@Paul O’Mahoney: I think you’ll find that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael closed Ireland off from the outside world through isolationism, do you not get embarrassed not knowing your history?

@Paul O’Mahoney: Also Macron’s party isn’t part of ‘The Left’ – they’re part of Renew. If you consider the pro-war and pro-colonialist Macron a leftist you would have to a raging fascist…and probably consider FG fiscally centrist.

@Brian D’Arcy: He literally described the history of FF and ‘The Yank’s’ disastrous economic policies which failed and isolated Ireland for decades along with his unholy alliance with the Catholic Church, which led to the systematic abuse of 100s of thousands of children, women and men. These guys love giving people history lessons.. but only the ones they want to spew, ad nauseam. And while scoffing at SFs 2 seats (possibly 3) does he think FF with their 3 seats will sway anything other than a fart in the European Parliament.. ?

@Paul O’Mahoney: brilliantly put

@Brian: The problem with the early days of the state was our “brave patriots” of 1916 and the War of Independence had no plan B. With no plans or money for health or education it was handed over to the church. A smooth transition to Independence would have been better. Similarly in the North the 30 year terror campaign was unnecessary and even during that period there were opportunities from peace but the PIRA kept the terror campaign going.

@Vincent Alexander: 1916? Today’s constitution was created in 1937, heavily influenced by Bishop McQuaid. In fact, McQuaid was involved in the actual formulation of the articles dealing with personal rights, the family, education, private property, religion, and directive principles of social policy (Articles 40–45). On the day that the constitution came into force, McQuaid wrote to The Yank : ‘This morning again I said Mass for you at dawn, on the eventful day. I am reminded all day of the text in the New Testament: ‘Many have desired to see what we see and have not seen’. Them boys were on some trip ! And the fact that The Yank persisted with the ludicrous and disastrous commitment to an inward-looking policy of self-sufficiency will explain why there was no money in the coffers.. FF butchered this country after the foundation of the state. This is not to say that FG was much better..

@Paul O’Mahoney: You know FG sent a brigade to aid Franco. Hitler’s men. How many died in the gas chamber because of them? Blueshirts.

@Brian: Dev was a relic of 1916 and the civil war. The IRA at the time was inward looking.. Nationalism was rampant during that period. Irish in the constitution as the 1st language and probably less people spoke it then than now. It was only in the fifties that Ireland started out looking. In the early sixties sectarian boundaries between the youths in the North were breaking down but no credit to Paisley, Adams and McGuinness they set it back decades. The media at the time was Adam says, Paisley says or McGuinness says. There were numerous opportunities for peace not availed of.

@Vincent Wallace: How many have been killed by the PIRA? More recently why did SF delete all references to Putin and Russia of its website.

@Paul O’Mahoney: Do you see a comparison of ten young men dying on hunger strike, and Thomás Ashe and Terence MacSweeney in the earlier phase for independence?
Finally your delusional tirade about Sinn Féin and I.R.A. who are and were two seperate entities process throughout the struggle for Independence. Though of a close thought process.

@Vincent Alexander: Oh, were you at the epicenter?

Flip floppers be flip flopping lol

@Paul O’Mahoney: they were always going to sit with the same group they always sit with, the pro-soviet rump of the USSR politicians from the former Russian colonies in Eastern Europe. Suggesting to the electorate that they might move somewhere else was just electioneering, an attempt to counter what FG and Labour were pointing out, that those parties are the only ones with any rea influence in the Parliament, because of the two major groups to which they are aligned.
Sinn Fein and independents can’t achieve much in the EP, they are essentially glorified lobbyists at best, spectators to the process at worst. Like sending Dustin the turkey to the eurovision — a great joke but pointless.

@Paul O’Mahoney: Hamas lovers nonetheless.

@Vincent Alexander: No where near 6 million thats for sure

@Paul O’Mahoney: look at the history and track record ffg and then get down off your high horse. SF have not made a complete mess of this country,they have not been in power.

@Vincent Alexander: how many were killed by the uff etc. The ira were not fighting themselves. Learn your history or go back to bed.

@Brendan O’Brien: Oh “the state”? You got that correct.
The Nation must be another matter for you?

@Alan: Who exactly are these belligerent voices they are losing out to? It would seem to me that they lost out to all parties, as support shifted back largely to the traditional FF/FG and a large number of independents. I’m not sure of the exact numbers of anti immigration candidates that ran,whom you may consider belligerent,but they hardly put the dent in the fall in support,which by the way, was always based on polls and not the ballot box. Based on the ballot box they’re still up last local elections and as the last locals showed they can be a huge disparity between local and general elections..and considering they may very well have equal number of MEPs as FF/FG.. I certainly think its to early to celebrate the demise of SF, as some are.. Both FF/FG have had far worse days than this.

@Alan: Ok so you are admitting that you are a voice in the wind? So why comment in the first place?

@Alan: Nostradamus you are some visionary. How can you know otherwise? Sinn Féin has not been given a chance to prove themselves as yet? They surely cannot be any worse to our present government.
If Sinn Féin doesn’t deliver vote them back out? Simple it’s called democracy.

@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: Labour and SocDems are in the S+D bloc which got 6%, while SF and possibly PBP are in ‘The Left’ bloc which got 23%. Greens bloc got 5%.

@9QRixo8H: Don’t all those class themselves as ‘Left’?

And that Independents for Change pair – Daly and Wallace – class themselves as left too, I think.

@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: yes but the data is about the party named The Left (also called GUE/NGL) where that party got 23%. While Labour/Greens/I4C/SD might class themselves as left, they are not in the European party called The Left.

@9QRixo8H: But all these are still left parties, right?

I mean, a party can call itself anything, but that does not (necessarily) give any indication of its political leanings.

@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: yeah those 3 eu blocs are on the left

ideologies can be both, being right or left is an action, if you go far enough the ideas become exactly the same. There’ no way you can create an accurate ‘league table’… I’d be up for a Fantasy League of Irish politics tho.

@9QRixo8H: Good word. Open your eyes man?

@Martin O,Reilly: Peaders obsessed with far and hard right. He swallows the sound bites and anybody that questions immigration is ….in his opinion….hard right. Even if all they have hard left opinions. Glad most political commentators by here have a much broader view of political leanings.