JAMES Dillon remains the most successful independent TD since the foundation of the state. When Ireland's first inter-party (coalition) government was formed after the 1948 election, Dillon was offered the position of agriculture minister. The Monaghan politician, however, was not a pure independent, having only adopted the status after a dispute with Fine Gael in the early 1940s. He enjoyed over three years as an independent minister, but by the time the second inter-party arrangement was put together in 1954, he was back inside the FG fold.

Ireland is different from anywhere else in the world when it come to independent members of parliament.

When the former BBC war correspondent Martin Bell was elected to the House of Commons in 1997, he was the first successful independent candidate in British politics since 1945. "Ireland sticks out, " said Liam Weeks, who is completing an academic study on the role of independent candidates from 1921 to 2002.

"There have been more independents elected here than in the rest of the world twice over, " Weeks told a seminar in the Department of Contemporary History in TCD last week.

The inter-party government in 1948 was not the only administration in which independent TDs have been prominent. In all, 10 different governments since 1921 have been in a minority position in the Dáil and have needed the support of independents to stay in office.

"Independents hold key to power, " read the Irish Independent headline after the 1951 general election. "The future of the government is in the hands of six independents, " the Irish Times said after the same contest. More recently, Fianna Fáil and the PDs remained in office for five years after the 1997 general election with the support of four independent TDs. "People associate minority governments with instability, but that period 1997 to 2002 shows something different, " Weeks said.

Close connections According to Weeks' research there is no significant determining factor which makes a successful independent. There are no similarities by occupation, age, gender or social class.

Independents tend to be firsttime candidates with little previous experience in politics.

An explanation for the Irish voter preference for independent candidates may be rooted in aspects of the political culture here which stresses localism and close connections between voters and politicians.

Increased negativity towards political parties has most likely increased support for independents, but the assumption that they benefit from the electoral system here is disproved by Malta which also uses the same voting system.

There has been independent representation in every Dáil since 1921. But after the 1969 general election - when Joe Sheridan was the only successful independent candidate - there was a view that independent TDs were a soon-tobe-extinct species. Sheridan had run three times without success for Fine Gael in Westmeath in the 1950s before winning as an independent in 1961 and all subsequent contests until 1981, when he retired. He soldiered alone as an independent from 1969 but by 1973 former Fianna Fáiler Neil Blaney joined him on the independent benches. Interestingly, from the 1970s there has been a strong revival in the fortunes of independents.

They were helped by the publicity arising from the deal negotiated by Tony Gregory with Charlie Haughey in 1982 when the new Dublin Central Independent TD extracted a multi-million pound deal in return for supporting the minority Fianna Fáil government.

Since then there has been an increase in independent candidates contesting elections (110 ran in 2002), while their share of the first-preference vote has also risen. The number of independents has increased at each of the last three general elections. At the 2002 general election, independent candidates won 11% of the vote and 13 seats. It was the best result for independents since 1951.

As part of his study, Weeks sought to categorise nearly 1,100 independents candidates who have contested Dáil elections since 1921. The legal definition is that they are 'non-party' candidates, but there are wide variations among these aspiring politicians. In the early years after 1921, there were many independent unionist and independent nationalist TDs. Until 1937, there were three TDs elected to represent Trinity College which ensured independent unionist-leaning TDs sat in Leinster House. Major Bryan Cooper - who served in the British army in the first World War - was twice elected in Dublin South as an independent unionist TD before joining Cumann na nGaedheal, the predecessor of Fine Gael.

Local interests In more recent times, voters have tended to back singleissue independents. These individuals have run solely to defend interests in their local areas. They include Tom Foxe, a successful hospital candidate in Roscommon in 1989 and Tom Gildea, who was elected in 1997 on an MMDSdeflector platform in Donegal South West. These single-issue independents are the most successful category of independent candidates. The group also includes Thomas Burke, who was returned on five occasions in the 1930s and 1940s by voters in Clare. Burke has the infamous distinction of being the only general election candidate to describe himself as a bonesetter. His career description actually appeared on the ballot paper at the 1948 general election. Burke was clearly a local politician as he hardly ever spoke in the Dáil.

Ireland has had no tradition of successful right-wing independent candidates, but those from a left-wing ideological position have done well. The most recent addition to the independent ranks, Catherine Murphy, who won the Kildare North by-election, fits the left-wing category. Murphy, who started her career in the Workers Party before leaving Labour, also qualifies for inclusion in another category - party dissidents.

Three of the four TDs who backed the minority Fianna Fáil-PD coalition after 1997 are from that tradition. Mildred Fox, Jackie Healy-Rae and Harry Blaney all had associations with Fianna Fáil.

The last general election saw a revival in the fortunes of party dissidents, with TDs such as James Breen in Clare and Paddy McHugh in Galway East only running as independents after rows within Fianna Fáil. While there are several Fianna Fáil dissidents in the current Dáil, interestingly, since 1921, the greatest number of dissidents have come from Labour.

The current independents clearly hope that if they are re-elected, their status will rise in the event of a hung Dáil.

Yet, none of the four who supported Bertie Ahern after 1997 benefited electorally from their five-year deal. Gildea didn't run again, while the first-preference vote of the other three all fell over the previous election. But that fate will not stop the likes of Finian McGrath, Jerry Cowley or Paudge Connolly - if they are re-elected - in seeking the Gregory Deal Part Two.

Independents back in vogue 0369121 1948: 12 1951: 14 1954: 5 1957: 8 1961: 11 1965: 3 1969: 1 1973: 2 1977: 4 1981: 5 1982: 4 1982: 3 1987: 4 1989: 5 1992: 5 1997: 7 2002: 13 Seats won by non-party candidates in general elections since 1948 3 6 9 12 15

INDEPENDENTS TO WATCH Jimmy Harte, Donegal North East (RIGHT) His grandfather was a Fine Gael councillor and his father a junior minister for the party, but Jimmy Harte has split from Fine Gael and, despite recent feelers from the party, is running as an independent. "It's good to be away from the restraints of a party, " Harte admits.

He says that if elected he would "vote for whoever delivers the most for Donegal North East".

Derek Keating, Dublin Mid West (BELOW) A first-time Dáil candidate, Keating has been a full time politician for over three years. His vote in the 2004 local elections - 3,680 - placed him as the 10th best vote-getter in the country. "There's a move away from the party system, " he says, admitting that his biggest challenge is not having the organisiation or resources of the main party candidates.

"A lot of people associate independents with looking after their own area's interests, but my agenda is about quality of life including traf"c congestion and school facilities."

Michael Fitzgerald, Tipperary Sth (ABOVE) A series of meetings over the next fortnight will determine whether or not Michael Fitzgerald declares as an independent candidate. He fell foul of the Fine Gael hierarchy last year over controversial comments on the drink-driving laws. "I never set out to be a general election candidate, but I have had so many people offering their support I have to consider it, " Fitzgerald says. He has had two unsuccessful Dáil runs previously - in February and November 1982 - and has a strong attachment to Fine Gael having represented the party on the local council for over 25 years while his father was a councillor since 1945. "I would have no problem in the world going as an independent, " he admits.