Sinn Féin’s Local Election Results, Jamie Dornan’s New Series, and Keir Starmer’s Potential Impact on Ireland

With significant success in the last Dáil general election and in Legislative Assembly elections in Stormont, Sinn Féin was burdened with heavy expectations by the pundits for the June 2024 local and E.U. elections. While Sinn Féin gained seats from the last local elections, they did not have the blow-out that the talking heads preached.

So, while Sinn Féin advanced their number of local council seats, the historic constitutional parties were proclaimed the “winner,” as they did not take as big a hit as pundits predicted. Some critics of Sinn Féin’s approach said the party overreacted to the criticism from the last local elections, where the party ran too few candidates. This year the opposite is being suggested, that Sinn Féin ran too many candidates in each constituency. Independents took most of the gains, indicating a free-flowing and volatile electorate.

In life and politics, life does not flow in a clear, straight line. Clearly, the expected Dáil General Election, which must be held by next March 2025, will be a true Donnybrook for the hearts and minds of Irish voters. I am guessing a General Election in late Fall 2024.

Holywood to Hollywood actor and model Jamie Dornan is a native of Holywood, County Antrim, in the North of Ireland, and one of his latest works can now be found on Netflix, with the drama, “The Tourist.” This 12-episode TV series (two seasons) was the most-watched drama series in the UK in 2022. The thriller is set in the Australian outback but migrates to Ireland in season two. Dornan plays an Irish bloke in Australia when he loses his memory in a car accident. The story is unpredictable, taking as many twists as a summertime twist cone, but with bits of comedy to balance the anxiety.

Aussie actor Danielle MacDonald plays probationary constable Helen Chambers, whose sleuthing seeks to uncover who Dornan is and why people from his lost life keep trying to kill him. In the second season, the two travel to Ireland to find Dornan’s roots. The Irish countryside and actors keep the second season bouncing along.

The Tourist is worth adding to your rainy weekend binge list. Dornan also played in an Irish folk rock group, Sons of Jim, in his youth, and was named by Vogue magazine as one of the 25 best models of all time.

Who is Keir Starmer? First, I keep tripping over his name. “Keir” does NOT follow the rule of “i” before “e” and it rhymes with “Here.” Most politicians think of themselves as a “Star,” and he does not stutter or stammer, but his name is “STARMER.”

The Conservative/Tory Party has been in control of the U.K. for the last dozen years. It seems likely that the July 4th, 2024, election will result in a large victory for the Labor Party and its leader, Keir Starmer. “Sir” Keir Starmer was knighted by Queen Liz for his public service as the Chief Prosecutor for the country, one of the top legal titles in the U.K.

Starmer, born in London (1962), did not enter politics till less than 10 years ago. He was chosen as Labor Leader, succeeding Jeremy Corbyn in April of 2020 after Labor’s disastrous loss that year to Boris Johnson’s “let’s get Brexit done” campaign. Unlike most recent Prime Ministers, Tory and Labor, he does come from an average English working-class family. His father worked in a factory and his mother was a nurse, although she was seriously ill most of Keir’s life. He is the oldest of four kids and the first in his family to attend university.

Keir is married to Victoria (Vic) Starmer (née Alexander), and they have two teenage children that they are raising in the Jewish faith tradition. Lady Vic’s Starmer’s father was born in Poland of Jewish heritage. Lady Starmer is a solicitor who now works in the NHS.

Keir went on to law school and then worked in a public sector law practice as a prosecutor.

Good Friday Agreement

Unlike most P.M.’s of recent years, Sir Keir is very knowledgeable and familiar with Ireland. He lived and worked in the North for five years in the immediate post-Good Friday Agreement (GFA) period. Starmer worked as legal counsel to the Police Oversight Board associated with the then-newly constituted Northern Ireland Police Service. He has shared how much he loves the island of Ireland and what good friendships he has from his service there. He has stated how the G.F.A. is personal to him, that Northern Ireland is personal to him.

Starmer has acknowledged that the G.F.A. is the greatest accomplishment of the Labor Party. And most happily to all the political parties on the island of Ireland, he has promised to repeal the Tory’s Legacy bill, which attempted to whitewash the human rights abuses of the British Military and Intelligence Services during the Troubles.

Sir Keir has said a reset of relations with Dublin will be a priority of his government. He has declared that his government will be looking for practical solutions to trade issues to and from Northern Ireland. While these are many positives for Irish Nationalists, one could also have concern with compliments he has paid to former P.M. M. Thatcher, and then there is his whole “knighthood” thing and being ‘educated’ about Ireland while working with the Policing Service of Northern Ireland and British Intelligence Services.

Starmer says many good and hopeful things, but sometimes it takes a Nixon to go to China, and Starmer is not in that position, although he likely will have a large mandate in Westminster, allowing more decisive action. The bottom line is that some things are better or worse depending on who lives at No.10 Downing Street, but one does not count on them to advance the cause of Irish Nationalism.

It will be ‘Ourselves Alone’ that advance the cause; Nationalists must look to activate The Dublin Government off its posterior and convene all-Island forums to bring all elements of the G.F.A. into action and focus on areas of consensus to sooner lead to the day of Irish Unity. Successive Dublin governments have wasted years in their failure to find common ground between North and South.

Starmer is a lawyer and has articulated his great respect for the G.F.A. and resetting relations with Dublin. With a willing partner in the Biden Whitehouse, much progress can be made by bringing full effect to all parts of the G.F.A. Here’s to hope and a prayer.