Doherty victory 'has boosted SF morale'
Sinn Féin’s victory in the Donegal South West by-election has boosted party morale across the island, one of its leaders has said.
The party’s Pearse Doherty seized nearly 40% share of the vote, despite Fianna Fáil’s traditional hold on the constituency.
Now the Sinn Féin Assembly group leader at Stormont, John O’Dowd, said that while the party’s political successes had often been enjoyed north of the border, Sinn Féin was now looking south for inspiration.
“For many years our southern comrades had looked north in terms of our electoral success,” he said.
“For once, we were able to look south and say ’brilliant!”’
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams is to contest a Dáil seat in Louth as the party steps up its campaign in the Republic.
The Fianna Fáil-led Government has pledged to call a General Election early this year, while as an all-Ireland party Sinn Féin will also contest Assembly and council elections north of the border in May.
Opinion polls have pointed to increased support for the party in the south, but Mr O’Dowd said painful political lessons for Sinn Féin in the Republic’s last General Election, and the European Elections, showed the party had a lot of work to do.
“We took a blow in the south in the last election, losing a seat in the Dáil, then losing Mary Lou McDonald’s (European Parliament) seat,” he said.
“It was a blow, but it wasn’t a fatal blow, but commentators had said Sinn Féin had reached its end in the south.”
He said the party did some “soul searching” and reorganised in the Republic.
“So, that is why Pearse’s victory was so important, because it was proof that all that hard work and slog had paid off. It was a morale boost.”
Mr O’Dowd noted that Fianna Fáil had taken 50% of the Donegal constituency’s vote in the last General Election. He said the government party also polled well in the by-election despite the contest coming in the wake of the state’s economic collapse.
“Pearse’s subsequent performance in the Dáil in his budget speech was excellent and got a great response; it was of the moment and success breeds success,” he said.
“But Fianna Fáil will not lie down; there is no way they are going to roll over.”
He added that there was a lot of work and building to be done before the party made the gains predicted.
