Sinn Féin
Encyclopedia
Sinn Féin (ˌʃɪnˈfeɪn, , ʃɪnʲ fʲeːnʲ) is a left wing
, Irish republican
political party
in Ireland
. The name is Irish
for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith
, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party. Sinn Féin is led by Gerry Adams
. The party has historically been associated with the Provisional IRA
.
Sinn Féin is currently the second-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly
, where it has four ministerial posts in the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive
and these include the departments of OFMDFM
, Culture, Arts and Leisure
, Agriculture and Rural Development
and Education
as well as the Junior Minister post. It is the fourth largest party in Dáil Éireann
, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland
, where it has 14 TDs
. In the 2009 European Parliamentary elections
the party's candidate in Northern Ireland
, Bairbre de Brún
, topped the poll, the first time for Sinn Féin in any Northern Ireland election. Sinn Féin also received the most votes of any party in Northern Ireland in the 2010 United Kingdom General Election, although the Democratic Unionist Party
won more seats.
Sinn Féin won 178,224 votes in the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2011 giving them 29 MLAs
in the Northern Ireland Assembly
, making them the second largest political party in Northern Ireland. It is the third largest political party across the island of Ireland with a popular vote of 398,915, combining the Irish general election, 2011 in the Republic of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2011 in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Féin was founded on 28 November 1905, when, at the first annual Convention of the National Council, Arthur Griffith
outlined the Sinn Féin policy. That policy was "to establish in Ireland's capital a national legislature endowed with the moral authority of the Irish nation". Sinn Féin contested the Leitrim North
by-election of 1908 and secured 27% of the vote. Thereafter, both support and membership fell. At the 1910 Ard Fheis (party conference) the attendance was poor and there was difficulty finding members willing to take seats on the executive.
In 1914, Sinn Féin members, including Griffith, joined the anti-Redmond Irish Volunteers
, which was referred to by Redmond
ites and others as the "Sinn Féin Volunteers". Although Griffith himself did not take part in the Easter Rising
of 1916, many Sinn Féin members, who were also members of both the Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood
, did. Government and newspapers dubbed the Rising "the Sinn Féin Rising". After the Rising, republicans came together under the banner of Sinn Féin, and at the 1917 Ard Fheis the party committed itself for the first time to the establishment of an Irish Republic
. In the 1918 general election, Sinn Féin won 73 of Ireland's 105 seats, and in January 1919, its MPs assembled in Dublin and proclaimed themselves Dáil Éireann
, the parliament of Ireland. The party supported the Irish Republican Army
during the War of Independence
, and members of the Dáil government negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty
with the British Government in 1921. In the Dáil debates that followed, the party divided on the Treaty. Anti-Treaty members led by Éamon de Valera
walked out, and pro- and anti-Treaty members took opposite sides in the ensuing Civil War
.
Pro-Treaty Dáil deputies and other Treaty supporters formed a new party, Cumann na nGaedheal, on 27 April 1923 at a meeting in Dublin where delegates agreed on a constitution and political programme. Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin members continued to boycott the Dáil. At a special Ard Fheis in March 1926 de Valera proposed that elected members be allowed to take their seats in the Dáil if and when the controversial oath of allegiance was removed. When his motion was defeated, de Valera resigned from Sinn Féin and on 16 May 1926 founded his own party, Fianna Fáil
—taking most Sinn Féin deputies with him. With the success of Fianna Fáil, support for Sinn Féin fell to pre-1916 levels. An attempt in the 1940s to access funds which had been put in the care of the High Court led to the Sinn Féin Funds Case, which the party lost and in which the judge ruled that it was not the direct successor of the Sinn Féin of 1917. At the Westminister 1959 general election
, the Sinn Féin vote dropped almost 60% from the 1955 number of 152,000 to 63,000. In the 1960s, Sinn Féin moved to the left. It became involved in campaigns over the provision of housing and social services during the sixties. It also adopted a "National Liberation Strategy" which was the brainchild of Roy Johnston
. In 1967 the Garland commission
was set up to investigate the possibility of ending abstentionism
. Its report angered many within the party, notably Seán Mac Stíofáin
and Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
.
and the Parliament of the United Kingdom
was put before the members. A similar motion had been adopted at an IRA convention the previous month, leading to the formation of a Provisional Army Council by Mac Stíofáin and other members opposed to the leadership. When the motion was put to the Ard Fheis, it failed to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority. The Executive attempted to circumvent this by introducing a motion in support of IRA policy, at which point the dissenting delegates walked out of the meeting. These members reconvened at another place, appointed a Caretaker Executive and pledged allegiance to the Provisional Army Council. The Caretaker Executive declared itself opposed to the ending of abstentionism, the drift towards "extreme forms of socialism", the failure of the leadership to defend the nationalist people of Belfast during the 1969 Northern Ireland riots
, and the expulsion of traditional republicans by the leadership during the 1960s. At the October 1970 Ard Fheis delegates were informed that an IRA convention had been held and had regularised its structure, bringing to an end the 'provisional' period. By then, however, the label "Provisional" or "Provo" was already being applied to them by the media. The opposing, anti-abstentionist party became known as Official Sinn Féin.
Initially, because the "Provisionals" were committed to military rather than political action, Sinn Féin's membership was largely confined, in Danny Morrison's words, to people "over military age or women". A Belfast Sinn Féin organiser of the time described the party's role as "agitation and publicity". New cumainn (branches) were established in Belfast, and a new newspaper, Republican News, was published. Sinn Féin took off as a protest movement after the introduction of internment
in August 1971, organising marches and pickets. The party launched its platform, Éire Nua
(a New Ireland) at the 1971 Ard Fheis. In general, however, the party lacked a distinct political philosophy. In the words of Brian Feeney, "Ó Brádaigh would use Sinn Féin ard fheiseanna to announce republican policy, which was, in effect, IRA policy, namely that Britain should leave the North or the 'war' would continue". Sinn Féin was given a concrete presence in the community when the IRA declared a ceasefire in 1975. 'Incident centres' were set up to communicate potential confrontations to the British authorities. They were manned by Sinn Féin, which had been legalised the year before by Secretary of State
, Merlyn Rees.
After the ending of the truce another issue arose—that of political status for prisoners. Rees released the last of the internees but introduced the Diplock courts
, and ended 'special category status
' for all prisoners convicted after 1 March 1976. This led first to the blanket protest
, and then to the dirty protest
. Around the same time, Gerry Adams
began writing for Republican News, calling for Sinn Féin to become more involved politically . The prisoners' protest climaxed with the 1981 hunger strike
, during which striker Bobby Sands
was elected Member of Parliament
for Fermanagh and South Tyrone
as an Anti H-Block
candidate. After his death on hunger strike, his seat was held, with an increased vote, by his election agent, Owen Carron
. These successes convinced republicans that they should contest every election. Danny Morrison expressed the mood at the 1981 Ard Fheis when he said:
This was the origin of what became known as the Armalite and ballot box strategy
. Éire Nua was dropped in 1982, and the following year Ó Brádaigh stepped down as leader, to be replaced by Adams.
was elected to Belfast City Council
, the first Sinn Féin member to sit on that body. Sinn Féin polled over 100,000 votes in the Westminster elections
that year, with Adams winning the West Belfast
seat previously held by the Social Democratic and Labour Party
(SDLP). By 1985 it had fifty-nine seats on seventeen of the twenty-six Northern Ireland councils, including seven on Belfast City Council.
The party began a reappraisal of the policy of abstention from the Dáil. At the 1983 Ard Fheis the constitution was amended to remove the ban on the discussion of abstentionism, so as to allow Sinn Féin to run a candidate in the forthcoming European elections, although in his address Adams said, "We are an abstentionist party. It is not my intention to advocate change in this situation." A motion to permit entry into the Dáil was allowed at the 1985 Ard Fheis, but without the active support of the leadership, and Adams did not speak. The motion failed narrowly. By October of the following year an IRA Convention had indicated its support for elected Sinn Féin Teachtaí Dála (TDs) taking their seats. Thus, when the motion to end abstention was put to the Ard Fheis on 1 November 1986, it was clear that there would not be a split in the IRA as there had been in 1970. The motion was passed with a two-thirds majority. Ó Brádaigh and about twenty other delegates walked out, and met in a Dublin hotel to form a new party, Republican Sinn Féin
.
Multi-party negotiations began in 1994 in Northern Ireland, without Sinn Féin. The Provisional IRA declared a ceasefire in the autumn of 1994. The Conservative
government had asked that the IRA decommission all of their weapons before Sinn Féin be admitted to the talks, but the Labour
government of Tony Blair
let them in on the basis of the ceasefire.
The talks led to the Good Friday Agreement of 10 April 1998 (officially known as the Belfast Agreement), which set up an inclusive devolved government in the North, and altered the Southern government's constitutional claim to the whole island in Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland
.
The party expelled Denis Donaldson
, a party official, in December 2005, with him stating publicly that he had been in the employ of the British government as an agent since the 1980s. Mr. Donaldson told reporters that the British security agencies who employed him were behind the collapse of the Assembly and set up Sinn Féin to take the blame for it, a claim disputed by the British Government. Donaldson was found fatally shot in his home in County Donegal
on 4 April 2006, and a murder inquiry was launched. In April 2009, the Real IRA
released a statement taking responsibility for the killing.
When Sinn Féin and the DUP became the largest parties, it was clear that no deal could be made without the support of both parties. They nearly reached a deal in November 2004, but the DUP had a requirement for visible evidence that decommissioning had been carried out.
On 2 September 2006 Martin McGuinness publicly stated that Sinn Féin would refuse to participate in a shadow assembly at Stormont, asserting that his party would only take part in negotiations that were aimed at restoring a power-sharing government within Northern Ireland. This development follows a decision on the part of members of Sinn Féin to refrain from participating in debates since the Assembly's recall this past May. The relevant parties to these talks were given a deadline of 24 November 2006 in order to decide upon whether or not they would ultimately form the executive.
The 86 year Sinn Féin boycott of policing in Northern Ireland ended on 28 January 2007 when the Ard Fheis voted overwhelmingly to support the PSNI. Sinn Féin members will sit on Policing Boards and District Policing Partnerships. There has been some opposition to this decision from people such as former IRA prisoner Gerry McGeough
, who stood in the 2007 Assembly Election
s against Sinn Féin in the assembly constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone
.
wing of Irish nationalism
and is closely associated with the IRA
, with the Irish Government alleging that senior members of Sinn Féin have held posts on the IRA Army Council
. However, the SF leadership has denied these claims.
A republican document of the early 1980s states, "Both Sinn Féin and the IRA play different but converging roles in the war of national liberation. The Irish Republican Army wages an armed campaign... Sinn Féin maintains the propaganda war and is the public and political voice of the movement".
Sinn Féin organiser Danny Morrison at the party's Ard Fheis
(Annual Conference) in 1981, said:
The British Government stated in 2005 that "we had always said all the way through we believed that Sinn Féin and the IRA were inextricably linked and that had obvious implications at leadership level".
The robbery
of £26.5 million from the Northern Bank
in Belfast in December 2004 further scuppered chances of a deal. The IRA were blamed for the robbery though Sinn Féin denied this and stated that party officials had not known of the robbery nor sanctioned it. Because of the timing of the robbery, it is considered that the plans for the robbery must have been laid whilst Sinn Féin was engaged in talks about a possible peace settlement. This undermined confidence within the unionist community about the sincerity of republicans towards reaching agreement. In the aftermath of the row over the robbery, a further controversy erupted when, on RTÉ
's Questions and Answers programme, the chairman of Sinn Féin, Mitchel McLaughlin
, insisted that the IRA's controversial killing of a mother of ten young children, Jean McConville
, in the early 1970s though "wrong", was not a crime, as it had taken place in the context of the political conflict. Politicians from the Republic, along with the Irish media strongly attacked McLaughlin's comments.
On 10 February 2005, the government-appointed Independent Monitoring Commission
reported that it firmly supported the Police Service of Northern Ireland
(PSNI) and Garda
assessments that the IRA was responsible for the Northern Bank robbery and that certain senior members of Sinn Féin were also senior members of the IRA and would have had knowledge of and given approval to the carrying out of the robbery. Sinn Féin have argued that the IMC is not independent and the inclusion of former Alliance Party
Leader John Alderdice and a British security head was proof of this. The IMC recommended further financial sanctions against Sinn Féin members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
. The British government responded by saying it would ask MPs to vote to withdraw the parliamentary allowances of the four Sinn Féin MPs elected in 2001.
Gerry Adams
responded to the IMC report by challenging the Irish Government to have him arrested for IRA membership, a crime in both jurisdictions, and conspiracy
.
On 20 February 2005, Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Michael McDowell
publicly accused three of the Sinn Féin leadership, Gerry Adams
, Martin McGuinness
and Martin Ferris
(TD for Kerry North) of being on the seven-man IRA Army Council
which they later denied.
On 27 February 2005, a demonstration against the murder of Robert McCartney
on 30 January 2005 was held in East Belfast. Alex Maskey
, a former Sinn Féin Mayor of Belfast, was told by relatives of McCartney to demand that Maskey "hand over the 12" IRA members involved. The McCartney family, though formerly Sinn Féin voters themselves, urged witnesses to the crime to contact the PSNI. Three IRA men were expelled from the organisation, and a man was charged with McCartney's murder.
Irish Taoiseach
Bertie Ahern
subsequently called Sinn Féin and the IRA "both sides of the same coin". The ostracism of Sinn Féin was shown in February 2005 when Dáil Éireann
passed a motion condemning the party's alleged involvement in illegal activity. US President George W. Bush
and Senator Edward Kennedy
refused to meet Gerry Adams while meeting the family of Robert McCartney.
On 10 March 2005, the British House of Commons
in London
passed a motion placed by the British Government to withdraw the allowances of the four Sinn Féin MPs for one year in response to the Northern Bank Robbery
without significant opposition. This measure cost the party approximately £400,000. However, the debate prior to the vote mainly surrounded the more recent events connected with the murder of Robert McCartney. Conservatives and Unionists put down amendments to have the Sinn Féin MPs evicted from their offices at the House of Commons but these were defeated.
In March 2005, Mitchell Reiss
, the United States
special envoy to Northern Ireland, condemned the party's links to the IRA, saying "it is hard to understand how a European country in the year 2005 can have a private army associated with a political party".
, and membership is open to all Irish residents over the age of 16. The party is organised hierarchically into cumainn (branches), comhairle ceantair (district executives), cúigí (regional executives). At national level, the Coiste Seasta (Standing Committee) oversees the day-to-day running of Sinn Féin. It is an eight-member body nominated by the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle (National Executive) and also includes the chairperson of each cúige. The Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle meets at least once a month. It directs the overall implementation of Sinn Féin policy and activities of the party.
The Ard Chomhairle also oversees the operation of various departments of Sinn Féin, viz Administration, Finance, National Organiser, Campaigns, Ógra Shinn Féin
, Women's Forum, Culture, Publicity and International Affairs. It is made up of the following: Officer Board and nine other members, all of whom are elected by delegates to the Ard Fheis, fifteen representing the five Cúige regions (three delegates each). The Ard Chomhairle can co-opt eight members for specific posts and additional members can be co-opted, if necessary, to ensure that at least thirty per cent of Ard Chomhairle members are women.
The ard fheis
(national delegate conference) is the ultimate policy
-making body of the party where delegates - directly elected by members of cumainn - can decide on and implement policy. It is held at least once a year but a special Ard Fheis can be called by the Ard Chomhairle or the membership under special circumstances.
Sinn Féin is considered a democratic socialist or left-wing party and aligns itself with the European United Left–Nordic Green Left
. The party pledges support for minority rights, migrants' rights, and eradicating poverty. Although it is not in favour of the extension of legalized abortion (British 1967 Act) to Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin state they are opposed to the attitudes in society which "pressurise women" to have abortions and "criminalise" women who make this decision. The party does state that in cases of incest, rape, sexual abuse, or when a woman's life and health are at risk or in danger that the final decision must rest with the woman.
Sinn Féin urged a "No" vote in the referendum held in Ireland on 12 June 2008 on the Lisbon Treaty.
. Other key policies from their most recent election manifesto are listed below:
Note: Sinn Féin elected members did not take their seats in any body except the post-1998 Assembly
and Fermanagh and South Tyrone
. In the 1983 Westminster elections
eight months later Sinn Féin increased its support, breaking the hundred thousand vote barrier for the first time by polling 102,701 votes (13.4%). Gerry Adams won the Belfast West
constituency with Danny Morrison only 78 votes short of victory in Mid Ulster
.
The 1984 European elections proved to be a disappointment with Sinn Féin's candidate Danny Morrison polling 91,476 (13.3%) and falling well behind the SDLP candidate John Hume
.
By the beginning of 1985 Sinn Féin had won their first representation on local councils due to three by-election wins in Omagh (Seamus Kerr, May 1983) and Belfast (Alex Maskey
in June 1983 and Sean McKnight in early 1984). Three sitting councillors also defected to Sinn Féin in Dungannon, Fermanagh and Derry (the last defecting from the SDLP). Sinn Féin succeeded in winning 59 seats in the 1985 local government elections
. Originally the party had predicted winning only 40 seats. However the results continued to show a decline from the peak of 1983 as the party won 75,686 votes (11.8%). The party failed to gain any seats in the 1986 by-elections
caused by the resignation of Unionist MPs in protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement, partly this was due to an electoral pact between Unionist candidates, however the SF vote fell in the four constituencies they contested.
In the 1987 election Gerry Adams held his Belfast West seat but the party elsewhere failed to make breakthroughs and overall polled 83,389 votes (11.4%). The same year saw the party contest the Dáil election in the Republic of Ireland, however they failed to win any seats and polled less than 2%.
The 1989 local government elections
saw a drop in support for Sinn Féin. Defending 58 seats (the 59 won in 1985 plus two 1987 by-election gains in West Belfast minus three councillors who had defected to Republican Sinn Féin in 1986) the party lost 15 seats. In the aftermath of the election Mitchell McLaughlin admitted that recent IRA activity had affected the Sinn Féin vote.
The nadir for SF in this period came in 1992, with Gerry Adams losing his Belfast West seat to the SDLP and the SF vote falling in the other constituencies that they had contested relative to 1987.
regained his Belfast West
seat. Martin McGuinness
also won a seat in Mid Ulster
. In Irish elections the same year the party won its first seat since the 1957 elections with Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
gaining a seat in the Cavan-Monaghan constituency. In the Irish local elections in 1999 the party increased its number of councillors from 7 to 23.
as the largest nationalist party in the 2001 Westminster general election
and local elections
, winning four Westminster seats to the SDLP's three. The party continues to subscribe, however, to an abstentionist
policy towards the Westminster British parliament, on account of opposing that parliament's jurisdiction in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Féin increased its share of the nationalist vote in the 2003
and 2007 Assembly elections
, with Martin McGuinness
, former Minister for Education, taking the post of deputy First Minister in the Northern Ireland power-sharing Executive Committee. The party has three ministers in the Executive Committee.
In the 2010 General Election, the party retained its five seats, and for the first time topped the poll at a Westminster Election in Northern Ireland, winning 25.5% of the vote. All Sinn Féin MPs increased their share of the vote and with the exception of Fermanagh and South Tyrone
, increased their majorities. In Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Unionist parties agreed a joint candidate, this resulted in the closest contest of the election, with Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew
holding her seat by 4 votes after 3 recounts.
The party had five TDs elected in the 2002 Republic general election
, an increase of four from the previous election. At the general election in 2007 the party had expectations of substantial gains, with poll predictions that they would gain five to ten seats. However, the party lost one of its seats to Fine Gael
. Seán Crowe
, who had topped the poll in Dublin South West
fell to fifth place, with his first preference vote reduced from 20.28% to 12.16%.
On 26 November 2010, Pearse Doherty
won a seat in the Donegal South West by-election
. It was the party's first by-election victory in the Republic of Ireland
since 1925. After negotiations with the left wing Independent TDs Finian McGrath
and Maureen O'Sullivan
, a Technical Group
was formed in the Dáil to give its members more speaking time.
In the 2011 Irish General Election the party made gains. All its sitting TDs were returned with Seán Crowe
regaining the seat in Dublin South West he lost in 2007. In addition to winning long time targeted seats such as Dublin Central and Dublin North West the party gained unexpected seats in Cork East and Sligo-North Leitrim. It ultimately won 14 seats, the best performance for the party's current incarnation. The party went on to win three seats in the Seanad election which followed their success at the General Election.
as the fourth-largest party in local government. At the local elections of June 2009
, the party's vote fell by 0.95% to 7.34%, with no change in the number of seats. Losses in Dublin and urban areas were balanced by gains in areas such as Limerick, Wicklow, Cork, Tipperary and Kilkenny and the border counties . However in the aftermath three of Sinn Féin's seven representatives on Dublin City Council
resigned within six months of the June 2009 elections, one of them defecting to the Labour Party
. Many people within the party such as Toireasa Ferris
and Eoin O'Broin have stated that the party must ask why it "failed to close a deal with voters".
, Bairbre de Brún
won Sinn Féin's first seat in the European Parliament, at the expense of the Social Democratic and Labour Party
(SDLP). She came in second behind Jim Allister
, then of the Democratic Unionist Party
(DUP). In the 2009 election
, de Brún was re-elected with 126,184 first preference votes, the only candidate to reach the quota on the first count. This was the first time since elections began in 1979 that the DUP failed to take the first seat, and was the first occasion Sinn Féin topped a poll in any Northern Ireland election.
Sinn Féin made a breakthrough in the Dublin constituency
. The party's candidate, Mary Lou McDonald
, was third in terms of first preference vote. She polled 14.32% or 60,395 votes, close behind the leading Fianna Fáil contender, Eoin Ryan with 61,681 (14.62%). McDonald was elected on the sixth count as one of four MEPs for Dublin, effectively taking the seat of Patricia McKenna
of the Green Party
.
At the next European election in 2009
, Dublin's representation was reduced to three MEPs. The contest was further complicated by the candidature of Joe Higgins
of the Socialist Party
and of the former Green MEP, McKenna. A collapse in the vote of the government parties (Fianna Fáil and the Greens) was thought to be enough to re-elect McDonald, who would benefit from the transfers of Higgins and McKenna on their elimination. In the event Sinn Féin's first preferences fell to 47,928 (11.79%), and McDonald slipped to fifth place behind Higgins, who was elected with 22,000 of Sinn Féin's second preference votes.
In the South constituency their candidate, Councillor Toireasa Ferris
, managed to nearly double the number of first preference votes from 32,643 to 64,671 coming third, ahead of the Labour candidate Alan Kelly. However, Kelly managed to garner enough transfers to gain the last seat at the eight count.
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Left-wing politics
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, Irish republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
political party
Political party
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in Ireland
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. The name is Irish
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Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith was the founder and third leader of Sinn Féin. He served as President of Dáil Éireann from January to August 1922, and was head of the Irish delegation at the negotiations in London that produced the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.-Early life:...
, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party. Sinn Féin is led by Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
. The party has historically been associated with the Provisional IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
.
Sinn Féin is currently the second-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
, where it has four ministerial posts in the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...
and these include the departments of OFMDFM
Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister
The Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive with overall responsibility for the running of the Executive...
, Culture, Arts and Leisure
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure is a devolved Northern Irish government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...
, Agriculture and Rural Development
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...
and Education
Department of Education (Northern Ireland)
The Department of Education is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...
as well as the Junior Minister post. It is the fourth largest party in Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
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, where it has 14 TDs
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
. In the 2009 European Parliamentary elections
European Parliament election, 2009
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the party's candidate in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland (European Parliament constituency)
Northern Ireland is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects three MEPs using the Single Transferable Vote, the only United Kingdom constituency to do so.- Members of the European Parliament :- 2009 :...
, Bairbre de Brún
Bairbre de Brún
Bairbre de Brún is an Irish politician and Member of the European Parliament, representing Northern Ireland.- Political work :...
, topped the poll, the first time for Sinn Féin in any Northern Ireland election. Sinn Féin also received the most votes of any party in Northern Ireland in the 2010 United Kingdom General Election, although the Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
won more seats.
Sinn Féin won 178,224 votes in the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2011 giving them 29 MLAs
Member of the Legislative Assembly (Northern Ireland)
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in the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
, making them the second largest political party in Northern Ireland. It is the third largest political party across the island of Ireland with a popular vote of 398,915, combining the Irish general election, 2011 in the Republic of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2011 in Northern Ireland.
Pre-1970
Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith was the founder and third leader of Sinn Féin. He served as President of Dáil Éireann from January to August 1922, and was head of the Irish delegation at the negotiations in London that produced the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.-Early life:...
outlined the Sinn Féin policy. That policy was "to establish in Ireland's capital a national legislature endowed with the moral authority of the Irish nation". Sinn Féin contested the Leitrim North
North Leitrim (UK Parliament constituency)
North Leitrim was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland. From 1885 to 1918 it returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland....
by-election of 1908 and secured 27% of the vote. Thereafter, both support and membership fell. At the 1910 Ard Fheis (party conference) the attendance was poor and there was difficulty finding members willing to take seats on the executive.
In 1914, Sinn Féin members, including Griffith, joined the anti-Redmond Irish Volunteers
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland"...
, which was referred to by Redmond
John Redmond
John Edward Redmond was an Irish nationalist politician, barrister, MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1900 to 1918...
ites and others as the "Sinn Féin Volunteers". Although Griffith himself did not take part in the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
of 1916, many Sinn Féin members, who were also members of both the Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood
Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century...
, did. Government and newspapers dubbed the Rising "the Sinn Féin Rising". After the Rising, republicans came together under the banner of Sinn Féin, and at the 1917 Ard Fheis the party committed itself for the first time to the establishment of an Irish Republic
Irish Republic
The Irish Republic was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from Great Britain in January 1919. It established a legislature , a government , a court system and a police force...
. In the 1918 general election, Sinn Féin won 73 of Ireland's 105 seats, and in January 1919, its MPs assembled in Dublin and proclaimed themselves Dáil Éireann
First Dáil
The First Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919–1921. In 1919 candidates who had been elected in the Westminster elections of 1918 refused to recognise the Parliament of the United Kingdom and instead assembled as a unicameral, revolutionary parliament called "Dáil Éireann"...
, the parliament of Ireland. The party supported the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
during the War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
, and members of the Dáil government negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...
with the British Government in 1921. In the Dáil debates that followed, the party divided on the Treaty. Anti-Treaty members led by Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
walked out, and pro- and anti-Treaty members took opposite sides in the ensuing Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
.
Pro-Treaty Dáil deputies and other Treaty supporters formed a new party, Cumann na nGaedheal, on 27 April 1923 at a meeting in Dublin where delegates agreed on a constitution and political programme. Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin members continued to boycott the Dáil. At a special Ard Fheis in March 1926 de Valera proposed that elected members be allowed to take their seats in the Dáil if and when the controversial oath of allegiance was removed. When his motion was defeated, de Valera resigned from Sinn Féin and on 16 May 1926 founded his own party, Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
—taking most Sinn Féin deputies with him. With the success of Fianna Fáil, support for Sinn Féin fell to pre-1916 levels. An attempt in the 1940s to access funds which had been put in the care of the High Court led to the Sinn Féin Funds Case, which the party lost and in which the judge ruled that it was not the direct successor of the Sinn Féin of 1917. At the Westminister 1959 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1959
This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
, the Sinn Féin vote dropped almost 60% from the 1955 number of 152,000 to 63,000. In the 1960s, Sinn Féin moved to the left. It became involved in campaigns over the provision of housing and social services during the sixties. It also adopted a "National Liberation Strategy" which was the brainchild of Roy Johnston
Roy Johnston
Roy Johnston is an Irish physicist. He was a Marxist who as a member of the IRA in the 1960s argued for a National Liberation Strategy to unite the Catholic and Protestant working classes...
. In 1967 the Garland commission
Seán Garland
Seán Garland is a former President of the Workers' Party in Ireland.-Early Life:Born at Belvedere Place, off Mountjoy Square in Dublin, Garland joined the Irish Republican Army in 1953. In 1954, he briefly joined the British Army as an IRA agent and collected intelligence on Gough Barracks in...
was set up to investigate the possibility of ending abstentionism
Abstentionism
Abstentionism is standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abstentionists participate in the election itself...
. Its report angered many within the party, notably Seán Mac Stíofáin
Seán Mac Stíofáin
Seán Mac Stíofáin was an Irish republican paramilitary activist born in London, who became associated with the republican movement in Ireland after serving in the Royal Air Force...
and Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh is an Irish republican. He is a former chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army , former president of Sinn Féin and former president of Republican Sinn Féin.-Early life:...
.
1970-1983
The Sinn Féin party split in two at the beginning of 1970. At the party's Ard Fheis on 11 January the proposal to end abstentionism and take seats, if elected, in the Dáil, the Parliament of Northern IrelandParliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
and the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
was put before the members. A similar motion had been adopted at an IRA convention the previous month, leading to the formation of a Provisional Army Council by Mac Stíofáin and other members opposed to the leadership. When the motion was put to the Ard Fheis, it failed to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority. The Executive attempted to circumvent this by introducing a motion in support of IRA policy, at which point the dissenting delegates walked out of the meeting. These members reconvened at another place, appointed a Caretaker Executive and pledged allegiance to the Provisional Army Council. The Caretaker Executive declared itself opposed to the ending of abstentionism, the drift towards "extreme forms of socialism", the failure of the leadership to defend the nationalist people of Belfast during the 1969 Northern Ireland riots
1969 Northern Ireland Riots
During 12–17 August 1969, Northern Ireland was rocked by intense political and sectarian rioting. There had been sporadic violence throughout the year arising from the civil rights campaign, which was demanding an end to government discrimination against Irish Catholics and nationalists...
, and the expulsion of traditional republicans by the leadership during the 1960s. At the October 1970 Ard Fheis delegates were informed that an IRA convention had been held and had regularised its structure, bringing to an end the 'provisional' period. By then, however, the label "Provisional" or "Provo" was already being applied to them by the media. The opposing, anti-abstentionist party became known as Official Sinn Féin.
Initially, because the "Provisionals" were committed to military rather than political action, Sinn Féin's membership was largely confined, in Danny Morrison's words, to people "over military age or women". A Belfast Sinn Féin organiser of the time described the party's role as "agitation and publicity". New cumainn (branches) were established in Belfast, and a new newspaper, Republican News, was published. Sinn Féin took off as a protest movement after the introduction of internment
Operation Demetrius
Operation Demetrius began in Northern Ireland on the morning of Monday 9 August 1971. Operation Demetrius was launched by the British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary and involved arresting and interning people accused of being paramilitary members...
in August 1971, organising marches and pickets. The party launched its platform, Éire Nua
Éire Nua
Éire Nua, or "New Ireland", was a political strategy of the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin during the 1970s and early 1980s. It was particularly associated with the Dublin based leadership group centred around Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Dáithí Ó Conaill who were the authors of the policy...
(a New Ireland) at the 1971 Ard Fheis. In general, however, the party lacked a distinct political philosophy. In the words of Brian Feeney, "Ó Brádaigh would use Sinn Féin ard fheiseanna to announce republican policy, which was, in effect, IRA policy, namely that Britain should leave the North or the 'war' would continue". Sinn Féin was given a concrete presence in the community when the IRA declared a ceasefire in 1975. 'Incident centres' were set up to communicate potential confrontations to the British authorities. They were manned by Sinn Féin, which had been legalised the year before by Secretary of State
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
, Merlyn Rees.
After the ending of the truce another issue arose—that of political status for prisoners. Rees released the last of the internees but introduced the Diplock courts
Diplock courts
The Diplock courts were a type of court established by the Government of the United Kingdom in Northern Ireland on 8 August 1973, in an attempt to overcome widespread jury intimidation associated with the Troubles. The right to trial by jury was suspended for certain "scheduled offences" and the...
, and ended 'special category status
Special Category Status
In July 1972, William Whitelaw, the British government's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, granted Special Category Status to all prisoners convicted of Troubles-related offences...
' for all prisoners convicted after 1 March 1976. This led first to the blanket protest
Blanket protest
The blanket protest was part of a five year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison in Northern Ireland. The republican prisoners' status as political prisoners, known as Special Category Status, had...
, and then to the dirty protest
Dirty protest
The dirty protest was part of a five year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison and Armagh Women's Prison in Northern Ireland.-Background:Convicted paramilitary prisoners were treated as ordinary...
. Around the same time, Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
began writing for Republican News, calling for Sinn Féin to become more involved politically . The prisoners' protest climaxed with the 1981 hunger strike
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...
, during which striker Bobby Sands
Bobby Sands
Robert Gerard "Bobby" Sands was an Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and member of the United Kingdom Parliament who died on hunger strike while imprisoned in HM Prison Maze....
was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a Parliamentary constituency in the British House of Commons. The current MP for the constituency is Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Féin....
as an Anti H-Block
Anti H-Block
Anti H-Block was the political label used in 1981 by supporters of the Irish republican hunger strike who were standing for election in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland...
candidate. After his death on hunger strike, his seat was held, with an increased vote, by his election agent, Owen Carron
Owen Carron
Owen Gerard Carron is an Irish republican activist and who was Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 1981 to 1983.Carron is the nephew of former Nationalist Party politician John Carron....
. These successes convinced republicans that they should contest every election. Danny Morrison expressed the mood at the 1981 Ard Fheis when he said:
- "Who here really believes we can win the war through the ballot box? But will anyone here object if, with a ballot paper in this hand and an Armalite in the other, we take power in Ireland?".
This was the origin of what became known as the Armalite and ballot box strategy
Armalite and ballot box strategy
The Armalite and ballot box strategy was a strategy pursued by the Irish republican movement in the 1980s and early 1990s in which elections in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were contested by Sinn Féin, while the IRA continued to pursue an armed struggle against the British Army, the...
. Éire Nua was dropped in 1982, and the following year Ó Brádaigh stepped down as leader, to be replaced by Adams.
1983 to present
Under Adams' leadership electoral politics became increasingly important. In 1983 Alex MaskeyAlex Maskey
Alex Maskey is an Irish politician who was the first member of Sinn Féin to serve as Belfast's Lord Mayor. He is Sinn Féin's longest sitting councillor and is currently an MLA for South Belfast as well as being a councillor for the Laganbank area of Belfast.-Early life:Maskey was educated at St...
was elected to Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...
, the first Sinn Féin member to sit on that body. Sinn Féin polled over 100,000 votes in the Westminster elections
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
that year, with Adams winning the West Belfast
Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast West is a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.-Boundaries:The seat was restored in 1922 when as part of the establishment of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut...
seat previously held by the Social Democratic and Labour Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
(SDLP). By 1985 it had fifty-nine seats on seventeen of the twenty-six Northern Ireland councils, including seven on Belfast City Council.
The party began a reappraisal of the policy of abstention from the Dáil. At the 1983 Ard Fheis the constitution was amended to remove the ban on the discussion of abstentionism, so as to allow Sinn Féin to run a candidate in the forthcoming European elections, although in his address Adams said, "We are an abstentionist party. It is not my intention to advocate change in this situation." A motion to permit entry into the Dáil was allowed at the 1985 Ard Fheis, but without the active support of the leadership, and Adams did not speak. The motion failed narrowly. By October of the following year an IRA Convention had indicated its support for elected Sinn Féin Teachtaí Dála (TDs) taking their seats. Thus, when the motion to end abstention was put to the Ard Fheis on 1 November 1986, it was clear that there would not be a split in the IRA as there had been in 1970. The motion was passed with a two-thirds majority. Ó Brádaigh and about twenty other delegates walked out, and met in a Dublin hotel to form a new party, Republican Sinn Féin
Republican Sinn Féin
Republican Sinn Féin or RSF is an unregisteredAlthough an active movement, RSF is not registered as a political party in either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. minor political party operating in Ireland. It emerged in 1986 as a result of a split in Sinn Féin...
.
Multi-party negotiations began in 1994 in Northern Ireland, without Sinn Féin. The Provisional IRA declared a ceasefire in the autumn of 1994. The Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government had asked that the IRA decommission all of their weapons before Sinn Féin be admitted to the talks, but the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
let them in on the basis of the ceasefire.
The talks led to the Good Friday Agreement of 10 April 1998 (officially known as the Belfast Agreement), which set up an inclusive devolved government in the North, and altered the Southern government's constitutional claim to the whole island in Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland
Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland
Article 2 and Article 3 of the Constitution of Ireland were adopted with the constitution as a whole on 29 December 1937, but completely revised by means of the Nineteenth Amendment which took effect on 2 December 1999...
.
The party expelled Denis Donaldson
Denis Donaldson
Denis Martin Donaldson was a volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army and a member of Sinn Féin who was exposed in December 2005 as an informer in the employment of MI5 and the Special Branch of the Police Service of Northern Ireland Denis Martin Donaldson (Short Strand, Belfast,...
, a party official, in December 2005, with him stating publicly that he had been in the employ of the British government as an agent since the 1980s. Mr. Donaldson told reporters that the British security agencies who employed him were behind the collapse of the Assembly and set up Sinn Féin to take the blame for it, a claim disputed by the British Government. Donaldson was found fatally shot in his home in County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
on 4 April 2006, and a murder inquiry was launched. In April 2009, the Real IRA
Real Irish Republican Army
The Real Irish Republican Army, otherwise known as the Real IRA , and styling itself as Óglaigh na hÉireann , is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation which aims to bring about a united Ireland...
released a statement taking responsibility for the killing.
When Sinn Féin and the DUP became the largest parties, it was clear that no deal could be made without the support of both parties. They nearly reached a deal in November 2004, but the DUP had a requirement for visible evidence that decommissioning had been carried out.
On 2 September 2006 Martin McGuinness publicly stated that Sinn Féin would refuse to participate in a shadow assembly at Stormont, asserting that his party would only take part in negotiations that were aimed at restoring a power-sharing government within Northern Ireland. This development follows a decision on the part of members of Sinn Féin to refrain from participating in debates since the Assembly's recall this past May. The relevant parties to these talks were given a deadline of 24 November 2006 in order to decide upon whether or not they would ultimately form the executive.
The 86 year Sinn Féin boycott of policing in Northern Ireland ended on 28 January 2007 when the Ard Fheis voted overwhelmingly to support the PSNI. Sinn Féin members will sit on Policing Boards and District Policing Partnerships. There has been some opposition to this decision from people such as former IRA prisoner Gerry McGeough
Gerry McGeough
Gerry McGeough is a prominent Irish republican who was a volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army , a former Sinn Féin activist and editor of the defunct The Hibernian magazine. McGeough broke with Sinn Féin in 2007 and he is now an independent republican activist...
, who stood in the 2007 Assembly Election
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007
The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were elected. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their...
s against Sinn Féin in the assembly constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Fermanagh and South Tyrone (Assembly constituency)
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...
.
Parties with origins in Sinn Féin
- Fianna FáilFianna FáilFianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
- formed by Éamon de Valera in 1926 following his resignation from Sinn Féin - Fine GaelFine GaelFine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
– came about through merger of Cumann na nGaedheal—which split from Sinn Féin in April 1923—with the National Centre PartyNational Centre Party (Ireland)The National Centre Party, initially known as the National Farmers and Ratepayers League, was a short-lived political party in the Irish Free State...
and the Army Comrades AssociationThe BlueshirtsThe Army Comrades Association , later named the National Guard and better known by the nickname The Blueshirts , was a right-wing Irish political organisation active in the 1930s....
, to form Fine Gael in 1933. - Clann na PoblachtaClann na PoblachtaClann na Poblachta , abbreviated CnaP, was an Irish republican and social democratic political party founded by former Irish Republican Army Chief of Staff Seán MacBride in 1946.-Foundation:...
founded in 1946 by Seán MacBrideSeán MacBrideSeán MacBride was an Irish government minister and prominent international politician as well as a Chief of Staff of the IRA....
dissolved in 1965. - Workers' PartyWorkers' Party of IrelandThe Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
(originally described as Official Sinn Féin, formed after the 1970 Sinn Féin split) - Irish Republican Socialist PartyIrish Republican Socialist PartyThe Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP is a republican socialist party active in Ireland. It claims the legacy of socialist revolutionary James Connolly, who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in 1896 and was executed after the Easter Rising of 1916.- History :The Irish Republican...
(split from Official Sinn Féin in 1975) - Democratic LeftDemocratic Left (Ireland)Democratic Left was a democratic socialist political party active in Ireland between 1992 and 1999. It came into being after a split in the Workers' Party and, after just seven years in existence, it merged into the Irish Labour Party.-Origins:...
- formed from a split from the Workers' Party in 1992; merged into the Labour PartyLabour Party (Ireland)The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
in 1999 - Republican Sinn FéinRepublican Sinn FéinRepublican Sinn Féin or RSF is an unregisteredAlthough an active movement, RSF is not registered as a political party in either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. minor political party operating in Ireland. It emerged in 1986 as a result of a split in Sinn Féin...
- formed by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh following the 1986 split - 32 County Sovereignty Movement32 County Sovereignty MovementThe 32 County Sovereignty Movement, often abbreviated to 32CSM or 32csm, is an Irish republican political organisation.The 32CSM's objectives are:* "The restoration of Irish national sovereignty"....
- formed in opposition to the direction taken by Sinn Féin in the peace processNorthern Ireland peace processThe peace process, when discussing the history of Northern Ireland, is often considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Belfast Agreement, and subsequent political developments.-Towards a... - ÉirígíÉirígí-External links:*...
founded in 2006.
Links with the IRA
Sinn Féin is the largest group in the RepublicanIrish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
wing of Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
and is closely associated with the IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
, with the Irish Government alleging that senior members of Sinn Féin have held posts on the IRA Army Council
IRA Army Council
The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, more commonly known as the IRA, a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The council had seven members, said by the...
. However, the SF leadership has denied these claims.
A republican document of the early 1980s states, "Both Sinn Féin and the IRA play different but converging roles in the war of national liberation. The Irish Republican Army wages an armed campaign... Sinn Féin maintains the propaganda war and is the public and political voice of the movement".
Sinn Féin organiser Danny Morrison at the party's Ard Fheis
Ard Fheis
Ardfheis or Ard Fheis is the name used by many Irish political parties for their annual party conference. The term was first used by Conradh na Gaeilge, the Irish language cultural organisation, for its annual convention....
(Annual Conference) in 1981, said:
"Who here really believes we can win the war through the ballot box? But will anyone here object if, with a ballot paper in this hand and an Armalite in the otherArmalite and ballot box strategyThe Armalite and ballot box strategy was a strategy pursued by the Irish republican movement in the 1980s and early 1990s in which elections in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were contested by Sinn Féin, while the IRA continued to pursue an armed struggle against the British Army, the...
, we take power in Ireland?"
The British Government stated in 2005 that "we had always said all the way through we believed that Sinn Féin and the IRA were inextricably linked and that had obvious implications at leadership level".
The robbery
Northern Bank robbery
The Northern Bank robbery was a large robbery of cash from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Carried out by a large, proficient group on 20 December 2004, the gang seized the equivalent of £26.5 million in pounds sterling and small amounts of...
of £26.5 million from the Northern Bank
Northern Bank
Northern Bank , is a commercial bank in Northern Ireland. It is one of the oldest banks in Ireland having been formed in 1809. Northern Bank is considered one of the leading retail banks in Northern Ireland with 82 branches and four finance centres...
in Belfast in December 2004 further scuppered chances of a deal. The IRA were blamed for the robbery though Sinn Féin denied this and stated that party officials had not known of the robbery nor sanctioned it. Because of the timing of the robbery, it is considered that the plans for the robbery must have been laid whilst Sinn Féin was engaged in talks about a possible peace settlement. This undermined confidence within the unionist community about the sincerity of republicans towards reaching agreement. In the aftermath of the row over the robbery, a further controversy erupted when, on RTÉ
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
's Questions and Answers programme, the chairman of Sinn Féin, Mitchel McLaughlin
Mitchel McLaughlin
John Mitchel McLaughlin is the former General Secretary of Sinn Féin and an MLA.McLaughlin was born in Derry city, Northern Ireland and educated at Long Tower Boys School, Derry and Christian Brothers Technical College, Derry....
, insisted that the IRA's controversial killing of a mother of ten young children, Jean McConville
Jean McConville
Jean McConville was a woman from Northern Ireland who, in 1972, was abducted and killed by the Provisional IRA and secretly buried on a beach in the Republic of Ireland. The IRA subsequently claimed that she had been passing information on republican activities to British security forces...
, in the early 1970s though "wrong", was not a crime, as it had taken place in the context of the political conflict. Politicians from the Republic, along with the Irish media strongly attacked McLaughlin's comments.
On 10 February 2005, the government-appointed Independent Monitoring Commission
Independent Monitoring Commission
The Independent Monitoring Commission was an organization founded on 7 January 2004, by an agreement between the British and Irish governments, signed in Dublin on 25 November 2003...
reported that it firmly supported the Police Service of Northern Ireland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....
(PSNI) and Garda
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
assessments that the IRA was responsible for the Northern Bank robbery and that certain senior members of Sinn Féin were also senior members of the IRA and would have had knowledge of and given approval to the carrying out of the robbery. Sinn Féin have argued that the IMC is not independent and the inclusion of former Alliance Party
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is a liberal and nonsectarian political party in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's fifth-largest party overall, with eight seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and one in the House of Commons....
Leader John Alderdice and a British security head was proof of this. The IMC recommended further financial sanctions against Sinn Féin members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
. The British government responded by saying it would ask MPs to vote to withdraw the parliamentary allowances of the four Sinn Féin MPs elected in 2001.
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
responded to the IMC report by challenging the Irish Government to have him arrested for IRA membership, a crime in both jurisdictions, and conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
.
On 20 February 2005, Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell is a Senior Counsel in the Bar Council of Ireland and a former politician. A grandson of Irish revolutionary Eoin MacNeill, McDowell was a founding member of the Progressive Democrats political party in the mid-1980s...
publicly accused three of the Sinn Féin leadership, Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
, Martin McGuinness
Martin McGuinness
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and the current deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. McGuinness was also the Sinn Féin candidate for the Irish presidential election, 2011. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland....
and Martin Ferris
Martin Ferris
Martin Ferris is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and a former Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Kerry North–West Limerick constituency since 2002 and is one of fourteen Sinn Féin representatives in the current Dáil.-Early life:Ferris was born in...
(TD for Kerry North) of being on the seven-man IRA Army Council
IRA Army Council
The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, more commonly known as the IRA, a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The council had seven members, said by the...
which they later denied.
On 27 February 2005, a demonstration against the murder of Robert McCartney
Robert McCartney (murder victim)
The murder of Robert McCartney occurred in Belfast, Northern Ireland, allegedly carried out by members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. He was a father of two children and was engaged to be married in June 2005 to his longtime partner, Bridgeen Hagans...
on 30 January 2005 was held in East Belfast. Alex Maskey
Alex Maskey
Alex Maskey is an Irish politician who was the first member of Sinn Féin to serve as Belfast's Lord Mayor. He is Sinn Féin's longest sitting councillor and is currently an MLA for South Belfast as well as being a councillor for the Laganbank area of Belfast.-Early life:Maskey was educated at St...
, a former Sinn Féin Mayor of Belfast, was told by relatives of McCartney to demand that Maskey "hand over the 12" IRA members involved. The McCartney family, though formerly Sinn Féin voters themselves, urged witnesses to the crime to contact the PSNI. Three IRA men were expelled from the organisation, and a man was charged with McCartney's murder.
Irish Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
Bertie Ahern
Bertie Ahern
Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....
subsequently called Sinn Féin and the IRA "both sides of the same coin". The ostracism of Sinn Féin was shown in February 2005 when Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
passed a motion condemning the party's alleged involvement in illegal activity. US President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Senator Edward Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
refused to meet Gerry Adams while meeting the family of Robert McCartney.
On 10 March 2005, the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
passed a motion placed by the British Government to withdraw the allowances of the four Sinn Féin MPs for one year in response to the Northern Bank Robbery
Northern Bank robbery
The Northern Bank robbery was a large robbery of cash from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Carried out by a large, proficient group on 20 December 2004, the gang seized the equivalent of £26.5 million in pounds sterling and small amounts of...
without significant opposition. This measure cost the party approximately £400,000. However, the debate prior to the vote mainly surrounded the more recent events connected with the murder of Robert McCartney. Conservatives and Unionists put down amendments to have the Sinn Féin MPs evicted from their offices at the House of Commons but these were defeated.
In March 2005, Mitchell Reiss
Mitchell Reiss
Mitchell B. Reiss is a senior American diplomat who became the 27th president of Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland on July 1, 2010. He served as Director of Policy Planning at the United States Department of State under Colin Powell...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
special envoy to Northern Ireland, condemned the party's links to the IRA, saying "it is hard to understand how a European country in the year 2005 can have a private army associated with a political party".
Organisational structure
Sinn Féin is organised throughout IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and membership is open to all Irish residents over the age of 16. The party is organised hierarchically into cumainn (branches), comhairle ceantair (district executives), cúigí (regional executives). At national level, the Coiste Seasta (Standing Committee) oversees the day-to-day running of Sinn Féin. It is an eight-member body nominated by the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle (National Executive) and also includes the chairperson of each cúige. The Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle meets at least once a month. It directs the overall implementation of Sinn Féin policy and activities of the party.
The Ard Chomhairle also oversees the operation of various departments of Sinn Féin, viz Administration, Finance, National Organiser, Campaigns, Ógra Shinn Féin
Ógra Shinn Féin
Ógra Shinn Féin is the youth wing of the Irish political party Sinn Féin. ÓSF is active and organised throughout Ireland. It is often considered the most prominent incarnation of Fianna Éireann. Upon its establishment in 1997 it was originally known as Sinn Féin Youth, it changed to Ógra Shinn...
, Women's Forum, Culture, Publicity and International Affairs. It is made up of the following: Officer Board and nine other members, all of whom are elected by delegates to the Ard Fheis, fifteen representing the five Cúige regions (three delegates each). The Ard Chomhairle can co-opt eight members for specific posts and additional members can be co-opted, if necessary, to ensure that at least thirty per cent of Ard Chomhairle members are women.
The ard fheis
Ard Fheis
Ardfheis or Ard Fheis is the name used by many Irish political parties for their annual party conference. The term was first used by Conradh na Gaeilge, the Irish language cultural organisation, for its annual convention....
(national delegate conference) is the ultimate policy
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
-making body of the party where delegates - directly elected by members of cumainn - can decide on and implement policy. It is held at least once a year but a special Ard Fheis can be called by the Ard Chomhairle or the membership under special circumstances.
Ard Chomhairle Officer Board
2010-2011:- President: Gerry AdamsGerry AdamsGerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
- Vice President: Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald is an Irish politician, the current Vice President of Sinn Féin and a Teachta Dála for Dublin Central...
- Chairperson: Declan Kearney
- General Secretary: Dawn Doyle
- Director of Publicity: Sean Mac Brádaigh
- Treasurers: Rita O'HareRita O'HareRita O'Hare is the General Secretary of Sinn Féin and the current Sinn Féin Representative to the United States .She was born Rita McCulloch and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the daughter of a Catholic nationalist mother and a Protestant Socialist father...
and Maurice QuinlivanMaurice QuinlivanMaurice Quinlivan is a Sinn Féin politician and a member of Limerick City Council . He gained prominence for being libelled by Willie O'Dea, which resulted in the Willie O'Dea affidavit controversy.-Personal life:...
Leadership history
- Edward MartynEdward MartynEdward Martyn was an Irish political and cultural activist and playwright.-Early life:Martyn was the eldest son of John Martyn of Tullira and Annie Mary Josephine Smyth of Masonbrook, Loughrea, both in County Galway. He succeeded his father upon John's death in 1860...
(1905–1908) - John SweetmanJohn SweetmanJohn Sweetman was an Irish nationalist politician who served as an anti-Parnellite Member of Parliament in the 1890s, but later radicalised...
(1908-1911) - Arthur GriffithArthur GriffithArthur Griffith was the founder and third leader of Sinn Féin. He served as President of Dáil Éireann from January to August 1922, and was head of the Irish delegation at the negotiations in London that produced the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.-Early life:...
(1911–1917) - Éamon de ValeraÉamon de ValeraÉamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
(1917–1926)
- In 1923 the party split, and pro-Treaty Sinn Féin TDs formed Cumann na nGaedheal
- John J. O'KellyJohn J. O'KellyJohn Joseph O'Kelly was an Irish politician, author and publisher. He was a former president of the Gaelic League and of Sinn Féin. He was born on Valentia Island off the County Kerry coast.-Political career:He joined Sinn Féin at its inaugural meeting on November 5, 1905...
(Sceilg) (1926–1931)
- John J. O'Kelly
- In 1926, de Valera resigned from Sinn Féin and launched Fianna FáilFianna FáilFianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
- Brian O'HigginsBrian O'HigginsBrian O'Higgins was an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He was President of Sinn Féin from 1931–1933. He was elected unopposed as a Sinn Féin MP for Clare West at the 1918 general election...
(1931–1933) - Fr. Michael O'FlanaganMichael O'FlanaganFr. Michael O'Flanagan was an Irish Republican and Roman Catholic priest.-Early life:Born near Castlerea, County Roscommon, O'Flanagan's parents were native Irish speakers. He received his primary education at Cloonboniffe N.S. before traveling to Sligo where he attended secondary school at...
(1933–1935) - Cathal Ó MurchadhaCathal Ó MurchadhaCathal Ó Murchadha was an Irish politician and republican. He was born in Albert Place East, Dublin. He was a member of the Boland's Mills Garrison under the command of Éamon de Valera during the 1916 Rising and was interned in Frongoch after the Rising...
(1935–1937) - Margaret BuckleyMargaret BuckleyMargaret Buckley was an Irish republican and president of Sinn Féin from 1937 to 1950.-Early life:Originally from Cork, she joined Inghinidhe na hÉireann, which was founded in 1900, and was involved in the War of Independence in Cork...
(1937–1950) - Paddy McLoganPaddy McLoganPaddy J. McLogan was President of Sinn Féin from 1950–52 and again from 1954 to 1962.Born in Markethill, Co Armagh, he spent some time in Scotland. He joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1913 and the Irish Volunteers. The same year he was imprisoned by the British authorities and went on a...
(1950–1952) - Tomás Ó DubhghaillTomás Ó DubhghaillTomás Ó Dubhghaill was President of Sinn Féin from 1952 to 1954 and a Sinn Féin vice-president until his death.Born in Drimnagh, Dublin, Doyle was educated at St James' Christian Brothers School in James' Street, Dublin. He left school at 16, and commenced employment as a clerk in the Department...
(1952–1954) - Paddy McLoganPaddy McLoganPaddy J. McLogan was President of Sinn Féin from 1950–52 and again from 1954 to 1962.Born in Markethill, Co Armagh, he spent some time in Scotland. He joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1913 and the Irish Volunteers. The same year he was imprisoned by the British authorities and went on a...
(1954–1962) - Tomás Mac Giolla (1962–1970)
- Brian O'Higgins
- In 1970, there was another split, with one faction calling itself "Official Sinn Féin", and later Sinn Féin, the Workers' Party (1982), before settling on the Workers' PartyWorkers' Party of IrelandThe Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
(1982). The other faction was dubbed by media sources as "Provisionals" or "Provo's". Within two years the “Provos” secured control of the Republican Movement.- Ruairí Ó BrádaighRuairí Ó BrádaighRuairí Ó Brádaigh is an Irish republican. He is a former chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army , former president of Sinn Féin and former president of Republican Sinn Féin.-Early life:...
(1970–1983) - Gerry AdamsGerry AdamsGerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
(1983–present)
- Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
- In 1986, Ó Brádaigh left and set up Republican Sinn FéinRepublican Sinn FéinRepublican Sinn Féin or RSF is an unregisteredAlthough an active movement, RSF is not registered as a political party in either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. minor political party operating in Ireland. It emerged in 1986 as a result of a split in Sinn Féin...
.
Policy and Ideology
Most of the party's policies are intended to be implemented on an 'all-Ireland' basis which further emphasises their central aim of creating a united Ireland.Sinn Féin is considered a democratic socialist or left-wing party and aligns itself with the European United Left–Nordic Green Left
European United Left–Nordic Green Left
European United Left/Nordic Green Left is a left-wing political group with seats in the European Parliament since 1995.-Position:According to its 1994 constituent declaration, the group is opposed to the present European political structure, but committed to integration...
. The party pledges support for minority rights, migrants' rights, and eradicating poverty. Although it is not in favour of the extension of legalized abortion (British 1967 Act) to Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin state they are opposed to the attitudes in society which "pressurise women" to have abortions and "criminalise" women who make this decision. The party does state that in cases of incest, rape, sexual abuse, or when a woman's life and health are at risk or in danger that the final decision must rest with the woman.
Sinn Féin urged a "No" vote in the referendum held in Ireland on 12 June 2008 on the Lisbon Treaty.
Social and cultural
Sinn Féin's main political goal is a united IrelandUnited Ireland
A united Ireland is the term used to refer to the idea of a sovereign state which covers all of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. The island of Ireland includes the territory of two independent sovereign states: the Republic of Ireland, which covers 26 counties of the island, and the...
. Other key policies from their most recent election manifesto are listed below:
- The 18 Northern Ireland MPs that sit in the Parliament of the United KingdomParliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
to be allowed to sit in the Dáil ÉireannDáil ÉireannDáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
as full Deputies as well, - Ending academic selection within the education system,
- Support for a 'Minister for Children',
- Diplomatic pressure to close SellafieldSellafieldSellafield is a nuclear reprocessing site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. The site is served by Sellafield railway station. Sellafield is an off-shoot from the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale which is currently undergoing...
nuclear reprocessing plant (in BritainUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), - Sinn Féin proposes a draft Irish Language Bill for the North (Northern Ireland), a Bill that would give the Irish Language the same status that the Welsh language has in Wales
- 'Plastic bag levy' to be extended to Northern Ireland,
- To further Irish languageIrish languageIrish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
teaching in Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
,
Economic policy
- Increase in Capital Gains tax and DIRTDeposit Interest Retention TaxDeposit Interest Retention Tax is a form of tax on interest earned on bank accounts in Republic of Ireland that was first introduced in the 1980s. In Ireland, income from any source is reckonable for taxation purposes...
, - A cap of public sector pay at three times the Average worker's wageAverage worker's wageAn average worker's wage is the mean salary of a group of workers. This measure is often monitored and used by Government or other organisations as a benchmark for the wage level of individual workers in an industry, area or country....
, - A cap of the salaries of TDs and government ministers,
- Standardization of discretionary tax reliefs,
- Greater state investment in the economy,
- Removing PRSI Ceiling,
- Abolishing mortgage interest tax relief for landlords and property based tax reliefs,
- Establishment of a government fund to aid small and medium enterprises,
- An 'all-Ireland' economy with a common currency and one tax policy,
- Greater investment for those who are disabled.
Health policy
- An 'All-Ireland-Health-Service' akin to the National Health ServiceNational Health ServiceThe National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
in the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, - Cap on consultants pay,
- Abolishment of prescription charges for Medical card patients,
- Expansion of primary care centres,
- Gradual removal of subsidies of private practice in public hospitals and the introduction of a charge for practitioners for the use of public equipment and staff in their private practice,
- Free breast screening (to check for breast cancerBreast cancerBreast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
) of all women over forty - presumably in both Northern Ireland and the Republic,
International relations
Sinn Féin supports the creation of a 'Minister for Europe' - likely to be used in the Dáil. Support of secessionism in the Basque County from the Kingdom of Spain. Opposition to the US blockade of Cuba. Sinn Féin are opposed to what they term "the illegal occupation of Palestine by Israel."Northern Ireland
| Election | Body | Share of votes | Seats | Share of seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | align=center| Assembly |
10.1% | 5/78 | 6.4% | |
| 1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945... |
Westminster Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London... |
13.4% | 1/18 | 5.5% |
| 1987 United Kingdom general election, 1987 The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd... |
Westminster | 11.4% | 1/18 | 5.5% |
| 1992 United Kingdom general election, 1992 The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil... |
Westminster | 10.0% | 0/18 | 0.0% |
| 1996 | Forum Northern Ireland Forum The Northern Ireland Forum was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998.... |
15.5% | 17/110 | 15.5% |
| 1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general... |
Westminster | 16.1% | 2/18 | 11.1% |
| 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1998 -Seats summary:-Details:Although the SDLP won the most first preference votes, the Ulster Unionists won the most seats in the Assembly. This has been attributed to several reasons, including:... |
Assembly Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive... |
16.7% | 18/108 | 16.7% |
| 2001 United Kingdom general election, 2001 The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats... |
Westminster | 21.7% | 4/18 | 22.2% |
| 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003 The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary... |
Assembly | 23.5% | 24/108 | 22.2% |
| 2005 United Kingdom general election, 2005 The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160.... |
Westminster | 24.3% | 5/18 | 27.8% |
| 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007 The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were elected. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their... |
Assembly | 26.2% | 28/108 | 25.9% |
| 2010 | Westminster | 25.5% | 5/18 | 27.8% |
| 2011 | Assembly | 26.9% | 29/108 | 26.8% |
Note: Sinn Féin elected members did not take their seats in any body except the post-1998 Assembly
1982–1992
In the 1982 Assembly elections, Sinn Féin won five seats with 64,191 votes (10.1%). The party narrowly missed winning additional seats in Belfast NorthBelfast North (Assembly constituency)
Belfast North is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...
and Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Fermanagh and South Tyrone (Assembly constituency)
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...
. In the 1983 Westminster elections
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
eight months later Sinn Féin increased its support, breaking the hundred thousand vote barrier for the first time by polling 102,701 votes (13.4%). Gerry Adams won the Belfast West
Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast West is a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.-Boundaries:The seat was restored in 1922 when as part of the establishment of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut...
constituency with Danny Morrison only 78 votes short of victory in Mid Ulster
Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency)
Mid Ulster is a Parliamentary Constituency in the British House of Commons.-Boundaries:The constituency was created in 1950 when the old two-seat constituency of Fermanagh and Tyrone was abolished as part of the final move to single member seats...
.
The 1984 European elections proved to be a disappointment with Sinn Féin's candidate Danny Morrison polling 91,476 (13.3%) and falling well behind the SDLP candidate John Hume
John Hume
John Hume is a former Irish politician from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and was co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize, with David Trimble....
.
By the beginning of 1985 Sinn Féin had won their first representation on local councils due to three by-election wins in Omagh (Seamus Kerr, May 1983) and Belfast (Alex Maskey
Alex Maskey
Alex Maskey is an Irish politician who was the first member of Sinn Féin to serve as Belfast's Lord Mayor. He is Sinn Féin's longest sitting councillor and is currently an MLA for South Belfast as well as being a councillor for the Laganbank area of Belfast.-Early life:Maskey was educated at St...
in June 1983 and Sean McKnight in early 1984). Three sitting councillors also defected to Sinn Féin in Dungannon, Fermanagh and Derry (the last defecting from the SDLP). Sinn Féin succeeded in winning 59 seats in the 1985 local government elections
Northern Ireland local elections, 1985
Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 15 May 1985.-1981 elections:The previous elections had been fought in the middle of the hunger strike and the H-Block Prison Protest...
. Originally the party had predicted winning only 40 seats. However the results continued to show a decline from the peak of 1983 as the party won 75,686 votes (11.8%). The party failed to gain any seats in the 1986 by-elections
Northern Ireland by-elections, 1986
The 1986 Northern Ireland by-elections were fifteen by-elections held on 23 January 1986, to fill vacancies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom caused by the resignation in December 1985 of all sitting Unionist Members of Parliament...
caused by the resignation of Unionist MPs in protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement, partly this was due to an electoral pact between Unionist candidates, however the SF vote fell in the four constituencies they contested.
In the 1987 election Gerry Adams held his Belfast West seat but the party elsewhere failed to make breakthroughs and overall polled 83,389 votes (11.4%). The same year saw the party contest the Dáil election in the Republic of Ireland, however they failed to win any seats and polled less than 2%.
The 1989 local government elections
Northern Ireland local elections, 1989
Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in 1989.-Background:The elections took place after a turbulent period in Northern Irish politics. The signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in November 1985 had been followed by widespread protests by those in the Unionist community...
saw a drop in support for Sinn Féin. Defending 58 seats (the 59 won in 1985 plus two 1987 by-election gains in West Belfast minus three councillors who had defected to Republican Sinn Féin in 1986) the party lost 15 seats. In the aftermath of the election Mitchell McLaughlin admitted that recent IRA activity had affected the Sinn Féin vote.
The nadir for SF in this period came in 1992, with Gerry Adams losing his Belfast West seat to the SDLP and the SF vote falling in the other constituencies that they had contested relative to 1987.
1992–2001
In the 1997 British General Election, Gerry AdamsGerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
regained his Belfast West
Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast West is a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.-Boundaries:The seat was restored in 1922 when as part of the establishment of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut...
seat. Martin McGuinness
Martin McGuinness
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and the current deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. McGuinness was also the Sinn Féin candidate for the Irish presidential election, 2011. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland....
also won a seat in Mid Ulster
Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency)
Mid Ulster is a Parliamentary Constituency in the British House of Commons.-Boundaries:The constituency was created in 1950 when the old two-seat constituency of Fermanagh and Tyrone was abolished as part of the final move to single member seats...
. In Irish elections the same year the party won its first seat since the 1957 elections with Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin is a Sinn Féin politician from Ireland. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Cavan–Monaghan constituency since 1997 and was the parliamentary leader of Sinn Féin in Dáil Éireann from 1997–2011.-Biography:Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin was born in Monaghan in 1953. He was educated at St....
gaining a seat in the Cavan-Monaghan constituency. In the Irish local elections in 1999 the party increased its number of councillors from 7 to 23.
2001-present
The party overtook its nationalist rival, the Social Democratic and Labour PartySocial Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
as the largest nationalist party in the 2001 Westminster general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
and local elections
Northern Ireland local elections, 2001
Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 7 June 2001 along with the 2001 general election across the entire United Kingdom.-Overall:-Belfast:-References:...
, winning four Westminster seats to the SDLP's three. The party continues to subscribe, however, to an abstentionist
Abstentionism
Abstentionism is standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abstentionists participate in the election itself...
policy towards the Westminster British parliament, on account of opposing that parliament's jurisdiction in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Féin increased its share of the nationalist vote in the 2003
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003
The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary...
and 2007 Assembly elections
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007
The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were elected. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their...
, with Martin McGuinness
Martin McGuinness
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and the current deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. McGuinness was also the Sinn Féin candidate for the Irish presidential election, 2011. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland....
, former Minister for Education, taking the post of deputy First Minister in the Northern Ireland power-sharing Executive Committee. The party has three ministers in the Executive Committee.
In the 2010 General Election, the party retained its five seats, and for the first time topped the poll at a Westminster Election in Northern Ireland, winning 25.5% of the vote. All Sinn Féin MPs increased their share of the vote and with the exception of Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a Parliamentary constituency in the British House of Commons. The current MP for the constituency is Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Féin....
, increased their majorities. In Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Unionist parties agreed a joint candidate, this resulted in the closest contest of the election, with Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew
Michelle Gildernew
Michelle Gildernew is an Irish republican Sinn Féin politician and former Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Northern Ireland Executive...
holding her seat by 4 votes after 3 recounts.
Dáil Éireann/Seanad Éireann
| Election | Share of votes | Seats (of 166) |
Share of seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0% | 0 | 0.0% | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| 1987 Irish general election, 1987 The Irish general election of 1987 was held on 17 February 1987, four weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 20 January. The newly-elected 166 members of the 25th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 10 March when a new Taoiseach and government were appointed.The general election took place in... |
1.9% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1989 Irish general election, 1989 The Irish general election of 1989 was held on Thursday, 15 June 1989, three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 25 May. The newly elected 166 members of the 26th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 29 June... |
1.2% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1992 Irish general election, 1992 The Irish general election of 1992 was held on Wednesday, 25 November 1992, almost three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 5 November. However, after difficulties in forming a government the newly elected 166 members of the 27th Dáil did not assemble at Leinster House until 4 January 1993... |
1.6% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1997 Irish general election, 1997 The Irish general election of 1997 was held on Friday, 6 June 1997. The 166 newly elected members of the 28th Dáil assembled on 26 June 1997 when a new Taoiseach and government were appointed.... |
2.5% | 1 | 0.6% |
| 2002 Irish general election, 2002 The Irish general election of 2002 was held on Friday, 17 May 2002 just over three weeks after the dissolution of the 28th Dáil on Thursday 25 April by President Mary McAleese, at the request of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern... |
6.0% | 5 | 3.0% |
| 2007 | 6.9% | 4 | 2.4% |
| 2011 | 9.9% | 14 | 8.4% |
The party had five TDs elected in the 2002 Republic general election
Irish general election, 2002
The Irish general election of 2002 was held on Friday, 17 May 2002 just over three weeks after the dissolution of the 28th Dáil on Thursday 25 April by President Mary McAleese, at the request of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern...
, an increase of four from the previous election. At the general election in 2007 the party had expectations of substantial gains, with poll predictions that they would gain five to ten seats. However, the party lost one of its seats to Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
. Seán Crowe
Seán Crowe
Seán Crowe is an Irish Sinn Féin politician, and is a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South West constituency.Crowe was born in Dublin and has lived there all his life, currently in Tallaght...
, who had topped the poll in Dublin South West
Dublin South West (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Dublin South–West is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 4 deputies...
fell to fifth place, with his first preference vote reduced from 20.28% to 12.16%.
On 26 November 2010, Pearse Doherty
Pearse Doherty
Pearse Doherty is an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He serves as a Teachta Dála for the Donegal South West constituency and as Sinn Féin's Dáil spokesperson on Finance. Doherty formerly served on Donegal County Council from 2004–07 and in Seanad Éireann from 2007–10.-Background and education:Doherty...
won a seat in the Donegal South West by-election
Donegal South West by-election, 2010
A by-election was held on 25 November 2010 in the Donegal South–West constituency in Ireland, following the election of the Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála Pat the Cope Gallagher to the European Parliament at the June 2009 election...
. It was the party's first by-election victory in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
since 1925. After negotiations with the left wing Independent TDs Finian McGrath
Finian McGrath
Finian McGrath is an Irish independent politician. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Dublin North Central constituency since 2002.-Early and personal life:...
and Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen O'Sullivan (politician)
Maureen O'Sullivan is an Irish independent politician. She has been a Teachta Dála for the Dublin Central constituency since June 2009. She was first elected to Dáil Éireann on the 6 June 2009 in a by-election.-Early life:...
, a Technical Group
Technical Group
In Irish politics, a technical group is a parliamentary group of Teachtaí Dála who associate to increase their speaking rights in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas.-Origin and policy:...
was formed in the Dáil to give its members more speaking time.
In the 2011 Irish General Election the party made gains. All its sitting TDs were returned with Seán Crowe
Seán Crowe
Seán Crowe is an Irish Sinn Féin politician, and is a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South West constituency.Crowe was born in Dublin and has lived there all his life, currently in Tallaght...
regaining the seat in Dublin South West he lost in 2007. In addition to winning long time targeted seats such as Dublin Central and Dublin North West the party gained unexpected seats in Cork East and Sligo-North Leitrim. It ultimately won 14 seats, the best performance for the party's current incarnation. The party went on to win three seats in the Seanad election which followed their success at the General Election.
Local government
Sinn Féin is represented on most county and city councils. It made large gains in the local elections of 2004, increasing its number of councillors from 21 to 54, and replacing the Progressive DemocratsProgressive Democrats
The Progressive Democrats , commonly known as the PDs, was a pro-free market liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland.Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Malley and other politicians who had split from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the Progressive Democrats took liberal positions on...
as the fourth-largest party in local government. At the local elections of June 2009
Irish local elections, 2009
The 2009 Irish local elections were held in all the counties, cities and towns of Ireland on Friday, 5 June 2009, on the same day as the European Parliament election and two by-elections .-Overview:...
, the party's vote fell by 0.95% to 7.34%, with no change in the number of seats. Losses in Dublin and urban areas were balanced by gains in areas such as Limerick, Wicklow, Cork, Tipperary and Kilkenny and the border counties . However in the aftermath three of Sinn Féin's seven representatives on Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council is the local authority for the city of Dublin in Ireland. It has 52 members and is the largest local authority in Ireland. Until 2001, it was known as Dublin Corporation.-Legal status:...
resigned within six months of the June 2009 elections, one of them defecting to the Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
. Many people within the party such as Toireasa Ferris
Toireasa Ferris
Toiréasa Ferris is an Irish Sinn Féin politician. Her father, Martin Ferris, is a Sinn Féin Teachta Dála for Kerry North.- Political career :...
and Eoin O'Broin have stated that the party must ask why it "failed to close a deal with voters".
European elections
In the 2004 European Parliament electionEuropean Parliament election, 2004
Elections to the European Parliament were held from 10 June 2004 to 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom...
, Bairbre de Brún
Bairbre de Brún
Bairbre de Brún is an Irish politician and Member of the European Parliament, representing Northern Ireland.- Political work :...
won Sinn Féin's first seat in the European Parliament, at the expense of the Social Democratic and Labour Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
(SDLP). She came in second behind Jim Allister
Jim Allister
James Hugh "Jim" Allister, QC is a Northern Ireland Unionist politician and senior barrister. He is the leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice political party, serving as MLA in the Northern Ireland Assembly, where he represents Antrim North.He was formerly a member of the Democratic Unionist...
, then of the Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
(DUP). In the 2009 election
European Parliament election, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...
, de Brún was re-elected with 126,184 first preference votes, the only candidate to reach the quota on the first count. This was the first time since elections began in 1979 that the DUP failed to take the first seat, and was the first occasion Sinn Féin topped a poll in any Northern Ireland election.
Sinn Féin made a breakthrough in the Dublin constituency
Dublin (European Parliament constituency)
Dublin is a constituency of the European Parliament in Ireland. It elects 3 Members of the European Parliament using the single transferable vote form of proportional representation .-History and boundaries:...
. The party's candidate, Mary Lou McDonald
Mary Lou McDonald
Mary Lou McDonald is an Irish politician, the current Vice President of Sinn Féin and a Teachta Dála for Dublin Central...
, was third in terms of first preference vote. She polled 14.32% or 60,395 votes, close behind the leading Fianna Fáil contender, Eoin Ryan with 61,681 (14.62%). McDonald was elected on the sixth count as one of four MEPs for Dublin, effectively taking the seat of Patricia McKenna
Patricia McKenna
Patricia McKenna is an Irish independent politician. She served as a Green Party Member of the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency from 1994 to 2004.-Background:...
of the Green Party
Green Party (Ireland)
The Green Party is a green political party in Ireland. It was founded as the Ecology Party of Ireland in 1981 by Dublin teacher Christopher Fettes. The party became the Green Alliance in 1983 and in 1987 was renamed to its current title in English...
.
At the next European election in 2009
European Parliament election, 2009 (Ireland)
The 2009 European Parliament election in Ireland was the Irish component of the 2009 European Parliament election and was held on Friday, 5 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections...
, Dublin's representation was reduced to three MEPs. The contest was further complicated by the candidature of Joe Higgins
Joe Higgins
Joe Higgins is an Irish Socialist Party politician. In the 2011 general election he was elected to Dáil Éireann as Teachta Dála for the Dublin West constituency, having previously served in that capacity from 1997–2007...
of the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (Ireland)
The Socialist Party is a socialist political party active in Ireland. It is a member of the Committee for a Workers' International .Formerly known as Militant Tendency, then Militant Labour, it adopted the name The Socialist Party in 1996. From their foundation in 1972 until the 1980s, members of...
and of the former Green MEP, McKenna. A collapse in the vote of the government parties (Fianna Fáil and the Greens) was thought to be enough to re-elect McDonald, who would benefit from the transfers of Higgins and McKenna on their elimination. In the event Sinn Féin's first preferences fell to 47,928 (11.79%), and McDonald slipped to fifth place behind Higgins, who was elected with 22,000 of Sinn Féin's second preference votes.
In the South constituency their candidate, Councillor Toireasa Ferris
Toireasa Ferris
Toiréasa Ferris is an Irish Sinn Féin politician. Her father, Martin Ferris, is a Sinn Féin Teachta Dála for Kerry North.- Political career :...
, managed to nearly double the number of first preference votes from 32,643 to 64,671 coming third, ahead of the Labour candidate Alan Kelly. However, Kelly managed to garner enough transfers to gain the last seat at the eight count.
Northern Ireland Executive Ministers (from 2011)
| Portfolio | Name |
|---|---|
| Deputy First Minister Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister The Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive with overall responsibility for the running of the Executive... |
Martin McGuinness Martin McGuinness James Martin Pacelli McGuinness is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and the current deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. McGuinness was also the Sinn Féin candidate for the Irish presidential election, 2011. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland.... MP MLA |
| Junior Minister at Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister The Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive with overall responsibility for the running of the Executive... |
Martina Anderson Martina Anderson Martina Anderson, MLA is an Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland who occupies the post of Director of Unionist Engagement for Sinn Féin and is a former volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army .-Biography:... MLA |
| Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Agriculture and Rural Development The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive... |
Michelle O'Neill Michelle O'Neill Michelle O'Neill is a Sinn Féin MLA who has represented Mid Ulster in the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2007. O'Neill is also the current Mayor of Dungannon and South Tyrone... MLA |
| Education Department of Education (Northern Ireland) The Department of Education is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive... |
John O'Dowd John O'Dowd John O'Dowd MLA is an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He served as acting deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 20 September to 31 October 2011, and is also the current Minister for Education. O'Dowd is a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Upper Bann and a councillor on Craigavon... MLA |
| Culture, Arts and Leisure Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure is a devolved Northern Irish government department in the Northern Ireland Executive... |
Carál Ní Chuilín Carál Ní Chuilín Carál Ní Chuilín, MLA is an Irish politician in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She was elected in 2007 to the Northern Ireland Assembly as a Sinn Féin member for North Belfast... MLA |
See also
- List of political parties in Northern Ireland
- Elected representatives of Sinn Féin
- List of Sinn Féin MPs (for members elected to the British House of Commons)
- Friends of Sinn FéinFriends of Sinn FeinThe Friends of Sinn Féin or Cairde Sinn Féin is the name for five different Irish republican organisations; located in Scotland, England, Canada, the United States and Australia respectively....
(an organisation designed to support Sinn Féin's cause with members in the United States, Canada and Australia.) - Ógra Shinn FéinÓgra Shinn FéinÓgra Shinn Féin is the youth wing of the Irish political party Sinn Féin. ÓSF is active and organised throughout Ireland. It is often considered the most prominent incarnation of Fianna Éireann. Upon its establishment in 1997 it was originally known as Sinn Féin Youth, it changed to Ógra Shinn...
(the youth wing of Sinn Féin)
Further reading
- Gerry AdamsGerry AdamsGerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
, Before The Dawn (Brandon Book, 1996) - Tim Pat CooganTim Pat CooganTimothy Patrick Coogan is an Irish historical writer, broadcaster and newspaper columnist. He served as editor of the Irish Press newspaper from 1968 to 1987...
, The Troubles (Arrow, 1995, 1996) ISBN 009946571X - Tim Pat Coogan, Michael Collins (Hutchinson, 1990) ISBN 0091741068
- Brian Feeney, Sinn Féin: A Hundred Turbulent Years (2003) HB: ISBN 0299186709 PB ISBN 0299186741
- Roy FosterR. F. Foster (historian)Robert Fitzroy Foster FBA FRHistS FRSL - generally known as Roy Foster - is the Carroll Professor of Irish History at Hertford College, Oxford in the UK.-Background and education:...
, Ireland 1660-1972 - Geraldine KennedyGeraldine KennedyGeraldine Kennedy is an Irish journalist, former politician, and former editor of The Irish Times newspaper.She became the first female editor of The Irish Times upon the departure of Conor Brady in 2002. Kennedy had held several senior positions at the paper; at the time of her appointment to the...
(ed.) Nealon's Guide to the 29th Dáil and Seanad (Gill and Macmillan, 2002) ISBN 0717132889 - F.S.L. Lyons, Ireland Since the Famine
- Brian Maye, Arthur Griffith (Griffith College Publications)
- Dorothy MacardleDorothy MacardleDorothy Macardle was an Irish author and historian. Her book, The Irish Republic, is one of the more frequently cited narrative accounts of the Irish War of Independence and its aftermath...
, The Irish Republic (Corgi edition, 1968) ISBN 55207862X - Sean O'CallaghanSean O'CallaghanSean O'Callaghan is a former member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who became an informer for the Garda Síochána and who was later debriefed by the UK's MI5 in the Netherlands...
, The Informer (Corgi 1999) ISBN 0-552-14607-2 - Patrick Sarsfield, S. O'Hegarty & Tom Garvin, The Victory of Sinn Féin: How It Won It & how It Used It (1999) ISBN 1900621177
- Peter TaylorPeter Taylor (Journalist)Peter Taylor born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire is a British journalist and documentary-maker who had covered for many years the political and armed conflict in Northern Ireland, widely known as the Troubles...
, Behind the Mask: The IRA & Sinn Féin ISBN 1575000776 - Robert KeeRobert KeeRobert Kee CBE is a British broadcaster, journalist and writer, known for his historical works on World War II and Ireland....
, The Green Flag: A History of Irish Nationalism (Penguin, 1972–2000), ISBN 0140291652 - Robert W. White, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, the Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary (Indiana University Press, 2006, ISBN 0253347084
External links
Official websites- Sinn Féin
- Sinn Féin's "Ireland of Equals" website
- Sinn Féin delegation to the GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament in Brussels website
Other links
- Sinn Féin Original website
- Behind The Mask: The IRA & Sinn Féin Companion website to the Frontline documentary about Sinn Féin, which aired on PBS.
- Guardian - Special Report