Adams insists Sinn Féin can bounce back from vote setback
Sinn Féin can recover from the setback it received in the Irish General Election, Gerry Adams insisted today.
The Sinn Féin president told a strategy meeting of Belfast members that just as the party came back from the shock loss of his Westminster seat in 1992 to the SDLP’s Joe Hendron, it could do the same in the Ireland.
And he revealed the party was drawing up plans for an electoral comeback with two conferences planned before the end of the year.
“There were high expectations internally and externally about that election which we didn’t meet,” the West Belfast MP said.
“Consequently, some republicans were understandably deflated.
“Well, that was then and this is now.
“Many of you in this hall will remember the election of April 1992 when we lost the west Belfast seat. That too was a disappointment.
“Our enemies thought it was a fatal blow – that they had us on the run! Well, they didn’t.
“We immediately got down to the business of winning the seat back, of building republicanism, of planning and strategising and of looking forward.
“That’s the lesson of that time. And we have a lot to build on in the time ahead.”
Sinn Féin had hoped significantly to increase its tally of seats in the Dáil in the May election.
It ended up losing a seat – Sean Crowe’s in Dublin South West – and was reduced to four TDs.
Dublin MEP Mary Lou McDonald also failed to capture a seat in Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s Dublin Central constituency despite running a high-profile campaign.
Mr Adams, however, said Sinn Féin came close to capturing seats in a number of constituencies and that its share of the vote increased.
In Donegal North East Padraig Mac Lochlainn and in Donegal South West Pearse Doherty also came close.
However the party succeeded in getting Pearse Doherty elected as its first Senator after it struck a vote pact with the Labour Party.
“Since the election the party has been meeting locally and nationally, reviewing what happened, and we are putting a plan in place to get us back on track,” Mr Adams confirmed.
“This will see two major party conferences take place before the end of the year.
“But these are only part of the way forward.
“There is enormous goodwill for Sinn Féin in every part of this island.
“We have to build on that; build on our republican roots and policies; shape them to take account of the political realities of Ireland today, and move forward confidently.
“We have to grasp the major political opportunities which are now open to us.
“And Sinn Féin in Belfast has a critical contribution to make to this.
“Belfast is not just the cradle of Irish republicanism; it is also where a substantial percentage of our electoral strength lies. We have not yet maximised that electoral strength in this city.
“There is still plenty of opportunity for growth. And what you do here has to be tied directly in to what we do in the North and across this island.
“So, building greater electoral strength aside, we must also develop a greater level of strategic co-ordination between our grassroots activists, our local councillors, MLAs, MPs, TDs, MEPs and ministers.”
Mr Adams also stressed the need for the party to continue to engage with unionists in the North and build support for Irish unity in the UK.
