Sinn Fein trying to ape the SDLP

Sir — Eoghan Harris and Eilis O’Hanlon are wrong to make comparisons between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and the SDLP in its dealings with Sinn Fein (Sunday Independent, August 6). Apparently, it seems, Sinn Fein wrecked the SDLP, and will do the same to these southern parties if they effectively “behave the same way”. The decline of the SDLP can be directly linked to the withdrawal from politics of John Hume and, to a lesser extent, of Seamus Mallon, who has recently suggested that the Catholic Church’s position on Sinn Fein also hurt the SDLP, and of course that is true. The reality is that this dominant leadership also affects Sinn Fein, and Gerry Adams’s demise or resignation as leader will see the party badly affected.

An example of the true nature of Sinn Fein and how it will never be big in the Republic is in the way it expanded membership from the earliest days.

The reality of much of the senior membership of Sinn Fein “during the war” is that they were recruited from the IRA. The way that the IRA would recruit was to endorse the troublemaking hardmen in a community. These hardmen were kept in check by strong members of the community prior to that. This IRA recruitment undermined the community and left the IRA hardmen in control, with the strong people kept in check. This meant eventually that other hardmen would come along and be kept in check by the IRA, not the strong people who usually voted SDLP.

So the myth that only the IRA could control the hardmen came into effect. What we have today is a Northern Sinn Fein party attempting to cure this anomaly in its membership, seeking elected members without military baggage. They’re trying to ape the SDLP and portray themselves as peacemakers. That’s largely done for a southern audience, who tend to be horrified by hardline Sinn Feiners. There is no unifying cause that can be used to manipulate the population. Indeed, Sinn Fein knows this and is trying to put on a good face, unlike when they dealt with the SDLP.

The only way Sinn Fein can deal a blow in the Republic is if they match Fianna Fail and Fine Gael in usual political ways. The SDLP would still be the larger party if they did that up here. John O’Connell, Derry