The Political Parties of Ireland - National Progressive Democrats

The National Progressive Democrats was a small socialist political party in the Republic of Ireland, active between 1958 and 1963. The party was founded in 1958 as a left-wing, progressive and secular grouping. Its founders were Noël Browne (former Minister for Health) and Jack McQuillan, former members of the social deomocratic wing of Clann na Poblachta.

The party was noted for its vigorous role in Dáil Éireann. Between 1958 and 1961, 7 of the 9 motions discussed in Private Member’s Time had been proposed by one of them. In 1961 and 1962, they asked 1,400 parliamentary questions, 17% of the total. Taoiseach Seán Lemass paid them a compliment by referring to them as "the real opposition". Both were re-elected at the 1961 general election, but the party won little support as it fielded only one other candidate. The party was disbanded when it merged into the Labour Party in 1963. However both Browne and McQuillan would both subsequently lose their seats in the next election running under the Labour banner.