Feigned innocence and ignorance is not a good look. You know well what I meant. MLMD pretends to be a modern day socialist nationalist, when underneath the unreconstructed belligerent extremist Irish republican is occasionally seen.
What mask would that be?
I think she is mortified that she let the mask slip.
yeah its a pity the headline is such.
i actually think Mary Lou is mortified at it, she knows those types of rants are political own goals in so many ways.
That was funny/disturbing for all the wrong reasons-
1) I know it was a SF Ard Fheis, and they play up to the audience- don’t they realise it is filmed so people beyond that cohort can hear/see it?
2) The woman gave the speech mentioning Celtic Symphony - but not the ‘Up the Ra’ Irish ladies chant?
3) The mentioning of championing aspects of Republican past.
But yet according to some posters subjects such as ‘Paul Quinn’ should be left alone as it is ‘in the past’. So which is it?
A cherrypicked past, or one that confronts/resolves the whole past?
4) The ending of the speech with the trouble’s ‘tiocfaidh ar la’ line from (on the face of it) what looks like a harmless looking grandmother on a day out.
The same line which MLM said must not distract from SF’s overall strategy, when David Cullinane was ‘caught’ saying it.
Yet this kindly looking granny makes clear what she thinks SF overall strategy is.
Edit-
5) I left out the line that was used in the speech - the well practiced Republican line ‘We will not condemn nor apologise for’
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I am just reminded of the saying ‘Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive’
if only you shinners could take your own advice.
Constantly living on past glories.
jokers
you have to ask, are they really that stupid?
do they not get it?
This sort of shite will never bring about a UNited IReland, nor will sway on the fence voters.
idiots
The problem is you see you are looking at it with a longer memory and an overall picture. It doesn't matter if someone pro-SF anti-SF or neither of the above mentions such topics.
Mention of such topics they don't land with a cohort of the electorate.
The next questions are why it does not 'land' with the electorate?
1) SF have operated for so long outside the boundaries of legality that it just becomes another in long list of questionable events - the attitude becomes 'oh it it is just a SF' par for the course it is normalised.
2) The next issue is time - the Paul Quinn murder happened in 2007.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/who-was-paul-quinn-and-why-has-his-murder-become-an-election-issue-1.4162636
15 years ago and about one month ago that means there is a generation or more that it does not resonate with. I mean to put it in context that was the year Noelle Healy made her debut for the Dublin ladies, she is an analyst now. Ancient history for many. Never mind the 100 years as the mod mentioned. And SF know this, that is why they target the younger voter.
3) The third factor is a more sinister one, such issues are covered up/glossed over by SF as consequence of 'the struggle' but don't want to let mention of such issues derail 'the struggle'. The strategy must not be derailed at any cost.
Which is why we have seen a panicked MLM clarifying the difference (in her mind) between gangland criminality and the Provisional IRA - as a result of the Regency Hotel attacks only in 2014. But somehow neglected to mention the Republican and SF links in the case.
it would be a question of resignation for anyone else to have such 'associates'. And contrary to MLM claims that she was not aware of Dowdall's criminality. The truth is it was common local knowledge. Any other party leader would be told to resign from the party, nevermind the leadership in that scenario. But not SF, different rules.
Gerry Adam's cover up of his brother's paedophilia, did not even raise a call of leadership change among SF.
But yet in contrast serious questions were raised in the dail about Leo Varadkar and the 'GP document' for instance.
The playing field is not at the same at all for SF v other political parties in the dail. And they know it all too well. The 'cultural norms' are vastly different.
and for all anyone (outside of sf) know some of those involved would be ministers under a sf government, isn't that peachy
I really struggle to understand that there are people out there who would do to a person what was done to Paul Quinn.
It is one of the most barbaric stories that I have ever heard, and the bleating from the usual sources that the PIRA organisation had nothing to do with it doesn't wash with me.
Paul Quinn's parents would disagree.
Mod - Can we stay on topic please, you can leave out the stuff from 100 years ago. Thanks
The inability to understand contextual moments of history and their irrelevance to more recent occurrences continues to baffle me.
It is the ultimate nonsensical whataboutery.
And what did SF have to 'change' to get to this point ? -
1) Adams v O'Bradaigh 1980's - Adams won SF entered Dail elections
2) The peace process and the burying of the gun the relinquishing of the territorial claim on NI - instead having a principle of consent. Power sharing.
4) SF's flip flopping on Europe / EU from Eurosceptic to entering MEP elections to the further the parties popularity and sanitise it for the ROI electorate. To euroskeptic again, maybe?
https://www.pbp.ie/people-before-profit-slam-hypocrisy-of-sinn-fein-u-turn-on-eu/
5) SF U-turn on the Special Criminal Courts very recently by MLM (which caused backlash by some traditionalists in SF) but was necessary to convince the ROI electorate of SF's concern about organised crime. As SF as a majority no longer see the SCC as the enemy of their 'comrades'.
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/sinn-fein-set-to-abandon-total-opposition-to-special-criminal-court-40997785.html
But I suggested in the past on these boards that SF's attitude on the SCC should change in order to give a sign to the ROI electorate of their intentions. And surprisingly MLM obliged maybe she read my post!?
Previously SF wanted to abolish the SCC - now it seems there is tacit support with vague calls of reform in the future.
6) SF's much noted quiet U-turn on Russia and removal of all articles linked with Russia in the past on the parties website
https://sluggerotoole.com/2022/03/16/sinn-feins-burns-its-record-on-russia-the-party-simply-wiped-thousands-of-embarrassing-statements-from-its-website/
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And in my view much of the above above was not achieved by SF, it was the constant work of other parties (The British Government, The Irish Government, The SDLP/Hume, Ian Paisley Snr/Bill Clinton/David Trimble that gradually dragged SF/Gerry Adams/IRA to this point.
A triumph for democracy. And sure you have noted the electorate as a whole is STILL unsure of SF in the ROI, In the last election three parties ran on the assumption that they would NOT go into coalition with SF. Those parties labour/FF/FG.
So the majority are still not ready for SF, and the apparent new so called 'change' on the horizon as per their ard fheis. To me, the main change is not SF policy wise, but the democratisation of SF - a change away from the NI image, to one that is designed for the ROI electorate. More palatable, looking like a lesser threat. more women less beards on their ballots.
The slow change of SF can only be a good thing, but at the back of my mind I still question their sincerity.
And in your mind those are the same are they ?
unsurprising to see sfira has support like yours
But they have haven't they?
Anyone would think we haven't gotten a peace process.
Cheese on the table, heat in the house and someplace to go if you get sick is what it boils down to now.
If you live in the past then FF and FG would surely never have gotten together?
The future is what you have to look to.
Don't forget Bobby Sands either
Are you serious, what age are you, every time they resorted to the ballot box the people supported them, if you use google you can try searching for 'Fermanagh South Tyrone bye-election 1981', and just for your historical information this was at a time 'when they were killing people'. Why do people post pure verifiable sh1te like this.
I treat all murder the same, from Michael Collins the murderer to the IRA in the troubles Murderers.
people like you laughing at cold blooded murder for ego by people who are still hiding in sf should help sway a few people at least .
please continue
When they were killing people, their support was negligible.
When they stopped killing people, their support went up.
So yeah, it might be a clue for the clueless, to show them that there was no support for the bombs and maiming, the kneecapping, the raping of women and children, the slaughter of innocents that the PIRA regularly engaged in.
This is one of the standout atrocities committed by the PIRA in recent decades. As you say, a SF MLA has information in relation to the murder, yet he refuses to say where he got the information.
It reminds me of the reputed retort from Bertie when Adams and McGuinness said they needed to consult the PIRA during one of their negotiations. He told them to go into the jacks and look in the mirror.
You cannot decommission the minds of psychopaths.
Once FF and FG ruled out going in with SF what did you want them to do? Numbers arnt there to form a coalition
A) its not true, as we can see from SF's non-existent efforts to actually build a coalition after the last election
B) there would be no point anyway. FG and SF would have no basis for a coalition agreement so why bother talking? If your views differ to the extreme you would make terrible coalition partners and we're better off with no one wasting time on it.
Wrong choice words i apologise. Some parties are more mature than others and are willing to sit down and talk with people/parties whos views differ to the extreme. Some parties arnt.
Its life
FG and others have a diff idea of democracy not even talking to certain parties.
There is nothing remotely undemocratic about that.
The current Govt campaigned on the a promise that they wouldn't go into Govt together. Thats going to be a major goto for all opposition parties next election
Mary Lou has already said she will talk to all parties as shes a grown up and believes in democracy. FG and others have a diff idea of democracy not even talking to certain parties.
who said anything about deciding factor? i said it will definitely sway some people not to vote SF.
and of course you don´t have a problem with it....lol. absolute hypocrites. SF would sell their own mother for power. FF will be hypocrites too if they do it after spending an election talking about the IRA etc.
this is more to argue against the people who think this is off the table or something. its not this will be constant. so you might as well accept it. sure you don´t think it will be decisive, then who cares right. if the widow of Jerry McCabe wants to question the murder of her husband then let her. it won´t affect SF right...
i mean we could always ask instead why a wife beating scumbag was connected to Ferris etc..why was he okayed to rob a bank to fix up his gaff in Limerick, why was a person involved in criminality in Dowdall involved..nothing in the grand scheme in elections. i mean i better be careful tho SF had nothing to do with the RA
these are the questions going to be put to SF. but yeah it won´t matter at all. it will affect nothing right
Most people i know hope SF and the SDs could manage it if SF hit mid 70 seats (very possible) SF/FF coalition is prob more likely but not one person i know has an issue with this. (An agreement between sf and ff just like fg and ff had last Govt is also possible)
The Ra won't be a deciding factor in the next Govt, or if they do the parties in charge when the Irish Govt were providing arms to the IRA might sway votes too
