The Labour Party's general secretary, Mr Ray Kavanagh, is to step down after 15 years in the job. He will inform a meeting of Labour's general council on Thursday and is expected to leave the position within days.
A party spokesman said Mr Kavanagh was resigning for personal reasons, and had agreed a package with the party.
He praised him as an "extremely popular and respected general secretary", whose years in the job had seen some of Labour's greatest triumphs; including the Presidential election of Mrs Mary Robinson, the 1991 local elections and the 1992 general election.
The spokesman dismissed speculation that his departure was a result of Labour's performance in the recent local elections, saying Mr Kavanagh had been director of the party's European election campaign in Munster and had been based in Cork for four weeks of the campaign.
It is understood that Mr Kavanagh, a teacher by profession, has no immediate plans for alternative employment, but will remain an active member of the party.
