The Irish Independence Party (IIP) was an nationalist political party in Northern Ireland, founded in October 1977 by Frank McManus (former Unity MP for Fermanagh & South Tyrone between 1970 and 1974) and Fergus McAteer (son of Eddie McAteer, who had been leader of the Nationalist Party between 1953 and 1959). The party was effectively a merger of Unity and the Nationalist Party, as the bulk of activists and councillors from the two movements joined IIP.