Sinn Féin, the lead Opposition party, has experienced a tumultuous political week full of relentless negative publicity. It had to contend with back-to-back scandals that sprouted up last weekend. The first issue raised was in regard to an unknown high-ranking member from the North who left Sinn Féin last year after they were discovered to be sending inappropriate texts to a minor of 17 years. The subsequent incident was the surprising withdrawal from the party by long-standing Laois TD Brian Stanley, who claimed that Sinn Féin unjustly treated him during an internal inspection relating to an undisclosed complaint about him, and then within a subsequent counter-complaint.
Early on Monday, Mary Lou McDonald, the party leader, had to justify why Sinn Féin reported the Stanley case to the Garda the day following Stanley’s resignation. By Tuesday’s afternoon, she conceded in a crowded Dáil assembly that Niall Ó Donnghaile, Sinn Féin’s former leader in the Seanad, was the high-ranking official involved in the texting scandal. This resulted in additional inquiries about the three-month interval between Ó Donnghaile’s exit from the party and his resignation as a senator, during which he was publicly praised by McDonald.
McDonald’s speech was referred to as “a chronicle of missteps and it wasn’t Sinn Féin’s error. It was merely a regrettable series of oversight incidents,” in Miriam Lord’s Dáil sketch. Sinn Féin’s incredibly challenging week caps off a tough year marked by polling setbacks and the unveiling that two party press agents had endorsed a former coworker, Michael McMonagle, despite him being under investigation for child sex crimes which he has since been found guilty of.
The potential impact of recent developments on the party’s success in the impending general election, likely to happen at the end of November, remains uncertain. This suspicion was heightened by Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, and was further supported when Roderic O’Gorman, leader of the Green, expressed his wish for a November 29th vote on Friday.
Justine McCarthy, a columnist, anticipated on Friday that McDonald’s possibility of becoming the first female taoiseach could have been significantly undermined following this week’s occurrences. However, Political Editor Pat Leahy had his doubts. He wondered whether the election would focus on Sinn Féin’s culture, individual scandals, or the myriad unresolved issues surrounding the party and its leader. The forthcoming weeks will prove revealing.
Ruadhán Mac Cormaic
Editor
Five Must-Reads
– Stephen Roche’s tribulations: The Irish ex-world champion cyclist discusses his experiences of losing his holiday business, South France villa, pension, investments, and closest allies in an interview with Ian O’Riordan. Any regrets?
– Living as an Irish person in Israel: Stark differences exist between the war depicted on TV and its reality. Paul Kearns, a Dublin-based freelance journalist based in Tel Aviv, says Israelis have a different perception of the conflict, rarely witnessing the grisly images others see worldwide.
– An appeal from David McWilliams: The centre of Dublin lacks residents more than police officers, a fact made evident a year after the city centre riots. The columnist recommends encouraging essential workers to inhabit subsidised houses in Dublin 1 to increase the city’s population and kickstart a transformation.
Dr. Claire Moriarty reflects on the heart-wrenching solitude associated with miscarriage in a society well-versed in the lexicon of distress, following a harrowing ultrasound appointment at 13 weeks.
Detroit, despite its notorious reputation, remains a metropolis of resilience and self-confidence; one might need courage to inform the inhabitants that their beloved city resembles Cork City, albeit with a greater penchant for soul food and less interest in hurling.
In other news, a face-off between Cuala and Kilmacud Crokes in the Dublin Senior Club Football final is on the agenda this weekend. Cuala luminary Des Cahill conversed with Malachy Clerkin ahead of this afternoon’s clash at Parnell Park, while in Tallaght, an exciting match between Shelbourne and Athlone Town in the women’s FAI Cup final is set to occur, as Mary Hannigan readies to tee it up.
In the ‘On the Money’ bulletin this week, Joanne Hunt discusses the criteria for home-refurbishing grants, raising the question of whether homeowners may qualify for up to €30,000 to enhance their home’s energy efficiency.