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‘Sinn Féin traitors!’: how far-right rhetoric derailed party’s path to power in Ireland
UK NewsPoliticsSeptember 5, 2026 at 10:00 AMNational

‘Sinn Féin traitors!’: how far-right rhetoric derailed party’s path to power in Ireland

By Rory Carroll Ireland correspondentThe Guardian - UK News

Party insider reveals how election campaign was blindsided by rise of anti-immigrant feeling in new bookFor Siobhán Fenton, the dream of Sinn Féin winning power and leading a progressive leftwing government evaporated the day she was canvassing in Dublin and felt a cold, sharp sting on her neck.She was in the passageway of a block of flats in the inner city, knocking on doors, and looked around for the source. Fenton, a media adviser to the party leader, Mary Lou McDonald, felt another sting on her shoulder, then another on her forearm. Continue reading...

Party insider reveals how election campaign was blindsided by rise of anti-immigrant feeling in new book

For Siobhán Fenton, the dream of Sinn Féin winning power and leading a progressive leftwing government evaporated the day she was canvassing in Dublin and felt a cold, sharp sting on her neck.

She was in the passageway of a block of flats in the inner city, knocking on doors, and looked around for the source. Fenton, a media adviser to the party leader, Mary Lou McDonald, felt another sting on her shoulder, then another on her forearm.

Continue reading...