One big task for the party ahead of a general election will be to present a more concrete vision of the change it keeps talking about
It was a scene that played out in count centres around the country. A grim-faced tallyman at a ballot box. A tap on the shoulder and a whisper in the ear saying “Go home”, prompting devastated candidates to turn off their phones and go straight to bed.
Speaking to The Irish Times, he says some voters voiced a preference for a party figure such as Donegal TD and party finance spokesman Pearse Doherty to take the reins. Rooney has given McDonald his backing but says that some voters “felt maybe Mary Lou McDonald’s leadership had run its course”. He says “it’s up to the party” to decide how to process this feedback.
Rooney says the issues that came up on the doors were the cost of living, immigration and local issues, with his own town of Edgeworthstown having a lack of rental properties and witnessing a major decline in local amenities. This could potentially tie into the issue of turnout, which also may have affected the party’s performance and will need to be examined. The national turnout was estimated to be about 49 per cent – the lowest in the history of the State for a local election.
“In Dublin, the €300,000 average price of a house business has got them in all sorts of bother and I don’t think they were able to counter that,” says Murphy. “I think that must have affected them in Dublin. The message was a bit unclear as to what they stood for and their opponents painted them as a bunch of flip-floppers.”
It’s a criticism that has been made by others: this week Waterford councillor John Hearne did not hold back, saying “we were trying to be all things to all people.” He also had strong words, too, around the centralised structure of the party. For Sinn Féin, their basic pitch to the electorate was one of change. During the campaign, Louth TD Ruairí Ó Murchú highlighted the difficulty in sustaining a message of change for such a long time. “It’s very difficult to be leading a race for a long time. People, on some level, they wanted change, they voted for change, they didn’t get change. Time has gone on. We need to reinforce the idea that it can be done, that change,” he says.
The launch of the Sinn Féin Local European and Limerick mayoral elections at Dublin City University in May. Photograph: Tom Honan Party sources in the North are very cognisant of what has happened in these local and European elections. One source says, “We need to get it together, quick” but that McDonald’s leadership is not under threat.
European-Election Local-Elections Sinn-Fein Mary-Lou-Mcdonald Lynn-Boylan Kathleen-Funchion Immigration
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Taoiseach thanks gardai for 'swift & effective' response to Parnell Sq incidentSinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said children were 'frightened and traumatised' by the incident
Read more »
Sinn Féin ‘Eurocritical, not Eurosceptic’, says Mary Lou McDonaldParty’s manifesto says Sinn Féin opposes EU asylum and migration pact because ‘Ireland should retain sovereignty over its own borders and migration policy’
Read more »
Mary Lou McDonald blasts 'noisy minority' on social media targeting Sinn FeinSinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said her party is being blamed for 'Government failures' in dealing with immigration issues
Read more »
Mary Lou McDonald shifts on €300,000 target for average Dublin house pricesSinn Féin leader says party would sell affordable homes for that figure rather than aim to lower average price
Read more »
Mary Lou McDonald: ‘Our policy on immigration has been clear’Mary Lou McDonald has defended criticism of the party’s ‘flip flop’ attitude towards migration, saying policy has always been clear.
Read more »
'No cliff edge' to Help to Buy under Sinn Féin Govt, Mary Lou McDonald saysSinn Féin has repeatedly stated that they will abolish the Help to Buy scheme, which allows first-time buyers to claim up to €30,000 in tax back towards the purchase of a new home
Read more »