What's Happened to Sinn Fein!!!

Mick86

It's quite amusing to see the Sinn Fein supporters trying to claim a victory from this election where their representation fell from 5 to 4 seats.

Sinn Fein is a one trick pony and a united Ireland just doesn't seem to bother the majority of people. In order to make progress in the Republic, SF needs to dump the terrorists and formulate some policies for itself.

eirebhoy

Mick86 wrote:

Sinn Fein is a one trick pony and a united Ireland just doesn't seem to bother the majority of people.

I wouldn't go that far. I'd love a United Ireland but I didn't vote for Sinn Fein.

strychnine

The most amusing thing about all the post election analysis and the who will go in with who question is that there are 162 elected TDs with a chance of being in the next government, whatever way that government will look. The 4remaining TDs that will not be in the next government are the Sinn Fein TDs. The one common policy that unites all the parties is their unwillingness to go in with Sinn Fein. Sinn Fein truly are outcasts that no one wants to be seen with. Not one party in the election campaign openly said they would go into government with Sinn Fein.

murphaph

O'Leprosy wrote:

Waht's the L before Derry for ya plonker. Where do we get you crowd from ????

Sorry, Londonderry then if it keeps you happy.

Grudaire

murphaph wrote:

Sorry, Londonderry then if it keeps you happy.

Well as clearly a Green supporter (a very peaceful party) we in Ireland call Derry DERRY, nothing else, as if anything it was originally Doire.

Villain

We may call it Derry but a high court ruling this years stated its official title is Londonderry

Grudaire

True, but to be honest that was up North, so that has no bearing on where either of us are from Carlow.

murphaph

Cliste wrote:

Well as clearly a Green supporter (a very peaceful party) we in Ireland call Derry DERRY, nothing else, as if anything it was originally Doire.

I'll call it whatever I like, thanks all the same.

Grudaire

Perfectly fine, but that defiant attitude could get you kneecapped by some people, in some places!

Marathon Man

murphaph wrote:

I'll call it whatever I like, thanks all the same.

It doesn't matter what its called its still a kip.

murphaph

Marathon Man wrote:

It doesn't matter what its called its still a kip.

Yeah, so I believe.

Marathon Man

murphaph wrote:

Yeah, so I believe.

lol lol

Pherekydes

Cliste wrote:

Perfectly fine, but that defiant attitude could get you kneecapped by some people, in some places!

Where? In the kneecaps? :eek:

O'Leprosy

murphaph wrote:

Sorry, Londonderry then if it keeps you happy.

Great, your the only unionist in D15, ( apart from some organie down working in the ' free state', who knows to keep his/her gob shut ) sad, very sad . I suppose you stilll call O'Connell St, Sackville St. Derry a kip, that's something coming from D15. How are all the skangers keeping out there these days.

oscarBravo

O'Leprosy wrote:

Waht's the L before Derry for ya plonker. Where do we get you crowd from ????

I'd normally warn for something like this, but I can't recall ever seeing a useful contribution from you. Banned for a week.

LordSutch

There are a few more of us Unionists down here you know ~ never been to Londonderry myself, but its on my list of things to do this year, and when I get there I will call it Londonderry (depending on who I am talking to) and then I will probably call it Derry for the rest of the time because its easier & shorter to say or text, it all depends on peoples sensitivities really (both terms should be used)!

Sad to see that the Southern Irish media never, ever call the City or the County 'Londonderry' which is a sad reflection on the Southern media really, this is in sharp contrast to the Northern media outlets (TV & Radio) who make Big efforts to say one or the other, BBC NI for instance might start off a story with Londonderry, and then for the rest of the article they will revert to Derry or vice versa, but either way you will hear a balanced smattering of either Derry or Londonderry up North ..................

Balance is everything.

brianthebard

The county isn't called londonderry, just the town.

guinnessdrinker

Its funny to hear people from the south call it L/Derry especially when i know a lot of unionists just call it Derry anway!

And Murphaph, you may believe its a kip from what you have heard, but I can assure you Derry is no kip, its one of the best cities on the whole island. Im not a member of the Derry tourist board, but maybe you should pay it a visit, you will be surprised how nice the place is!

Rock Climber

ArthurF wrote:

There are a few more of us Unionists down here you know ~ never been to Londonderry myself, but its on my list of things to do this year, and when I get there I will call it Londonderry (depending on who I am talking to) and then I will probably call it Derry for the rest of the time because its easier & shorter to say or text, it all depends on peoples sensitivities really (both terms should be used)!

Sad to see that the Southern Irish media never, ever call the City or the County 'Londonderry' which is a sad reflection on the Southern media really, this is in sharp contrast to the Northern media outlets (TV & Radio) who make Big efforts to say one or the other, BBC NI for instance might start off a story with Londonderry, and then for the rest of the article they will revert to Derry or vice versa, but either way you will hear a balanced smattering of either Derry or Londonderry up North ..................

Balance is everything.

We dont use the term the British Isles too often either for a reason.
Also if there was a referendum in the Derry city council area-what do you think they'd vote for as a city name?

El Stuntman

eirebhoy wrote:

I wouldn't go that far. I'd love a United Ireland but I didn't vote for Sinn Fein.

I'd hate a united Ireland on purely selfish economic grounds

look what happened to Germany after reunification, they are only coming up for air now

guess this makes me a Southern Unionist? oh well....

djdeclan

Just to throw my tuppence into the whole derry debate (what it has to do with a sinn fein thread ill never know!)
Im from beside derry originally, just over the border in Donegal, and i have to disagree with those who call it a kip. For a city that has come through about 30 years of quasi war it looks quite well! I would feel far safer even in the dodgier areas of derry than in certain parts of dublin (where i now live).
As for the whole derry vs londonderry thing, some facts need to be established:
1. It was called derry before it was called londonderry (the london prefix was added by the british, it has no basis in meaning)
2. To the best of my knowledge DERRY city council (who represent the entire city) voted earlier this year to change the official name back to derry, this request was refused.

Just to add a controversial comment if you look at a map of derry city and the surrounding area you will see that the west bank of the city is actually built on part of donegal, its only links to the rest of northern ireland are via two bridges.

Voipjunkie

TBH I have no idea what the Issue of Derrys name has to do with SF election result but I would suggest that coming on a thread about SF and using the term L/Derry particularly when the person has never been to Derry and as such is not calling it that because that is what they grew up with or because they are from the Northern Unionist community and that is what they call it is just an attempt to start a flame which these threads on SF seem to continously descend into.

Victor Meldrew

djdeclan wrote:

Just to throw my tuppence into the whole derry debate (what it has to do with a sinn fein thread ill never know!)

me neither, I've tried, and failed here

djdeclan wrote:

Just to add a controversial comment if you look at a map of derry city and the surrounding area you will see that the west bank of the city is actually built on part of donegal, its only links to the rest of northern ireland are via two bridges.

Yes, it goes well into the country side / suburbs. Seeing as we are off topic, anyone know if the chunk to the west of the foyle (Bogside) was always county Derry, or if a chunk went missing from Donegal, the border follows the foyle for a good bit then heads west..., if so, what's the historical context for that bit being nicked? Note this is not just a ploy to kill the thread by getting it moved to history

Rock Climber

Voipjunkie wrote:

TBH I have no idea what the Issue of Derrys name has to do with SF election result but I would suggest that coming on a thread about SF and using the term L/Derry particularly when the person has never been to Derry and as such is not calling it that because that is what they grew up with or because they are from the Northern Unionist community and that is what they call it is just an attempt to start a flame which these threads on SF seem to continously descend into.

QFT!

Though I commented on that ot part myself lets go back on topic now and discuss why SF fell 6 seats short of expectations..

The next off topic post will be deleted.

sceptre

Voipjunkie wrote:

TBH I have no idea what the Issue of Derrys name has to do with SF election result

It's got nothing to do with anything except silly mudslinging. I've decided that henceforth in my boards postings I'll use the terms "Derry", "Londonderry" and "(London)Derry" in strict rotation to annoy as many people as possible.

I think a few things happened in this election to contribute to SF's losses. I know of groups of people who didn't want to vote for FF last time out but couldn't bring themselves to vote for any party that supported treaties with the Sasanaigh so voted SF instead. The last time out it was pretty apparent that FF were going to be returned again, this time it was less clear-cut so I suspect a few of those splitters returned to the voting fold when they thought they were most needed. Additionally all of the smaller parties were squeezed out in some way by the major two and there was a further drop in the SF vote because of that. All the small parties are generally competing for the final seats, they were going to be the first to feel the pinch. I don't think there's anything magical in the drop in seats for SF specifically, they just lost out along with everyone else who wasn't going to be the major part of a government. There is the small matter of the stated reluctance of the major parties to go into government with SF (Irish people often like the idea that their votes will count for something significant) and I reckon this had a small bearing this time out.

Blackjack

sceptre wrote:

There is the small matter of the stated reluctance of the major parties to go into government with SF (Irish people often like the idea that their votes will count for something significant) and I reckon this had a small bearing this time out.

Given that we do have (contrary to the opinions of those who don't like the end results) a reasonably sophisticated electorate, I would have to agree. People do understand the PR-STV system, will use their vote to try to elect those that will feel best represent them, and have their best chance of being represented.

Voipjunkie

sceptre wrote:

There is the small matter of the stated reluctance of the major parties to go into government with SF (Irish people often like the idea that their votes will count for something significant) and I reckon this had a small bearing this time out.

yeah the other parties made SF irrelevant or less relevant than they could have been

axer

sceptre wrote:

It's got nothing to do with anything except silly mudslinging. I've decided that henceforth in my boards postings I'll use the terms "Derry", "Londonderry" and "(London)Derry" in strict rotation to annoy as many people as possible.

Aye, the perfect way to troll! :rolleyes:

I don't think SF have hit a plateau. I think they can now concentrate on the south now that the north looks like it could be settled. They also have the chance to prove themselves up north which might gain them a few votes down south if successful.

yomchi

You must remember also, as I've stated before - SF's goal is not based on electoral politics, whether they do good or bad in elections will not decide anything to do with organistion or existence. The previous notion that SF will merge with FF at some point is so far removed from common sense thinking and only highlights the fact that some people just don't understand SF objectives.
The building of political strength is key to their objectives of unifying the country. ONE aspect of building political strength is gaining electoral strength (the two are very different). Other aspects of SF strategies was rolled out this week with the building alliances with Unionists framework - this also feeds into the strategic objectives, along with gaining electoral strength and others. Everything SF does politically is guided by their strategic objectives with the end goal in sight.
So to keep it short, this election while not having the break through everyone expected, wasn't all bad due to the increase in % votes, but to talk about SF as if electoral politics was their Reason d'etre is misguided.

LordSutch

For what its worth, this is my take on what the Shinners are up-to, and as I've stated many times before - Sinn Fein's main goal & objective is not based on whether they currently do good or bad in elections down South, but to get a toe-hold & lever their way in through the back door, courtesy of the (ignorant of their past) Youth Vote ~ the notion that Sinn Fein will amalgamate with Fianna Fail some time in the future is also a scary possability (but not a very realistic one in the near future) I suspect Sinn Fein's objectives are far more ruthless and would involve not just joining-up with Fianna Fail, but Gobbling them-up also! ~ this in my opinion could be one of their main objectives, leading-up to (Total island domination)! Other aspects of the Sinn Fein strategy is to build alliances with the British (Unionists) in the North, thus fooling them into a false sense of security ~ add to this a possible future rise in electoral strength in the South? and then you have the perfect ingredients to take over the whole island ~ The North already softened-up, the Southern door ajar, one big foothold in the North, and the South slowly simmering & being prepared, & then The Sinn Fein Holy Grail within sight (Total island domination) ~ but only if we let it happen ( we wont) everything Sinn Fein does is guaged & guided by their strategic objective to take over the Whole island by hook or by Crook (excuse the pun)

With all the talk about the Shinners being up to ten, twelve, or forteen seats prior to the election, I am now really glad that they have been brought back down to Earth with a Big Bang (excuse the pun again) and by a Southern Electorate ~ there is a God