I think my daughter wants to join Sinn Fein

listermint

Mongfinder General wrote: »

I was the same at 17 but Sinn Fein of today is not a nationalist party anymore. Their cutting edge, or militant wing has long gone. Their approach to republicanism is open borders and socialism. Very much a liberal, progressive left mob running it. So much so they are turning into labour. They got absolutely smashed in the locals and it would have been much worse if it had been a general election (their core supporters aren't fickle and vote so the percentage vote they received is representative and would be spread thinner in a higher turnout). A lot of the intellect of the party and experience has gone to Aontu, not just Peadar Toibin and his sister but every day supporters and members. Barring a major upheaval like another financial crisis, they're finished. McDonald is not as smart as Adams and not half as popular. Don't worry about your kid, she'll figure it out.

This has to be a wind up especially the bit on Tobin and his sibling.


Have you seen her carrying plaquards outside the church during the referendum and generally being an absolute nuisance confronting people on the issue.


Is that you peadar?


Get real

corks finest

Working class heroes wrote:

Thoughts please. My 17yr old daughter seems to have some pro republican views, no real problem with that as such but I don’t fancy the idea of her being a card carrying Sinn Féin head. Has she other options? She is coming at it from a civil rights point of view with Bernadette Devlin her hero. She is a very intelligent girl and not easily influenced so I am inclined to think that this could very well be a permanent thing. Is Brexit polarizing our youth.

She's old enough ( hopefully wise enough ) I did the same 40 + year's ago

SF now is light year's away from my time , progressive and in tune ( mostly) with young people's needs/ wants/aspirations.
Personally my kids in Derry didn't and I'm glad ,but your kid
Once in SF will be disciplined
and unlike a lot of other young ppl,in that she will be focused and busy and ALWAYS aware of the party/ movements staus- reputation,good luck( might be a phase)

corks finest

Working class heroes wrote:

Thoughts please. My 17yr old daughter seems to have some pro republican views, no real problem with that as such but I don’t fancy the idea of her being a card carrying Sinn Féin head. Has she other options? She is coming at it from a civil rights point of view with Bernadette Devlin her hero. She is a very intelligent girl and not easily influenced so I am inclined to think that this could very well be a permanent thing. Is Brexit polarizing our youth.

She's old enough ( hopefully wise enough ) I did the same 40 + year's ago

SF now is light year's away from my time , progressive and in tune ( mostly) with young people's needs/ wants/aspirations.
Personally my kids in Derry didn't and I'm glad ,but your kid
Once in SF will be disciplined
and unlike a lot of other young ppl,in that she will be focused and busy and ALWAYS aware of the party/ movements staus- reputation,good luck( might be a phase)

corks finest

Leg End Reject wrote:

Can you ask her to get to the bottom of their policies? Specifically how they intend to fund their free for all economic ideology?

Think that's a tad unfair on a 17 year old who's only just dipping her toes in to test the waters- I'm A political for years ( was v anti SF ref good Friday agreement) no love for the shinners but corruption wise clean compared to the fine gaelers/FF / labour ( sigh) etc

_Brian

Leg End Reject wrote: »

Can you ask her to get to the bottom of their policies? Specifically how they intend to fund their free for all economic ideology?

This exactly!

Anyone above 4th class maths will quickly realise that they plan to give away more free money than they will be able to raise.

The solution of course will be tax the jocks off everyone working causing employment to drop and more draw the dole and so a cascade of recession would follow.

Thrashssacre

There’s a lot of accusations of bullying within Sinn Fein ranks, may be something worth considering a lot of people seem to have had a fairly bad time there.

adocholiday

Don't worry too much about it. Once she starts earning a wage and paying tax she'll see that they're a party with impossible policies that reward those who don't want to work and she'll run a mile. Left wing parties by and large tend to appeal to young people, most of them lean more centre or even right as they get older.

Eggs For Dinner

Leave her be OP. We all do stupid things when we're young.

Annasopra

Working class heroes wrote: »

Did I say that?
I know this is AH and people take the piss but my query was genuine.
I’ll rephrase, she is a fan of BD and also has republican views, so, as a Wicklow girl what options does she have?

Maybe speak to former Cllrs Murray, Snell, O'Brien, McDonald and O'Neill about all the alleged bullying in Wicklow SF. There must be a big problem there in my view with 5 former councillors!

I don't see why she has to join a political party?
Maybe go to third level, study history politics etc. Study conflicts around the world.
She has republican leanings, lots of teenagers do, doesn't mean they will join sinn fein.

biko

If that is all you have to worry about with a 17 old then you have a great daughter.

tedpan

I'd be worried about her getting involved in any sort of politics...

Wanderer78

adocholiday wrote:

Don't worry too much about it. Once she starts earning a wage and paying tax she'll see that they're a party with impossible policies that reward those who don't want to work and she'll run a mile. Left wing parties by and large tend to appeal to young people, most of them lean more centre or even right as they get older.

I'm becoming more radical left the older I'm getting.

Maybe encourage her to check out other parties, maybe go to party meetings with her, so she gets a wider view of politics, great to see the young getting involved in politics

BarryD2

I dunno - suggest to her to that she listens back to the last piece on RTEs Sunday Miscellany programme - last Sunday. It was by Olive Travers iirc and an account of a pair of girls of about her own age, leaving home for the first time, and the day they spent in Belfast. Anyone who listens to that simple account who is not moved would have to be made of stone.

TheBoyConor

She is a teenager with a notion.

Tell her you think it is a great idea and that you have looked it up too and now you want to join up Sinn Fein with her. She won't be long changing her mind.

Marcusm

Working class heroes wrote: »

Thoughts please.
My 17yr old daughter seems to have some pro republican views, no real problem with that as such but I don’t fancy the idea of her being a card carrying Sinn Féin head. Has she other options?
She is coming at it from a civil rights point of view with Bernadette Devlin her hero. She is a very intelligent girl and not easily influenced so I am inclined to think that this could very well be a permanent thing. Is Brexit polarizing our youth.

I don’t think Bernadette Devlin was ever a member if Sinn Fein.

FrancieBrady

Marcusm wrote: »

I don’t think Bernadette Devlin was ever a member if Sinn Fein.

She wasn't. More closely associated with Eirigi these days.

Mongfinder General

Hannibal wrote: »

Absolute nonsense, turnout is way down in the working class areas where SF have strongest support.

Turnout in more affluent areas is upwards of 75%, FF and FG wouldn't benefit much from a higher turnout as their target base vote. The areas where SF poll high in % don't vote due to apathy with the system etc. In a much higher turnout scenario in Dublin for example then the left and particularly SF would stand to benefit much more than the right.

Hardly anybody outside Toibins area in Meath went to Aontu, Aontu took in more FF supporters and members than it did SF.

I agree about McDonald, Doherty is a much more articulate and powerful leader and it is being recognised more and more within the party.

You know why Mary Lou isn't banging on about calling an election to dispose of the government with the weakest mandate since 1922? Because she knows what will happen. They will get smashed and lose tds big time. Other than removing a now imaginary line drawn on a map, they have no purpose. Well there istrying to implement a socialist state and open our borders to accommodate the overflow from the gates of hell pouring into the Mediterranean. A real vote winner.

The aontu candidate got about 6% of the vote in my cobstituency. Not bad for a first attempt and shows that they have support elsewhere. Also did well up in Derry.

Mongfinder General

listermint wrote: »

This has to be a wind up especially the bit on Tobin and his sibling.


Have you seen her carrying plaquards outside the church during the referendum and generally being an absolute nuisance confronting people on the issue.


Is that you peadar?


Get real

They got the biggest kick in the bollox in recent history and people like yourself just can't take it. Wind up? Varadkar and Martin took the piss out of them in the locals and that's saying something.

As for a few repeal pigs and piglets being reminded of what they are, more power to the lady in question.

uck51js9zml2yt

Just knee cap her... problem sorted


But seriously, have you asked her why she wants to join?
Does she know about all the defectors?

Wanderer78

Mongfinder General wrote:

You know why Mary Lou isn't banging on about calling an election to dispose of the government with the weakest mandate since 1922? Because she knows what will happen. They will get smashed and lose tds big time. Other than removing a now imaginary line drawn on a map, they have no purpose. Well there istrying to implement a socialist state and open our borders to accommodate the overflow from the gates of hell pouring into the Mediterranean. A real vote winner.

Elements of socialism aren't bad at all, some elements are pure crap though. There's nothing wrong with controlled immigration, but I will agree, these are currently not vote winners, I do expect the party to lose further during the next ge.

road_high

Working class heroes wrote: »

Thoughts please.
My 17yr old daughter seems to have some pro republican views, no real problem with that as such but I don’t fancy the idea of her being a card carrying Sinn F head. Has she other options?
She is coming at it from a civil rights point of view with Bernadette Devlin her hero. She is a very intelligent girl and not easily influenced so I am inclined to think that this could very well be a permanent thing. Is Brexit polarizing our youth.

Just wait until she joins the real world and starts paying taxes- she’ll soon get over Marxist SF

piplip87

Working class heroes wrote: »

Thoughts please.
My 17yr old daughter seems to have some pro republican views, no real problem with that as such but I don’t fancy the idea of her being a card carrying Sinn Féin head. Has she other options?
She is coming at it from a civil rights point of view with Bernadette Devlin her hero. She is a very intelligent girl and not easily influenced so I am inclined to think that this could very well be a permanent thing. Is Brexit polarizing our youth.

Devlin was never a member of SF. It just shows how SF are rewriting history. It was never about civil rights with them. They are trying to claim the credit for the civil rights movement.

In the words of one of the key drivers behind the civil rights movement Eamon McCann
Sinn Fein rewrite history because they can't face the truth of history.

"It seems to me that there's been a systematic attempt by them to hijack what others have done and not just in terms of civil rights in Northern Ireland.

"If you listen to Michelle O'Neill and Mary Lou McDonald, you would think they were an integral part of the repeal of the Eighth Amendment in the south. They were no such thing. They jumped on the bandwagon a few months before the referendum."
They would have you believe that it all happened in the interests of equality. It did not. The IRA were fighting to get the British out of Ireland. It was all about 'Brits out'.

"Republicans have to be contested over October '68, because if you don't, it's going to be difficult to contest the Provo narrative over the rest of the Troubles.

"They should be ashamed of themselves, but I don't suppose for a moment that they are ".

If she is joining a political party I hope it's for the right reasons.

blinding

I don’t think Mary Lou will last much longer . There could be a job soon at the top .

FrancieBrady

piplip87 wrote: »

Devlin was never a member of SF. It just shows how SF are rewriting history. It was never about civil rights with them. They are trying to claim the credit for the civil rights movement.

In the words of one of the key drivers behind the civil rights movement Eamon McCann
Sinn Fein rewrite history because they can't face the truth of history.

"It seems to me that there's been a systematic attempt by them to hijack what others have done and not just in terms of civil rights in Northern Ireland.

"If you listen to Michelle O'Neill and Mary Lou McDonald, you would think they were an integral part of the repeal of the Eighth Amendment in the south. They were no such thing. They jumped on the bandwagon a few months before the referendum."
They would have you believe that it all happened in the interests of equality. It did not. The IRA were fighting to get the British out of Ireland. It was all about 'Brits out'.

"Republicans have to be contested over October '68, because if you don't, it's going to be difficult to contest the Provo narrative over the rest of the Troubles.

"They should be ashamed of themselves, but I don't suppose for a moment that they are ".

If she is joining a political party I hope it's for the right reasons.

Never trust the word of a politician...research what they say. Eamon is the leader of a political party and as such, may be 'gilding lilies' a wee bit for political gain.

I had a look online there and SF as a party, opposed the original Amendment in 1982 and here is a call for a repeal referendum in 2016 as well as MLMD commenting in the same year...2 years before the actual referendum happened. The 'jumping on bandwagons claim just doesn't stand up to scrutiny'

https://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/39220

https://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/40279

Eamonn is being more than a little bit dis-ingenuous.

I could also find no 're-write' by SF or anyone else that Devlin was a member of SF. Can you link to one?

The OP's daughter's lack of research/education seems to be her problem.

Portsalon

blinding wrote: »

I don’t think Mary Lou will last much longer . There could be a job soon at the top .

Hopefully not - she's a surefire vote loser for SF!

She was at it again on Morning Ireland earlier - appears to open her mouth mainly to change feet.

ems_12

Quite a number of republican political parties, but few seeking election so it depends what she is after in terms of a party to support; politics, or ideals. I'd recommend a book called "Unfinished Business" by Marisa McGlinchey if she wanted to read more into the topic.

Dravokivich

MOD

I think the OPs query has been handled from a couple of months ago. We aren't here for political debate. Closing this out.