Sinn Fein - Populism and Partionism

Nobody said that.

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That and Bobby Sands.

I know but that was my first wild guess and I don’t get what you’re getting at :blush:. Is it the picture below?

https://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/57295

That’s very watery. She’s in a bit of bother here you’d feel.

#thankyoutony

You mean of course that their actions simply reflect what was said about them.

The IRA Army Council has not gone away.
Sinn FĂ©in and the IRA do not properly recognise the Irish State.
The IRA Army Council cannot go away until their is a 32 County Republic.
The IRA Army Council lend Sinn FĂ©in their authority to make political dealings, but still control the movement

You were warned about this but played dumb.

If you want to vote for actual left wing parties, vote for them. You would just be voting for Fianna FĂĄil 2.0 by voting for SF.

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Would you ever accept SF as a proper political party?

And yet they made such a mess of the seanie Fitz trial he walked.

IIRC there were 6 bankers jailed.

How many will be jailed for the tracker scandal?

It’s more like a list of sentences that she was supposed to pick from to create a statement.

I have posted before what would make me accept SF as a legitimate political party.

The IRA need to announce they have gone away and that the Army Council is gone.

They have never done this. Read their statements.

They also need to wholly accept the Irish Republic as it is and not use the current language they do about the Irish State.

I wouldn’t vote for SF myself, but how and ever. I can accept someone voting for the Soc Dems or even People Before Profit and saying it’s for left wing reasons. I think those on the left cheerleading SF are making a big mistake, they are FF nua and their policy movements reflect that. Things like saying they’ll collect the Apple money and IP are woolly nonsense, it’s populist claptrap- the reality is they will keep the 12.5%. They walked back on pension reform in Ireland, harming the young they are supposed to represent- all because they wanted some over 50 votes. They walked away from property tax for a similar reason. They will implement something up North but then not do it down here and claim it’s against principles. They were once anti EU, but shifted when it suited - I don’t have a problem with being anti EU or changing an opinion on something, but look at their statements on the matter and they don’t hold up, it was a cynical move.

They might be somewhat to the left of FG and FG with the level of goodies (though both of those parties are also unashamed spending parties) they offer, but they aren’t a true left wing party. I disagree with people saying they’ll make Ireland like Venezuela, I think their support for them is despicable, but SF’s number one goal is a 32 county Republic. They will ditch everything for power first with that their end goal.

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I don’t know.

But bankers have been jailed. It’s factually incorrect to say otherwise. Some very high profile bankers have gone to jail, including David Drumm.

I think that the leaders are among the most astute in the country.

But there is a legacy there. A legacy, most recently of 30 years of some of the most horrible acts perpetuated on this island, but arguably centuries of British occupation and injustice. That stuff doesn’t just go away, even after 20 odd years. There are people alive who fought the war, who spent time in prison, who gave their life to the cause. They embraced Sinn Fein, some genuinely, others not so much but are happy not to go back to war if they can carry on with their activities. Indeed it was truly remarkable that Adams and McGuinness (and possibly Storey) could pull along an entrenched and committed movement like the IRA, operating in areas of lawlessness, into democratic politics, save for some instances of revolt. That process is still ongoing, and a visible presence by the leadership for a super volunteer like Bobby Storey, is arguably much more important than any social distancing questions which may be raised by the Irish parties and media.

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It’s nothing to do with social distancing. Storey was a Republican, fine, but he was an IRA man, out and out. If you want people to accept SF as a political party that has broken from the past and has no links to the IRA, then don’t all turn up at an IRA man’s funeral FFS. It’s that simple.

While I would have love to see the bankers all go to jail, the thing that irked me the most was that Fitzpatrick claimed legal aid for his trial after he claimed bankruptcy, with question marks over the transfer of his assets to his wife.

That felt like two fingers to the Irish people, a clear sign that deep down he couldn’t give a flying fuck as to the activities of him and others in relation to the basket case of Anglo Irish Bank.

Drumm got 6 years, I think he’s serving most of it in an open prison in Cavan.
Denis Casey got 2 years. He was the CEO at the time.
Willie McAteer got 3.5 years. He had a previous conviction and served 240 hours community service for the maple ten.
John Bowe got 2 years.

How much time of this was actually served?

Remember, these lads defrauded to the tune of 7.2 billion

The less naive and more reasoned of us would not view things in as black and white terms.

Sinn Fein now stand as the only 32 party representation of Republicanism in Ireland. A movement that has a long history of committed volunteers who have died and spent their lives in prison for the cause, which for all intents and purposes hasn’t been met. On the surface at least they are committed to democratic politics but there has to be a legacy of individuals who grew up in oppression and fought the war - ‘IRA men’ as you call them. If the gun is really to be taken out of Irish politics, then these people have to be commended publicly by the Sinn Fein leadership, in order to show like minded people, young and old, that they have a place in the party. Indeed there are many to say that it is absolutely right that Storey is appluaded, he gave his life for Republicanism (he was actually instrumental in bringing peace).

To me the most important thing on this island is that it remains peaceful. Sinn Fein have a very important role in that and if that means they need to bring along more hardcore people by the hand, then I couldn’t care less what the media has to say about it.

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That’s a valid viewpoint too but I’d prefer if they simply broke from the past. “We’re a 32 county political party now, we’re not linked to the IRA, we don’t go to senior IRA man funerals and pay homage, we’re bigger than that now.”

They will when the last of the old stock passes away

I can see your point but Sinn Fein hasn’t developed in a vacuum. If you support Sinn Fein then you must also realise its history and its development. Take it all into consideration. There will be older people in the party who were involved in the Troubles, that’s just fact, and they shouldn’t be just shunned in my view, depending on the individual of course.

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Does anyone believe the claim that 250,000 people tuned into the live stream of Bobby Storeys funeral?