sinn fein

Michelle O’Neill addresses Ard Fheis for the first time as First Minister

| Readers 952

Michelle O’Neill took the stage of the 2024 Ard Fheis for the first time as First Minister. The party’s strong results in Northern Ireland have been a bright spot in a difficult political year, and O’Neill’s personal ratings remain high eight months into the job. O’Neill’s speech touched upon issues dear to her base: Casement Park and Irish language rights. O’Neill referenced the need for Irish unity and tried to set out how the change narrative in Northern Ireland could …

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The most fundamental rule of politics

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Elections are won by the party (or coalition of parties) which can attract the most support and agree a common programme.  This applies whether you have a two-party state or a multi-party state. Sinn Fein have faced this in the Dail where they have been the equal-largest party, but Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would rather set aside their historic differences and work together than form a coalition with Sinn Fein. In US politics, where the bell curve of left …

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UTV Election Debate: A win for Eastwood with Long and Robinson taking aim at one another

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Representatives from the five main parties gathered at UTV today in the first local debate ahead of the General Election on July 4th. John Finucane for Sinn Fein, Colum Eastwood for the SDLP, Naomi Long for the Alliance Party, Robbie Butler for the UUP, and Gavin Robinson for the DUP. The debate was divided into three themes: influence at Westminster, Executive finances and a border poll. An interesting aspect of the debate was some of the participants’ different and laid-back …

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Is it time to give up on power sharing as a bad job ?

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A couple of weeks back I wrote about whether or not the time had come for Alliance to adopt a constitutional position (TL;DR – it hasn’t). As is typical of articles that touch on the constitutional issue, there were quite a few comments, most of which spectacularly avoided the point and tended to rehash boring talking points and clichés from the 1970s. But there were several fair remarks which merit further discussion, so I thought I’d start with the most …

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Gerry Kelly libel case: “The abuse of process in this case is so blatant that it would be utterly unjust if the court were to allow the proceedings to continue.”

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justice, statue, lady justice

As the BBC report, Belfast High Court has thrown out a libel case brought by Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly against freelance journalist Malachi O’Doherty, describing it as “scandalous, frivolous and vexatious”. As the Irish Times report notes In a decision published on Monday, The Master of Belfast High Court, Evan Bell, also struck out Mr Kelly’s defamation action on the basis that “the proceedings are an abuse of process”, that it “has no realistic prospect of success”, and that …

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Slugger Podcast: Looking at the boundaries for #GE24

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David McCann and Peter Donaghy look at how the proposed new constituency boundaries could impact the next election results in Northern Ireland David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

Slugger TV looks at #LE23

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Slugger TV 26th May 2023 from Northern Visions NvTv on Vimeo. Slugger TV looks at LE23 with Brendan Hughes and Sarah Creighton David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

And the winner is………….Slugger reviews the PEBs of #LE23

| Readers 1755

We are back! The Slugger Party Election Broadcast Review has returned to give its assessment of the party election broadcasts of the 2023 local elections. A valuable public service to election nerds and people who have devoted hours and days of effort to create these three minute wonders. A bit like the Eurovision Song Contest, high scores aren’t any indication of likely success at the ballot box. It’s a somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at the aesthetics and impact of one aspect …

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#BBCRedlines looks at the battle within Nationalism during #le23

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The View looks at the state of nationalism ahead of #LE23 Broadcast on BBC Northern Ireland on May 4th, 2023 Listen to the full podcast here   David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

As the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement approaches, the immediate outlook is uncertain. But reform is in the air

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As the Great Anniversary approaches, unionist opinion in its supporting  press is in turmoil over whether or when to return to the Assembly. Worryingly there is talk of being resigned to loyalist violence in the event of a border poll.    Opinion is tilting against accepting the Windsor Framework. Its gaps and deficiencies are forensically taken apart in the Belfast Telegraph by Sam McBride.  In the Newsletter, the voice of sceptical unionism, the editor Ben Lowry comes down against the Framework …

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“Sinn Fein’s path to government in the South is fraught with difficulty”

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There is a feeling of inevitability in social media, political commentary and even amongst many in the Dáil who fear losing their seats, that Sinn Fein will become the lead Party of Government in the next General Election in the Republic, which must be held on or before March 2025. The problem for Sinn Fein is the numbers. There are currently 160 Teachta Dála in the 33rd Dáil. The total number varies with each election as it’s range is set …

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McDonald and O’Neill tell delegates it’s time for change

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At an Ard Fheis five years ago, Gerry Adams announced he was leaving the stage. The party was polling in the mid teens at that stage, now under Mary Lou McDonald the party is consistently above 30% in poll after poll. Buoyed by their success in the recent Assembly Election and their popularity in the South, the party now looks forward with confidence. Sure footed with plans for growth in both jurisdictions. Often we look back through the gaze of …

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Houses of sand: Unionism has a problem with younger voters. A huge one.

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Whither the union. I find myself becoming weary as I write this. Articles about the demise of the union, about unionist malaise and mistakes, are so common these days that they all sound the same. I stopped writing them at one point because I had nothing new to add. Even now, people write these pieces with a weird air of arrogance. They want you to know that they and they alone have figured out that unionism is in a difficult …

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After the funeral of the age, back to the reality of today

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The greatest public obsequies in history are over. The hangover begins now. The death of the Queen allowed millions to think of the nation as a big family which could unite at such a time.  Every nation or a distinct component of it needs an identity to survive.  For a large majority, the Queen was at the heart of it. Whether the unity survives both for the nation and- come to think of it- even the royal family- are quite …

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Sinn Féin are winning the peace, as people forget the IRA’s war…

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Sinn Fein are winning the post-1998 peace. They are now the largest party in Northern Ireland, and almost certainly will be the largest party in the Republic after the next election. A combination of internal and external events have come together to make their brand of ‘left populism’ (housing spokesman’s Eoin Ó Broin’s telling phrase) seem unstoppable. The housing crisis in the South and the chaotic aftermath of Brexit, the Covid pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis caused by the Ukraine …

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Leave futile arguments about equivalence aside. We all need to come clean about why the Troubles lasted so unforgivably long.

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clock, alarm clock, watch

Belatedly I want to pick up from Mick’s treatment of Fionnuala O’ Connor’s   interesting question about origins, prompted by the inevitable controversy surrounding Michelle O’Neill. At the outset, I’m reconciled to the fact that my brief analysis, partly based like Fionnuala’s on contemporary observation, will be disputed. I want to be as fair as I can. There’s nothing more pointless than one sided polemic.   Her question relates to the present and future. To make ‘reconciliation’ possible do republicans have to …

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Slugger TV looks at the political year ahead

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Slugger TV 01/07/22 from Northern Visions NvTv on Vimeo. This months guest as Alan Meban and Allison Morris David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

There are great dangers in Northern Ireland’s entanglement in the Tory Brexit mess. They must extricate themselves fast

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From his analysis of the Protocol bill, I want to pull out Rafael Behr’s comments on how little Northern Ireland registers  in the wider media as itself, on merit . You can almost hear the groans from TV viewers,” Not Northern Ireland again”  in a situation even more incomprehensible to them than  the Troubles It isn’t every day that former prime ministers set old party enmities aside to deliver a unified message on a matter of national urgency. When John …

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Slugger TV looks at the main parties after #AE22

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Slugger TV is five years old! This month Anna Mercer from Stratagem and Chris Donnelly look at the state of the parties following the Assembly Election. David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

A Step Change in Sinn Féin Strategy: Lessons Learned from the SNP Playbook?

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By Dr Adam Fusco, Lecturer in Politics, University of York The results of 2022 Assembly election demonstrated remarkable successes for Alliance and Sinn Féin. One of the more remarkable features of the campaign, however, was how un-Sinn Féin-like the argumentative strategy of Sinn Féin was as it contested seats at Stormont. Traditional republican and nationalist themes, such as the Irish language and even unity, were not at the forefront of the campaign, but rather the party choose to emphasise the …

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