Mr Lenihan's Fianna Fail party paid a heavy price in elections earlier this year.
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Fianna Fail headquarters clarified that they received the donation the day before Mr Cowen's fundraising dinner.
Fianna Fail have been in power for the past 14 years with various junior coalition partners.
Last Tuesday, Mr Cowen won a vote of confidence in his leadership of Fianna Fail.
Fianna Fail and its ally, the Progressive Democrats, were expected to form a government.
One was the awkward bit of Britain in the north that Fianna Fail claimed for Ireland.
Bertie Ahern, Fianna Fail's leader and the next Irish prime minister, has already met Mr Adams.
It's good to see the Fianna Fail party under Mr Ahern's leadership returned to power in Ireland.
It included DUP MP Ian Paisley, former MEP Rosemary Dana Scallon, and Fianna Fail Senator Jim Walsh.
Fianna Fail and Fine Gael emerged following a split in nationalist opinion over the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty.
Fianna Fail was once seen as more centrist, Fine Gael as more conservative, but differences have blurred.
Mr Ahern's Fianna Fail party has traditionally been the most nationalist of the southern Irish political parties.
It included DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr, former MEP Rosemary Dana Scallon, and Fianna Fail Senator Jim Walsh.
Power in the Irish cabinet is now largely in the hands of this triumvirate of Fianna Fail aristocrats.
It is a concern shared by Brendan Smith, the local Fianna Fail TD.
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Mr Ahern launched his Fianna Fail party's campaign by arguing that a Yes vote was a vote for peace.
Mr Haughey used those of his Fianna Fail party as his private piggy-bank.
Brian Cowen, Ireland's beleaguered prime minister, survived a confidence vote in his leadership of Fianna Fail, the main governing party.
Pay deals are breaching the incomes policy agreed between the Fianna Fail government of Bertie Ahern and the trade unions.
Meanwhile Fianna Fail, the most nationalist of the Irish Republic's parties, is set to lead the next government in Dublin.
He said the current government in the Republic of Ireland was simply implementing the policies of the last Fianna Fail government.
Both Mr Cowen and Mr Reynolds were seen as being on Fianna Fail's "country and western wing" that opposed Mr Haughey.
Mr Lawlor resigned from Fianna Fail last year, after failing to co-operate with an internal party inquiry into alleged planning corruption.
He also appointed as his Finance Minister, Brian Lenihan, the grandson, son, nephew and brother of Fianna Fail TDs and ministers.
But the opposition Fianna Fail party has indicated it will support the government and campaign for a yes vote in May.
The results reflected voter fury at the long-dominant Fianna Fail party, which was blamed for leading Ireland to the brink of bankruptcy.
So, too, with the combination of Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats.
Brian Cowen was, as expected, elected unopposed as Fianna Fail's new leader.
Irish voters have not given any party an overall majority since Fianna Fail won 84 seats out of a possible 148 in 1977.
Despite his party's bleak look-out, Fianna Fail's Micheal Martin kept up his message that Fine Gael's election manifesto was neither credible nor costed.
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