns and Events Director, Membership and Recruitment Director, International Officer, Irish and Cultural Officer, Equality & Educational Officer, five Regional Organisers, Press Officer(s) and the National Youth Officer.[15]
Ógra National Council (NC) – The National Council provides oversight to the work of the Central Officer Board. Meetings are usually held every 8–12 weeks. All members of the organisation are entitled to attend meetings. Unlike the NYC, National Council functions under a delegate system where every registered Ógra CDC and Third Level Cumann is entitled to send 3 delegates (at least 1 man and 1 woman) to National Council to vote on behalf of their CDC or cumann. These delegates can hold the COB to account, debate policy and submit and vote on motions.[16]
Third level branches
Kevin Barry Cumann – University College Dublin
The Kevin Barry Cumann is the branch in University College Dublin (UCD). The cumann predates the founding of Ógra Fianna Fáil which was established in 1956. It formally dates to 1957 when led by Gerry Collins, then a student organiser in UCD and later Minister for Foreign Affairs. It is named after UCD student and Irish revolutionary Kevin Barry.
The Cumann is the current holders of the Gobnait O'Connell award after the 2023 Cork National Youth Conference.
Pádraig Pearse Cumann – Dublin City University
The Dublin City University branch is the Pádraig Pearse Cumann,[18] commonly known as The PPC. At the Fianna Fáil National Youth Conference in Roscommon in 2018,[19] it was awarded best delegation.
As of 2021, they held the joint record for the most Gobnait O'Connell Awards (awards given to the best Ógra branch[20]) won with 4 in the years 2001, 2015, 2019 and 2021.[citation needed] They also hold the joint record for most Gobnait O’Connell Awards won consecutively which is 2 in a row.[citation needed]
Cumann De Barra is the branch in the University of Galway (UG). Meetings were held off campus for many years before it was officially recognised by university authorities and allowed to host itself as an official society of the university in 1954. Like its sister Cumann in University College Dublin (UCD), it is also named after Kevin Barry, a medical student at UCD who fought and was executed during the Irish War of Independence. To avoid confusion however, it officially changed its name to the Irish language version to reflect UG's reputation as the Irish language university.[citation needed]
^In the Irish language, the initial letter of a proper noun in the genitive, as in [Youth of] Fianna Fáil, is lenited, and therefore the grammatically correct spelling is Ógra Fhianna Fáil, with a silent "fh".[1]
References
^Houses of the Oireachtas (3 August 2017). An Caighdeán Oifigiúil(PDF) (Report). p. 44. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
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