Hope in the "Quiet County"

With all the negatives surrounding the party at the moment, I thought it would be good to compose a short piece on two of the relatively unnoticed successes in the past Local Elections which are bearing good omens for the party.

Prior to 2009, there was only a single Sinn Féin Councillor in the constituency of Laois/Offaly who had been holding the fort alone since his election in the Local Elections of 1999. Ten years later and several Local and General elections passed, four Sinn Fein Councillors now sit on three Local Authorities in both Laois and Offaly, three of whom were elected in a single election in June 2009 with two almost topping the polls. This notable milestone included the running of a candidate in one areas which had not been contested by Sinn Fein in over 60 years.

How was this success achieved? Despite numerous setbacks in the form of diverging personalities, and internal opposition, steady growth was maintained in the constituency with growth from a single Cumann in 2002 to now having Cumainn in each electoral area as we enter 2010. The key focus has been on the grassroots structures which abide strictly with the party constitution, the operating of probationary periods for new members, and targeted development of cumainn combined with hours of organising, canvassing, public relations, and first class representation has made the area a success.

The result is the ever increasing recognition of Sinn Féin as the only serious Left alternative to the stale politics of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael in the constituency along with the absolute decimation of the Labour Party in both the General Election of 2007 and the Local Elections of 2009.


The spirit of Fintan Lalor lives on.