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SINN FÉIN IS ready for a November election and will be running more candidates than ever before, leader Mary Lou McDonald told reporters at the Sinn Féin Ardfheis today.
The party’s Ardfheis is continuing in Athlone today amidst its recent slump in the polls.
Last week, Polling by Opinions for the Sunday Times showed Sinn Féin lag behind Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and Independents, dropping nine points to 18%.
The latest Business Post / Red C Poll earlier this month also showed Sinn Féin take a hit, while Fine Gael stood on 23% under the leadership of Taoiseach Simon Harris – a 2 point increase since June. Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin tied with an 18% popularity rating.
Today, McDonald told reporters she was confident in her party’s ability to compete in the upcoming general election, and would be running candidates in every constituency.
“We are going to run a larger number of candidates than ever before. Just for those that care about these things, we will be running more candidates than in 2020 because I didn’t hear the end of that after that election,” she said.
McDonald said that in some constituencies, Sinn Féin would be contesting more than one seat.
At the Ardfheis, McDonald said conversations around housing, childcare healthcare and the cost of living crisis would take precedent, as well as preparations for the upcoming budget, which is to be announced by Minister for Finance Jack Chambers on Tuesday.
We are ready for this campaign, for this election, because we believe passionately that there has to be a change of government that we can do so much better, and that we can actually solve the questions that bear down on people, in particular housing.”
McDonald said: “The conversation around reunification, preparation for referendums is live, and very much part of the conversation here.”
She added that the First Minister of Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill, and executive colleagues are currently present at the Ardfheis.
McDonald said that a border poll should not be delayed by the Irish or UK governments. She said that provisions for such a referendum exist within the Good Friday Agreement, which is now 26 years old.
“The referendums will happen, and the challenge now for both governments is to prepare and to have that inclusive, respectful, mature dialog that we have called for a long time,” she said.
Last night at the Ardfheis, delegates raised concerns over the party’s backing of controversial and failed referendums on family and care earlier this year. Following addresses by a number of delegates on the matter, a motion was passed calling Sinn Féin’s ard comhairle to hold a special conference for the party to determine its position on any future referendums.
The Ardfheis continues, with Mary Lou McDonald set make an address this evening.
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Alternative headline – SF ready to face an almighty smackdown at the polling station that was ALL self inflicted
@Buster Lawless: As happened in 2020
@Brian D’Arcy: Must feel like a lifetime ago, Brian. Over 50% support lost. 2nd least popular leader. Rudderless on a sea of flipflopping.
@honey badger: Ever comment on the sh itshow we’ve endured over the past 10 years or so? A children’s hospital billions over budget and years behind in building, homeless figures that are a national disgrace, ministers batting for genocidal Israel, kids being taught in damp prefabs while they spend millions on security huts and bikesheds! But but Sinn Féin! Ffs…
@Buster Lawless: Kamala 2025
@James T.Kirk: ???weird…..what constituency is he/she/they running in?????
@Anthony Curran: I hate to break it to you, Anthony, “but but” the article is about Sinn Fein!
@honey badger: at least he’s taking about another Irish political party…..theres another weirdo ( Jimmy Kirk) in here conflates every article with the upcoming American election……other day he was posting meaninglessness juvenile ramblings in an article about a weather warning in Ireland……lol
@Buster Lawless: not a fan of the party, but i think FFG could be shocked at the polling booths.
@James Brennan: paddy power will give you generous odds well in double figures if you’re a wagering kinda guy
@Buster Lawless: Funny how your post
“at least he’s taking about another Irish political party…..theres another weirdo ( Jimmy Kirk) in here conflates every article with the upcoming American election……other day he was posting meaninglessness juvenile ramblings in an article about a weather warning in Ireland……lol
has the same format as posts from little willie!
“I hope all three parties get decimated…I know that’s wishfull think this election but next national election I’d say theirs a chance of that happening…at this stage somethings got to give……remember people vote nationalist or atleast anyone but the three main party’s…make them hurt where it counts in the votes, bring them to heel.”
No capitalisation or appropriate grammar, just walls of text typed on a phone with dots between. Funny that!
@Chutes: delighted, seriously in ecstacy, that you’re amused little fella!!! Are you that troll that was boasting about all the drugs you buy the other day ??
@William Slevin: Oh look, our resident anti-immigrant ultra-nationalist is back.
Thinks he’s fighting whatever his mind (?) can conjure with a hero mentality as he stands tall against The Journal and everything else but it’s okay, he’ll get them all in court or so he says!
You can’t pay no attention to him down here, he exists in every open comments section to call us all names and decide whether or not we pass his secret pass/fail test standard.
You can’t read comments and ignore him but you can safely discount anything he says as being nonsense and get on with your life as if he didn’t exist at all.
You really think that nonsense? I imagine you only say what garners further engagement because you get paid more for more engagement so you go with shock tactics.
@Buster Lawless: You can’t even spell ffs and you’re the successful man you describe? Mmhmm!
@William Slevin: It is ya because it says it well. You carry on with your tripe all you will. Occasionally I’ll post something akin to or the same as the above just to inform those who may not know what you are and think your comments are genuine.
You keep living down here in the comments, I have better to do than tolerate your nonsense going forward. It’s a very sad existence you seem to have.
@Chutes: SMACKDOWN for William……. Little troll chutey runs away yet again with tail firmly wedged between legs,lol
@Buster Lawless: What is it you think you’ve accomplished? What did you win? What was the prize? Is it worth spending your life trolling in comments sections? Are you a very low IQ/EQ individual?
That last one is rhetorical but feel free to have a go at the rest little willie.
@Anthony Curran: you might want to check how SF/IRA performed in Govt in NI when they were in charge of housing and finance. Homelessness there is far worse than ROI, and their house delivery is only a fraction of ROI on a per capita basis.
@Pat Hazzard: false post again. 1/SF do not have revenue collecting powers in North. 2/ homelessness figures in North are gathered using ALL 13 criteria recognised as standard practice. FFG use only 3, thereby ignoring housing plight of thousands of our citizens.
It’s been ff or fg for 100 years. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. In the last 10 years, what’s been their best achievement in government?
@Gareth Wogan: Who said the electorate is expecting a different result. For stability SF is not an option. Their one and only agenda is a united Ireland irrespective of cost or consequences.
@Gareth Wogan: mmmmm….so many to choose from….their stable sensible handling of the pandemic????….. No,no, wait….I’ll go for their sound fiscal handling of the economy…. ZERO unemployment & a whopping 25billion SURPLUS heading into an election!!!
@Gareth Wogan: Their biggest achievement is robbing the taxpayer blind while lining their crony’s pockets and duping the taxpayer into thinking lessons will be learnt while having zero accountability. The taxpayer is the gift that keeps on giving for FF/FG.
@Vincent Alexander: Exactly.That preoccupation with a Border poll is alienating SF from many voters. They have no idea how unpopular they are, and ML must bear responsibility for that. Their suggestion that SF will make homes affordable by letting you buy the property, but they will retain ownership of the site is so ridiculous that you wonder who came up with that idea. Maybe it was Kim Jong Un!
@Buster Lawless: homelessness. Health. Education. Will I continue?
@Gareth Wogan: That doesn’t mean you go and make it even worse. Who is your alternative exactly because SF aren’t going to fix anything. They don’t have a clue.
@Gareth Wogan: all my ( adult) children got ‘on’ property ladder over last 3yrs, they’ve all { thankfully } got very well renumerated employment after university, I’ve got a decent/ generous pension that permits 3-4 holidays per annum plus I’ve already ordered up a 251 car………mmm ……so yes please DO continue & enlighten me how SF would improve my ‘lot’
@Buster Lawless: Well as long as you’re doing good that’s all that matters I guess
@Buster Lawless: Bloody hell, I’m no SF supporter, but basically, what you’re saying is, I’m all right Jack, and sod everyone else who is priced out of the housing market and is adversely affected by all of the under investment for the past 15 years. And you have the gall to refer to me as a government mouth piece
@Gareth Wogan: AMEN to that brother!!!! & If Gareth wogan feels he isn’t getting enough ‘cake’—- UPSKlLL, take all the overtime going, get a second job……ain’t no onus on me to give you any more ‘cake’ —- that’s ALL on you
@Kevin Kerr: never referred to you as a government blowhole…… As a nutter, a multi account meaningless troll, an advocate for open borders, an advocate for condoning/ cheerleading attacks on Irish citizens by unvetted economic migrants….. YES I’ll honestly & openly admit to the TRUTH
@Buster Lawless: yes you have, plenty of times along with all of the juvenile insults and lies that you consistently fire at me. You’re a fraud. Oh, and a troll.
@Kevin Kerr: oh, kevvy kevvy kevvy, that ol’ ” deny & deflect” tactic is s soooo 90′s…… Everyone on here is aware that any criticism of any of your accounts & you’ll get straight on to matron & get the posts deleted….. But I NEVER bow down to trolls bullies or grasses
@Buster Lawless: You’re a natural grass! You can’t help it!
@Gareth Wogan: FF has only been in Govt since June 2020, since then there has been unprecedented delivery of new homes, reducing waiting lists and expanding health services.
@Pat Hazzard: Record homelessness figures, record high house prices, record low homeownership rates, record high rents, a record number of properties owned by vultures funds, a record number of adults living at home with their parents, a record number of patients being treated on hospital trolleys, and continuing to spiral out of control, record hospital waiting lists, the world record for the most expensive hospital that is still not complete, A third world health care system with people needlessly dying in A&E waiting rooms, smear test scandal. The list goes on and on – FF/FG have made a complete shambles of running the country for the majority people by anyone’s standards, for a country that supposedly one of the richest countries in the world it’s an absolute disgrace.
@Vincent Alexander: so we should vote if,ifp and the other far rights whose only policies are, remove marriage equality rights for lgb, without the consent of the majority, remove womens right to abortion without the consent of the majority, and leave eu again without the consent of the majority of the population of this country, then they will mass deport breaking numerous national and international laws, but sure thats the change you think we need
Looks like no-housing, pro-immigration FG and Shantytown Simon who gave us mass immigration look set to gain another 5 years
@9QRixo8H: get help, seriously
@Just Eat: if it helps resorting to ad-hominem attacks and projection tactics because you can’t debate the topic then be my guest
@9QRixo8H: It looks like name calling and hyping problems is a bad strategy for the opposition.
@9QRixo8H: Is the D in D.Peader for Delusional, Deranged or Deficient?
This article needs a canned laughter sound clip attached. Over 50% decline in support. 2nd least popular leader. Her core support calling her a traitor. She’s doing her best to turn her party into a tribute act to the worst version of 70s/80s FF. Flip flopping on policy, weather vane politics, and saying mass for a vote has been exposed. The busted flush needs to remember this.
@honey badger: If SF had gone down the Coolock says no route, you’d cane them as well. Damned if they do, damned if they don’t. Personally, I’m glad they haven’t sided with right wing pri cks like Hermann Kelly, the Pepper wan ker and Simon “scapegoat the migrants” Harris. I’d rather lose a few votes than be known as a party that dog whistles racists.
@William Slevin: Ok bot.
we need a Sinn Fein – People Before Profit – Social Democrats coalition government to turn the country around.
@qffaffaf affrafrfraf: Flower power and machine guns.
@qffaffaf affrafrfraf: pbp would drive the country into the dirt on 5 minutes flat if they had any power. Numpties.
@qffaffaf affrafrfraf: agree pbp seem to have the best manifesto.which is surprising.
If those 3 parties and some left independents, we could build something good for the country.
@qffaffaf affrafrfraf: say goodbye to our economy and democracy if that mixture of terrorist puppets and economic loons ever got into power.
@Colette Byrne: Oh give my head peace. There isn’t a half a brain between the lot of them!
@Pat Hazzard: better than traitorous puppets
It would be nice to have an opposition
@Just Eat: I disagree. I think SF are well prepared for the next election in Gaza, whenever that will be. They should be able to field a few candidates in South Lebanon also. The problem is Ireland, they are a bit out of touch in that region.
The Sinn Fein case is interesting. The leadership will be criticised etc. but much of their moves up and down in the polls almost had nothing to do with them. They tanked in the local and European elections in 2019. For that reason they went light on candidates in the 2020 general election where they hoovered up votes. People were sick of the governments non performance on housing and infrastructure (which is still the case). SF were well ahead in the polls for nearly 3 years. Then came the riot in Dublin last year. The penny finally dropped with a whole cohort of SF support that they are generally a pro immigration party. There was always a danger that this could happen but it was especially bad timing. A lot of these people voted for SF on the back of the whole IRA type thing. People who would be more at home voting for a far right party basically. A lot of them are so dumb they don’t even know the difference between left and right anyway. But the incidents around the riots enlightened them to SF position and they have since slid down in the polls again. When events like this are driving your political fortunes you almost have to wonder what even is the point.
@John Moore: Some oxymoron, a pro-immigration stance from a party called “We Ourselves”.
@John Moore: interesting take
@John Moore: only thing is, it doesn’t look from the polls that SF support has gone to far right candidates, not much of it anyway
@John Moore: it’s fantastic to label people dumb because you assume they would be far right. what is far right ? in that case it is only people fed up with that government as you described but also disagree with the alignment of SF on different matters, and you forget the referendum where they got it wrong again. adding she want a minister for reunification is only showing her priorities are about 1 Ireland where other of her seniors struggle to fight for real issues. that’s not incompatible, it just show that she lives on her cloud. And considering people disagreement on all the so called woke parties and label them far right is another form of hate speech and categorisation.
“Just for those that care about these things, we will be running more candidates than in 2020 because I didn’t hear the end of that after that election,” she said.
And you’ll be singing that very same tune again Mary Loo
NEVER..NEVER..NEVER..NEVER….
2 soon Mary.
I think I’ll vote FG now.. I didn’t realise it was them asylum seekers driving up the homeless figures.. I thought it was 14 years of failed FG policy that added 10,000+ since they took office. I’m glad Simon cleared that up though, and its great you can say things like that now too, because only few months ago that sort of misinformation would be considered far right rethoric..And yes I know people seeking international protection and Ukrainians have no legal access to homeless services or housing supports but suggesting the leader of our county engaged in sinister electioneering would be perverse..Remember vote FG .. The ‘blame the asylum seekers for our ineptitude’ Party… Must dig out that auld blue shirt..
Sinn Fein and the left have the best alternative housing proposals to FF and FG and yet because of the misinformation and bad actor campaigns by the right none of it will get a chance and we’ll end up with another decade of failed housing policies at the hands of FF/FG.
@Sandra: Thankfully, you are correct!!!
@Sandra: precisely why UK and American far right groups are bank rolling the Irish far right. They are quite content to maintain the neo liberal FFG governance. Hat is so shocking is how easily so many are being duped by this cascade of false and misleading narrative without question.
@Sandra: Best alternative housing Proposals ? HAVE U ACTUALLY STUDIED IT ? OWN THE HOUSE €300,000 BUT U DON’T OWN THE GROUND ITS ON
Sinn Fein actually submitted best budget proposals than any other party. Abolish TV license – no easy money for large millionaires club called RTE. 10 euro towards child benefit increase instead of supporting luxury stile of life millionaires from RTE. Twice double child benefit. I don’t know why FG so badly set up FF and Michael Martin who promised child benefit increase but was made to look totally incompetent. Such low down trick doesn’t do any credit to FG – just the opposite. Michael Martin wanted to help Irish families but was sneaky set upon. Instead FG wants to help the rich foreign landlords with rent credits and millionaires club RTE – for this crowd money always will be found. For Irish children – NO. Rent in relatively small Ukrainian towns same as in Dublin. People who rent their houses in Ukraine to real refugee live in the EU and current government supporting this. A asked several Ukrainians from Kherson about number of properties they have in Ukraine and they said that beside houses in Kherson they own properties in Kiev, Odessa etc and give it to let. Than they come in Ireland and declare that they are running from the “war”. And local politicians using that world “war” to pay rent of Ukrainians but not to pay for locals who gets same amount in salary. Than is discrimination against others nationalities including the Irish. Sinn Fain actually 100 percent right about 800 euro free rent money to working Ukrainian deserters=traitors and give nothing to working Irish man. After that the most capable politician in current government is Helen McEntee but we just cannot vote for her alone. Our family wanted to vote for FF or FG but Sinn Fein proposals are about rally helping people in need. There only bothers their really pro Muslim position. Ireland is not a Muslim country as far as we know so no need to change that.
@Sergej Simonov: great cut and paste from the SF/IRA propaganda cell based on Moscow.
@Pat Hazzard: Says the guy in Tel Aviv!
@Pat Hazzard: gis some of what you’re smoking, I really could do with a release from reality, but just enough for a chilled Sunday, real world Monday is required.
@Sergej Simonov: Mary Muslim Lou and SF are nothing but traitors they can’t even tell you what a woman is.
SF managed all by themselves to self destruct with Micky mouse ideas but they are mainly a party of third level intellectuals with zero interest in ordinary voters _ check the value of each of their TD homes all over 500,000 in value with children in private schools
@Tim Brennan: And one or 2 that still won’t tell us who paid the bills!!
@chris gaffney: N Bank
@Tim Brennan: in fairness, you’d barely get an ex corporation houses in Crumlin for 500k
@Tim Brennan: My money is on American backers!!
Fine heafers
SF under Mary Lou has not brought a united Ireland any closer. It’s time for a new leader.
Good bye Mary Lou , what more wrong could you do? OH Mary Lou we’re so fed with you! That burka Mary Lou you didn’t have a clue , So goodbye Mary Lou Goodbye!
@Declan Young: Don’t give up the day job. Those asylum seekers won’t intimidate themselves.
Call the electrician
FF SF FF history of gun running the mix might be good.
Surprisingly nobody mentioned a drug gangs driving thousands of families into homeless. That is a pure truth. There was one article recently how about 6 houses were petrol bombed just on one street in a rural town. Not talking about such places like darndale, Coolock, drimnagh, tallaght, crumlin… Thousands of families made homeless due to drug gangs intimidation. Would vote forever for a party who declares that they will destroy drug gangs in Ireland. Not a chance in a million Sinn fein, FF, FG…will even mention them making thousands of families homeless. Who likes the truth. Much easier to blame immigrants.
If you and your TD”s will work for zero salary ,if you and your team can build affordable homes for cleaners and catering workers on 28 k a year
If you will tax the apple and meta and pharmaceutical.
If you could copy paste Italy, Spain, Dutch social Real system , Health system ,
If you will stop UK exporting brainless failed asylum and immigrants to ire.
If you could pour talentd mangers and consultants into education and health system
I will vote for you even am immigrant.
@sakk sa: Work for zero salary? I think we can all see who’s the brainless one here
Maybe when SF get routed at the polls there will be an immediate resignation from Mary Louise and somebody with a bit of cop on will actually come to SF’s aid.
Sinnfeinn get all abuse yet haven’t been in power typical Irish mentality well not all us . NO Its ff and fg are to blame for all going wrong in Ireland dont forget that. Would have voted ff and fg in past not anymore. A beeping disgrace what they have done
@Trump23: ff and fg are the traitors lining rich people’s/ friends pockets and treating Irish people like second class citizens
have your say