Mary Lou McDonald’s recent tweet celebrating a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa may have been intended as a gesture of international diplomacy, but it inevitably raises questions about Sinn Féin’s historical and ongoing international affiliations.
McDonald noted the “historic ties between Sinn Féin and the ANC, rooted in the anti-apartheid struggle,” while also signalling solidarity with Palestine.
These comments, couched in the language of friendship and solidarity, obscure a more complex reality: Sinn Féin’s international relationships have long been entwined with movements that, in their era, embraced armed struggle as a political tool.
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To understand the contemporary implications, it is necessary to revisit history. During the Troubles, the Provisional IRA maintained relationships with several liberation movements abroad, most notably the African National Congress.
The ANC’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, shared with the IRA a commitment to revolutionary violence as a means of achieving political ends.
Both organisations were officially designated as terrorist groups by Western governments at different points in their histories, and intelligence services monitored their activities with keen concern.
The cooperation was not merely symbolic. There were documented instances of arms transfers, training exchanges, and ideological support.
Sinn Féin, as the IRA’s political wing, acted as the conduit for international solidarity, framing its actions as part of a broader anti-colonial struggle.
These links were controversial at the time, and they remain so today. In particular, the ANC’s status has evolved significantly; once a proscribed organisation, it is now the governing party of South Africa. Nevertheless, the historical association with an armed movement continues to shadow Sinn Féin, raising questions about the lessons learned and the frameworks through which the party views international politics.
McDonald’s public emphasis on these ties risks reviving uncomfortable comparisons between the IRA’s violent past and Sinn Féin’s current political ambitions. The optics of celebrating an armed struggle, even in the context of anti-apartheid solidarity, is fraught in an Ireland still grappling with the legacy of the Troubles.
Equally significant is Sinn Féin’s historical engagement with Palestinian militant factions. During the 1970s through the 1990s, the Provisional IRA maintained contacts with Palestinian groups that employed terrorism as a strategy to advance their national aims.
These links included mutual support networks, ideological alignment, and in some cases, tactical cooperation.
The rationale was framed in the language of anti-imperialism and anti-colonial solidarity: Ireland’s struggle for sovereignty was positioned as part of a global campaign against occupation and oppression. The political wing of the IRA, Sinn Féin, consistently reinforced this narrative, seeking moral legitimacy through international solidarity.
While these relationships were often couched in rhetoric about liberation and human rights, the practical effect was to associate Sinn Féin with organisations whose methods were unquestionably violent. Even if formal operational coordination was limited, the symbolic and logistical support conferred political credibility and a shared network of global sympathisers.
In a chilling reminder of Sinn Féin’s wider international footprint, in 2014 a Bogotá court tried three suspected IRA operatives on charges of training guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in their campaign against the Colombian government. Although the trial did not ultimately result in convictions, it underlines the IRA’s historical willingness to export its tactics and expertise to militant organisations beyond Europe, extending Sinn Féin’s political legacy into a transnational revolutionary network.
Mary Lou McDonald’s engagement with President Ramaphosa also has broader geopolitical implications. South Africa’s ANC has long been a moral and political touchstone for global liberation movements, and Sinn Féin’s alignment with it positions the party within a specific internationalist framework.
Yet this positioning is not without risk. Ireland is a member of the European Union, deeply integrated with Western democracies whose policy frameworks on terrorism and conflict resolution are fundamentally different from the revolutionary ethos of the ANC’s past. By invoking solidarity with movements historically associated with violence, Sinn Féin complicates Ireland’s diplomatic posture, particularly if the party were ever to assume a government role.
Moreover, McDonald’s explicit reference to “international solidarity with Palestine” signals a continued willingness to embrace politically charged, and potentially polarising, foreign policy stances. While advocacy for Palestinian human rights is commonplace, framing this in a way that recalls Sinn Féin’s historical alignment with militant groups carries significant symbolic weight. It risks alienating sections of the Irish electorate and the international community, particularly in a geopolitical landscape where the Middle East remains volatile and where Western governments remain cautious of organisations with past or perceived terrorist connections.
It is also worth noting that Sinn Féin’s modern rhetoric frequently masks continuity with its past. While the party has formally renounced violence and presents itself as a legitimate political actor, its international relations often echo patterns established during the Troubles: cultivating alliances with liberation movements abroad, emphasising solidarity with struggles framed as anti-imperialist, and maintaining moral equivalence between national liberation campaigns and its own historical activities.
This strategy reinforces Sinn Féin’s identity as a party of principle and principle-driven internationalism, but it also opens the door to criticisms that it has not fully confronted or disavowed the darker practical realities of its historical relationships.
The broader implication is that McDonald’s comments in Dublin are not merely ceremonial; they are indicative of a strategic positioning that links Sinn Féin’s domestic ambitions to a particular international narrative. By aligning itself with the ANC’s legacy and the Palestinian cause, Sinn Féin underscores its identity as a party committed to anti-colonial and anti-imperial ideals. Yet this alignment comes with the baggage of historical association with armed struggle and militancy, which remains politically sensitive both domestically and internationally.
As Ireland continues to debate questions of unity and Sinn Féin’s place in government, these international associations are unlikely to be irrelevant. Voters, analysts, and foreign partners alike will scrutinise the party’s historical connections, particularly in a world where terrorism and political violence remain potent concerns. Mary Lou McDonald’s tweet, intended as a diplomatic flourish, thus serves as a reminder that Sinn Féin’s past and its international relationships remain an integral part of its political narrative — and a potential source of controversy in any consideration of its capacity to govern responsibly.
In conclusion, Sinn Féin’s historic ties with the ANC, Palestinian movements, and other armed factions reveal a party long embedded in a global network of revolutionary and liberationist solidarity. Mary Lou McDonald’s recent comments serve both as a reaffirmation of these relationships and as a test of public perception.
While Sinn Féin may have transitioned from its violent past to a legitimate political actor, the echoes of its international affiliations — with organisations that embraced armed struggle, and even outreach to groups like FARC — continue to inform debates about the party’s ideological consistency, political judgement, and the implications of its ascendance in Irish politics. For voters and policymakers alike, these historical entanglements remain a central lens through which Sinn Féin’s modern ambitions must be evaluated.
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Mary Lou McDonald: Leadership Under Scrutiny
Mary Lou McDonald, the currenleader of Sinn Féin, has not faced criminal charges herself. Yet her leadership has repeatedly been tested by controversies surrounding party associates, raising questions about judgment, oversight, and accountability.
In 2022, attention turned to the trial of Gerry “The Monk” Hutch, a notorious crime boss accused of a 2016 murder. The proceedings highlighted Sinn Féin’s tangential links to the criminal underworld, particularly through former councillor Jonathan Dowdall, who was convicted of torture. Dowdall had donated €1,000 to McDonald’s constituency, an act she formally declared. While she condemned Dowdall’s actions, critics argued that her proximity to figures engaged in serious criminality reflected poorly on the party’s internal governance.
Further scrutiny followed in 2024 with the case of former Sinn Féin press officer Michael McMonagle, who pleaded guilty to child sex offences. Party officials had provided references for him, prompting McDonald to describe the situation as “reprehensible and unacceptable.” She pledged reforms to prevent similar failures in vetting and oversight.
Taken together, these incidents illustrate a pattern in which Sinn Féin’s political rise has been accompanied by reputational vulnerabilities. McDonald herself remains legally unscathed, but the controversies underscore the challenges of managing a party historically linked to militant activism while attempting to present as a credible governing alternative. For voters, these episodes raise not just ethical concerns but questions about judgment, transparency, and the robustness of internal controls under Sinn Féin’s stewardship.
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Main Image: Sinn Féin poster in Belfast, 2007, – Eigen werk
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