Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
SINN FÉIN ARE a party “at a crossroads” that needs to “iron out what their position is” on several issues, according to Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns.
She was speaking in Galway West this afternoon, after the election of her party’s candidate Daniel Ennis in Dublin Central on Saturday – the home constituency of Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, whose candidate Janice Boylan came second.
Asked if her party saw Sinn Féin as a party of the left, Cairns said the Social Democrats would “always encourage people to vote left, transfer left, we absolutely need that cooperation on the left”.
“I think Sinn Féin may be at a crossroads with a number of issues. That’s a matter for them, but I think they need to figure out where they’re going,” she said.
Asked whether Sinn Féin is a left-wing party, she said: “In many respects they are and they say that they are, I think there are some issues that they need to iron out what their position is on them, but that’s a matter for them.”
She said voters are seeking a more “positive” political offering and that the Social Democrats “never equivocate”.
“I think people are looking for a type of politics that has the courage of its convictions,” she said.
“We never equivocate on issues and people really know where they stand with the Social Democrats.
“I think people more and more are looking for that straight-talking type of politics.”
Questions have been raised over the party’s byelection losses.
After Boylan lost out to Ennis in Dublin Central on Saturday, their candidate Mark Lohan was eliminated on the fifth count in Galway West, where counting is ongoing.
Asked on Saturday whether the loss in Dublin Central would affect her leadership, McDonald told reporters: “There is no question on the leadership. I am the leader of Sinn Féin. I lead us on the days we’re on a winning streak. I lead us on the days we’re not lifting the cup.”
Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly was questioned about McDonald’s leadership on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics this afternoon.
“We get a chance to decide our leader at our Ard Fhéis. We had an Ard Fhéis three weeks ago and the membership of our party made the decision very loud and clear,” she said.
Mary Lou McDonald is our leader. She is the woman who will lead us into the next election. She is the best person for the job by a mile. She enjoys the support of the party membership because we had a contest three weeks ago.
It was put to O’Reilly that the party vote was down in the 2024 general election from the one four years previous, with their vote down again in the byelections.
The Dublin Fingal West TD said the party had an increased number of TDs and senators after the last general election, adding that McDonald leads the largest party of opposition by a considerable number.
She said that, like every other political party, “we will have a review after this electoral contest, as we have a review after every electoral contest”.
“We will look at what the strategy was, how that was employed. We will also look at the campaign and all elements of it.”
It was also put to her that the party was losing voters on the left to parties such as the Social Democrats, Labour and the Greens.
“We are a left Republican party. We know where we stand, we know what we stand for, but we also are in touch with our own communities,” she said.
O’Reilly paid tribute to Sinn Féin’s candidates Mark Lohan and Janice Boylan, adding that she was Boylan’s campaign manager and that they had “worked our socks off”.
Boylan is a long-standing councillor in the constituency and was selected to run alongside McDonald in the general election in 2024, however, she was unsuccessful in winning a seat.
For the byelection, Boylan was chosen by party members over Gillian Sherratt, who was a long-time campaigner for answers on the timeline of her son’s care and why a decision was made to remove him from a spinal surgery waitlist. Harvey had the surgery in 2024, but he sadly passed away last summer.
Sherratt was McDonald’s preference for the race.
A contest for the ballot slot is somewhat unusual in the party, and it is believed there was unhappiness from some party members that a candidate has been “parachuted” in.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1′s Brendan O’Connor programme this morning, Sherratt said the Dublin Central result was disappointing, adding that Boylan had “did really well”.
“It was an amazing campaign. I think she gave it her all. On the first count, it was really neck and neck and it was just unfortunate the transfers didn’t go her way, but she was a very strong candidate,” she said.
When asked if she thought she would have received more transfers than Boylan had she been the Dublin Central candidate, Sherratt said it’s “impossible to say”.
“I know in particular in Dublin Central, being a local is a really important issue for a lot of people that are voting, which I didn’t have because I’m from Clondalkin. But I don’t think I could say one way or another whether I would have.”
Asked if she would be tempted to run for the party again, she said: “I’d be tempted. It’s early days yet. Who knows where we’ll be by the time the next general election rolls around?”
She added: “I think that that’s a decision that I’ll have to make along with the party closer to the next election.”
With reporting from Press Association
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say