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SINN FÉIN ARE riding on a crest of a wave after the general election, and they’re hoping it will carry on across the Atlantic for this year’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
This week, the party held a number of rallies around the country. The turnout was so big, people were refused entry, while extra chairs had to be brought in to many venues.
While Leo Varadkar said the events were a “campaign of intimidation and bullying”. Mary Lou McDonald dismissed the comments as “completely over the top” and accused him of “hysterical overreaction”.
Reporters attending the public events said they were a lot like any other political gatherings, though notably, the numbers in attendance might be the envy of some parties.
Ditto this morning’s opinion poll, which gives Sinn Féin at 15-point poll lead ahead of its nearest rivals.
As St Patrick’s Day approaches, the party will be hoping to cash in on the momentum in Ireland, and will be eager to see if the Stateside reaction post-election has the same fanfare.
It is no secret that the dream of a united Ireland animates many Irish Americans. The country has been intertwined in the peace process since the 1990s when US politicians Edward Kennedy, Tip O’Neill, Daniel Moynihan and Hugh Carey, helped persuade Bill Clinton to back the peace process and grant the then Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams a US visa.
Support in the US
The truth is, the party has never had much trouble in drumming up support in the States – though this year’s election result is likely to add to the party’s publicity.
The party has much support in the States, through the Friends of Sinn Féin organisation which was established in 1995 in order to provide “an effective and efficient way for people in America to help Sinn Féin consolidate the peace process and achieve our aim of an independent, united Ireland”.
It can accept donations on behalf of the US-wing of the party. Last year, Irish Central reported that the party made history when Friends of Sinn Féin passed the $15 million fundraising mark with a sell-out dinner in Manhattan in New York.
The former Sinn Féin president actually had the 17 March declared Gerry Adams Day by New York Mayor Bill De Blasio in 2017.
With Leo Varadkar in attendance, most likely having to bite his lip, the mayor said during the ceremony:
“He [Adams] understood there was no place in this world anymore for colonialism and he fought against it… great ideas never die. I want to honour him for pursuit of a goal that makes so much sense – a goal for a United Ireland.”
This year, similar to the Taoiseach’s itinerary, some Sinn Féin events will take place in New York, though McDonald is understood not to be travelling to the Big Apple.
Last year, she was criticised for posing beside an anti-English banner at the St Patrick’s Day parade in New York, which read: ‘England Get Out Of Ireland’.
The banner, or a variation of it, has been the only political banner allowed in the parade for decades.
Visit to the White House
The main events for the Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald will be in Washington DC this year.
Often seen as a big fundraising drive for the party with their Irish-American base, there’s a busy itinerary for McDonald: meeting the diaspora, events with Irish-American trade groups and handshaking with politicos, a women in politics event, as well as the usual Shamrock ceremony in the White House and the Speaker’s lunch on Capitol Hill.
But it wasn’t always this way.
In 2018, to much surprise, the leaders of Sinn Féin and the DUP were not invited to the White House for traditional St Patrick’s Day reception.
At the time, McDonald said she was not fazed by not being invited to attend the White House, stating: “I don’t feel snubbed.”
Foster did not travel to Washington DC that year.
‘Traitor’
Gerry Adams has been a regular guest at the White House in the past. However, one year he was refused entry.
“I was only in it once. The year that there was all the confusion about Gerry not being let in. I was standing there and I said I will wait with you Gerry. He said, ‘No, go on in’. I said, ‘No, I’ll wait with you,” she told TheJournal.ie in an interview in 2018.
“We waited and waited. We met everybody on the way in, I was saying, ‘Hello congressman, hello senator.’ It was nearly finished, so Gerry said, ‘For the love of God, just go.’ I said: ‘Are you sure?’ He said yes. I walked off and I had literally taken three steps away and I heard him whisper: ‘Traitor.’ I didn’t live that one down, I was the deserter, I left him to fend for himself,” she said, laughing.
This year the re-establishment of Stormont will most likely be the main attraction for US legislators.
Just two years ago, at a special event to mark the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in Washington DC, the major players behind the agreement urged modern-day leaders to “reflect on their responsibilities” to protect peace in Northern Ireland.
Former US President Bill Clinton as well as Senator George Mitchell, two of the key players in getting the peace process over the line, said the anniversary was an opportunity to recommit to the agreement.
Exactly three years after the collapse of Stormont, the institutions were re-established in January.
This year, First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill, will be in attendance at the White House events.
McDonald will also be attending, in what will be the first St Patrick’s Day celebration in Washington attended by all leaders since Stormont got back up and running.
What might put a dampener of the events for Foster is that the report of the public inquiry into the Renewable Heat Incentive controversy will be published the day after the Shamrock Ceremony in the White House.
While the event will see old enemies circulating in the same room, it will also mean that Varadkar and McDonald will be rubbing shoulders with one another in the midst of the government formation talks back home.
Fine Gael has ruled out going into government with Sinn Féin. McDonald has said Varadkar’s party does not represent change.
TheJournal.ie’s political correspondent Christina Finn will be bringing you all the latest updates from Leo Varadkar’s visit to Washington this month, including his meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Stay up-to-date by following @christinaFinn8, @TJ_Politics and TheJournal.ie’s Facebook page.
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Could someone from the AAA please enlighten us as to where Socialism has ever worked?
@Fergus Sheahan: It worked for Chavez’s family and close friends. Is that the kind of answer you were looking for?
@Libertarian Ireland:
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others…
@Fergus Sheahan: you mean the AAA’s brand of socialism aka populist socialism
As aspects of socialism can work well together in balance with capitalism e.g. Social welfare system; Norwegian tax system etc
@Vic’s Burd: Ireland has a balance between socialism and capitalism.
@Fergus Sheahan: Vietnam’s the only country I know of.
@Avina Laaf:
Well, thats old news. Identity politics (the kind that hates on white men) will decide who gets what in the new order.
Its time for a stimulus for the helicopter industry,
Join us
Maduro and his predecessor Chavez are darlings of the Left, lionised by our own President. Since the election of Chavez, Venezuela has become a basket-case economy – and coincidentally Chavez’s daughter has become the wealthiest woman in the country (although she prefers to enjoy her ill-gotten gains in Switzerland, far from the squalor that her father created).
Chavez, Maduro and Socialism have destroyed Venezuela, just as Socialism had destroyed
@Brian Lenehan:
Ami Horowitz… https://youtu.be/A0ON0xUMawg
Socialism always leads to poverty.
Yes the people of Norway and Sweden are so poor
@Ibhar Mac Suibhne:
Yes Sweden, such a harmonious society of late, probably the most refugee welcoming, Islam friendly society in Europe… That was recently stuck with Islamic terror… https://www.google.ie/amp/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN0SG0I220151022
@Ibhar Mac Suibhne:
Swedes forced go to Finland for medical care due to overcrowding… https://www.thelocal.se/20161229/swedes-forced-to-go-to-finland-to-give-birth-due-to-overcrowding?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
@Ibhar Mac Suibhne:
Norway?? Norway is a oil rich, stand alone nation, the country is currently being run by a centrist led political party, before that, it was a conservative led minority government.
@Brian Lenehan: That’s a totally false you’re making Venezuela sound like a modern European state pre Chavez. Inflation was double before was Chavez was elected and Venezuela had numerous severe banking crises only a few years before him. Poverty was far worse as was illiteracy. Economical troubles because of low revenue due to falling oil prices were around before him too.
It is largely because he never moved Venezuela off oil which is a stupid thing to do when you fund your policies with it. Would have been a warning sign to Scotland when it sought independence and made claims based on oil barrel prices which were several times higher than they are now.
Oh yeah, if you google ‘ Hugo Chavez daughter wealth’ you can see the people you got that information off. FoxNews, Breitbart, National Review, Dailymail, etc. are all the top searches
Maduro is quite sinister, however.
@Ibhar Mac Suibhne:
You cannot consider Norway and Sweden in same extreme framework as
Venezuela. Venezuela is based on populist socialism, that our looney lefties here preach, which has clearly destabilised the economy.
In this blog: http://blog.peerform.com/top-ten-most-socialist-countries-in-the-world/
Ireland is regarded, along with Norway and Sweden, as a socialist nation too. We have one of the best welfare systems in the world.
We could model the Norway anti-populist socialist model as the best in the world, but they have their oil to maintain this system.
@Lepanto: The topic of this conversation was socialism I thought?
@Vic’s Burd: I was commenting on Lepantos comment that “socialism always leads to poverty”
And by the way Venezuela has plenty of oil too, its just unlike Venezuela Norway doesn’t have the USA undermining its socialist stance.
@Lepanto: “Swedes forced go to Finland for medical care due to overcrowding…”
Shit happens Lepanto, under the Irish National treatment purchase fund , I was sent by the HSE to the UK for treatment…..what’s your point here?
@Jason Byrne: Let me school you. I’m Irish-Venezuelan. You’ve said that”Inflation was double before was Chavez was elected” This is total BS AAA crap.
Let me tell you in figures you can understand, which is the local currency Bolvar – USD exchange rates. The Bolivar had a very solid and stable exhange rate of Bs 4.30 per USD. This lasted for decades until Black Friday in 1983 when protectionist economic measures backfired fast and started inflation as we know it.
In 1984 it was Bs 13.55 per USD. in 1990 it was Bs 42.65 per USD. in 1999, the year before Chavez came to power was Bs 509 per USD. In 16 years the Bolivar went from Bs 4.30 to Bs 509.
Then in 2007 a new currency was introduced. The Bolivar Fuerte (Strong bolivar) which was the old currency divided by 1000. So in 2007 when the new Bolivar was introduced it was Bs 2150 per USD so it became VEF 2.15 per USD.
Now in 2017, there is no real way to buy currency, the official exchange rate is VEF 9.90 per USD, but its a Micky mouse rate, only a very small numbers of first necessity companies gets access to some of this rate. the day to dasy business and prices are based in the open parallel market which is VEF 4400 per USD. YES, Four Thousand Four Hundred and Forty VEF to $1. which means Bs 4400000 of the old currency. (Over for Millions in case you think I’ve made a typo).
So compare from 4.30 to 509 in 16 years Pre-Chavez and from 509 to 4400000 17 years after. You do the maths.
@Ibhar Mac Suibhne: what always lead’s to poverty is greed, corruption, lies and no accountability which happens to govts left and right depending on the type of individuals involved. Our own government is a good example of this.
@Brian Lenehan:
Utopia is not for this world. Dont believe anyone who tells you it is.
Especially worth reflecting on at Easter time. Che, Chavez, nor Lenin did not die for your sins.
Where’s Waddler
@Chef Harold:
He’ll be along shortly to tell us that the problem isn’t too much socialism, it’s not enough socialism, and that the capitalist elites are somehow preventing Maduro from printing more money to solve all the problems. Or something.
I think he got another account blocked again. Don’t you need a phone number to register. Guess he ran out of phones
Would be interesting to see Boyd Barrett et al attend.
Although it is true that Venezuela is closer to achieving equality than Ireland is, in that everyone is equally poor, starving and at risk of violence.
Yea like Capitalism has really done wonders for the world. I’m sure greed, corruption, outside influences and poor regulation of power, which seem to feature in all political systems, have all contributed to the dreadful goings on in Venezuela, but I do prefer the ideologies of Socialism to Capitalism.
@Aogan Keyes: you can’t eat ideology, Socialism sounds good but it doesn’t work and it never has, human natural works against it, Paul Murphy should pay Caracas a visit
@Aogan Keyes: All isms are bad, there is no system that looks after the people properly, yet we have a nightmare government making rich foreigners even richer and I bet there will be no support marches in Venezuela or any other countries where people want to get themselves hear heard. We really need to worry about the growing problems we have here already. Illegal migrants are sucking this country dry, now if we wealthy enough to provide shelter and food but we were bled by The EU over several years, listened to politicians making cut and cut but people still came here with no welfare systems to claim what they felt entitled to. Migrants are find if they want to contribute but coming here for the freebies is disgraceful but nobody is stopping it. I am not picking on Venezuelan living here but whatever happened EU citizens being granted free movement or was that a joke?
@Aogan Keyes:
I love it, so it’s capitalism’s fault from other countries which is the problem and not socialism itself. You should hook up with Wally to discuss printing money as apparently with Socialism you can simply print as much as you want with no negative impact
@Aogan Keyes:
Capitalism has pulled more people out of poverty than any other economic system, it’s not perfect, none are, but Socialists/Communists think Socialism IS the perfect system.
@Fergus Sheahan: there are different forms of socialism, the populist-socialism that Paul Murphy and his party favours was the same model that Venezuela used.
Ireland is regarded as a socialist nation more than capitalist; with our welfare system and strong constitutional led policies. As is Norway, Finland, Netherlands etc. Like us they are all non-populist socialism with an element of capitalism thrown in.
There has to be a balance.
@Vic’s Burd: everything in moderation works, Paul Murphy is a clown we can all agree on that
@Aogan Keyes: You sir, are overfed on clean capitalist food. I think a spell in the GULAG would increase your love for the state and its forcible redistribution of others property. You can fill your cup will socialist ideology as you labour in the Uranium mines of Siberia.
@Vic’s Burd:
None of those countries are socialist. They allow for the private ownership of capital. They are capitalist, with strong welfare programmes.
And the end game of welfare states is upon us, the generation that is meant to pay for all these benefits are either not born, or languishing in low wage hell.
You always run out of other peoples money in the end.
I’ll put it on my bucket list
@Fergus Sheahan:
Don’t encourage murphy to go globe trotting on the taxpayers expense. He’ll be off like a shot on “fact finding” visits. Sure he’s already been to Egypt to support his Muslim brotherhood detainees on our expense.
This has to be one of most undocumented crisies in the world, children are dying because that socialist dimwitted bus driver maduro is single handidly(along with his cronies) destroying a country that was the richest in South America in 2001 along with his deceased predecessor Chavez. Socialism never works as for that crowd AAA in Ireland they make me physically sick with their utter nonsense.A crying shame considering it has the most oil reserves per capita in the world.
With regards to the passenger on United Airline being physically pulled off the plane and now has a broken nose and has lost some teeth, the slogan for United Airlines was “The Friendly Airline” Really !!! Companies have lost respect for their customers, The only thing that counts is to post a profit every quarter.
Why not protest about the scandal of our homeless people instead? Get our own house in order first and keep the pressure on the FG traitors.
No one representative from Ireland attended today, not on…no AAA, no SF, no FF, no FG and no IDP. Anyone know what any of our political parties stance is on the situation in Venezuela is? #NoMasDictadura
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