Anthony McIntyre  Because of the enduring influence and reach of its martial politicians Sinn Fein has traditionally managed to avoid washing dirty linen in public. 

Even if it meant sending an enforcer to someone's home, it was an effective way of ensuring dirty linen did not get washed so that dirty business could carry on as normal.

Keeping a lid on dissent helps explain why Sinn Fein has always been a fan of Section 31 . . . just not when it was used against itself. Censoring others through SLAPP or alternative forms of bullying, it is pretty okay with. The much vaunted mural wall of ostensible creativity in practice served as an opaque screen on wheels which was pulled into position to prevent scrutiny of internal processes. When the wheels come off, party officials are caught with their trousers down. This was evident when recently a furore erupted over more allegations of censorship with members objecting to the party's efforts to shield its leader from unapproved questions. One TD subsequently resigned from the party. 

As the party sought to expand in the truncated Republic the reach of the martial politicians, to borrow a phrase, could only be extended at the expense of their grasp. With a growing membership who listened to what the party leadership said rather than watched how it functioned, the tactics of old could no longer work quite as effectively. Not all party members were prepared to be bullied into silence in a party which patently did not do what it said on the tin - observe boilerplate democratic procedures. Christine O’Mahony simply refused to be browbeaten when the party green shirts called to her door demanding that she remove tweets critical of Brian Stanley.

Ironically, it is the same Brian Stanley who has brought the party to crisis point through his resignation at the weekend. As a long standing TD and chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Stanley is a powerful figure within Sinn Fein. Sending out the whisper weasels to besmirch his character might convince those who believe anything so long as it is whispered to them but with the exponential growth of the party in the post-Adams era, the proportion of true believers has shrunken.

For those on the outside gazing in, things look very much like the apparatchiks of the careerist cartel tearing lumps out of each other in a new blood sport in full view of the assembled spectators thronging to fill the Colosseum. The time honoured slurring of public scrutiny as illicit is having a titillating effect now that the veil has been pulled away to show the sharks devouring each other.

As opposed to the party as I am, I must still acknowledge that there are many committed members and public representatives in Sinn Fein. I witness that first hand in Drogheda where the party perspective on different viewpoints lacks the toxicity so redolent of its West Belfast mob whose martial politicians still strut their authoritarian stuff. 

Sinn Fein's dilemma is that there is no way back to the reign of the martial politicians, and there is no way forward with them. Sinn Fein needs to confront the invidious culture of organised lying and systemic bullying martial politicians have spawned. The martial politicians will either walk the plank or sink the ship. 

Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

Martial Politicians

Anthony McIntyre  Because of the enduring influence and reach of its martial politicians Sinn Fein has traditionally managed to avoid washing dirty linen in public. 

Even if it meant sending an enforcer to someone's home, it was an effective way of ensuring dirty linen did not get washed so that dirty business could carry on as normal.

Keeping a lid on dissent helps explain why Sinn Fein has always been a fan of Section 31 . . . just not when it was used against itself. Censoring others through SLAPP or alternative forms of bullying, it is pretty okay with. The much vaunted mural wall of ostensible creativity in practice served as an opaque screen on wheels which was pulled into position to prevent scrutiny of internal processes. When the wheels come off, party officials are caught with their trousers down. This was evident when recently a furore erupted over more allegations of censorship with members objecting to the party's efforts to shield its leader from unapproved questions. One TD subsequently resigned from the party. 

As the party sought to expand in the truncated Republic the reach of the martial politicians, to borrow a phrase, could only be extended at the expense of their grasp. With a growing membership who listened to what the party leadership said rather than watched how it functioned, the tactics of old could no longer work quite as effectively. Not all party members were prepared to be bullied into silence in a party which patently did not do what it said on the tin - observe boilerplate democratic procedures. Christine O’Mahony simply refused to be browbeaten when the party green shirts called to her door demanding that she remove tweets critical of Brian Stanley.

Ironically, it is the same Brian Stanley who has brought the party to crisis point through his resignation at the weekend. As a long standing TD and chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Stanley is a powerful figure within Sinn Fein. Sending out the whisper weasels to besmirch his character might convince those who believe anything so long as it is whispered to them but with the exponential growth of the party in the post-Adams era, the proportion of true believers has shrunken.

For those on the outside gazing in, things look very much like the apparatchiks of the careerist cartel tearing lumps out of each other in a new blood sport in full view of the assembled spectators thronging to fill the Colosseum. The time honoured slurring of public scrutiny as illicit is having a titillating effect now that the veil has been pulled away to show the sharks devouring each other.

As opposed to the party as I am, I must still acknowledge that there are many committed members and public representatives in Sinn Fein. I witness that first hand in Drogheda where the party perspective on different viewpoints lacks the toxicity so redolent of its West Belfast mob whose martial politicians still strut their authoritarian stuff. 

Sinn Fein's dilemma is that there is no way back to the reign of the martial politicians, and there is no way forward with them. Sinn Fein needs to confront the invidious culture of organised lying and systemic bullying martial politicians have spawned. The martial politicians will either walk the plank or sink the ship. 

Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

3 comments:

  1. Far from being the party that once had zero tolerance for solo runs they have now succumbed to the road travelled by all parties on the Democratic path. Careerism will win at the expense of just about everything in the long run. Must admit to being very surprised at the lax handling of any suggestion of quibble by Connolly house, as you unfortunately know they used to have no issue sending apparatchiks to the door. Wondering if Kelly getting told to pull his head in by the Judge on SLAPP rattled a few cages?

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  2. 'Live by the sword, die by the sword'

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  3. There is a bit of what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander

    It would appear that there is some merrit in Stanleys claim in that an incident may have happened a year ago but it was sat on either coincidence or intentionally until conventions started

    It would appear that Ó Donnghaile incident was known about but was sat on to the run up to the election.

    Would imagine in a year humans being what they are, hundreds of them being in SF there would be other stories that someone sat on till the next few weeks.

    Would rather the issues were housing, what ever that skunk that is being smoked on the streets of Dublin, the stench of it, isrealis telling starters to move and German EU partners saying isreali can do no wrong and were that is and heading, that who ever gets elected in america those budget surpluses the last few years are most likely gone and the state is spending close to two billion athis year on asylum accommodation, austrailia appears to be the country that is benefiting from the most educated generation of Irish people ever, which is nice but hello

    Is what it is but for the Shinners sauce for the goose

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