Women Rebranding Sinn Féin (2018-2022)

Abstract

In 1998, the Belfast Agreement put an official end to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Twenty years later, a new era began for the Irish republican movement. Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness put the leadership of Sinn Féin into the hands of two women, Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill. As Martin McGuinness, the former Northern Irish Deputy First Minister, passed away and Gerry Adams stepped down from his role as leader of Sinn Féin after 35 years, some commentators denounced a political vacuum while others focused on a potential metamorphosis of the party.This paper investigates how Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill helped change the image of Sinn Féin and position it as the first political force both North and South of the Irish border.