Sinn Fein the Road to No Where

Sinn Fein (political party in Ireland) begins to fall apart as it tries to reach middle class votes. theirishobserver.blogspot.com




Yet another high profile member of Sinn Fein in Dublin has resigned from the party. Killian Forde said that he was leaving Sinn Fein because it was "Staid and unresponsive" which is an interesting description of Sinn Fein by someone who is joining Labour. So Killian suggests that Sinn Fein is "sedate, serious and rather dull" that must mean that Labour is "alive, happy go lucky and rather bright", while I am no fan of Sinn Fein surely such fanciful descriptions by an auld comrade in arms is window dressing for what appears to be a career move. Killian Forde joins three other high profile members of Sinn Fein who have left the party over the past year including Sinn Fein's bed rock in Dublin, Christy Burke. Chirsty Burke, Louise Minihan, John Dwyer and now Killian Forde have all decided to leave Sinn Fein at a time when the party should be enjoying the fruits of its role in the peace process. Why then have the RA supporters club become the "RA -Ts" abandoning a sinking ship.



It is not enough for Sinn Fein to issue mealy mouthed statements attacking each individual on a personal level every time one of them jumps ship. The Green Book tactic of "the best form of defence is attack" holds little water in a modern day democracy, Sinn Fein simply show themselves to be even more isolationist and insular when they attack individuals who feel the party has lost its way. Sinn Fein to survive in a modern day democracy must ask serious questions of themselves, why are so many dedicated activists jumping ship when they should be riding high on the wave of all that has been achived in the north. What is it that has left a once vibrant and vocal opposition party in such a shambles. In my day as a Sinn Fein activist I worked long and hard for many election campaigns, I never once took as much as one cent for my many years of committed work for Sinn Fein. When I needed lads to put up posters for Sinn Fein I could call upon an army of volunteers, when I needed lads to go round the pubs on a Saturday night to sell An Phoblacht I could pick and choose who I wanted, today however Sinn Fein is a party of paid activists and semi-professional spin doctors.



People like Christy have been side stepped so that educated woolly jumpers like Mary Who can woe the middle class vote, this is where Sinn Fein went wrong. Outsiders may say but surely other leading members of Sinn Fein are woolly jumpers who were parachuted into position, surely the Sinn Fein leader in the Dail is a woolly jumper, well actually no, the difference between COC and Mary Who is that COC earned his stripes, he left his job in the bank in 1980 and became a full time Sinn Fein activist, he lived on little or no income for many years, he walked and talked the length and breadth of Ireland in order to organise Sinn Fein, from one day to the next he did not know if he would have petrol for his car. Eventually he was elected to Monaghan County Council and from there worked himself into the ground until eventually being elected to the Dail. However, from my own observations I see few in the ranks of Sinn Fein now prepared to make that committment and effort, the hard working activist has been set aside. Now in Sinn Fein the activist expects to get paid, they want to know whats in it for them, of course there will always be the fools that do it all for the 'cause' but they are getting fewer by the day.



Sinn Fein if it is to survive and I doubt that it will, particularly in the south, needs to get back to basics, it needs to ask why are the men who were once so ready and willing to volunteer their services no longer doing so, why are people like Christy walking away ashamed of what Sinn Fein has become. Its not enough that Sinn Fein know they will get votes in the north because there is no credible alternative in communities long since forgotten by the State and its cheer leaders, its not enough to pay spin doctors to present a virtual reality when their own supporters are living in the real world.



Sinn Fein must decide if they can offer a Real Alternative (RA) and opposition or is the Sinn Fein ship to be allowed to sink with its members being left with no alternative than to Run And Translate (RAT).