94-696: The Sinn Féin Funds case ( Buckley and Others v. Attorney General and Another ) was a 1942–1948 Irish court case in which the Sinn Féin party claimed ownership of funds deposited with the High Court in 1924 which had belonged to the Sinn Féin party before 1923. The Sinn Féin Funds Act 1947 , which attempted to halt the court case and assign the funds to Bord Cistí Sinn Féin , was ruled unconstitutional by
188-593: A Garda superintendent or higher rank) and carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment. Senior members of Sinn Féin have been alleged to sit on the Army Council. On 20 February 2005 during a radio interview, Irish Justice Minister Michael McDowell publicly named Martin Ferris , Gerry Adams, and Martin McGuinness , Sinn Féin's chief negotiator, as members of the Army Council. The three men issued
282-579: A "Coalition Panel" of Sinn Féin candidates to stand in the 1922 general election . After the election, anti-Treaty members walked out of the Dáil, and pro- and anti-Treaty members took opposite sides in the ensuing Civil War . Pro-Treaty Dáil deputies and other Treaty supporters formed a new party, Cumann na nGaedheal , on 27 April 1923 at a meeting in Dublin, where delegates agreed on a constitution and political programme. Cumann na nGaedheal went on to govern
376-417: A (minor) political party in its own right. On 2 September 2006, Martin McGuinness publicly stated that Sinn Féin would refuse to participate in a shadow assembly at Stormont, asserting that his party would only take part in negotiations that were aimed at restoring a power-sharing government. This development followed a decision on the part of members of Sinn Féin to refrain from participating in debates since
470-478: A Caretaker Executive with Ruairí Ó Brádaigh as chairman. The Caretaker Executive's first act was to pass a resolution pledging allegiance to the 32-county Irish Republic and the Provisional Army Council. It also declared itself opposed to the ending of abstentionism, the drift towards "extreme forms of socialism", the failure of the leadership to defend the nationalist people of Belfast during
564-573: A ballot paper in this hand and an Armalite in the other, we take power in Ireland? This was the origin of what became known as the Armalite and ballot box strategy . Ó Brádaigh's chief policy, a plan for a federalised Irish state dubbed Éire Nua , was dropped in 1982, and the following year Ó Brádaigh stepped down as president, and was replaced by Adams. Under Adams' leadership electoral politics became increasingly important. In 1983 Alex Maskey
658-575: A ceasefire in August 1994. Sinn Féin then joined the talks, but the Conservative government under John Major soon came to depend on unionist votes to remain in power. It suspended Sinn Féin from the talks, and began to insist that the IRA decommission all of their weapons before Sinn Féin be re-admitted to the talks; this led to the IRA calling off its ceasefire. The new Labour government of Tony Blair
752-735: A claim disputed by the British government. Donaldson was found fatally shot in his home in County Donegal on 4 April 2006, and a murder inquiry was launched. In April 2009, the Real IRA released a statement taking responsibility for the killing. When Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) became the largest parties, by the terms of the Good Friday Agreement no deal could be made without
846-654: A more radical separatist agenda, incorporating members and ideas from the Irish Volunteers who had organised the 1916 Easter Rising . It set about raising funds for its campaign of civil disobedience , which by 1919 escalated into the Irish War of Independence when Sinn Féin proclaimed an Irish Republic independent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Sinn Féin funds were for party-political purposes and were smaller than and separate from
940-464: A protest movement after the introduction of internment in August 1971, organising marches and pickets. The party launched its platform, Éire Nua ("a New Ireland") at the 1971 Ard Fheis . In general, however, the party lacked a distinct political philosophy. In the words of Brian Feeney, "Ó Brádaigh would use Sinn Féin ard fheiseanna (party conferences) to announce republican policy, which was, in effect, IRA policy, namely that Britain should leave
1034-401: A reappraisal of the policy of abstention from the Dáil. At the 1983 Ard Fheis the constitution was amended to remove the ban on the discussion of abstentionism to allow Sinn Féin to run a candidate in the forthcoming European elections. However, in his address, Adams said, "We are an abstentionist party. It is not my intention to advocate change in this situation." A motion to permit entry into
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#17327757376491128-452: A referendum on Irish unification. This information did not become publicly known until 2022 and the move was criticised in some quarters on the basis that it would be wrong for Sinn Féin to work with dissident republican groups which do not repudiate violence by paramilitaries. Sinn Féin retorted that engaging with dissident republicans draws them into the democratic process and political solutions instead of violent ones. Sinn Féin won 29% of
1222-838: A seven-person board, Bord Cistí Sinn Féin, with a chairman nominated by the Chief Justice and the others by the Government . De Valera had first confirmed that the Chief Justice, Conor Maguire , was willing to make the nomination. The act directed the High Court to pay the Sinn Féin funds to the board; it could also accept donations from others. The board could invest its funds in the same manner as Post Office savings , and could make payments to needy veterans of Irish republican paramilitary groups in 1916–1921. It would be dissolved when its funds were exhausted. Section 10 of
1316-444: A stance later reiterated by McDonald as a way of resolving the border issues raised by Brexit . Sinn Féin's first elections under McDonald resulted in the party performing well under its own expectations during the 2018 Irish presidential election that October, and similarly, the party's performance was labelled "disastrous" during the concurrent May 2019 European Parliament election in Ireland and 2019 Irish local elections . In
1410-639: A statement the next day denying the charge. On 27 July 2005, McDowell expressed his belief that Adams, McGuinness, and Ferris had recently (within the previous few days) left the IRA Army Council. However he also claimed that it was his opinion that this by itself did not necessarily amount to a permanent split between the two organisations. On 20 October 2015, the Assessment on Paramilitary Groups in Northern Ireland , commissioned by
1504-558: A term intended as a pejorative . Sinn Féin was founded on 28 November 1905, when, at the first annual Convention of the National Council, Arthur Griffith outlined the Sinn Féin policy, "to establish in Ireland's capital a national legislature endowed with the moral authority of the Irish nation". Its initial political platform was both conservative and monarchist , advocating for an Anglo-Irish dual monarchy unified with
1598-647: Is an assertion of Irish national sovereignty and self-determination, i.e., the Irish people governing themselves, rather than being part of a political union with Great Britain under the Westminster Parliament . A split in January 1970, mirroring a split in the IRA, led to the emergence of two groups calling themselves Sinn Féin. One, under the continued leadership of Tomás Mac Giolla , became known as "Sinn Féin (Gardiner Place)", or "Official Sinn Féin";
1692-456: Is the main opposition, having won the largest share of first-preference votes in the 2020 election . The current president of Sinn Féin is Mary Lou McDonald , who succeeded Gerry Adams in 2018. The phrase "Sinn Féin" is Irish for "Ourselves" or "We Ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone" (from " Sinn Féin Amháin ", an early-20th-century slogan). The name
1786-587: The 1969 Northern Ireland riots , and the expulsion of traditional republicans by the leadership during the 1960s. At its October 1970 Ard Fheis , delegates were informed that an IRA convention had been held and had regularised its structure, bringing to an end the "provisional" period. By then, however, the label "Provisional" or "Provo" was already being applied to them by the media. The opposing, anti-abstentionist party became known as "Official Sinn Féin". It changed its name in 1977 to "Sinn Féin—The Workers' Party", and in 1982 to " The Workers' Party ". Because
1880-697: The 2020 Irish general election , Sinn Féin received the greatest number of first preference votes nationally, making it the best result for any incarnation of Sinn Féin since the 1922 election . Fianna Fáil , Fine Gael and the Green Party formed a coalition government in June 2020. Although second on seats won at the election, Sinn Féin became the largest party in the Dáil when Marc MacSharry resigned from Fianna Fáil in September 2021, which, with Seán Ó Fearghaíl sitting as Ceann Comhairle , left Sinn Féin
1974-513: The 2023 Northern Ireland local elections , Sinn Féin became the largest party in local government for the first time. Then, in the local elections in the Republic of Ireland in 2024 , Sinn Féin increased their vote share, however, significantly fell short of the polls, showcasing a divide between the party's leadership and grassroots over immigration, with disgruntled Sinn Féin voters voting instead for small right-wing parties. However, following
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#17327757376492068-676: The 2024 United Kingdom general election , Sinn Féin became the single largest party representing Northern Ireland in Westminster. Sinn Féin is the largest Irish republican political party, and was historically associated with the Irish Republican Army , while also having been associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army in the party's modern incarnation. The Irish government alleged that senior members of Sinn Féin have held posts on
2162-759: The Attorney General seeking a declaration that the funds were the property of the party, and the payment of the funds to its honorary treasurers. By this time the funds amounted to £18,200 19s. 6d., invested in Irish Free State 4% Conversion Loan, 1950–70 (£13,041 1s. 5d.), Irish Free State Second National Loan (£4,927 14s. 8d.), and cash (£616 3s. 9d.). The proceedings were formally called Margaret Buckley , Séamus Mitchell, Séamus O'Neill, Padraig Power, Mairéad McElroy, Séamus Russell, Diarmuid Ó Laoghaire, Seán Poole, Joseph H. Fowler and Seán Ua Ceallaigh , on behalf of themselves and all other Members of
2256-588: The British and Irish governments to have included Gerry Adams , the former president of Sinn Féin . The Independent Monitoring Commission declared in 2008 that the council was "no longer operational or functional," but that it had not dissolved. The Army Council of the IRA split in December 1969 and a "Provisional" Army Council emerged as the head of the newly formed Provisional Irish Republican Army. The IRA
2350-572: The Dáil loans , which the Republic treated as government bonds to fund its administration and its army, the IRA . The party's Central Fund was held in bank accounts controlled by its honorary treasurers, Eamonn Duggan and Jennie Wyse Power . The war ended with a truce in July 1921, followed by the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December, which provided for an Irish Free State . Sinn Féin split over
2444-576: The IRA Army Council . However, the SF leadership has denied these claims. IRA Army Council The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army , a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about independence to the whole island of Ireland and the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain . The Council had seven members, said by
2538-740: The Republican Network for Unity . Sinn Féin supported a no vote in the referendum on the Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2008 . Immediately after the June 2017 UK general election , where the Conservatives won 49% of seats but not an overall majority, so that non-mainstream parties could have significant influence, Gerry Adams announced for Sinn Féin that their elected MPs would continue
2632-673: The St Andrews Agreement and agreed to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland . Sinn Féin is the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, having won the largest share of first-preference votes and the most seats in the 2022 election , the first time an Irish nationalist party has done so. Since 2024, Michelle O'Neill has served as the first ever Irish nationalist First Minister of Northern Ireland . From 2007 to 2022, Sinn Féin
2726-502: The Supreme Court in an important judgement on separation of powers and private property rights. The original action was subsequently decided against Sinn Féin, on the basis that the pre-1923 party was separate from the 1940s party. Most of the disputed funds were consumed by legal costs. Sinn Féin was established in 1905 as an Irish nationalist political party. In 1917, it was reconstituted under leader Éamon de Valera with
2820-754: The United Kingdom House of Commons . However, in line with Sinn Féin abstentionist policy, she did not take her seat in the House of Commons. The party supported the Irish Republican Army during the War of Independence , and members of the Dáil government negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty with the British government in 1921. In the Dáil debates that followed, the party divided on the Treaty. The pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty components (led by Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera respectively) managed to agree on
2914-465: The first-preference votes in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election , the highest share of any party. With 27 out of 90 seats, they became the largest party in Stormont for the first time ever. "Today ushers in a new era", O'Neill said shortly before the final results were announced. "Irrespective of religious, political or social backgrounds, my commitment is to make politics work." Following
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3008-499: The general election in June 1922 , when it rubber-stamped the nomination of a combined slate of pro- and anti-treaty candidates in a failed attempt to stop the descent into civil war. In October 1922, after the Civil War had started, de Valera, who was anti-Treaty, wrote asking Duggan and Wyse Power, who were pro-Treaty, to transfer the funds to him in conformance to the old standing committee's resolution. They refused to comply unless
3102-605: The "Provisionals" were committed to military rather than political action, Sinn Féin's initial membership was largely confined, in Danny Morrison 's words, to men "over military age or women". A Sinn Féin organiser of the time in Belfast described the party's role as "agitation and publicity" New cumainn (branches) were established in Belfast, and a new newspaper, Republican News , was published. Sinn Féin took off as
3196-429: The 1923 re-establishment of Sinn Féin, who had joined Fianna Fáil in 1926, and whose contention that the 1923 party was not a continuation of the pre-Treaty party is described by historian Agnès Maillot as "rewriting history" to serve their own ends. The leaders of the contemporary Sinn Féin became aware of the proposals, and on 19 January 1942, brought a High Court action by originating plenary summons against Power and
3290-549: The Accidental Fires Act 1943 similarly restricted legal proceedings; Gavan Duffy responded that the 1938 act was made by mutual agreement between the litigants, and that he would regard the 1943 provision as likewise unconstitutional. Judgment was not reserved ; instead Gavan Duffy immediately read out a ruling he had written the day before hearing. On 23 June, the Attorney General's appeal was heard in
3384-678: The Assembly's recall the previous May. The relevant parties to these talks were given a deadline of 24 November 2006 to decide upon whether or not they would ultimately form the executive. The 86-year Sinn Féin boycott of policing in Northern Ireland ended on 28 January 2007, when the Ard Fheis voted overwhelmingly to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Sinn Féin members began to sit on Policing Boards and join District Policing Partnerships. There
3478-563: The British Crown (inspired by the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 ). The party contested the 1908 North Leitrim by-election , where it secured 27% of the vote. Thereafter, both support and membership fell. At its 1910 ard fheis (party conference) attendance was poor, and there was difficulty finding members willing to take seats on the executive. In 1914, Sinn Féin members, including Griffith, joined
3572-479: The Dáil was allowed at the 1985 Ard Fheis , but did not have the active support of the leadership, and it failed narrowly. By October of the following year an IRA Convention had indicated its support for elected Sinn Féin TDs taking their seats. Thus, when the motion to end abstention was put to the Ard Fheis on 1 November 1986, it was clear that there would not be a split in the IRA as there had been in 1970. The motion
3666-463: The European elections, Sinn Féin lost 2 MEPs and dropped their vote share by 7.8%, while in the local elections the party lost 78 (almost half) of their local councillors and dropped their vote share by 5.7%. McDonald stated "It was a really bad day out for us. But sometimes that happens in politics, and it's a test for you. I mean it's a test for me personally, obviously, as the leader". However, in
3760-641: The High Court refused and the case was adjourned pending an appeal of this decision to the Supreme Court. The Sinn Féin Funds Act 1947 was an act of the Oireachtas introduced in the 12th Dáil by the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, on 11 March 1947. His justification was that "unless there is action taken by the Legislature, these funds will be frittered away in legal costs". The Act provided for
3854-635: The IRA's Border Campaign (Operation Harvest) , the Northern Ireland Government banned Sinn Féin under the Special Powers Act ; it would remain banned until 1974. By the end of the Border campaign five years later, the party had once again lost all national representation. Through the 1960s, some leading figures in the movement, such as Cathal Goulding , Seán Garland , Billy McMillen , Tomás Mac Giolla , moved steadily to
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3948-625: The North or the 'war' would continue". In May 1974, a few months after the Sunningdale Agreement , the ban on Sinn Féin was lifted by the UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland . Sinn Féin was given a concrete presence in the community when the IRA declared a ceasefire in 1975 . 'Incident centres', manned by Sinn Féin members, were set up to communicate potential confrontations to the British authorities. From 1976, there
4042-534: The President of the High Court, was already convinced the act was unconstitutional, and told all the court's judges to refer the case to him if it was assigned to them. Mr Justice Kevin Dixon duly did so, recusing himself because in 1942, before being made a judge, he had assisted the then Attorney General in the case. Ó Caoimh was taken aback when Gavan Duffy rejected the application on the ground that Section 10 of
4136-405: The Republic of Ireland's national political bodies. The party expelled Denis Donaldson , a party official, in December 2005, with him stating publicly that he had been in the employ of the British government as an agent since the 1980s. Donaldson told reporters that the British security agencies who employed him were behind the collapse of the Assembly and set up Sinn Féin to take the blame for it,
4230-542: The Rules [existing prior to 1922] and its actions and resolutions can have no validity in preserving the continuity of the organisation". Kingsmill Moore awarded legal costs to the defendants in his 26 October judgment, and to the plaintiffs on 19 November after application, in both cases to be paid out of the Sinn Féin Funds themselves. In March 1947 the value of the funds had been £21,917 15s. 4d.; by October 1950 it
4324-536: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on the structure, role and purpose of paramilitary organisations reported that the structures of the IRA remain in existence "in a much reduced form", including "a senior leadership, the 'Provisional Army Council' and some 'departments'", but that they are not recruiting members. It concluded that the IRA still has access to some weapons, but have not sought to procure more since at least 2011. It also said that IRA members believe
4418-527: The Sinn Féin Funds Act had been found unconstitutional, the original 1942 case recommenced. It was adjourned after the February 1948 general election to allow Sinn Féin to appoint new counsel, because Costello and MacBride were now ministers in the new coalition government . It was heard in the High Court between 18 March 1948 and 19 November 1948. The testimony and supporting documentation of
4512-506: The Sinn Féin Organisation established in the year, 1905, and reconstituted in the year, 1917 Plaintiffs v. The Attorney General of Éire and Charles Stewart Power Defendants . The plaintiffs were respectively the president, vice-presidents, honorary treasurers, honorary secretaries, two members of the standing committee and one ordinary member of Sinn Féin. There was no further action from the plaintiffs for several years and
4606-422: The Supreme Court, before judges James Murnaghan , James Geoghegan , John O'Byrne , William Black and Martin Maguire , with senior counsel John A. Costello and Seán MacBride appearing for Sinn Féin. Conor Maguire recused himself because of his prior involvement in the legislative process. The Supreme Court's judgment, delivered by O'Byrne on 31 July 1947, upheld both grounds of the High Court ruling. Although
4700-403: The act purported to stay the proceedings started in 1942, and to require the High Court to dismiss the action upon an ex parte application from the Attorney General. The act was signed into law on 27 May 1947. On 10 June 1947, Aindrias Ó Caoimh , junior counsel for the Attorney General, made an ex parte application under Section 10 of the act to dismiss the case. George Gavan Duffy ,
4794-434: The act violated the Constitution of Ireland , in two ways: it violated the separation of powers , in that the legislature was attempting to prevent the judiciary hearing a case as provided under Articles 34 to 37 of the Constitution; and it violated Article 43's protection of private property , by requisitioning the funds without sufficient cause. Ó Caoimh argued that s.5 of the Erasmus Smith Schools Act 1938 and s.1(1) of
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#17327757376494888-416: The anti-Redmond Irish Volunteers , which was referred to by Redmondites and others as the "Sinn Féin Volunteers". Although Griffith himself did not take part in the Easter Rising of 1916, many Sinn Féin members who were members of the Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood did. Government and newspapers dubbed the Rising "the Sinn Féin Rising". After the Rising, republicans came together under
4982-482: The balance of the Central Fund in a trust in the High Court under the provisions of the Trustee Act 1893 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 53); the balance was £8,663 12s. 2d. (£8,663.61, equivalent to £525,690 in 2021), from which administrative costs were deducted. The Sinn Féin party lost support when Fianna Fáil was founded in 1926 by its most prominent members, including de Valera; it stopped contesting elections after September 1927 . In 1938 it ceded symbolic control of
5076-434: The ban, mainly by using actors to dub the voices of banned speakers. The legislation did not apply during election campaigns and under certain other circumstances. The ban lasted until 1994. Tentative negotiations between Sinn Féin and the British government led to more substantive discussions with the SDLP in the 1990s. Multi-party negotiations began in 1994 in Northern Ireland, without Sinn Féin. The Provisional IRA declared
5170-411: The banner of Sinn Féin, and at the 1917 ard fheis the party committed itself for the first time to the establishment of an Irish Republic . In the 1918 general election , Sinn Féin won 73 of Ireland's 105 seats, and in January 1919, its MPs assembled in Dublin and proclaimed themselves Dáil Éireann , the parliament of Ireland. Sinn Féin candidate Constance Markievicz became the first woman elected to
5264-491: The care of the High Court led to the Sinn Féin Funds case , which the party lost and in which the judge ruled that it was not the legal successor to the Sinn Féin of 1917. By the late 1940s, two decades removed from the Fianna Fáil split and now the Sinn Féin funds lost, the party was little more than a husk. The emergence of a popular new republican party, led by former IRA members, in Clann na Poblachta , threatened to void any remaining purpose Sinn Féin had left. However, it
5358-445: The case, which remain an important primary source for historians of the 1917–1926 period, are now divided among the National Archives of Ireland , National Library of Ireland , and Irish Military Archives . De Valera gave evidence on 20 April on Sinn Féin's structure while he was its leader. It was pointed out that he now contradicted what he had said in 1929: "Those who continued on in the organisation which we left can claim exactly
5452-461: The constitution prohibits the publication of dissenting opinions , Gerard Hogan states that William Black may have disagreed with the verdict. The courts' reasoning in the Sinn Féin Funds case has not been called into question as regards separation of powers; however, as regards private property, John M. Kelly and others have pointed out that it is difficult to reconcile with the 1957 ruling in Attorney General v Southern Industrial Trust . After
5546-457: The ending of the truce. Rees released the last of the internees, and ended ' Special Category Status ' for all prisoners convicted after 1 March 1976. This led first to the blanket protest , and then to the dirty protest . Around the same time, Gerry Adams began writing for Republican News , calling for Sinn Féin to become more involved politically. Over the next few years, Adams and those aligned with him would extend their influence throughout
5640-418: The largest party by one seat. Sinn Féin lost their numerical advantage in February 2022 following the resignation of Violet-Anne Wynne . In November 2020, the national chairman of Sinn Féin Declan Kearney contacted several dissident republican political parties such as Saoradh , Republican Network for Unity and the Irish Republican Socialist Party about creating a united republican campaign to call for
5734-415: The left, even to Marxism , as a result of their own reading and thinking and contacts with the Irish and international left. This angered more traditional republicans, who wanted to stick to the national question and armed struggle. The Garland Commission was set up in 1967, to investigate the possibility of ending abstentionism. Its report angered the already disaffected traditional republican element within
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#17327757376495828-488: The new Irish Free State for nine years (it merged with two other organisations to form Fine Gael in 1933). Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin members continued to boycott the Dáil. At a special Ard Fheis in March 1926, de Valera proposed that elected members be allowed to take their seats in the Dáil if and when the controversial Oath of Allegiance was removed. When his motion was defeated, de Valera resigned from Sinn Féin; on 16 May 1926, he founded his own party, Fianna Fáil , which
5922-526: The new officer board/standing committee ordered them to do so. The officer board/standing committee met on 26 October 1922; pro-Treaty members had an eight–five majority and the board voted not to allow further expenditure without its approval. It never met again. After the 1923 ceasefire, supporters of the Free State Executive Council founded the Cumann na nGaedheal party and anti-Treaty activists reconstituted Sinn Féin. In February 1924 Duggan and Wyse Power, taking legal advice from Timothy Sullivan , lodged
6016-412: The notionally still-extant Irish Republic to the IRA Army Council . The party periodically proclaimed its right to the funds deposited in the High Court but took no legal action and was small enough to be ignored by the authorities. When Eamonn Duggan died in 1936, Jennie Wyse Power became sole trustee of the Sinn Féin funds. Wyse Power died in 1941, and her son, Charles Stewart Power, a judge, inherited
6110-414: The other, led by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh , became known as " Sinn Féin (Kevin Street) ", or " Provisional Sinn Féin ". As the "Officials" dropped all mention of Sinn Féin from their name in 1982—instead calling themselves the Workers' Party —the term "Provisional Sinn Féin" has fallen out of use, and the party is now known simply as "Sinn Féin". Sinn Féin members have been referred to colloquially as "Shinners",
6204-433: The party dropped its abstentionist policy for the Dáil; some members formed Republican Sinn Féin in protest. In the 1990s, Sinn Féin—under the leadership of Adams and Martin McGuinness —was involved in the Northern Ireland peace process . This led to the Good Friday Agreement and created the Northern Ireland Assembly , and saw Sinn Féin become part of the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive . In 2006, it co-signed
6298-419: The party simply did not have the funds to contest the second election called that year , declaring "no true Irish citizen can vote for any of the other parties". Fianna Fáil came to power at the 1932 general election (to begin what would be an unbroken 16-year spell in government) and went on to long dominate politics in the independent Irish state. An attempt in the 1940s to access funds that had been put in
6392-456: The party, notably Seán Mac Stíofáin and Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, who viewed such a policy as treason against the Irish Republic. Sinn Féin split in two at the beginning of 1970. On 11 January, the proposal to end abstentionism and take seats, if elected, in the Dáil, the Parliament of Northern Ireland and the Parliament of the United Kingdom was put before the members at the party's Ard Fheis . A similar motion had been adopted at an IRA convention
6486-409: The party. As part of this rapprochement, it was later made clear by the army council that the IRA would dictate to Sinn Féin, and not the other way around. At the 1955 United Kingdom general election , two Sinn Féin candidates were elected to Westminster, and likewise, four members of Sinn Féin were elected to Leinster House in the 1957 Irish general election . In December 1956, at the beginning of
6580-421: The peace process formed the 32 County Sovereignty Movement in the late 1990s. At the 1997 Irish general election , Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin was elected to the Dáil. In doing so, he became the first person under the "Sinn Féin" banner to be elected to Leinster House since 1957 , and the first since 1922 to take their seat. Ó Caoláin's entry to the Dáil marked the beginning of a continuous Sinn Féin presence in
6674-495: The policy of not swearing allegiance to the Queen , as would be required for them to take their seats in the Westminster Parliament. In 2017 and 2018 there were allegations of bullying within the party, leading to a number of resignations and expulsions of elected members. At the Ard Fheis on 18 November 2017, Gerry Adams announced he would stand down as president of Sinn Féin in 2018, and would not stand for re-election as TD for Louth . On 10 February 2018, Mary Lou McDonald
6768-477: The position of trustee. It would be impossible to reimburse the funds to the original donors. Power suggested to Éamon de Valera, then Taoiseach , that the money could be used to support needy veterans of the revolutionary period . While de Valera began planning enabling legislation to effect this, Power approached surviving members of the pre-Treaty standing committee of Sinn Féin for their consent, and all but one agreed. Power also consulted most of those involved in
6862-605: The previous month, leading to the formation of a Provisional Army Council by Mac Stíofáin and other members opposed to the leadership. When the motion was put to the Ard Fheis , it failed to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority. The Executive attempted to circumvent this by introducing a motion in support of IRA policy, at which point the dissenting delegates walked out of the meeting. These members reconvened at Kevin Barry Hall in Parnell Square , where they appointed
6956-602: The remaining Sinn Féin organisation was small and often without parliamentary representation. It continued its association with the Irish Republican Army . Another split in 1970 at the start of the Troubles led to the modern Sinn Féin party, with the other faction eventually becoming the Workers' Party . During the Troubles , Sinn Féin was associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army . For most of that conflict, it
7050-503: The republican movement and slowly marginalise Ó Brádaigh, part of a general trend of power in both Sinn Féin and the IRA shifting north. In particular, Ó Brádaigh's part in the 1975 IRA ceasefire had damaged his reputation in the eyes of northern republicans. The prisoners' protest climaxed with the 1981 hunger strike , during which striker Bobby Sands was elected Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone as an Anti H-Block candidate. After his death on hunger strike, his seat
7144-431: The respondents applied to have the case dismissed. On 21 November 1945 the High Court gave Sinn Féin a month to proceed and notice of trial was issued on 19 December 1945. In October 1946 the hearing was fixed for 26 November. On 11 November, the plaintiffs sought an order that their original solicitor, William Boyle Fawsitt, release to their new solicitor, Peadar Cowan , papers which he was holding in lien for unpaid fees;
7238-436: The same continuity that we claimed up to 1925". The ruling, by T. C. Kingsmill Moore on 26 October 1948, was against Sinn Féin, on the basis that the organisation as reconstituted in 1923 was "not in any legal sense a continuation" of the party that had "melted away" in 1922, to which the funds had belonged. An ardfheis held on 16 October 1923 to revive Sinn Féin was, Kingsmill Moore said, "not properly constituted according to
7332-525: The support of both parties. They nearly reached a deal in November 2004, but the DUP insisted on photographic and/or video evidence that decommissioning of IRA weapons had been carried out, which was unacceptable to Sinn Féin. In April 2006 a number of members of Sinn Féin who believed the party was not committed enough to socialism split from the party and formed a new group called Éirígí , which later became
7426-656: The terms of the treaty, leading to the Irish Civil War of 1922–1923, won by the supporters of the Free State over those who sought to maintain the Irish Republic. On either 9 December 1921 or 17 January 1922, the Sinn Féin standing committee resolved to make de Valera the party's sole trustee. At the February 1922 Ardfheis , the officer board became the standing committee. The party was in abeyance from
7520-664: Was a proscribed organization under the terms of the Offences Against the State Acts passed between 1939 and 1998 in the Republic of Ireland and under equivalent anti-terrorist legislation in the United Kingdom , making membership of it a criminal offence. In the Republic, trials for membership take place in the Special Criminal Court (where three judges hear cases without a jury, on the evidence of
7614-554: Was a broadcasting ban on Sinn Féin representatives in the Republic of Ireland, after the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs , Conor Cruise O'Brien , amended Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act . This prevented RTÉ interviewing Sinn Féin spokespersons under any circumstances, even where the subject was not related to the Northern Ireland conflict. This lasted until 1994. Political status for prisoners became an issue after
7708-541: Was affected by broadcasting bans in the Irish and British media . Although the party sat on local councils, it maintained a policy of abstentionism for the British House of Commons and the Irish Dáil Éireann , standing for election to those legislatures but pledging not to take their seats if elected. After Gerry Adams became party leader in 1983, electoral politics were prioritised increasingly. In 1986,
7802-589: Was announced as the new president of Sinn Féin at a special Ard Fheis in Dublin. Michelle O'Neill was also elected as vice president of the party. Sinn Féin were opposed to Northern Ireland leaving the European Union together with the rest of the United Kingdom, with Martin McGuinness suggesting a referendum on the reunification of Ireland immediately after the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum results were announced,
7896-412: Was around this same time that the IRA leadership once again sought to have a political arm (the IRA and Sinn Féin had effectively no formal ties following the civil war). Following an IRA army convention in 1948, IRA members were instructed to join Sinn Féin en masse and by 1950 they had successfully taken total control of the party, with IRA army council member Paddy McLogan named as the new president of
7990-540: Was dedicated to republicanising the Free State from within its political structures. He took most Sinn Féin Teachtaí Dála (TDs) with him. De Valera's resignation meant also the loss of financial support from America. The rump Sinn Féin party could field no more than fifteen candidates, and won only five seats in the June 1927 general election , a decline in support not seen since before 1916. Vice-president and de facto leader Mary MacSwiney announced that
8084-597: Was elected to Belfast City Council , the first Sinn Féin member to sit on that body. Sinn Féin polled over 100,000 votes in the Westminster elections that year , and Adams won the West Belfast seat that had been held by the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). By 1985 it had 59 seats on seventeen of the 26 Northern Ireland councils, including seven on Belfast City Council. The party began
8178-604: Was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith . Its members founded the revolutionary Irish Republic and its parliament, the First Dáil , and many of them were active in the Irish War of Independence , during which the party was associated with the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) . The party split before the Irish Civil War and again in its aftermath, giving rise to the two traditionally dominant parties of Irish politics: Fianna Fáil , and Cumann na nGaedheal (which merged with smaller groups to form Fine Gael ). For several decades
8272-438: Was held, with an increased vote, by his election agent, Owen Carron . Two other Anti H-Block candidates were elected to Dáil Éireann in the general election in the Republic . These successes convinced republicans that they should contest every election. Danny Morrison expressed the mood at the 1981 Ard Fheis when he said: Who here really believes we can win the war through the ballot box? But will anyone here object if, with
8366-613: Was not reliant on unionist votes and re-admitted Sinn Féin, leading to another, permanent, ceasefire. The talks led to the Good Friday Agreement of 10 April 1998, which set up an inclusive devolved government in Northern Ireland, and altered the Dublin government's constitutional claim to the whole island in Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland . Republicans opposed to the direction taken by Sinn Féin in
8460-401: Was opposition to this decision within Sinn Féin, and some members left, including elected representatives. The most well-known opponent was former IRA prisoner Gerry McGeough , who stood in the 2007 Assembly election against Sinn Féin in the constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone , as an Independent Republican. He polled 1.8% of the vote. Others who opposed this development left to found
8554-523: Was passed with a two-thirds majority. Ó Brádaigh and about twenty other delegates walked out, and met in a Dublin hotel with hundreds of supporters to re-organise as Republican Sinn Féin . In October 1988, the British Conservative government followed the Republic in banning broadcasts of Sinn Féin representatives. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said it would "deny terrorists the oxygen of publicity". Broadcasters quickly found ways around
8648-418: Was reduced to £1,704 8s. 1d., with TDs decrying the amount paid to lawyers. Although the costs of the 1947 Supreme Court case (£830 15s. 6d.) were paid from the government's Central Fund , those of the 1942–1948 High Court case, paid from the Sinn Féin Funds, amounted to £10,145 16s. for the plaintiff (Sinn Féin) and £13,707 5s. 1d. for the defendants. The Irish Times reported in 1959 that the account balance
8742-558: Was still lying unclaimed in the High Court. Sinn F%C3%A9in Inactive Defunct Sinn Féin ( / ʃ ɪ n ˈ f eɪ n / shin FAYN , Irish: [ˌʃɪn̠ʲ ˈfʲeːnʲ] ; lit. ' [We] Ourselves ' ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland . The original Sinn Féin organisation
8836-573: Was the second-largest party in the Assembly, after the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and its nominees served as deputy First Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive. In the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Sinn Féin has held seven of Northern Ireland's seats since the 2024 election ; it continues its policy of abstentionism at Westminster. In Dáil Éireann , it is the joint-largest party and
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