THE PROGRESSIVE Democrats' four Oireachtas members will formally propose that the party should wind up at next month's special delegates meeting, it has emerged.
The terms of the motion will go before a meeting of the party's national executive tonight, while the meeting will also select a venue for the gathering on November 8th.
The decision to put the motion in the name of the four, including former leader Mary Harney, is a high-risk strategy given the mounting opposition to their plan.
Grassroots members in Limerick, Clare and Tipperary strongly opposed a wind-up when they met in a Limerick hotel on Tuesday night.
However, party leader Senator Ciarán Cannon, who attended the Limerick meeting, said he believed a majority of voting delegates would accept that the party had no future when they met.
The Limerick meeting had been, he said, "very passionate and committed, as befits the birthplace of the party".
However, he told The Irish Timeslast night that a majority would agree that the time was right for the party to be wound up and "and to die with dignity, rather than struggle on".
Mr Cannon and Senator Fiona O'Malley were strongly criticised by some in attendance at the Limerick meeting, with a number of calls on them to give up their Seanad seats.
Grassroots meetings will take place in Cork on Monday night next and in Galway on Thursday. Mr Cannon will attend both. Ms O'Malley will attend in Cork and Galway West TD Noel Grealish will attend in Galway. Minister for Health Mary Harney will not attend either meeting.
The well-attended Limerick meeting in the South Court Hotel, which is said to have had up to 200 present, according to some sources, voted by a show of hands to oppose disbandment.
Speaking after the meeting, former national executive member Tadhg Kearney said the decision to wind up the PDs may have been "a bit premature".
Meanwhile, South Dublin county councillor Cáit Keane, who represents Terenure and Rathfarnham, yesterday announced her decision to join Fine Gael.
Her decision, she said, had been prompted by the "effective winding down of the party" since the watershed of the last general election.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said Ms Keane's decision was a vote of confidence in Fine Gael.