![]() ![]() ![]() In Northern Ireland, the party represents a large portion of the nationalist, traditionally Catholic community and is part of the devolved government in Belfast. Today, Sinn Féin fields candidates on both sides of the border. The left-wing party was once considered the political arm of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), a paramilitary organization with the goal of ending British rule in Northern Ireland. It’s therefore unable to fully capitalize on the unexpected surge in support. However, Sinn Féin has only fielded 42 candidates, about half the number fielded by the two main parties, perhaps in part due to a previous loss of seats in a local election. The Irish nationalist party, Sinn Féin, has been polling higher than expected and according to one of the most recent opinion polls, has the highest support it has ever seen in the Republic. “But also Brexit has really pushed it into the foreground.” “It has always been rumbling in the background and mainly pursued by Sinn Féin because it is the number one aim of the party,” explains Muiris MacCarthaigh, senior lecturer in politics and public administration at Queen’s University in Belfast. That’s partly been spurred on by Britain’s departure from the E.U., which officially happened on Jan. The party is calling for a vote on Irish unity by 2025 and said that it is a precondition of it entering into coalition with any other political party. It’s one of the main points on the election manifesto of Sinn Féin, the political party that’s topping the polls ahead of the Republic of Ireland’s general election on Saturday. Now, nearly a century after the island was divided, reunification is back on the agenda as a realistic possibility and not just a long term goal. But reunification has always remained an aspiration for Irish nationalists in Northern Ireland and political parties in the Republic -without any clear path to fruition. Since the Irish War of Independence against Britain ended in 1921, the island of Ireland has been divided into North and South. ![]()
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