Strong approval for Micheál Martin and Darragh O’Brien but divided views on forming a government with Sinn Féin
Concerns over hate crime legislation to be considered but law to be enacted ‘within months’ - McEnteeIt was two opposites coming together. A lot of the older members were not in favour of it. Personally, I myself wasn’t in favour at the time. I do think you lose a bit of your identity and your do a bit of damage to the party. I was waryFor 20 years Martin was a classic backroom operator, but has been a councillor since 2019.
“Even within the party we went to meetings across the country and people were very bitter,” says Burke. “I remember saying to myself when it was coming to the vote, Jesus is this going to go against us tonight?” The popular narrative about Fianna Fáil right now is of a half-slain giant, with each election bringing it a little closer to its end. The party has struggled to define itself in a rapidly changing political landscape, with support levels regularly dipping below 20 per cent in Irish Times/Ipsos opinion polls.
In an upstairs room in Finglas later that night, nine local Fianna Fáil members , led by Paul McAuliffe TD, discuss how the party has fared in the three-way arrangement. The sentiment on the whole is chipper – and this is coming from grassroots people who don’t tend to sugarcoat their comments. “Contrast that with what went before, where there was an inability or just a lack of recognition of issues that affected working-class communities.”
“Fianna Fáil has certainly put its fingerprints on this Government,” says Longford TD Joe Flaherty. “Most of it is probably due to the leadership of Micheál Martin. He really came of age in his time in the taoiseach’s office.” Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe: 'The perfect slogan for the next election is, A lot done, more to do.' Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
It’s a hard No for Martin Monaghan. “I would not be willing to go into government with Sinn Féin. I know the past is the past. But I think the youth of today need to be educated on what went on in the Troubles.” Rachael Trimble is a Leaving Certificate student and one of Fianna Fáil’s youngest members in Roscommon. Photograph: Harry McGee
Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee in Skerries, Co Dublin. She rejects the idea that the party is in terminal decline. Photograph: Barry Cronin
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