The quest for respectability—and votes—has transformed Sinn Fein
It is on course to be the biggest party on both sides of the Irish border
THE CONFLICT had been bloody, with no end in sight. But many in the Irish Republican Army (IRA) wanted to keep trying to drive the British out of Northern Ireland by force. They had no interest in its sister party, Sinn Fein, contesting elections, believing that this would legitimise the status quo. But the party’s leader, Gerry Adams, wanted to open a second front in the fight—one that didn’t involve guns.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “United, across the border”
Britain December 4th 2021
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- The quest for respectability—and votes—has transformed Sinn Fein
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