Viral “Irish Simpsons Fans” political party is in it for the long haul

Irish Simpsons Fans was a meme page created in 2016, known for posting tongue-in-cheek memes about Irish issues. However, the popular social media phenomenon has been sprung into the spotlight this week by the creation of the Irish Simpsons Fans Party— a satirical political party that suddenly went viral this week, with international coverage.Most find the ISF party’s emergence either funny or ridiculous, but the ISF is quite serious in its intention to get to the Dáil. While the ISF Party’s twitter page, at over 11,500 followers, seems mainly tongue-in-cheek, they’ve also been providing political commentary and inviting members to join, hoping to build up a support base. A left-wing party aiming for the youth vote, the ISF already has plans to have representatives at the next General and Council elections, with the former of the two predicted to be put to the people in May 2020.Speaking to the Express, a representative from the ISF party said, “Our goal is to get someone elected to the Dáil. Simple as that. Yes, it seems like a pretty vague and slightly ludicrous goal, but if the last five years have taught us anything, you can't predict politics. we're a very real party, and we particularly want to attract the college vote… We've had some cynics say ‘they'll burn out like PBP or every other left-wing party’, and one or two 'gobshites' have said ‘they're virtue signaling with no real policies’, but we'll do our talking at the ballot box. We're in it for the long-haul, we're very serious about getting someone elected.”Is the ISF a joke party or a real one? Both, but their agenda is certainly real. “A part of wanting to form the ISF Party came from reading about the Pirate Party and thinking ‘how funny would it be if Ireland had a party like that, and one born from a meme group.’” As for why the Simpsons theme is there, with the party’s logo being the iconic Simpsons donut, the ISF party told us, “The Simpsons theme is baked into our party's DNA, 100%. A lot of ideas from the show - being tolerant of other religions, gender, race, looking out for the little guy in society, people over profit, strong worker unions...”The ISF party was the brainchild of previous USI member and Belfast Councilor candidate Jack Leahy, who founded the Irish Simpsons Fans page in January 2016.“If you'd welcome refugees with open arms, want to fight for gender rights, make Ireland a safe and tolerant place for our transgender community, want to look out for the little guy, and actually have a house to live in, join the ISF Party,” the ISF representative told the Express.“Leo said he's planning an election in May 2020, and we're fighting ready.”