Ärkerivaler öppnar för samtal på Irland

The Irish Civil War (Irish: Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Empire. The conflict was waged between two opposing groups, Irish republicans and Irish nationalists over the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The forces of the Provisional Government (which became the Free State in December 1922) supported the Treaty, while the Republican opposition saw it as a betrayal of the Irish Republic (which had been proclaimed during the Easter Rising). Many of those who fought in the conflict had been members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the War of Independence. The Civil War was won by the Free State forces, which were heavily armed with weapons provided by the British Government. The conflict may have claimed more lives than the War of Independence that preceded it, and left Irish society divided and embittered for generations. Today, two of the main political parties in the Republic of Ireland, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, are direct descendants of the opposing sides of the war.

Fine Gael /ˌfiːnə ˈɡeɪl/ (meaning Family or Tribe of the Irish) is a liberal-conservative and Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is the largest party in Ireland in terms of members of the Oireachtas and Irish members of European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000, and is the senior partner governing in a coalition with the Labour Party, with the Fine Gael party leader Enda Kenny serving as Taoiseach. Kenny has led the party since 2002. Fine Gael was founded on 8 September 1933 following the merger of its parent party Cumann na nGaedheal, the National Centre Party and the National Guard (popularly known as the "Blueshirts", a name still used colloquially to refer to the party). Its origins lie in the struggle for Irish independence and the pro-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War and Michael Collins, in particular, is often identified as the founder of the movement. Fine Gael is generally considered to be more of a proponent of market liberalism than its traditional rival, Fianna Fáil. However, apart from brief minority governments (as in 1987), Fine Gael has rarely governed Ireland without a coalition that also included the Labour Party, a social-democratic, centre-left party. Fine Gael describes itself as a "party of the progressive centre" which it defines as acting "in a way that is right for Ireland, regardless of dogma or ideology". It lists its core values as equality of opportunity, free enterprise and reward, security, integrity and hope. It is strongly in favour of the European Union and opposed to physical force Irish republicanism. The party's youth wing, Young Fine Gael, was formed in 1977, and has approximately four thousand members. Fine Gael is a founding member of the European People's Party and a member of the Centrist Democrat International.

Fianna Fáil /fᵻˌænə ˈfɔɪl/, also known as Fianna Fáil, The Republican Party, is a centrist to centre-right and conservative political party in the Republic of Ireland. It was founded as an Irish republican party on 23 March 1926 after a split in Sinn Féin on the issue of abstentionism. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál ("Fál" being a legendary name for Ireland). Historically, Fianna Fáil has been seen as to the left of Fine Gael and to the right of Sinn Féin and the Labour Party. It is generally seen as a "catch all" populist party, representing a broad range of people from all social classes. Fianna Fáil has led governments including parties of the centre-left (Labour and the Green Party) and of the centre-right (the now-defunct Progressive Democrats). It has been led by Micheál Martin since January 2011. The party is also organised in Northern Ireland but has yet to contest an election there.