Sinn Fein Made Simple

Sinn Féin is the biggest Republican Party in Northern Ireland — though they prefer to call it The North — and that since 2022, have been the largest political party in Northern Ireland.

But what are the key points about Sinn Fein that you need to know before voting for them in an Assembly or General Election? In this blog, I’m going to outline everything you need to know about Sinn Féin’s political beliefs as they apply to Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland, so you can decide whether or not to vote for them.

The history of Sinn Féin gets a wee bit mucky, but according to Britannica, they were founded at the beginning of the 20th Century. They were of little importance up until the Easter Rising in Dublin 1916, when they became the rallying point for Republicanism and were seen as the political wing of Republican terrorism throughout The Troubles.

In the modern day, Sinn Féin is a Left Wing leaning party, whose sole political aim is Irish Unification — historically, at any cost. Although they currently hold 7 seats in the House of Commons, they don’t take them up, which would lead some from the Nationalist / Republican perspective to ask whether it’s worth voting for them in a General Election or not.

Turning to some of their other beliefs, Sinn Féin has softened its historical view on the European Union, from campaigning for both Britain and Ireland to stay out of the European Economic Community in the 1970s, to supporting remain in the 2016 Brexit Referendum. The EU thanked their new softened stance in January 2021 by surprising them, every other Nationalist Party and the Republic with a blockage of vaccine passports coming from the South to Northern Ireland (without telling either side), but after apologising, their complicated relationship continued on a good side.

They support higher taxes for wealthy individuals and big corporations, and — at least in the North — support the NHS (though they haven’t given details on if we’d keep or lose the health service in a United Ireland).

They also support increased investment in public services, especially in housing and wider redistribution of wealth.

They are pro-immigration and support an easier process for refugees, and they are also in support of abortion in certain circumstances, such as sexual abuse or foetal abnormality, but are opposed to it in any other circumstances.

Since 2017, Sinn Féin has been lead in the North by Michelle O’Neill, and in the Republic of Ireland, they’ve been lead since 2018 by Mary Lou McDonald.

As far as global issues and foreign aid goes, they are Pro-Palestine, but they equally condemned the 7th October attacks in Israel on 7th October 2023. Equally, they have also condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

So to summarise what Sinn Féin is:

• They are an Irish Republican Party that has a history of republican terrorism, but some Unionist parties also have a similar history.
• Their sole political aim is to achieve Irish Reunification, for which they would require a Border Pole, which can only be organised by the Secretary of State.
• They are currently Pro EU but have been Anti-EU in the past.
• They support higher taxes for wealthy individuals / big corporations, and also supports increased investment in public services / wider redistribution of wealth.
• They are pro immigration, pro abortion in certain circumstances, and support an Irish Language Act.
• They also support foreign aid in relation to Palestine and Ukraine, but their main focus is on politics on the island of Ireland.

Sources:

Sinn Féin Website: sinnfein.ie

Sinn Féin: https://www.politics.co.uk/reference/sinn-fein/

Sinn Féin names Michelle O’Neill as new leader in Northern Ireland: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jan/23/sinn-fein-names-michelle-oneill-as-new-leader-in-northern-ireland

Sinn Fein collapsed Stormont for three years and threatened to so again so it has no credibility to criticise DUP protocol policy: https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/opinion/sinn-fein-collapsed-stormont-for-three-years-and-threatened-to-so-again-over-irish-language-so-it-has-no-credibility-to-criticise-dup-protocol-policy-3390282

Sinn Féin Political Party, Ireland and United Kingdom: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sinn-Fein

Timeline of the Bobby Storey Funeral Controversy: https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/timeline-bobby-storey-funeral-controversy-20284835

Bobby Storey Funeral: ‘No police bias’ in decision not to prosecute attendees: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/bobby-storey-funeral-no-police-bias-in-decision-not-to-prosecute-attendees-1.4567320