Sinn Fein

18 Stories

In a First, Irish Nationalist Takes Top Job in Belfast

Northern Ireland's government goes back to work after two-year unionist boycott

(Newser) - When Northern Ireland's lawmakers returned to their jobs Saturday for the first time in two years, only one politician received applause: Michelle O'Neill. The Cork-born official, whose father was imprisoned for being an IRA member and whose party wants Ireland and Northern Ireland to be one nation, became...

Sinn Fein Dominates Elections, Calls for End to Stalemate

Party, opponents say results show support for getting power-sharing government back to work

(Newser) - Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein has made sweeping gains in Northern Ireland's local elections, extending its success from last year's assembly elections and becoming the largest party for the first time. When the counting was completed late Saturday, Sinn Fein, which seeks unification of Northern Ireland with the...

Sinn Fein Records Historic Election Victory

Party seeking Irish unification proclaims a new era

(Newser) - The Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, which seeks unification with Ireland, hailed a "new era" Saturday for Northern Ireland as it captured the largest number of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time in a historic win. With almost all votes counted from Thursday's local...

Irish Leader Addresses Assassination of Prince Philip's Uncle

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald is sorry about 1979 assassination

(Newser) - Prince Philip's uncle was assassinated by members of the Irish Republican Army in 1979, and in the wake of the prince's death, the current leader of Sinn Fein, once the political wing of the IRA, has apologized. "Of course, I am sorry that happened; of course, that...

Irish Politics in Turmoil After Sinn Fein Surges

Two-party system is over, SF leader says

(Newser) - Ireland faced political turmoil Sunday as an exit poll from the weekend’s parliamentary election suggested that Sinn Fein, a left-wing party committed to reunification of the island, finished in a virtual dead heat with the two parties that have governed since the country won independence almost a century ago....

IRA Leader Turned Peacemaker Martin McGuinness Dies

Sinn Fein leader praises 'passionate republican'

(Newser) - Martin McGuinness, the Irish Republican Army commander who led his underground, paramilitary movement toward reconciliation with Britain, and was Northern Ireland's deputy first minister for a decade in a power-sharing government, died Tuesday, his Sinn Fein party announced. McGuinness, 66, suffered from amyloidosis, a rare disease with a strain...

Sinn Fein Leader: N-Word Tweet Was Meant to Be 'Ironic'

Gerry Adams posted offending tweet after watching 'Django Unchained'

(Newser) - Gerry Adams caught a viewing of Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained on Sunday and was perhaps a little too enthusiastic in sharing his thoughts on it. The leader of Ireland's Sinn Fein party posted in a now-deleted tweet: "Watching Django Unchained - A Ballymurphy [N-word]!" Cue the...

Sinn Fein's Adams to Go Free
 Sinn Fein's Adams to Go Free 
May 4, 2014 11:01 AM CDT

Sinn Fein's Adams to Go Free

Northern Ireland police say he won't be charged in 1972 murder

(Newser) - Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, lately the very high-profile suspect in a 1972 murder , will go free without charge, Northern Ireland police officials tell the BBC . Adams has been questioned since Wednesday in County Antrim over allegations that he, as an IRA commander ordered the murder of a 37-year-old widow...

Cops Question Sinn Fein Leader Over Notorious 1972 Murder

Gerry Adams denies involvement in IRA kiliing of Jean McConville

(Newser) - Maybe the most high-profile murder during the dark days of the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland is very much back in the headlines. Police today were questioning Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams in the 1972 murder of Jean McConville, a widowed mother of 10 who was abducted by the IRA...

Irish Wrestle With Would-Be Prez's IRA Past

Martin McGuinness was Irish Republican Army commander

(Newser) - Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness has announced his candidacy for president of Ireland ; now come the inevitable questions over his former role in the IRA. Reporters this weekend asked about his stance on issues like the IRA murder of an Irish police officer in 1996; officials are also calling on...

Ex-IRA Commander May Be Ireland's Next President

Martin McGuinness will be candidate of Sinn Fein

(Newser) - An Irish milestone of sorts: Sinn Fein is expected to nominate Martin McGuinness, a former high-ranking member of the IRA, to run for president of Ireland in next month's election. It's notable, explains the Irish Times , because he has a "fair chance of actually winning the election....

Family Sex Abuse Could End Gerry Adams' Career

Sinn Fein boss accused of protecting abusive brother

(Newser) - A family sex abuse scandal has left Gerry Adams fighting for his political life, and many believe his chances of someday becoming president of Ireland have vanished. Adams' admission that he has been aware since 1987 of allegations that his brother raped his daughter from the age of 4 has...

Gerry Adams Urges Brother to Face Child Sex Allegations

Victim 'must get justice,' Sinn Féin leader says

(Newser) - Gerry Adams has issued a public appeal for his brother, who is accused of sexual abuse of a child, to turn himself in. The leader of Sinn Féin said he believed allegations of abuse against younger brother Liam Adams were true. Police in both Ireland and Northern Ireland have...

IRA Splinter Groups Likely Coordinated Attacks

Security forces fear loyalist paramilitaries may respond to killings

(Newser) - The IRA splinter groups responsible for two separate attacks in Northern Ireland within 48 hours most likely coordinated the attacks, security officials tell the Times of London. Officials say the two attacks point to an unprecedented level of cooperation between the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA—which have no...

Secret Army Units Stirred Up N. Ireland Violence: Adams

British PM visits site of shooting, calls for 'hunting down' of gunmen

(Newser) - Sinn Fein head Gerry Adams says Northern Ireland’s chief constable “made a huge mistake bringing in undercover British Army units” to Northern Ireland after two UK soldiers were killed at a barracks Saturday, the Daily Telegraph reports. “You don't understand the history if you don't appreciate that...

Chelsea Thesis May Clarify Hillary's Role in Irish Peace

But Clintons won't release Stanford doc

(Newser) - While Hillary Clinton stands accused of exaggerating her part in the 1998 Irish peace process, the answer might lie in an unlikely 150-page document—Chelsea Clinton's senior thesis from Stanford. Only problem? No one seems to know where it's gone, Newsweek reports, and a Clinton spokesman warns it was "...

Blair Offered to Meet Hooded IRA Militants

And Bill Clinton advised him to do it, new book reveals

(Newser) - A new tell-all book by Tony Blair's chief of staff reveals that the former British prime minister offered to meet with eight leaders of the Irish Republican Army during a critical moment in Northern Irish peace talks. Jonathan Powell, one of Blair's longest-serving allies, admits in a memoir being serialized...

Northern Ireland Launches Historic Power Share

Power-sharing government ends decades of sectarian violence

(Newser) - Protestant and Catholic leaders pledged to cooperate as Northern Ireland inaugurated a power-sharing government today, ending a deadly decades-long conflict. Protestant leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness will serve as first minister and deputy first minister, respectively. Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams hailed "a new era of...

18 Stories