James Reynolds is an Irish farmer, nationalist and far-right politician who has served as vice president of the National Party since 2016. Reynolds was active in farming politics, serving as chairman of the Longford branch of the Irish Farmers' Association from 1999 to 2003 and subsequently as treasurer of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association until 2017. He co-founded the National Party with Justin Barrett in November 2016. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the party at the 2020 Irish general election, standing in the Longford-Westmeath constituency.
Farming activism
Irish Farmers' Association
Reynolds was elected chairman of Longford IFA branch in 1999, a position which he held until 2003. He then chaired his local Ballinalee IFA branch. He was a staunch critic of IFA president Pádraig Walshe. At the 2006 Ploughing Championships in Tullow, Reynolds organised up to twenty posters depicting Walshe with then-Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan in his arms with the words "Beet this" printed above them to be placed at various routes to the ploughing site. This referred to Walshe's supposed role in the demise of the Irish sugar industry. In 2009 Reynolds and other disgruntled IFA farmers formed Farmers For No to oppose the second Lisbon Treaty referendum. They claimed the Lisbon Treaty would fast-track Turkey's application to join the EU, which would "double the number of farmers overnight" and cause Common Agricultural Policy payments to collapse. They further claimed that the passage of the Treaty would "jeopardise" farm succession rights. The second Lisbon Treaty referendum subsequently passed by a margin of 67% to 33%. Farmers For No was revived in 2012 to oppose the Fiscal Compact treaty in that year's referendum. Reynolds caused a stir on an episode of RTÉ's Frontline debating the Treaty, in which he provoked the host Pat Kenny by suggesting that a Yes vote would "shut down rural Ireland" to which Kenny responded, "come on James, get a life." The incident prompted Reynolds to be labelled "a YouTube sensation" by the Irish Times. He was suspended by the IFA in 2012 for bringing the county executive "into disrepute".
Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association
In 2014, he was elected for a two-year term as national treasurer of the ICSA, having previously served as its secretary. During his time as ICSA treasurer he said the organisation was "unique in being the only farm organisation to call for the appointment of an EU-wide regulator for the meat industry". In response to Reynolds' role in co-founding the National Party he was removed from his position as national treasurer of the ICSA by a vote of no confidence passed by the organisation's executive. Reynolds rejected the legitimacy of the executive's decision to expel him and said he believes he should not be discriminated against for his political views. He launched an appeal against the decision to remove him as national treasurer. Justice Robert Haughton granted Reynolds a temporary injunction preventing the ICSA from removing him from his position. Ultimately, the High Court ruled in favour of the ICSA against Reynolds and his expulsion was confirmed. The ICSA also objected to Reynolds' "gratuitously offensive comments made about the former Taoiseach Enda Kenny, the EU Commissioner and other politicians”.
Political activism
Reynolds contested the Longford County Council election in 2004 as an independent, leaving his post of Longford IFA chairman to do so. He received 231 first preference votes and failed to be elected, being eliminated on the fourth count. The same year Justin Barrett campaigned unsuccessfully for a seat in the European Parliament. In 2009, Reynolds became chairman of the Longford branch of Libertas Ireland, a political party founded by Declan Ganley. Reynolds campaigned on behalf of Ganley's unsuccessful attempt to be elected an MEP. In November 2009, Libertas Ireland was removed from the Register of Political Parties in Ireland. Reynolds' next foray into politics was as chair of the eurosceptic Farmers For No campaign, established to oppose the 2009 Lisbon Treaty referendum. The group was briefly revived to oppose the 2012 Compact Fiscal referendum, Reynolds claimed the treaty would put the Common Agricultural Policy budget "at severe risk". In November 2016 he helped to co-found the National Party and assumed the post of vice president of the new party. Reynolds has spoken at a number of National Party events since the party's launch, including alongside Barrett who has described Reynolds as a "friend for many years". At the party's first ardfheis, guest speaker John Wilson walked out in reaction to homophobic comments, including a claim by Reynolds that LGBT people were "mentally disordered". In June 2019, Reynolds accompanied anti-immigration and conspiracy-theorist campaigner Gemma O'Doherty for a livestream in Longford, during which a Polish woman living in the town confronted the pair outside St. Mel's Cathedral. Reynolds subsequently spoke in O'Doherty's favour during protests held outside Google's Dublin headquarters following her suspension from YouTube. Local independent County Councillor Turlough McGovern denied political association with Reynolds after the county council elections in 2019, when Reynolds was photographed celebrating with him. McGovern has since denied support of or by Reynolds and that any involvement from Reynolds was "in a personal capacity". Reynolds was an unsuccessful candidate in Longford-Westmeath in the 2020 general election, garnering 983 first preference votes.
