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President of Sinn Féin

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President of Sinn Féin
since 10 February 2018
Inaugural holderEdward Martyn
Formation28 November 1905
WebsiteMary Lou McDonald TD

The president of Sinn Féin (Irish: Uachtarán Shinn Féin) is the most senior politician within the Sinn Féin political party in Ireland. Since 10 February 2018, the office has been held by Mary Lou McDonald, following the decision of Gerry Adams to stand down as leader of the party and not seek re-election again.[1] Unlike other political parties, the president of Sinn Féin does not have the power to dismiss or appoint their deputy and to dismiss or appoint parliamentary party members to front bench positions. These decisions are taken by the Ard Chomhairle (National Executive).

If the president is not a member of Dáil Éireann, then a TD is appointed in their place to act as the leader of the parliamentary party.

The vice president of Sinn Féin is Michelle O'Neill.[2]

Background

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Although Sinn Féin was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, Griffith did not initially take the presidency. Edward Martyn, a cultural activist and playwright, was elected president at the party's first annual convention on 28 November 1905. He was succeeded in 1908 by John Sweetman. Griffith served as vice president until he was finally elected president in 1911. At the Ard Fheis of 1917, which followed the Easter Rising, Griffith stepped down in favour of Éamon de Valera.

De Valera is the only one of the fifteen leaders to date to have been head of government while serving as leader. Griffith and de Valera were elected in the 1918 general election and were involved in the creation of the First Dáil. De Valera served as President of the Dáil and Griffith served first as Minister for Home Affairs, then as Minister for Foreign Affairs, and finally, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty, as President of the Dáil. De Valera, as an anti-Treaty republican, did not sit in the Third Dáil. He resigned from both the leadership and the party in 1926, when his motion to allow elected members to sit in the Dáil was defeated at the party's Ard Fheis.[3] De Valera's successor John J. O'Kelly was one of four leaders who served for brief periods of time as Sinn Féin's party membership declined in favour of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

In 1937, Margaret Buckley became the first female President of Sinn Féin. During her thirteen years as leader, she vastly improved the relations between the IRA and the party. She was succeeded by Paddy McLogan and Tomás Ó Dubhghaill who both helped rebuild party support in the aftermath of World War II. Tomás Mac Giolla became president in 1962 and served for over eight years as leader of the party. When the party split, Mac Giolla remained leader of Official Sinn Féin. Official Sinn Féin was later renamed the Workers' Party. Ruairí Ó Brádaigh was elected as the new leader of the Provisional Sinn Féin in 1970. Ó Brádaigh's presidency was shaped by relentless violence between republican and loyalist paramilitaries and the British security forces. He was one of the republican representatives which met with the British representatives in hope of ending the Troubles.

Ó Brádaigh resigned in 1983, due to dissatisfaction among party activists in Northern Ireland. Vice President Gerry Adams became the fourteenth President of the party in 1983. He became the longest serving president in the party's history. During his presidency, the IRA declared a ceasefire and the Good Friday Agreement was signed. Party support rose as Sinn Féin became the largest nationalist party in Northern Ireland. In 2011, Gerry Adams left the Northern Ireland Assembly and won a seat in Dáil Éireann. He is the first president since 1926 to also sit in Dáil Éireann.

Presidents

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1905–1926

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No. Name
(Birth–death)
Portrait Term of office Comments
1 Edward Martyn
(1859–1923)
1905 1908[4]
2 John Sweetman
(1844–1936)
1908 1911[4]
3 Arthur Griffith
(1872–1922)
1911 1917[4] President of Dáil Éireann (1922)
4 Éamon de Valera
(1882–1975)
1917 1926[5] President of Dáil Éireann/President of the Irish Republic (1919–1922)

1926–present

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No. Name
(Birth–death)
Portrait Term of office Comments
5 John J. O'Kelly
(1872–1957)
JJ O'Kelly, circa 1918 to 1931.jpg
1926 1931
6 Brian O'Higgins
(1882–1963)
Banba.jpg
1931 1933
7 Fr. Michael O'Flanagan
(1876–1942)
Fr._Michael_O'Flanagan.jpg
1933 1935
8 Cathal Ó Murchadha
(1880–1958)
1935 1937
9 Margaret Buckley
(1879–1962)
Margaret Buckley, circa 1920s.png
1937 1950 First female leader of an Irish political party
10 Paddy McLogan
(1899–1964)
1950 1952
11 Tomás Ó Dubhghaill
(1917–1962)
1952 1954
(10) Paddy McLogan
(1899–1964)
1954 1962
12 Tomás Mac Giolla
(1924–2010)
Tomás Mac Giolla (cropped).jpg
1962 1970 Leader of Official Sinn Féin (later the Workers' Party) (1970–1988)
13 Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
(1932–2013)
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh 2004 (cropped).jpg
1970 1983 Leader of Republican Sinn Féin (1986–2009)
14 Gerry Adams
(born 1948)
Gerry Adams in 2018 (cropped).jpg
1983 2018
15 Mary Lou McDonald
(born 1969)
Mary Lou McDonald, October 2023 02 (cropped).png
2018 Incumbent First female Leader of the Opposition

Vice presidents

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Unlike other political party leaders, the president of Sinn Féin does not have the power to appoint or dismiss their deputy. The position is elected by members of the party at the Ardfheis. The vice-president has a seat on the Ard Chomhairle (National Executive) Officer Board.

1905–1983

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President Vice-president
(Birth–death)
Portrait Took office Left office Vice-president
(Birth–death)
Portrait Took office Left office
Edward Martyn Arthur Griffith
(1872–1922)
1905 1911[4] John Sweetman
(1844–1936)
1905 1908[4]
Bulmer Hobson
(1883–1969)
1908 1910[4]
Thomas Kelly
(1868–1942)
1910 Unknown[4]
Arthur Griffith Jennie Wyse Power
(1858–1941)
1911 Unknown[4]
Éamon de Valera Fr. Michael O'Flanagan
(1876–1942)
1917 1923 Arthur Griffith
(1872–1922)
1917 1922
Kathleen Lynn
(1874–1955)
1923 1927 P. J. Ruttledge
(1892–1952)
1923 1926
John J. O'Kelly Mary MacSwiney
(1872–1942)
1927 Unknown John Madden
(died 1954)
Unknown
Brian O'Higgins Unknown
Fr. Michael O'Flanagan Margaret Buckley
(1879–1962)
1933 1937 John J. O'Kelly
(1872–1957)
1933 1934
Liam Raul
(died 1945)
1934 1935
Cathal Ó Murchadha Liam Raul
(died 1945)
and Tom Maguire
(1892–1993)
1935 1937
Margaret Buckley
Seamus Mitchell 1937 Unknown Padraig de Paor 1937 Unknown
Criostóir O'Neill Unknown Unknown
Paddy McLogan Tomás Ó Dubhghaill
(1917–1962)
1950 1952 Michael Traynor
(born 1917)
1950 1954
Tomás Ó Dubhghaill Margaret Buckley
(1879–1962)
1952 1960
Paddy McLogan Tomás Ó Dubhghaill
(1917–1962)
1954 1962
Paddy McLogan Tony Magan
(1911–1981)
1960 1962
Tomás Mac Giolla Michael Traynor
(born 1917)
1962 Rory O'Driscoll 1962 1963
Larry Grogan
(1899–1979)
1962 1969
Seán Caughey
(–2010)
1963 1965
None (1965–1966)
Joe Clarke
(1882–1976)
1966 1972
Cathal Goulding
(1922–1998)
1969 1970
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh Larry Grogan
(1899–1979)
1970 1971
Dáithí Ó Conaill
(1938–1991)
1971 1978
Máire Drumm
(1919–1976)
1972 1976
Joe Cahill
(1920–2004)
1976 1978
Gerry Adams
(born 1948)
1978 1983
Dáithí Ó Conaill
(1938–1991)
1978 1983

1983–present

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Following the election of Gerry Adams as the 14th President of Sinn Féin, the position of co-vice presidents was removed. Instead, a single vice-president was elected at the 1983 Ard Fheis to serve in place of the two former vice-presidents.

President Vice-president
(Birth–death)
Portrait Constituency Term of office
Gerry Adams Phil Flynn
(born 1940)
None 1983 1985
John Joe McGirl
(1921–1988)
Councillor for Ballinamore
(Leitrim County Council)
1985 1988
Pat Doherty
(born 1945)
MLA for West Tyrone (1998–2012)
MP for West Tyrone (2001–2017)
1988 2009
Mary Lou McDonald
(born 1969)
MEP for Dublin (2004–2009)
TD for Dublin Central (2011–present)
2009 2018
Mary Lou McDonald Michelle O'Neill
(born 1977)
MLA for Mid Ulster (2007–present) 2018 Incumbent

Parliamentary party leaders

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Leader in Dáil Éireann

[edit]
Name of TD
(Birth–Death)
Portrait Constituency Term of office Elected
(Dáil)
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
(born 1953)
Cavan–Monaghan 26 June 1997 9 March 2011 1997
(28th)
2002
(29th)
2007
(30th)
Gerry Adams
(born 1948)
Louth 9 March 2011 10 February 2018 2011
(31st)
2016
(32nd)
Mary Lou McDonald
(born 1969)
Dublin Central 10 February 2018 Incumbent
2020
(33rd)

Leader in Seanad Éireann

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Name of Senator
(Birth–Death)
Portrait Constituency Term of office Elected
(Seanad)
Pearse Doherty
(born 1977)
Agricultural Panel 13 September 2007 26 November 2010 2007
(23rd)
None 26 November 2010 27 May 2011
2011
(24th)
David Cullinane
(born 1974)
Labour Panel 27 May 2011[6] 27 February 2016
None 27 February 2016 13 May 2016
Rose Conway-Walsh
(born 1969)
Agricultural Panel 13 May 2016[7] 9 February 2020 2016
(25th)
None 9 February 2020 29 June 2020
Niall Ó Donnghaile
(born 1985)
Administrative Panel 29 June 2020[8] Incumbent 2020
(26th)

Leader in European Parliament

[edit]
Name of MEP
(Birth–Death)
Portrait Constituency Term of office Elected
(Parliament)
Mary Lou McDonald
(born 1969)
Dublin 2004 2009 2004
(6th)
Bairbre de Brún
(born 1954)
Northern Ireland 2009 3 May 2012 2009
(7th)
None 3 May 2012 12 June 2012
Martina Anderson
(born 1962)
Northern Ireland 12 June 2012 31 January 2020
2014
(8th)
2019
(9th)
Matt Carthy
(born 1977)
Midlands–North-West 31 January 2020 9 February 2020
None 9 February 2020 6 March 2020
Chris MacManus
(born 1973)
Midlands–North-West 6 March 2020 Incumbent

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Remembering the Past: Gerry Adams elected president of Sinn Féin". An Phoblacht. 20 November 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  2. ^ "McDonald proposed as SF vice president". RTÉ. 8 January 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  3. ^ Laffan, Michael (1999). The Resurrection of Ireland: The Sinn Féin Party, 1916–1923. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 441. ISBN 113942629X. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Davis, Richard (1974). Arthur Griffith and Non-Violent Sinn Fein. Dublin: Anvil Books. pp. 173–6. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  5. ^ Laffan (1999), pp. 117, 441
  6. ^ "Cullinane Party Leader in Seanad". Munster Express. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Conway-Walsh appointed Sinn Féin leader in Seanad". MayoNews.ie. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile appointed as Sinn Féin Seanad group leader". Sinn Féin. Retrieved 7 July 2020.