West Belfast Sinn Féin Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Achieving a United Ireland - Building Political Strength

Published: 16 May, 2009

In 1994 Sinn Fein took 89,038 votes in the European election across Ireland.

Sinn Fein had a total of 92 elected representatives, all of them local councillors.

Today, 15 years later, Sinn Fein has the support of 323,983 citizens across the island of Ireland.

The party has five Ministers in the Executive, including the Office of Deputy First Minister.

Sinn Fein now has a total of 275 elected representatives;

  • 27 MLAs
  • 4 TDs
  • 5 MPs
  • 2 MEPs
  • 1 Senator
  • 236 councillors

Republicanism has grown significantly in the last 15 years. Sinn Féin is now stronger than at any time in 80 years.

Sinn Féin is the largest nationalist party in the North and the 3rd largest party in the island of Ireland.


The Sinn Féin peace strategy, and the Irish peace process which it led to, has opened up a peaceful and democratic path to a United Ireland.


Our task now is to build on the gains that have been made, deliver for citizens and push ahead with the development of the all-Ireland institutions.


Our primary political objectives are an end to partition, an end to the union, the construction of a new national democracy - a new republic - on the island of Ireland, and reconciliation between orange and green.

But we also want change in the here and now. We are not prepared to wait until we have achieved these goals for people to have their rights to a decent home, to a job and a decent wage, to decent public services like health and education, and a safer cleaner environment.

Key to achieving this is the hard, tedious, difficult work of building political strength.

By building political strength we can build the republic that was envisioned by the United Ireland movement and in the 1916 Proclamation - a republic built on equality, justice and freedom.

Therefore it is not enough to sloganise.

Sinn Féin is deadly serious about turning the vision of 1798 and 1916 into reality.

That means:

  • Moving maximum powers away from London into Ireland
  • Developing the all-Ireland economic and political agenda
  • Securing the transfer of policing and justice powers

To achieve all of this we need to grow. We need to renew our electoral mandate, and develop the Sinn Féin party.

So, let us move the struggle forward. Let us keep building our strength. And let us keep our eye on the prize.

The prize of freedom.