Cllr Louise Minihan resigns from Sinn Féin

Press Release 17th July 2009

“Councillor Louise Minihan Resigns from Sinn Féin”
Press Release 17th July 2009.

Councillor Louise Minihan, who resigned from Sinn Féin today (July 17th), has confirmed that she will continue to represent the people of Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Bluebell, Chapelizod & Inchicore as a socialist republican councillor within Dublin City Council. Louise is a former member of the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle and a founding member of Sinn Féin’s James Connolly Cumann in Ballyfermot, which was established in 1999.

Councillor Louise Minihan, who resigned from Sinn Féin today (July 17th), has confirmed that she will continue to represent the people of Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Bluebell, Chapelizod & Inchicore as a socialist republican councillor within Dublin City Council. Louise is a former member of the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle and a founding member of Sinn Féin’s James Connolly Cumann in Ballyfermot, which was established in 1999.

Explaining why she has left Sinn Féin Councillor Minihan said,
“I joined Sinn Féin in 1998, when I was sixteen years of age. At that time I believed that party to be committed to its stated objectives of ending British rule in Ireland and the establishment of an Irish Democratic Socialist Republic. It is clear to me today that this is no longer the case.

Sinn Féin has, over the course of the last twelve years, moved steadily away from the core values of Irish socialist republicanism and is no longer willing, or able, to challenge the British occupation of the Six Counties or the rotten capitalist system which is causing so much hardship to working families across Ireland today.

Sinn Féin is taking the wrong position on a whole range of national, social and economic issues, resulting in that party becoming largely irrelevant to working people.

For years I voiced my disquiet within Sinn Féin about the direction that party was headed, in the vain hope that radical politics might triumph over reformism. Like thousands of other republicans before me, I have come to the conclusion that the battle for the heart of Sinn Féin is lost. While wishing those many genuine activists who remain within Sinn Féin well in the future, I believe that many of them will sooner or later come to the same conclusion that I now have.

Louise went on to explain her decision to retain her council seat,
“It would be hypocritical of me to hand over my seat to a party I no longer support or believe in. I know from speaking to people in my constituency that many of them voted for me on the basis of the politics I promote and my track record of community activism and not because I stood under a Sinn Féin banner. I intend to honour the commitment I made to the people of my area, by working with them for a better Dublin and a better Ireland.

On the issues that matter, such as employment, education, housing and healthcare I will be doing my utmost to help the people who elected me as their councillor. Over the next couple of weeks I will be explaining to people on the ground the decisions I have taken. Theirs is the only opinion that matters to me.

Louise concluded by saying,
“While I look forward to continuing my work with the people of Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Bluebell, Chapelizod & Inchicore I understand the very real limits of what any one individual can achieve on their own. I have always believed that the struggle for justice and freedom in Ireland will only be won by the coming together of like-minded people within a socialist republican political party. For this reason I will be examining how I can best work with other progressive individuals and parties in the future