Leader of the Opposition (Ireland)

Leader of the Opposition Ceannaire an Fhreasúra
Incumbent Micheál Martin since 9 March 2011
Term length	While leader of the largest political party not in government
Inaugural holder	Thomas Johnson
Formation	6 December 1922

This is a list of Irish Leaders of the Opposition. The Leader of the Opposition (Irish: Ceannaire an Fhreasúra) in Ireland is the politician who, de facto, leads the Parliamentary Opposition in the lower house of the Irish Parliament, Dáil Éireann. When in the Dáil, the Leader of the Opposition sits on the right-hand side of the Ceann Comhairle and directly opposite of the Taoiseach.

By convention, the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest party not in government, while the Second Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the second largest party not in government. Opposition leaders leading a political party with five members or more have full speaking rights under Dáil standing orders, meaning that smaller parties and independent politicians are unable to speak as often.

Historically the two largest parties have nearly always been Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, and so the position of Leader of the Opposition has alternated between them. However, immediately following Irish secession from the UK in 1922, the leader of the Labour Party acted as Leader of the Opposition as Sinn Féin, and later Fianna Fáil, refused to take their seats in Dáil Éireann. After the 2011 general election Fine Gael became the largest party in Dáil Éireann and the Labour Party for the first time became the second largest. However, since Labour and Fine Gael entered a coalition government, the third largest party which is Fianna Fáil, leads the opposition in the 31st Dáil.

To date there have been 17 Opposition Leaders, 9 of whom have served terms as Taoiseach. The current Leader of the Opposition is Micheál Martin TD of the Fianna Fáil party, following the opening of the 31st Dáil on 9 March 2011. The current Second Leader of the Opposition is Gerry Adams TD of the Sinn Féin party. Gerry Adams is the twentieth person to hold the position of Second Leader of the Opposition.