( Newsvine ) Fianna Fail, for decades the dominant political party in the Republic of Ireland, is considering running for elections in the British territory of Northern Ireland for the first time.
Ever since Ireland's partition in 1921, southern political parties have declared their desire to unite the island under one government - but have refused to organize in Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, citing practical and security problems.
Only Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Army-linked party rooted in Northern Ireland, contests elections in both countries. It has long accused other Irish nationalists of hypocrisy on the issue of Irish unity because their parties stop at the border.
Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern said Monday he would lead a committee of lawmakers to explore how best to expand Fianna Fail north, where two Irish nationalist parties already compete for votes.
"This is a very strategic move by our party into the future," Ahern said.
Sinn Fein lawmaker Martin Ferris, a paroled IRA gunrunner, said his party was "delighted that Fianna Fail has finally taken our lead."
Fianna Fail, which is pronounced "FEEN-uh Fall" and means "soldiers of destiny" in Gaelic, subtitles its name as "The Republican Party" - a declaration of its commitment to unite the whole island into one republic.
The key question would be whether Fianna Fail should try to field candidates against the two existing Irish nationalist forces in Northern Ireland - Sinn Fein and the Catholic moderates of the Social Democratic and Labour Party - or to negotiate a merger with the SDLP.
Fianna Fail has ruled out such cooperation with Sinn Fein, citing its hard-left economic rhetoric, but has suggested that the SDLP might be persuaded to transform itself into the northern branch of Fianna Fail.
A Fianna Fail move into Northern Ireland would be designed, in part, to counter attempts by Sinn Fein to build up its political base in the Irish Republic citing its status as the only true all-Ireland party.
As part of the 1998 peace agreement, the Irish Republic agreed to abandon its constitutional claim to the territory of Northern Ireland. The key achievement of the peace deal, a Catholic-Protestant coalition involving Sinn Fein, has been governing Northern Ireland in surprising harmony since May 8.
Ahern said Fianna Fail didn't want to participate in Northern Ireland elections until power-sharing was established. "But the 8th of May has changed all that. There's no logic not to move into the north," he said.