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SINN FÉIN HAS selected councillor Janice Boylan to run alongside party leader Mary Lou McDonald in Dublin Central in the next general election.
The decision to run a second candidate in McDonald’s constituency comes as a strategic shift for the party which previously ran McDonald on her own in 2020.
McDonald topped the poll that year with 36% of first preference votes. Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe secured the second highest level of first preference votes at 13%.
In that election, Sinn Féin made significant gains, receiving the highest number of first-preference votes of any party. However, in the aftermath McDonald acknowledged that her party got the numbers wrong and should have ran more candidates.
The party tried to rectify this in June’s local and European elections, but overshot and had a disappointing performance. Speaking at her party’s think-in last month, the Sinn Féin president said she is hoping for “third time lucky” in this election.
The party has been consistently falling in the polls however since its unprecedented highs of 2020, most recently dropping 9 points to 18% in the latest Sunday Times poll.
Born in O’Devaney Gardens, Boylan has been a councillor for ten years and has vowed to be a voice that “stands up for working class communities.
Speaking today McDonald said she was delighted to be joined on the ticket by Boylan.
“Janice was born and raised in the Inner City. She has spent her entire adult life standing up for ordinary workers, families and our incredible communities.
“As a TD, Janice would be relentless in fighting your corner in Dáil,” McDonald said.
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Is it possible that not only do they not get two seats in Dublin central but that Mary Lou might, just might be in trouble? Can’t keep her foot out of her mouth lately. Outraged at 9 million for phones. And yet the government of N. Ireland are doing the exact same thing……
@Alan OConnor: nice photograph. Didn’t realise she had moved house.
@Alan OConnor: I think Mary lou is safe, but this will be a new strategy for SF as they need to run more candidates if they have any hope of getting into Government. The LE saw the strategy fail to an extent as where Janice Boylan was elected on the 12th count. with a few more had she run as a single candidate, she would have done a lot better.
Personally, I can’t see SF making huge gains with multiple candidates as their core vote is 15-18% and splitting that will make it difficult. But they have to do it.
@Alan OConnor: their strategy will be the same as last time, fill all the ballot papers across the country with candidates completely lacking in experience, as long as they promise not to sing ‘A Nation Once Again’, if elected
@Alan: Ah jaysus yeah, oul Mary lou from the flats!
@Alan OConnor: The DUP, according to the news tonight, came up with and introduced the phone pouches in the North. FFG got the idea from the DUP who authorised a 250k spend themselves.
Oh and having the Minister for Homeless smirk about this on the news a day after he was totally discredited by claims he made by the Journals fact checkers says all you need to know about this government. Liars.
@Mr Inbetween: did Sinn feign block the use of pouches in Northern Ireland?
@Mr Inbetween: £250,000 on phone pouches for 10 schools! Not a peep out of Sinn Fein… odd that.
@Alan OConnor: Harris should definitely know, and maybe you should read a little before rehashing his misleading sound bites. The DUP hold the education ministry in north assembly and because of the disfunctionality of that statelet, each minister has almost total autonomy of his/her department. Therefore SF have little to no say on this issue.
@Mr Inbetween:
Shin Fein lieing spoofers
@North Phone Bowe:
If why did they not stage a walk out.
@Alan OConnor: her own foot soldiers disagree with the new woke stands
Everyone including/especially the poor have realised that everything depends on a successful functioning economy and don’t want to be an experimental Venezuela of Europe.
@thomas molloy: still, they would create a great country for paedophiles.
I’m glad Janice and Mary Lou have patched things up. Was it 2 or 3 years ago, Janice said that the party had humiliated her, and she promised to reveal all in a cryptic Facebook post? She then quit, but the party denied she had.
‘ I can not stay where I am not supported, valued or even really respected.’
@honey badger: specifically:My decision to resign is based on numerous promises that things would change, numerous times I have been humiliated and numerous times the party has failed to support me therefore made my role as a councillor harder than it ever needed to be.’
@Alan: All’s well that ends well, eh readers?
I wonder when Sinn Fein will cop on that Mary Lou is their main problem . Since she became party leader there have been a succession of own goals . Also , I get the impression that she is not allowing talented individuals to come forward as they might be a threat to her position . Considering the number of TD’s that they have the dearth of able people is extraordinary . Simply cannot see them hanging on to the number of seats that they have much less increasing that number .
@Des Hanrahan: I know nothing about Irish politics. Who will take her place ?
@offside again: We’ll have to wait till Belfast decides. It’s the way things are done.
@honey badger: “ its how things are done” only in your mind where SF live rent free!!!
@North Phone Bowe: Nothing was done about these guys:
Liam Adams.
Seamus Marley.
Martin Morris.
Michael McMonagle.
Sinn Fein has questions to answer. They’ve spent years ducking them. Maybe you’d like to explain…
@honey badger: maybe consider moving to this century?
@offside again: I have no idea.
@honey badger: Liam Adam’s served a sentence, Micheal mc Monagle is awaiting sentencing and Martin Morris was charged and attended trial to defend himself, a court of law which his accuser ran away from. So again your assertion that nothing happened to then is plainly false.
@North Phone Bowe: No thanks to Sinn Fein, who knew but did nothing. Who knew but moved the men to different jurisdictions. You already know this, slippery shinner.
@North Phone Bowe: they are all ball roots. Protected from within and by the very very top members of the Sinn Fein cult. Many of whom are female and constantly bang on about ‘human rights violations’. Make me sick. Disgusting perverts.
Mary Lou has become a liabilty to SF. She needs to be replaced by Pearse Doherty asap or they will lose a lot of theier seats next election. A very, very poor opposition party.
@Gerry Lamont: Keep her there, Doherty is only good for shouting.
@Gerry Lamont: while Pearse is very good with figures in front of him and is a capable finance spokesman…he has not been very good in interviews about other policies…he is the obvious candidate to replace Mary lou but I’m not sure if he’d do any better
If you’re working class and struggling or middle class and barely surviving, then you should definitely vote for FF and FG. The parties who’ve brought you the most expensive, overdue hospital in the world. The parties who give their mates lucrative contracts to build bike sheds and security huts. The parties who’ve bent over backwards not to enact the Illegal Settlements Bill. The parties who’ve allowed Irish airspace to be used to bring US WMDs to the Netanyahu regime. The parties who do nothing to ease the pain of children with scoliosis. The parties who’ve continuously failed you regarding housing and healthcare. You should definitely vote for those guys, they sound great!!!
@Anthony Curran: Nicely done, +1
Nonce party.
@Fintan Pox: Jimmy Saville could run for them if he was alive
@Buster Lawless: why does he have to be alive?
@Buster Lawless: lol
Mary Muslim Lou and her merry band of traitors are finished thank god.
@Trump23: The more you say it the dafter you sound.
Amazing Journal no place to query Sinn Fein attitude or response to sexual crimes by party members
With any luck Janice will get in and be the only sf elected. That would be a handy way out for Belfast!!
Get rid of usc and ill vote for you lot
Isn’t one of their measures to abolish USC for those earning under 45,000? https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/what-would-the-opposition-parties-have-given-you-in-budget-2025-if-they-were-in-government/a459096158.html
@9QRixo8H: get rid for ALL I say
SF will be no different from FF or FG if in government.
@AnthonyK: apart from the fact that we’d have a third world economy in a matter of weeks, with FDI disappearing like water down a plughole.
But at least their mentor, Putin, would be happy with his progress in wrecking the EU.
@AnthonyK: they have never been in Government. So you are speculating (another word for talking out of your Nat-king-cole)
@John Mulligan: putin? Ffs like. Sinn fein were (are) filthy animals long before putin entered the scene.
Sinn Fein about to commit Hari Kari by running too many candidates and diluting their vote so as not reaching quotas – all because they were told that they should have run many more last time.. bit dopey.
@Ben dover:
The hard left settled an old score with Claire Daley by running a canadate (who is retiring next election) in her area to suck votes away from her and it worked.
Maybe the godfathers in South armagh are trying to cost typhoid Mary her seat so she has to step down.
I’d be surprised if they swing two seats. With two failed local elections behind them and no new talent coming through, Janice is the logical choice. However, I’m sure SF aren’t in an even near situation of popularity they were in prior to the last generals. I wish them all the best but if they get the numbers wrong again, it brings SF’s decisionmaking, as a party into question.
As a person, I like Mary Lou. I like they way she stands up for people. But defending communities and leading a country are two very different things. Gerry & Martin were leaders but she’s not in that class (but neither are any of the other party leaders in fairness). My piont is, leaders come to the top. The current crop are skimmed milk. Only the cream rises to the top.
One thing is for sure, NEVER write off Sinn Féin.
@Chris Curran:
” Her people ”
Her people are South Dublin privately educated, Trinity collage types, with all the privileges and advantages in life that a FF property developer bring to his family.
“Should have ran”..tut tut
the Sinn Féin president said she is hoping for “third time lucky” in this election
Hope is a four letter word Mary Loo
She’d be better served trying to hang on to her own sear given their current performance.
have your say