Sinn Féin Ard Fheis 2024: Delegates Gather in Belfast as Cost-of-Living and Irish Unity Take Centre Stage
- Sinn Féin delegates are gathering in Belfast ahead of the party's annual Ard Fheis this weekend, with the event set to open on Friday at the city's International...
- The party's Ard Fheis, which serves as its annual policy conference, will see members debate and vote on 164 motions before party leader Mary Lou McDonald delivers a...
- The event will open with addresses from John Finucane, the party's Member of Parliament for Belfast North, and Deputy Leader Michelle O'Neill.
Sinn Féin delegates are gathering in Belfast ahead of the party’s annual Ard Fheis this weekend, with the event set to open on Friday at the city’s International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The party’s Ard Fheis, which serves as its annual policy conference, will see members debate and vote on 164 motions before party leader Mary Lou McDonald delivers a keynote address on Saturday evening, to be broadcast live on RTÉ One at 6:30pm.
The event will open with addresses from John Finucane, the party’s Member of Parliament for Belfast North, and Deputy Leader Michelle O’Neill. Pearse Doherty, Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on finance, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address on the first day of the Ard Fheis.
According to recent polling data referenced by the party, Sinn Féin currently holds 26% support in an Ipsos B&A poll published in The Irish Times, representing an increase from its 19% first preference share in the 2024 General Election, though remaining below its peak of 37% in opinion polls two years prior.
The party is currently the second largest in Dáil Éireann with 39 Teachtaí Dála (TDs), six senators, two Members of the European Parliament, and 99 councillors in the Republic of Ireland. In Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin holds 27 seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly, making it the largest party there, along with seven seats at Westminster, which its MPs do not take up due to the party’s longstanding abstentionist policy.
Party officials have indicated they hope to build on current momentum ahead of two upcoming bye-elections in Galway West and Dublin Central, constituencies where Sinn Féin topped the poll in the last general election. However, they acknowledged that victory in either contest is not guaranteed.
Discussions at the Ard Fheis are expected to include a workshop on the lyrics of the band Kneecap, as well as debates surrounding the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and the pursuit of a united Ireland.