The head of the An Coimisiún Toghcháin, The Electoral Commission, acts as the Registrar of Political Parties. The far-right party had already experienced a split when a group left in late 2023 and, in early 2024, set up a new vigilante-style group called Sinne na Daoine.

The current implosion stems from two party officers — Hermann Kelly and Fergus Nolan — each claiming to the Registrar to represent the party.

A statement issued by the commission said: “The Registrar of Political Parties (the Registrar) has today given notice of his intention to cancel the registration of the Irish Freedom Party, under Section 50(6) of the Electoral Reform Act (2022) and so remove the party from the Register of Political Parties. 

“The Registrar received two separate applications in recent months seeking to update the details of the Irish Freedom Party in the Register of Political Parties. The information provided in each application was insufficient and, when considered together, the applications contained conflicting claims. 

“Despite repeated requests for clarification and further information, the Registrar was not satisfied that either application demonstrated compliance with the requirements that all registered political parties must meet under section 47 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022.” 

The emergence of the current division has come as a surprise to some observers.

Mr Kelly has been president of the IFP since its foundation in 2018. An internal dispute with a section of the party, led by Anthony Casey, resulted in a split and the creation of Sinne na Daoine.

Mr Kelly and/or Mr Nolan can appeal the decision within the next 21 days. Any appeal would be heard by the Board of the Electoral Commission. The two factions have their own websites — irishfreedom.ie and theirishfreedomparty.com.

The IFP secured the election of Glen Moore in the July 2024 local elections when he won a seat in the Palmerstown-Fonthill electoral area of South Dublin County Council.

The splintering of the IFP follows a split in the National Party, another far-right party, in recent years. Former leader Justin Barrett subsequently set up Clann Éireann.

Separately, another far-right party, Ireland First, has also struggled after the resignation of its leader, Derek Blighe, in April 2025. He had set up the party in 2023.

• Cormac O’Keeffe is security correspondent for the Irish Examiner