James Reynolds
James Reynolds is the leader of the National Party. He is a full-time farmer from north County Longford with a wealth of experience in activism. He was elected Longford county chairman of the Irish Farmers’ Association in 1999, the youngest county chairman in the country, a position he held until 2003.
Inside the IFA, James was a staunch critic of the cozy consensus he saw between the IFA leadership and the meat-processing cartel.
He was elected as ICSA honorary secretary in 2014 and national treasurer in 2016 – 2017.
James has never been part of the “cliques” at the top of mainstream farming organisations. He has always fought for rural Ireland and to defend the national interest.
His heartfelt belief that Ireland should be a sovereign and independent nation led him to establish “Farmers For No” which campaigned against the Lisbon Treaty (2008/9) and the Fiscal Compact Treaty (2012).
Drawing on over a decade of experience in farming and political activism James was a founding member of the National Party in 2016, of which he is now the leader.