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THE PERFORMANCE OF the Social Democrats in the general election was one of the major successes of the campaign, with the party jumping to six TDs.
Formed in 2015 with three TDs, the party fell short of expectations in the 2016 election and failed to get any additional candidates elected.
There was a further blow to the party in September 2016, when co-leader Stephen Donnelly announced that he would be leaving the party, reducing representation in the Dáil to only Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall.
Now, things seem to be changing.
In Donnelly’s own constituency of Wicklow, the Social Democrats candidate Jennifer Whitmore was elected above Donnelly (now with Fianna Fáil), winning more than 2,000 votes than her old party colleague.
For the first time, the party can reasonably argue it’s an all-Ireland political force, winning seats as far as Cork and posting solid results in constituencies such as Meath West.
Dermot Looney, the party’s Director of Elections, said that the fact it was a snap election did prove “difficult”.
“For some candidates and teams, that made things pretty hard,” he said.
Ahead of the election, the party certainly faced issues. There were no signs of an upcoming electoral breakthrough in the by-elections in November, while in Dublin Fingal and Dun Laoghaire, two well-known local candidates announced that they wouldn’t be contesting the election.
There were staffing issues too, with two vacancies – the head of policy and the head of communications – both left unfilled by the time Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that an election would take place on 8 February.
With seven staff prepared to run a national campaign, the omens weren’t particularly good.
Facing up to a short campaign, the party had a relatively simple strategy.
“We were very aware of not running paper candidates. Everyone we ran was a legitimate person involved in their community,” Looney said.
Unlike the similarly sized Green Party, which runs candidates in every constituency regardless of the chances of winning, the Social Democrats landed on a more strategic approach.
“We would be right in targeting seats where we felt the party could grow,” Looney says, referencing the Green Party’s near wipeout in 2011 when it ran 43 candidates but only received 1.85% of the vote.
It’s a strategy that appears to have paid dividends. Jumping from two TDs to six, the party consciously ran candidates who already had a profile locally.
Some were well known. Apart from Whitmore in Wicklow, who topped the poll in Greystones in the May local elections, Dublin Central candidate and high-profile councillor Gary Gannon had been tipped to take a seat after narrowly losing out to Maureen O’Sullivan in 2016.
But there were new faces too in which the party had invested high hopes. Holly Cairns in Cork South-West, despite only being elected to the local council in May 2019, had been tipped as a possible contender to take a seat – and rewarded those expectations by becoming the only female TD in Cork.
Looney describes the candidates as “rooted” in their constituencies and credits the repeal campaign for offering some of the party’s new faces a way into politics.
“Almost all of our candidates were involved in the repeal campaign,” Looney said.
When it comes to candidates, “ideally the party would have run a few more,” he adds.
Still, it wasn’t all success. In Galway West, Niall Ó Tuathail – one of the party’s hopes – failed to win a seat.
Some suggested that Ó Tuathail’s failure was partly down to his decision not to contest the local council elections in May.
“We’re not disappointed at all with Galway West,” Looney said.
“At the end of the day, Niall didn’t want to run in the locals,” he adds. “His heart wasn’t in it.”
In that constituency, the party puts the blame on the Sinn Féin surge that attracted a younger cohort of voters who on another day might have voted Social Democrat.
Regardless of a few disappointments, the party is certainly pleased with last week’s result.
It’s now level on seats with its left-of-centre rival – and much more established party – Labour and has a higher proportion of female TDs than any other party.
Now, as the big parties struggle to form a government, the party wants to be ready for whatever the future brings.
Looney is clear: “We will need to prepare in the coming weeks for another election.”
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I’ll be voting for change.
SF.
@Willy Mc Entire:
Keep dreaming Sinn Fein will never be in government
@Just Some Guy: they will though not this time but in the coming years they will weather you like it not
@Just Some Guy: I reckon ffg have become so arrogant and look at peeps in Ireland as if ye we can keep taking the piss to a certain extent but they’ve pushed their luck, maybe not this year but 5 next election if SF play their cards right should have a margority so putting an end to this 100 years of wo cheeks of the same arse arguing over who farted, the main party leaders are blunt along with RTE
@Just Some Guy:
Sinn Fein have been Government in the past.
The originators of both FF & FG were once Sinn Fein (1919-1921)
and as such formed the first Dail !
@Willy Mc Entire: how will have SF done in running the North with the DUP all these years.
@Bobby wilson: different kettle of fish
@Emer Caffrey: why would that be Emer? Are the Water charges abolished? SF were v strong on that issue in the 26.
@Willy Mc Entire: change with SF. Dream on. I think their social media campaigns have worked…
100,000 houses over 5 years and all that promised infrastructure for 10bn. Funniest thing I read In Years…. wouldn’t even get all those promised train lines for that amount. The children’s hospital quantity surveyor must have got another gig.
@Bobby wilson: The two are as comparable as chalk and cheese. The north is a power sharing executive and have no opposition bench. But SF, by bringing down the institutions, allowed things to happen that couldn’t be agreed to by the DUP. Namely marriage equality, pro choice and an Irish language act. Fact of the matter is the DUP tried to play hard and when that failed they returned to Stormont to cling on to the little power they have in UK politics.
@Willy Mc Entire: Sinn Fein/IRA won’t be in this year for sure.
@Emer Caffrey: sorry but SINN FEIN where in joint power with the DUP in running the six county state with the British government pumping in billions pounds towards it. so you can’t say SF had no control on what was happening across North .
@Paul Linehan: in regards of full abortion on demand been implemented across the NORTH there is a lot anger among very large proportion of the Catholic /Nationalist population across the NORTH particularly west of the bann which we could see from the last British election.
@Sal Paradise: FF/IMF and FG/DUP will do business with whoever can keep them in power. We need a strong SF mandate to keep those parties that ruined our economy in check.
@Just Some Guy: you should never stop dreaming a chara
@Moorooka Mick: if sinn finn want be in power they need to think seriously about the leadership the present leader has done nothing to convince the majority of the country so far when she opens her mouth
@Willy Mc Entire: Very surprised SF are up this early, must be dole day.
@Pascal the Rascal: *supporters
@Conan Campbell: FG/DUP? – so wait the DUP are a terrorist organization working for FG, robbing banks,drug dealing – then giving money to FG as donations?? No way…and the IMF too?
Someone needs to make a movie when this is all done.
@Sal Paradise: Sa\y hi to the 70′s…
@Bobby wilson: Working with the DUP is like working with Iran, anyone who can actually work with those knuckle draggers needs applause..
@Just Some Guy: SF with 33 TDs for the 33 government. Dry your eyes Willy
@Willy Mc Entire: voting Ruth Coppinger no1 shes a fighter for her area in the dail
@MickN: Hi 70′s.
@Conan Campbell: Strong = Gun to the back of the head?
I’ve had Leo’s sponsored ad pop up a few times. I report it for being ‘misleading or a scam’
Sinn fein for a needed change after 100years of ffg
@Tom o brien: that’s great Tom
@Tom o brien: Account opened in Jan 2020… interesting!!
@Sal Paradise: plus he can’t spell his own name though that makes him slightly more likely to be SF.
@Ro-your-nan: That is the FFG way, talk down to those who disagree, portray them as stupid… See where is gets them…
@Ro-your-nan: nothing like personal insults to the man speaking his truth. Typical toff behaviour.
@Dermot Foley: toff? Is that a personal insult?
@Ro-your-nan: They are only personal insults when directed at SF supporters. Otherwise it’s ok.
@Sal Paradise: New account so what? His opinion is only valid to you if his account is 2 years old?
@Caoimhín O Neill: maybe Tom could clarify the situation
Bit of a misleading headline there guys. FG have spent nearly three times more than SF and FF have spent more than twice that of SF. Don’t forget who started austerity and don’t forget who continued it.
@Ebeneezer Goode: The journal engaging in a bit of covert bias, trying to make it look like SF spent as much as FG… It’s hard to win seats when the mainstream media is biased against you.
Virgin media and Newstalk are shameless in their bias against SF. Of course there is a common denominator there, Denis O’Brien. I suspect there is enough appropriate evidence, that could be gathered to prove covert bias. Dennis has a lot to lose and so have Irish society, depending on how you vote.
Could he be a shadowy influencer of FG? Of course he is but one. There are a lot of others taking advantage of the incompetents in FG & FF and we pay the price.
@Ebeneezer Goode: absolutely correct
@John O’Hara: correct
@John O’Hara:
The more the mainstream media try to snub Sinn Fein the stronger Sinn Fein get.
People are sick of ffgl and their total detachment (Not to mention the squandering of public funding , being directly involved in causing the deaths of the Women in the smear debacle , the hospital trolley crises to name but a few).
Sinn Fein may not get in this year but it’s going to happen.
Your headline is so misleading. FG have spent c. 25,000e in total, FF c. 20,000e while SF have spent less than half of each of those parties at c. 10,000e. Headline the facts instead of lumping SF in with FG/FF, please.
If it means one less leaflet in the door or sign on a lamp post then they can spend away, I’m sick of seeing dodgy politicians mugs
What a waste of money by all parties
ffg frauds out now !
FF never forget. https://youtu.be/aEIWNtb41k8
@Still-Not-News: Sinn Fein/IRA…never forget….don’t have enough time to post all the links about there recent murdering past.
Or are we supposed to forget their past but not others? Curious on that one?
@Still-Not-News: never forget the murders
@plug’s ear: We should never forget.
Sinn Fein’s social & economic policies are not far from those of Nordic countries which we admire ( + a 32 County Ireland bonus)
Many Right Wing Populists masquerade here as Capitalists with the arsets out of their trousers; much bravado since the near death experience of 2008!
@Moorooka Mick: have you forgotten about a million unionists who dont want a United ireland.
@plug’s ear: Democracy Plug. They will soon be the minority. They will be given equal status and their culture protected in a Reunited Ireland. And finally we can all move on from the abomination that is partition.
@plug’s ear: we live in a democracy and the overwhelming % of the electorate voted for the GFA. The terms on which unity will happen are quite clear and not up for negotiation. They are the bedrock on which the agreement is built. Its worrying to see FF being prepared to rip up an international treaty for votes.
Very misleading headline – SF spent €10k – we’re not stupid we see through your spin
@Emer Caffrey: is this the same Sinn who all got a substantial pay rise in the north for not showing up to work.
Did know about all the homelessness in the north.
About the crumbling health service.
Hypocrisy at its best
@plug’s ear: Except SF didn’t take that pay rise and returned it.
Haven’t we got a great shower to vote for ..what a shower of feather there own nest wasters
SF for change
They really should limit the amount of posters people can use. Eoghan Murphy could rebuild a replica of the ballymun towers twice over and still have a rake of posters left over. It’s kind of ridiculous. At least with digital posts there’s no environmental impact like with those posters.
@Keith Michael Gregg: but they’ve spent money on poster’s and Facebook adds, I wonder what the total amount is for each party…
Well fair play to them 50,000… man down the road that lives off a fiver a week for food… Their Corrupt as F***
@TJC Mc: betcha he holds 2 pints in his hands
@TJC Mc: its ‘they’re’ and how is buying advertising corrupt?
Btw, 50k combined on Facebook ads is f**k all.
@Ebeneezer Goode: no he can’t drink on his medication… why would you say that! The man is unwell with cancer!
@Ebeneezer Goode: hey maybe you should go with Fianna Gael/Fáil you assumed that we’d people have very little money to survive on they drink it instead of been ill and on a fiver a week for that that no one gives a F*** about Ya Dumb dung ya!
@Ebeneezer Goode: I see ya git 31 likes… you should spent yer day now making yourself a medal! Lol
NO MORE ELECTION POSTERS. So much plastic!
@Aido Yollom: they are recyclable so relax. Democracy is important.
Why don’t they just hire Cambridge Analytica and it’s a gaurenteed win?
I spent €10,000 on a meal out. That’s the average spend for me, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew.
That’s a fake news headline.
I’m a campaign manager. This really isn’t a lot of money when you consider what they are trying to do I.e reach voting age ppl across the country. I’m working on a campaign at the moment that is spending about the same amount trying to reach a much smaller audience. The only news I see in these figures is how low they are for the task at hand if I’m honest. Go to the UK or USA and tell them this – you’d be laughed at.
@John McSweeney:
You are correct €50K is a very small Facebook spend. Each party is paying multiples of that on printed posters. What is much more relevant re social media is , is using a very well coordinated army of individual accounts. It is very easy to obfuscate any potential spend using this method. It also attempts to skew people’s perception of the actual support for a particular party or position
The Journal.ie comments section is a good example of this. 90% of the posters on election topics here are Sinn Féin supporters. They all use a very similar commenting & replying techniques, almost as if they had been coached. You can also see a common, very robust, method on shutting down any anti Sinn Féin discussion.
I think all the other parties are way behind the curve on this one
@John McSweeney: As you can see.
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: or not, as the case may be
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh:
If you are going to make up false numbers and push a false narrative then you should expect people to push back and challenge your comments.
EG .90% of commentators on the Journal are Sinn Fein supporters….you just made this number up.
The comments and reply techniques are ‘almost’ ‘coached’ and the ‘method’ is very robust’
If these claims were true ( they aren’t) then what you are saying is that there has been some very slick organising on behalf of the Sinn Fein party in terms of coaching for Social Media …and this has been so successful that now 90% of the comments are from these well trained Sinn Fein commentators which the other parties are way way behind on.
With respect – if Sinn Fein have managed to do that then they deserve greta credit for being the best organised party on the island.
Maybe consider this ( much more likely ) alternative.
Many many many ordinary people are sick to the teeth of the the big political parties who have been in confidence and supply for years yet the results are a shambolic public services like health , housing etc etc and this time they are crying out for a change – Sinn Fein is one of the better performing parties ( the next best polling after the big two ) and many people are so angry with the current state of play that they are engaging on social media and being much more vociferous in shouting down the status quo .
PS tell Mary Lou I expect a fee for doing this online SF party political broadcast on their behalf won’t you.
@Dave Hammond:
There is nothing false in it at all. If you look at the posters on here on political articles, 90% of them support Sinn Féin. This is completely at odds with Sinn Féin actual support on the ground. Sinn Féin got 13.7% of the 2016 GE first preferences and less than 10% of the first preferences in the last years local and EU elections. If they get 15% first preferences in the upcoming election, it would be a fantastic result for them.
People may have issues with the performance current government, that doesn’t mean 90% are going to vote for Sinn Féin.
Sinn Féin are centrally organised party. As you said, you have to give them credit for a very well managed campaign. I am sure you can have your own discussions with Sinn Féin’s leadership regarding your own posts if you need to.
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh:
You cannot substantiate your 90% claim – you are just making up numbers – 8 out of 10 cats agree with you.
@Dave Hammond: All you have to do is count them. no one is saying these poster are all in an office together. But they clearly are coordinated. They also have no tolerance of anyone giving a more mainstream point of view. Have a look for terms like “blue shirt”, “loyalist”, “unionist”, west brit etc. Normal people don’t use those terms when discussing politics.
WONDER WHO’S MONEY THERE SPENDING TO PAY FOR ALL THIS… JUST ASKING????????
It’s time for people to be honest with themselves. Voting SF as if by some magic it’s going to change anything is just living in fantasy land. Why you may ask. To put it simply it’s down to numbers. SF don’t have them. They are only fielding 50% of the Candidates they would require to form a Government. And both FF and FG have both stated categorically that they will not go into Government with them. The two big parties between them are expected to take between 110 and 115 seats in a 158 seat Dail. SF is expected to take between 25 to 30 seats. Even if they managed to combine with every other small party and every Independent they would still be short by 32 to 37 Seats to form a majority. So all this talk of voting SF for change is fantasy. And people need to wake up to that reality.
@Mick.: You must be new to Irish politics Mick. FF or FG will do business with whoever can keep them in power. Pre-election posturing is the name of the game. We need a strong SF mandate to keep FFG in check.
@Conan Campbell: Did either party go into coalition in the last General Election? Or the one before that? How about the local elections?
@Mick.: Confidence and Supply is coalition lite. There is no such thing as coalitions in local councils. The parties agree among themselves to divvy up things like who’ll be mayor for each year of the council term but that’s it. In fact the whole bluster about not going into government with each other doesn’t exist at local level.
Facebook may be free but I foot the bill as a taxpayer for their nuisance ads on the platform :) Cool!
What a misuse of money by all the parties. Who’s funding these? There has been no party yet that has given a strong performance… They’re agendas have more holes than a Colander
Just so you know…..its us (the taxpayer) that pays for this whole charade. They get all sorts of expenses and so forth afterwards.
Same garbage lies/promises from all parties, probably high time we scrapped our stagnant political system and start from scratch again.
These are small numbers
have your say