A Letter from Ireland
a Chara,
It has been quite the week. Last weekend, Belfast hosted the annual Sinn Féin Ard Fheis (party conference). The sun was out, and the Waterfront Conference Centre was the perfect venue for our meeting.
This was the largest Ard Fheis in several years. There was a huge sense of optimism in the air. Debates and discussions were had, friendships renewed, and pints downed. The focus was on Irish unity, the cost of living, and international events. It is always inspiring to see a new generation take the stage and speak with passion.
The most intense debate was over hunting foxes with hounds. The debate was respectful, and the foxes won out at the end of the day.
The Ard Fheis, with an audience of over eleven hundred, was brought to a close with a rousing speech by the re-elected Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald. The speech laid out the challenges and opportunities of the coming year. Delegates filed out of the hall and into the warm Belfast evening with a fire in their bellies for the days ahead.
Later that evening, a new opinion poll was released. In the South, Sinn Féin had increased its lead.
Since the Irish General election of November, Sinn Féin, under the continued leadership of Mary Lou, has regained ground from 19% and now sits at 25%, while the parties in Government, Fianna Fáil, have fallen from 22% to 16% and similarly Fine Gael from 21% to 16%.
In advance of the Ard Fheis, Friends of Sinn Féin USA hosted an event to commemorate Rita O’Hare in Áras Uí Chonghaile. The centre celebrates the life of the Irish revolutionary and labour leader James Connolly. It is a must-see for anyone visiting Belfast.
It was the most fitting venue to remember Rita; Connolly’s teaching guided her life as a republican activist. She worked tirelessly to ensure the centre’s development, even though the British Government refused to let her travel to Belfast.
The Friends of Sinn Féin dedicated a bust of James Connolly in her honour. Stories were told, and memories shared between her family and friends. It was a great event.
This week also set the date for two byelections (special elections) – one in in Dublin and another in Galway. These will be a real test of the standing of the Government parties.
On the Sunday evening, as the weekend drew to a close, news broke that a small dissent Republicans had forced a pizza delivery driver to transport a bomb to a police station on the outskirts of Belfast. This attack does nothing to advance the cause of Irish unity and they are devoid of any community support.
They are part of a splintered alphabet soup of groups and devoid of strategy. The outcome of their sporadic attacks is potential death and injury, and years lost in jail cells. All to no end. We now have a peaceful and democratic pathway to unity, one denied to previous generations. It is past time for these groups to respect the community’s wishes and end their actions.
On a lighter note, I think my work in North America may have had unexpected consequences. At the Ard Fheis, an older woman tapped me on the shoulder and whispered, “I really support the work of you Irish Americans, it’s just your President I don’t like.” Obviously, she had not heard my accent!
Have a great weekend,
