Leader of Sinn Féin

Leader of Sinn Féin
Incumbent Gerry Adams, TD since 13 November 1983
Inaugural holder	Edward Martyn
Formation	28 November 1905
Website	Gerry Adams, TD

The leader of Sinn Féin (alternatively known as the Uachtarán Shinn Féin or President of Sinn Féin) is the most senior politician within the Sinn Féin political party in Ireland. Since 13 November 1983, the office has been held by Gerry Adams, following the resignation of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh as leader of the party.^[1]

The deputy leader of Sinn Féin is Mary Lou McDonald.^[2]

Background

Main article: History of Sinn Féin

The post of the President of Sinn Féin was officially created in 1905 when Arthur Griffith founded the party. Edward Martyn, a cultural activist and playwright was selected as the first president at its first annual Ard Fheis on the 28 November 1905. Unlike other Irish political parties, most notably Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, 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).

In the Northern Ireland Assembly, Sinn Féin is in government under a power-sharing agreement with the Alliance Party, Democratic Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party and the Ulster Unionist Party. The President of Sinn Féin does not act as the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, but rather acts as the Sinn Féin Assembly Group Leader. If the President is not a member of the Assembly, then an MLA of the party is appointed to replace him or her.

Until 2010, Sinn Féin did not have enough TDs to qualify for group speaking rights in Dáil Éireann. If the President is not a member of Dáil Éireann, then a TD is appointed in his or her place to act as the leader of the parliamentary party. Since 2011, the President of Sinn Féin has served as the Second Leader of the Opposition and chairs the second opposition front bench.^[3]

Two of the fourteen leaders of Sinn Féin have been elected to a public office while serving as leader. Éamon de Valera was elected as an MP in the House of Commons and a TD in Dáil Éireann. However, he did not take his seat in either legislature as per party policy. De Valera’s predecessor, Arthur Griffith helped increase party support following the 1916 Easter Rising. When the party split due to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, both De Valera and Griffith joined opposing sides with De Valera leading the Anti-Treaty faction, while Griffith joined the Pro-Treaty faction, which later became Cumann na nGaedheal. De Valera’ 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 Fail 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's 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 is currently 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

1905–26

No.	Name (Birth–death)	Constituency	Term of office		Comments
1	Edward Martyn (1859–1923) County Galway	None	1905	1908
2	John Sweetman (1844–1936) County Dublin	None (Served as MP for East Wicklow from 1892–95)	1908	1911
3	Arthur Griffith (1872–1922) County Dublin	None (Later served as MP & TD for East Cavan, MP for North West Tyrone, TD for Fermanagh and Tyrone and TD for Cavan)	1911	1917
4	Éamon de Valera (1882–1975) New York	MP for Clare East (1917–22) TD for Clare East (1918–21) MP for Down (1921–29) TD for Clare (1922–26)	1917	1926	Leader of Fianna Fáil (1926–59)

1926–present

No.	Name (Birth–death) Place of birth	Constituency	Term of office		Comments
5	John J. O'Kelly (1872–1957) County Kerry	None (Served as TD for Louth from 1918–21 and TD for Louth–Meath from 1921–23)	1926	1931
6	Brian O'Higgins (1882–1963) County Meath	None (Served as MP for Clare West from 1918–22, TD for Clare West from 1918–21 and TD for Clare from 1921–27)	1931	1933
7	Fr. Michael O'Flanagan (1876–1942) County Roscommon	None	1933	1935
8	Cathal Ó Murchadha (1880–1958) County Dublin	None (Served as TD for Dublin South from 1921–22 and 1923–27)	1935	1937
9	Margaret Buckley (1879–1962) County Cork	None	1937	1950	First female leader of an Irish political party
10	Paddy McLogan (1899–1964) County Armagh	None (Served as MP for South Armagh from 1933–38)	1950	1952
11	Tomás Ó Dubhghaill (1917–1962) County Dublin	None	1952	1954
(10)	Paddy McLogan (1899–1964) County Armagh	None (Served as MP for South Armagh from 1933–38)	1954	1962
12	Tomás Mac Giolla (1924–2010) County Tipperary	None (Later served as TD for Dublin West)	1962	1970	Leader of Official Sinn Féin (later the Workers' Party) (1970–88)
13	Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (1932–2013) County Longford	None (Served as TD for Longford–Westmeath from 1957–61)	1970	1983	Leader of Republican Sinn Féin (1986–2009)
14	Gerry Adams (born 1948) County Antrim	MP for Belfast West (1983–92; 1997–2011) MLA for Belfast West (1998–2010) TD for Louth (2011–present)	1983	Incumbent

Vice-Presidents

The Deputy leader of Sinn Féin is usually a senior politician within Sinn Féin.

Unlike other political party leaders, the leader 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.

1905–83

	Vice-President (Birth-death) County of Birth		Took office	Left office	Vice-President (Birth-death) County of Birth		Took office	Left office
Edward Martyn		Arthur Griffith (1872-1922) County Dublin	1905	1908		John Sweetman (1844-1936) County Dublin	1905	1907
Edward Martyn		Arthur Griffith (1872-1922) County Dublin	1905	1908		Bulmer Hobson (1883-1969) County Antrim	1907	1910
John Sweetman	None (1908-1911)					Bulmer Hobson (1883-1969) County Antrim	1907	1910
Arthur Griffith	None (1908-1911)					Thomas Kelly (1868-1942) County Dublin	1910	Unknown
Arthur Griffith		Jennie Wyse Power (1858-1941) County Wicklow	1911	Unknown		Thomas Kelly (1868-1942) County Dublin	1910	Unknown
Éamon de Valera		Fr. Michael O'Flanagan (1876-1942) County Roscommon	1917	1923		Arthur Griffith (1872-1922) County Dublin	1917	1922
Éamon de Valera		Kathleen Lynn (1874-1955) County Dublin	1923	1927		P. J. Ruttledge (1892-1952) County Mayo	1923	1926
John J. O'Kelly		Mary MacSwiney (1872-1942) London	1927	Unknown		John Madden (died 1954) County Mayo	Unknown
Brian O'Higgins		Mary MacSwiney (1872-1942) London	1927	Unknown		Unknown
Fr. Michael O'Flanagan		Margaret Buckley (1879-1962) County Cork	1933	1937		John J. O'Kelly (1872-1957) County Kerry	1933	1934
Fr. Michael O'Flanagan						Liam Raul (died 1945) County Dublin	1934	1935
Cathal Ó Murchadha						Liam Raul (died 1945) County Dublin and Tom Maguire (1892-1993) County Mayo	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) County Dublin	1950	1952		Michael Traynor (born 1917) County Antrim	1950	1954
Tomás Ó Dubhghaill		Margaret Buckley (1879-1962) County Cork	1952	1960		Michael Traynor (born 1917) County Antrim	1950	1954
Paddy McLogan		Margaret Buckley (1879-1962) County Cork	1952	1960		Tomás Ó Dubhghaill (1917-1962) County Dublin	1954	1962
Paddy McLogan		Tony Magan (1911-1981) County Meath	1960	1962		Tomás Ó Dubhghaill (1917-1962) County Dublin	1954	1962
Tomás Mac Giolla		Michael Traynor (born 1917) County Dublin	1962			Rory O'Driscoll	1962	1963
		Larry Grogan (1899-1979) County Louth	1962	1969		Rory O'Driscoll	1962	1963
						Seán Caughey (-2010) County Antrim	1963	1965
					None (1965-1966)
						Joe Clarke (1882-1976) County Dublin	1966	1972
		Cathal Goulding (1922-1998) County Dublin	1969	1970
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh		Larry Grogan (1899-1979) County Louth	1970	1971
		Dáithí Ó Conaill (1938-1991) County Cork	1971	1978
						Máire Drumm (1919-1976) County Down	1972	1976
						Joe Cahill (1920-2004) County Antrim	1976	1978
		Gerry Adams (born 1948) County Antrim	1978	1983		Joe Cahill (1920-2004) County Antrim	1976	1978
		Gerry Adams (born 1948) County Antrim	1978	1983		Dáithí Ó Conaill (1938-1991) County Cork	1978	1983

1983–present

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.

		Constituency	Term of office		Notes
Gerry Adams	Phil Flynn (born 1940) County Louth	None	1983	1985
	John Joe McGirl (1921–1988) County Leitrim	Councillor for Ballinamore (Leitrim County Council)	1985	1988	Contested the 1987 general election for Sligo–Leitrim
	Pat Doherty (born 1945) Glasgow	MLA for West Tyrone (1998–2012) MP for West Tyrone (2001–present)	1988	2009
	Mary Lou McDonald (born 1969) County Dublin	MEP for Dublin (2004–2009) TD for Dublin Central (2011–present)	2009	Incumbent	Dáil Spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform

Parliamentary party leaders

Leader in Dáil Éireann

	Term of office		Constituency	Elected (Dáil)
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (born 1953)	26 June 1997	9 March 2011	Cavan–Monaghan	1997 (28th)
				2002 (29th)
				2007 (30th)
Gerry Adams (born 1948)	9 March 2011	Incumbent	Louth	2011 (31st)

Leader in Northern Ireland Assembly

	Term of Office		Constituency	Elected (Assembly)
Gerry Adams (born 1948)	1 July 1998	7 December 2010	Belfast West	1998 (1st)
				2003 (2nd)
				2007 (3rd)
Raymond McCartney (born 1954)	7 December 2010	Incumbent	Foyle	2007 (3rd)
Raymond McCartney (born 1954)	7 December 2010	Incumbent	Foyle	2011 (4th)

Leader in Seanad Éireann

Name of Senator (Birth–Death)		Term of Office		Vocational Panel	Elected (Seanad)
	Pearse Doherty (born 1977)	24 July 2007	26 November 2010	Agricultural Panel	2007 (23rd)
None		26 November 2010	25 May 2011		2007 (23rd)
	David Cullinane (born 1974)	25 May 2011	Incumbent	Labour Panel	2011 (24th)

Leader in European Parliament

	Term of Office		Constituency	Elected (Parliament)
Mary Lou McDonald (born 1969)	2004	2009	Dublin	2004 (6th)
Bairbre de Brún (born 1954)	2009	3 May 2012	Northern Ireland	2009 (7th)
Martina Anderson (born 1962)	12 June 2012	Incumbent	Northern Ireland	2009 (7th)
Martina Anderson (born 1962)	12 June 2012	Incumbent	Northern Ireland	2014 (8th)

Electoral history

Note: Only includes elections contested by persons who were President of Sinn Féin at time of contesting election.

	Name	Constituency	Election	Body	First Preference (share)	Success	Defeated by
4.	Éamon de Valera	Belfast Falls	1918	Dáil Éireann / House of Commons	3,245 (27.7%)	Defeated	Joseph Devlin	Irish Parliamentary Party
4.	Éamon de Valera	Clare East	1918	Dáil Éireann / House of Commons	Unopposed	Elected
4.	Éamon de Valera	Down South	1918	Dáil Éireann / House of Commons	33 (0.2%)	Defeated	Jeremiah McVeagh	Irish Parliamentary Party
4.	Éamon de Valera	Mayo East	1918	Dáil Éireann / House of Commons	8,975 (66.5%)	Elected
4.	Éamon de Valera	Clare	1921	Dáil Éireann	Unopposed	Elected
4.	Éamon de Valera	Clare	1922	Dáil Éireann	Unopposed	Elected
4.	Éamon de Valera	Clare	1923	Dáil Éireann	17,762 (45.0%)	Elected
14.	Gerry Adams	Belfast West	1987	House of Commons	16,862 (41.1%)	Elected
14.	Gerry Adams	Belfast West	1992	House of Commons	16,826 (42.1%)	Defeated	Joe Hendron	Social Democratic and Labour Party
14.	Gerry Adams	Belfast West	1996	Forum	22,355 (53.4%)	Elected
14.	Gerry Adams	Belfast West	1997	House of Commons	25,662 (55.9%)	Elected
14.	Gerry Adams	Belfast West	1998	Assembly	9,078 (21.7%)	Elected
14.	Gerry Adams	Belfast West	2001	House of Commons	27,096 (66.1%)	Elected
14.	Gerry Adams	Belfast West	2003	Assembly	6,199 (18.9%)	Elected
14.	Gerry Adams	Belfast West	2005	House of Commons	24,348 (70.5%)	Elected
14.	Gerry Adams	Belfast West	2007	Assembly	6,029 (17.8%)	Elected
14.	Gerry Adams	Belfast West	2010	House of Commons	22,840 (71.0%)	Elected
14.	Gerry Adams	Louth	2011	Dáil Éireann	15,072 (21.7%)	Elected

Notes

References

↑ "Remembering the Past: Gerry Adams elected president of Sinn Féin". An Phoblacht. 20 November 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
↑ "McDonald proposed as SF vice president". RTÉ. 8 January 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
↑ "Adams unveils new Sinn Féin front bench". Irish Examiner. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2014.

Sinn Féin

History

Leadership

Presidents	Edward Martyn (1905–08) John Sweetman (1908–11) Arthur Griffith (1911–17) Éamon de Valera (1917–26) John J. O'Kelly (Sceilg) (1926–31) Brian O'Higgins (1931–33) Michael O'Flanagan (1933–35) Cathal Ó Murchadha (1935–37) Margaret Buckley (1937–50) Paddy McLogan (1950–52) Tomás Ó Dubhghaill (1952–54) Paddy McLogan (1954–62) Tomás Mac Giolla (1962–70) Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (1970–83) Gerry Adams (1983–)

Vice presidents	John Sweetman (1905–07) Arthur Griffith (1905–08; 1917–22) Bulmer Hobson (1907–10) Jennie Wyse Power (1911–) Thomas Kelly (1911–) Fr. Michael O'Flanagan (1917–23) P. J. Ruttledge (1923–26) Mary MacSwiney John Madden John J. O'Kelly (1931-33) Margaret Buckley (1933–35; 1952–60) Liam Raul (1933-37) Tom Maguire (1935-37) Seamus Mitchell Padraig de Paor Criostóir O'Neill Michael Traynor (1950–54; 1962) Tomás Ó Dubhghaill (1950–52; 1954–62) Tony Magan (1960–62) Rory O'Driscoll (1962–63) Larry Grogan (1962–69; 1970–71) Sean Caughey (1963–65) Joe Clarke (1966–72) Cathal Goulding (1969–70) Dáithí Ó Conaill (1971–78; 1978–83) Máire Drumm (1972–76) Joe Cahill (1976–78) Gerry Adams (1978–83) Phil Flynn (1983–85) John Joe McGirl (1985–88) Pat Doherty (1988–2009) Mary Lou McDonald (2009–)

Seanad leaders	Pearse Doherty (2007–10) David Cullinane (2011–)

Assembly leaders	Gerry Adams (2007–10) Raymond McCartney (2010–)

Chairpersons	Seán MacManus (1984–90) Tom Hartley (1990–96) Mitchel McLaughlin (1996–2005) Mary Lou McDonald (2005–09) Declan Kearney (2009–)

General secretaries	Joe Cahill Cathleen Knowles Tom Hartley (1984–86) Joe Reilly (1986–88) Lucilita Bhreatnach (1988–2003) Mitchel McLaughlin (2003–07) Rita O'Hare (2007–09) Dawn Doyle (2009–)

Directors of publicity	Seán Ó Brádaigh (1960–79) Danny Morrison (1979–90) Rita O'Hare (1990–98) Dawn Doyle (1998–2008) Rosaleen Doherty (2008–)

Party structures

Leader of Sinn Féin Ardfheis Sinn Féin Front Bench Sinn Féin Republican Youth An Phoblacht Friends of Sinn Féin

Presidential candidates

Martin McGuinness (2011)

Elected representatives

Dáil Éireann	Adams Brady Buckley Crowe Cullinane P. Doherty Ellis M. Ferris Funchion M. Kenny McDonald Mitchell Munster Nolan J. O'Brien Ó Broin Ó Caoláin Ó Laoghaire O'Reilly Ó Snodaigh Quinlivan Stanley Tóibín

Seanad Éireann	David Cullinane Trevor Ó Clochartaigh Kathryn Reilly

European Parliament	Martina Anderson Lynn Boylan Matt Carthy Liadh Ní Riada

Northern Ireland Assembly	Cathal Boylan Michaela Boyle Mickey Brady Megan Fearon Phil Flanagan Chris Hazzard Gerry Kelly Seán Lynch Declan McAleer Fra McCann Jennifer McCann Raymond McCartney Rosie McCorley Barry McElduff Bronwyn McGahan Martin McGuinness Daithí McKay Maeve McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Oliver McMullan Alex Maskey Ian Milne Carál Ní Chuilín John O'Dowd Cathal Ó hOisín Michelle O'Neill Sue Ramsey Caitríona Ruane Patrick Sheehan

Westminister (Abstentionist)	Mickey Brady Pat Doherty Paul Maskey Francie Molloy

Alliances

European United Left–Nordic Green Left

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