Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
SINN FÉIN IS not a pro-abortion party, Martin McGuinness has said today.
He was speaking to press during the party’s Ard Fheis, which attracted anti-abortion protesters outside the Royal Hotel and Theatre in Castlebar, Co Mayo.
Speaking to Clare Byrne on RTÉ Radio, McGuinness said: “We are an anti-abortion party but we are also a party that recognises where there is a great risk to the life of the mother”.
He said that could not be more evident than in the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar in Galway University Hospital last year. He said that the “polls on this issue clearly show that the people of Ireland recognise that where there is a grave risk to the life of the mother, something needs to be done, some legislation needs to be enacted”.
We are not a pro-abortion party and to suggest that is to totally and absolutely misrepresent the position
McGuinness added that he respects the rights of anybody to protest but some of the people who are protesting, work on the basis that where there is a risk to the life of the mother, that the life of the child should predominate.
I think that’s wrong, I can’t agree with that. And quite clearly there are circumstances where the lives of women are at grave risk and we have not got the legislation in place which can protect those women in those circumstances.
So I have a different view but I respect their view.
Asked would he support a free vote in the party on voting on the issue, he said the party has consistently taken a position that wherever a party policy is decided, it is incumbent on all members of the party to abide by the party decision.
He said that members of the party are able to express their own individual feelings on the issue, but “there is a responsibility on people whenever motions are passed at the Ard Fheis and particularly motions that the party feels is very important in terms of enacting legislation to save women’s lives who are at risk”.
I think it’s very very important that we have a discipline within the party and that we have members that are going to vote on the party position.
Today is the second day of the Ard Fheis, which is being attended by up to 2,000 grassroots members. Issues to be debated include the country’s abortion laws, the possibility of an all-Ireland football team and the economy, with 250 motions being debated overall.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Is there such thing as being pro-abortion?
Pro-Abortion? Like, “let’s force all healthy mothers to have an abortion against their will”.. cause that’s so close to what the general pro-choice opinion is. Like banging your head off a wall trying to get through to the anti-choice-you’ll-carry-that-goddamned-foetus-till-the-end-even-if-it-kills-you-both-brigade
I’m sorry, but I have not met anyone who says that they are pro choice and would advocate for abortions for all. Besides anything else it would lead to the extinction of our species!
I accidentally red thumbed you, I totally agree. Nobody is pro abortion but the option in certain circumstances needs to be there.
‘Pro abortion rights’ might be more accurate. ‘Pro abortion’ is perhaps a pejorative term, similar to the equally derogatory ‘anti-choice’ slogan.
Shanti what you advocate sounds quite similar to ‘safe legal and rare’, no? Just wondering why do you want it to be rare?
The Chinese government are ,but they hardly count as rational human being
Well if
Anti Abortion = Anti-Choice
then the opposite must also be true..
Pro Choice = Pro Abortion..!!
@Dave
Because it is something that can be prevented.
I’m not under any mistaken impression that an abortion is something women aspire to experience. It’s not a pleasant experience, and it does end the development of a foetus that has the potential to become human. But sometimes, it’s necessary.
”Pro Abortion” as opposed to ”Pro Choice”
Why not just call a spade, a spade?
Because Zoe. Unlike the no choice brigade who would gladly force a woman to carry a foetus to term and birth it like no more than a glorified brood mare, the pro choice side would ask her what she wanted. If she gave her consent for an uninvited lodger inside her body..
Yes. If you are intent on voting for abortion you are pro abortion.
Of course there are pro-aborts otherwise if it was non-existent then this medieval procedure wouldn’t be conducted on pregnant mothers.
We’re not voting “for abortion” we’re voting for access to abortion for all pregnant women, if they wish to avail of it.
Also, this argument is as silly as it is pointless, I’m sure you’ve all got better things to be doing.
Voting for access to abortion IS voting for abortion..
In real life even here in Ireland many young women are being forced to abort. The latest case being a 13 yr old from Longford yesterday, another situation I just learned about was Wicklow town a few months back, other women referring to their past where they were pressurized by colleagues & friends that they had not ‘choice’ but. Poor unfortunate girls. Choice my ass.
‘No choice/anti-choice brigade’, I forgot that one.
Shanti have you ever had a child? Seriously ” uninvited lodger ” that is a rather sick thing to call your own baby, it actually didnt ask to be conceived. You are pro abortion, but it must be hard to admit that you are in favor of killing an innocent child. Also stop insulting women by calling them glorified brood mares those of us who have given the wonderful gift of life to our children would rather not being compared to animals.
Mairead,
It was a paraphrase of a poem, only the original phrase was “uninvited tissue” which I thought may sound even more callous.
I’m not referring to anyone as animals, but the “pro life” side wish to treat women as such, and that’s what I object to.. But nice attempt to twist it there.
Not that it’s any of your business, but no, I don’t have kids. Because I’m o e of those women that Ireland’s few legal abortions would apply to. Pregnancy for me would be a life threatening condition. Not that you would care..
Yes it does sound callous and dont forget that more than half of those “lodgers” are baby girls, and look how they want to treat them , first kill them and then rob their ovaries. I think animals are treated better than theses poor little innocents.. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-186802/Should-eggs-aborted-babies.html#ixzz2PH7yRr6c
That article doesn’t surprise me Fionnuala, they have been experimenting on aborted babies for years. Stealing aborted baby girls ovaries is a new low though. So much for womens rights.
Gosh, that’s terrible… I knew they were using foetus and their egg but this is just sick, horrid.. What is the world coming to…
On the surface this seems fair, but if you had an unwanted “lodger” as you put it in your house surely you wouldn’t just go and kill them. You probably wouldn’t even make them homeless. You’d probably give them awhile to get their act together and then kick them out. Having unprotected sex after all was the invitation into your house (womb) in the first place.
Who says the sex is unprotected? Contraceptives can and do fail, and there are women – shock! horror! who do not wish to have children.
Now – if you have used contraception and still end up pregnant, your analogy veers off course slightly, instead of a lodger in your home, you have someone who decided to move in despite the fact you told them they weren’t welcome.
Why on earth would you allow them to take advantage of you like that? You would have the Gardaí removing them from your premises – they do not have permission to be in your home and never had.
People should and do use contraception if they wish to avoid pregnancy. Using “abortion as contraception” is, well, aside from being a myth perpetuated by those with vested interests – it’s probably the most expensive, invasive and unpleasant method of contraception anyone could use. Actual contraception is a lot easier.
If anyone is going around taking their chances with unprotected sex and expecting not to get pregnant then they need education – because that is a patently stupid way to carry on.
They were always masters of double talk.
Mind your bum Gerry, all that fence sitting will hurt you.
They can be anti whatever because im an anti sinn fein kinda guy
They’re anti-abortion and anti-anti-abortion. In other words they are whatever anyone wants them to be just to get their votes. They really think that people are that stupid as not to see through their populist shyte.
SF pro-life my hole, they weren’t pro-life when it came to the 1,824 men, women and children their barstool soldiers murdered.
The populist contradictory shyte that these degenerates spout makes me ill. They don’t have the balls to stick to their convictions or a single policy.
Well you are either Pro life or your not… Unfortunate SF are NOT…
You can’t pick and choose who has the right to live and who doesn’t.. No matter what the circumstances…
Be honest at least …
Bridget, in the real world people have to make that choice all the time. It’s a tough decision but you can’t throw your hands up in the air and say “nope – I’m not dealing with this, let them both die because I can’t prioritise one life over another”.
But they can, and they do.
What I said in above comment was SF cannot truly call itself a prolife party if it supports abortion in any way.. Which it does..
Who ever said “throw our hands in air and let them both die”
I have never heard anyone on here say let the woman die.. And I certainly never have..
Doctor DO make choices all the time about giving life saving treatment to the mother resulting in the death of the unborn..
True, if the likes of these individuals were running the country it would be akin to N. Korea.
USSR comes to mind.
Mary-Lou McDonald obviously appears to think otherwise
What are you referring to? Genuine question.
They may be anti abortion but they’re very much in favour of fence sitting.
Can wait for there election manifesto titled “we’ll do whatever you ,probably !”
They are Not Anti Abortion if they approve it for any reason..
Even if the woman’s life is in danger Bridget? Because that was all they supported..
As far as I know they support abortion in the case of rape, incest possibly other reasons as well…
And they truly cannot call themselves a pro life party if they do…
So in other words Bridget, they consider the life and well being of pregnant women to be of paramount importance. As a woman, I’m very glad they do.
Personally I think as a party they are just doing it to get the pro abortion vote… ( even though some members are very Pro abortion)
While hoping by saying they are pro life they will get theirs too..
They won’t..
I personally know some of the SF who are very pro life, and now they are not able to vote as their conscience tells them.. Shame..
He speaks about the protection of human life while at the same time they’re selling “sniper at work” badges from stalls in the hall. But sure, that’s Sinn Fein…
O’Reilly, are you saying that officially on behalf of a party that refuses to this day to investigate the murder of 32 men/women and children and the mutilation of over 200 other people during the Dublin/Monaghan bombings, even though you have received all the evidence you or anyone could ever need through confessions etc to tell you who did it?
Even though all Government partys in the Dail since the atrocity, have had Garda surveillance in the families of the murder victims families… up to the point of threatening imprisonment of the family members in prison for wanting to commemorate the atrocity that coincided with the visit of the Queen?
Like seriously, do these type of people do hypocrisy much?
Fence sitting again. “Hey, voter, whatever you’re for in this debate, guess what? We’re for that too!”
Now where have we heard that before.
More Sinn Fein doublespeak. They’re against/for everything.
So their beginning to copy all the other mainstream parties in the state.
Say whatever it takes to get votes.They learnt from Labour,vote for us we won”t cut child allowance,we won’t raise college fee’s,we’ll bring in a Site valuation tax.I could go on but you get the gist.
Labour has never equivocated what the party stands for and is against but it’s a coalition government and sometimes Labour gets it’s way and other times Fine Gael gets theirs.
It’s an entirely different issue because you have to look at what parties stand for, Labour have never pretended, for instance to be both for and against something at the same time. They’ve had their views and sometimes the legislation enacted is different and that’s the nature of coalition governments.
Anyway, this is I believe a topic on SF.
You must have missed Pat Rabbittes interview on the week in politics?I believe if you look its on Youtube,not his best performance.
I’ve seen it and once again the point I made still stands.
I’ll give you an example:
Say you want to home-school your kids, but your wife disagrees and wants to send them to school. You reluctantly agree because it’s the best thing to do. That doesn’t then mean you’re no longer in favour of homeschooling them. It means you’ve compromised…you know? Like adults do?
Sinn Fein’s response would be to be both in favour of homeschooling and sending the child to school all at once so they can stand up and say they got their way and what they stood for is what was carried out.
Like the Meerkat says. Simples.
FG in their manifesto said they would not bring in a recurring charge on the family home,Labour wanted a site valuation tax.There was no compromise Labour got their way,now we have a tax on peoples homes.
Once again. You’re in the wrong commenting section but I will clear this one final point up.
Labour have supported a site valuation tax since the late 90′s (as have many economists and experts on the real estate markets because they recognise that such a tax dampens any possibly property bubble from arising).
Fine Gael when in government agreed that a property tax was necessary for broadening the tax base and as they saw it, it was required in the FF brokered deal.
The compromise was therefore reached that a property tax would be implemented. Labour supported a ”mansion tax” which is a larger rate of LPT on homes valued at over 1 million euro but FG disagreed and so this wasn’t implemented. Simple.
I have been watching closely and any labour back bencher that has been interviewed, says that and you can tell they are reluctant to say it, that if FG was in government on their own than things would have been a lot worse, now I don’t know what they mean, did FG have worse austerity measures in place and labour had to negotiate or are they just talking waffle like the rest. Maybe someone else has an opinion on it or noticed it ?
I don’t support either just an observation.
Sorry dude anytime a Labour memeber raises their head above the parapet its the right comment section,the family home tax is Labours baby.Labours problem was they lied through their teeth to get a seat in government,i feel it is my duty to remind every Labour supportor of that fact.
Simples.
Will he be silenced for saying this just as they silenced Peadar Toibin
That’s the funniest thing I’ve read in weeks! Martin McGuinness is Pro-Life!! Haaa haaaa!
and Gerry Adams has teddy bears, what next?
Boo to your ignorance @DaisyChainsaw.
Anti-abortion when it’s a woman’s own choice but pro-murder as a political solution. Not much choice offered to the victims of the latter. You couldn’t make it up.
SF/IRA speaking on protecting life it’s shocking when they planted bombs to kill pregnant women and innocent little children. Go back to where you came from.
Where exactly do you think SF came from frank?
Please, do not ask commenters like this questions that might confuse them… Everyone knows SF are the only all Ireland party.
People who make comments like Frank251 (“go back to where you came from”), well, you can see the gap in their logic… leave them off. They meed help, and if Journal.ie is their outlet for whatever problem they want to share with us… well let them off… We hope they get well soon, and get over their revertible geographical disability soon…. Good luck Frank, we wish you well man … you need it :)
A pregnant mother was murdered in the Omagh bombing & her unborn twins alongside unfortunate other victims.
Anything for a vote yuk
There great for getting the uneducated persons vote! Yes men for idiots.
Thy have my vote and I am a highly educated person. I used to vote FF then voted FG, I apologise for y bad decision, but I have spent a lot of time following SF been to a few meeting and it really looking like they will get my vote. Our media are letting us down if you ask me. Liars liars and government spin machine. The elite own the media and last thing they want is a party that will tax them, they thinking of themselves not the parents who can’t feed their children or the family in a cold house, with banks trying to evict them. The reason they won’t think of these people is because firstly most don’t care that includes the government, and most have no clue the hardship of poverty.
Aziza, you are of course aware that the shinners espouse a socialist creed, a core tenet of which is raise income taxes to very high levels. Taxes will increase not decrease under a shinner government.
Sham taxes will increase for people above a certain income, people who can afford it. Like I said to someone who said what is the point of a wealth tax, the way I look at it of it gives relief to families on poverty then it’s worth it to me and I am sure of you asked any family in hardship they would be very happy with any bit of relief. I suggest you read their budget proposals. I was quietly surprised and wish I had voted them in instead of FG last time. But I listened to media spin and voted FG. The media is our biggest enemy for recovery and of course the government actions.
I offer counselling to teens and the amount of young people I have coming into me has double of not more, I had a 16 year old boy into me last week, and the main reason for his serious depression was watching his parents suffering, trying to pay bills, taxes, keep the roof over their head and their family fed.
FG FF will mean more cuts to this family who will end up on the streets and their family home owned by the banks and what will this young boys mental health be like then.
People can attack SF and say they are populist, claim to be in favour of the poor over the rich is what populist is, but I think their budgets are FAIR.
@sham rock .
So presumably taxes would decrease with a Neo Liberal govt ??
l as u know they have not – in fact the reverse by a long way .
SF will raise tax on those earning over €`100,000.
go spread your fear somewhere else .
So if I work hard to earn over €100000, it’s my duty to pay increased taxes to subsidise people who don’t? Sorry but no! I work hard to spend my money as I see fit. If some socialist future government wants to change that, they can come to the airport to say goodbye to all the taxes I’m currently paying, cos I’ll be gone along with everyone else in that position. What’s their next solution after that?
I’m standard neo-liberal ideology, that’s exactly what happens. The current government are not neo-liberal, they’re a bizarre mishmash of banko-socialism, of an ideology that defies any rational description. Be that as it may, it’s disingenuous to claim SF would reduce taxes when their stated aim is to raise them and penalise workers.
“In” as opposed to “I’m” as first word of last post.
Everyone works hard for their money, the bin man works hard for his money. Someone on 100,000 v bin man on 20,000 a year, the bin man has had his life destroyed, his wages cut drastically, his house worth nothing, increase in electricity prices, increase in cost of living, water charges, property tax USC, this has destroyed his life, not enough money to eat living in a cold house, his mental health destroyed.
The person on above 100,000 really has had to do without a holiday or maybe not as many meals out etc
I wish the country was doing just fine and no one had to face cuts to pay banks, but thanks FF/G for that.
If I was in government and I had to make a choice introduce a wealth tax for a period until the economy is doing good again and we don’t have ( before WC and PT introduced) 272,000 children living on poverty and 1 in 4 in mortgage distress ( which means they are just about surviving) and people with disabilities and the elderly having their much needed money taken from them, I would have to introduce the wealth tax.
Just to add this wealth tax would effect me, but honestly I would rather have money taken off me then taken from a family who’s lives have been totally destroyed already, I can afford it and many I work with think the same.
We live in a very individualistic society. We seem to have a section of society totally tuned out to the scale of poverty and suicide etc that is happening in this country
Aziza, I agree with the basis of your argument, but I don’t agree that a wealth tax would contribute in any way to a solution, or that it’s the responsibility of wealthy people to do this.
I think you’ve vastly underestimated the salary of a bin man, but I agree that there are low paid professions out there.
The tax take from a wealth tax would be nominal, it would only be the balance over €100k, that’s already taxed at 41% so the increase only achieves the balance. It will also disincentive high earnings, and will lead to a drain in young entrepreneurs and professionals from Ireland.
Social welfare doesn’t solve the problem of poverty, jobs do. Adding a barrier to job creation and the high-end personnel Infrastructure for retaining jobs will in the long term only degrade our ability to look after the vulnerable.
Just one final note on above, this would never be a short term tax, if it were installed in the tax system it will never be removed.
@conor It’s spelt ‘they’re’. Uneducated indeed…
It is clear from the inquest that the legal position in this country regarding abortion had nothing to do with the tragic death of Savita.
You clearly haven’t beenplaying the slightest attention to the evidence that has been produced in the cororner’s court this past week.
There was a whole mix up delays in finding results in blood tests etc. which no abortion procedure would have helped. Also nobody raises the question about the risks of 2nd trimester abortions which could have caused & led to the death Savita in the Jessie Mae Barlow situation it brought about her death. http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2121291_young_mum_contracted_infection_after_abortion
Desmond Dr Sam Coulter smith deals with at least 3-4 women with sepsis in pregnancy every year and has saved all of their lives. He also said that calling these “interruptions of pregnancies”, abortions is extremely insulting to the women involved.
So the man who led an organisation that kidnapped, tortured and murdered people because they were a different religion or nationality to him is pro-life! I guess it’s only terrorism when the victims are unborn! #sinnfail
Seriously? Is that really what you believe the Troubles was about? Nothing to do with a lack of civil rights or outright persecution of Catholics, no?
John Hume and SDLP, for all their faults, also fought against discrimination. They didn’t feel need to kidnap, torture and murder people because they were different religion or nationality to them. #terrorism #apologist #fail
Desmond, what is the official Labour party policy on investigating the Dublin/Monaghan slaughter … the single worst day of the troubles… Where do you stand on your party leader being a member of the same organisation that you are condemning??? Hypocrisy???
Gilmore never member of IRA. Rest is deflection.
Desmond, why does the Labour Party never mention the worst ever day in the troubles… 32 dead … it happened under their watch … 200 mutilated … they know who did it… but they supported suppressing the victims from having a peaceful commemoration during the Queens visit, even though it the commemoration was on the anniversary of the slaughter?
And you can say what you want, EVERYONE knows that Gilmore was a member of the SF/The workers party… or is this another inconvenient truth??
You really do need to read what people write. I said Gilmore was never a member of the IRA. Contrast with Adams and McGuinness who repeatedly lie to Irish people about their membership of IRA and direct involvement in kidnap, torture and murder. By the way, your concern for the victims of British terrorism sits uneasily with your careless disregard of the victims of IRA terrorism. All terrorism is to be condemned, whatever its source, something which you equivocate on.
Desmond, can you clarify your thoughts for me…
The IRA are terrorists because they fought against oppression of the entire Nationalist population in the North…
The Irish Governments complicit to this day, in the cover-up of the Dublin/Monaghan/Belturbet bombings are not terrorists?
And once more, Eamon Gimore was in SF in his earlier days, when SF were not considered a Political party, but were only a political wing of the IRA, yet you do not think Gilmore was affiliated with the IRA?
Please, i must be having a slow day, can you explain in simple English, how you resolve the apparent conflicting paradoxes in your assertions :)
For the record Desmond, i am sickened by every single civilian murder carried out by the IRA/British and complicit Irish Governments. I consider every single civilian murder as abhorrent. I do not cherry pick individual murders so that i can use them as a Political football.
The war is over, and you can continue to look back and pick out individual atrocities for use or examples as political weapons, but you must expect that any attempts will be met by equally cynical uses by people like me, who will not sit idly by and watch such cynicism at work.
Abortion is been used as a political football worldwide,so its a falsehood to pin anything on Sinn Fein on the issue,some will throw up anti Sinn fein Dogma at every chance.
What are you on about? Sinn Fein’s policy shouldn’t be pinned on Sinn Fein?
Abortions for some, miniature Irish tri-colours and t-shirts saying ‘Sniper at Work’ for others.
I don’t like Sinn Fein at all. But seriously protesting a Sinn Fein event over abortion or simply because you don’t like their stance on certain issues is ridiculous. The pro-life protesters have gone to far with this lunacy. This is simply bullying, intimidation, and harassment.
Seriously? I’m not a supporter of these pro-life protesters at all but the right to protest is one that is open to everybody whether you disagree with them or not. How exactly is standing outside a conference bullying, intimidation and harassment? If that’s the case then we’re going to have to stop all sorts of protests.
And the Shinners wouldn’t know anything about bullying and intimidation…
Well if all they are doing is Standing outside and protesting then they not harming anyone, unlike when SF protested!!!
HOW ABOUT THE LOYALIST MURDERERS you troll
Yes Jim I am saying people do not have the right to protest? The pro-life protestors are the worst type of protestors in Ireland. Honestly I’ve never seen a more whiny people than ourselves, we protest over everything. What is the point of their protest? Even if Sinn Fein was pro-choice this protest is bigoted. It is intimidation. Don’t like Sinn Fein’s stance on the issue, don’t vote for them. I mean people tried protesting over the closure of an Irish e-mail website. I mean seriously? People have gone nuts.
Kevin
You are saying people should not protest.. Why???
How on earth are pro life protester the worst??? Hardly true now ..
Irish people may complain a lot but they definitely have not protested much, when you compare us to other countries…
Did you see the protest in France, Greece, Spain, Portugal..
Apart from the pensioners a couple of yrs ago and the recent pro-life and austerity protesters there have been very little in this country ..
So you can’t say people have gone “nuts”
Don’t think anyone can intimidate SF now really..
Why, anyway, is a leader in a foreign government interfering in another countries affairs? I thought SF were against that sort of thing.
Because the President of his party is a TD for Louth. His opinion is important and could affect how abortion is legislated for in the future.
His opinions carry no credibility so long as he lies about the most basic facets of his past. In any case, it’s the official of the foreign government, not the TD, who was making the comments.
Is it me or is Sinn Fein becoming more like Fianna Fail by the day?
its a womans choice and if her life is on the line then abortion is the right thing to do if there is no other option to save her life .
Funny how SF is twisting on its hook… I am pro choice and pro life … no contradiction there I dont think I could be pro choice and pro abortion Does not compute as they say…
I am Pro-Life ………….. Pro future Savitas’ lives.
Blood pressure rising every time he stresses “grave risk”. Over and over again. I think just risk would do the job, Martin. If a pregnancy puts a woman’s life at risk, she has the right to terminate. Get out with your disgusting distinctions between “risk” and “grave risk”, they just tie in with the horrific idea that a woman must actually be in the process of dying before the pregnancy can be terminated. I’m sure if it was your life that was in question, you’d suddenly be able to see that any risk to life is grave risk.
Caomhin Ó Caoláin was present throughout the health committee hearings on abortion and heard all the medical experts outline the difference between death as an unfortunate result of early intervention to save a mother’s life, as opposed to the commonly used meaning of “abortion” as the direct intentional targeting of the child in the womb for non-emergency situations. He was present when Dr. Eoghan de faoite outlined the statistics provided by the British dept. Of health that stated that no Irish women had abortions between 1992 and 2010 for medical emergencies. He also heard the psychiatrists outline the fact that there are no psychiatric emergencies that warrant abortion as a treatment and that abortion is associated with an increased risk of suicide, a point reinforced last week by the latest work of the atheist secular psychiatrist Dr. David Fergusson as published in the New Zealand and Australian Journal of Psychiatry. Sinn Féin are lying when they say that there are people who want the mother’s life to be secondary to the life of her child. Or if there are such people their twisted logic is not part of the Pro-Life ethos. My husband is a doctor and spoke to Martin McGuinness about these issues in Belfast just a few weeks ago. SF wants to retain its vote among Northern Catholics by pretending to be Pro-Life while blocking any legislation put for by Pro-Life politicians. Their vote to ban people from voting according to their consciences is just more evidence, were it needed, that they are still engaging in the propaganda of war. Old habits die hard. Young childen do not! No SF votes from any of our family ever again.
Well said, Fionnulla
YOu are missrepressenting the Pro Life position McGuinness and furthermore you have campaigned for the abortion clinic marie stopes to remain open in Belfast (and you still have the bloody check to pretend you are anti abortion) So none of your party members are allowed to vote on their conscience. Whatever about party policies, you are forcing them to vote against their CONSCIENCE!!! To violate their conscience? That says enough about sinn fein.
I hope the party members have the courage they need to stand up and vote as their conscience tell them..
Is Ireland ever going to have a Socially liberal party?.
If Sinn Fein get into power then the country will be like the former USSR.
“You would never get a leader of Sinn Féin condemning abortion, homosexual “marriage” or anything of that nature. I, as an Irish nationalist and Roman Catholic, never want to see the day when there are abortion clinics in every market town in Ireland. But looking around there is no political grouping willing to take a stance against that”. Gerry McGeough former member of the Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade and ex Sinn Fein activist
Sinn Fein should change their title to Me Fein.
Flip-flopping?
How dare you remove a legitimate although sarcastic remark.
@cathal, I never said I was highly educated, actually I’m just an average joe soap. And if u read my original comment as per ur copy and paste, at no point did I say SF ONLY gets the uneducated vote I said “they’re great for getting the uneducated persons vote”. It’s just an opinion.I feel that they are brilliant for tellin people what they want to hear.
“I feel that they are brilliant at telling people what they want to hear”. As opposed to Labour & Fine Gael? Who promised us the moon, the sun and the stars in return for election?
What a kind caring man who appreciates the value of life. He is an avuncular type of character who would harm anybody. I posted this type of comment several hours ago but it was removed. Why?
I mentioned loyalists and the shank hill butchers.your comments got swept away with mine.
@ Fiona Hynes, a well spotted spelling error. Well done you. It would almost suggest that your observation is trying to undermine my original comment. Typical phycological tactic used by shiners, but on a larger scale.
Conor,
Your original comment ..
“There great for getting the uneducated persons vote! Yes men for idiots.”
You suggest that the only people who now support SF are uneducated … but your comment speaks volumes in itself … look at the sentence…
Then your rebuttal about the correction contains the word “phycological” … please, i cannot find the word in a dictionary….
I am all for open and honest debate, that are well constructed and thought out … but if you are going to use a perceived level of intelligence as an argument to try and dissuade people from supporting SF, then surely you should put some level of effort into ensuring that your argument is backed up with a level of grammar and spell checking that would make your position more plausible.
Otherwise, to many readers, your argument is counter-productive.
@patrick lyons
I couldn’t fail to disagree with Martin less.
have your say