For decades Ireland south of the border has been dominated by a duopoly of centre-right politics alternating the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil parties. The Left republicanism (both Sinn Féin and social democratic) that held the allegiance of the Catholic community in the North has struggled to maintain even a meagre foothold in the South.
All that seems to be changing since a new Sinn Féin leader, Mary Lou McDonald, led the party to an astounding result in the Irish Republic’s February general election, winning the highest percentage of first preference votes. Overall Sinn Féin took 37 seats, despite running a limited slate of candidates, beating the ruling Fine Gael (35) and only just pipped by Fianna Fail (38). A plethora of Left groupings, including the Greens and others, also soared on working class and youth support protesting against a regressive water tax and decades of austerity.
