page_title: Sinn Féin
section_title: 1970–1975
hierarchical_section_title: Sinn Féin / History / 1970–1975
caption_attribution_description: English: Tensions within the Republican Movement came to a head in late December 1969 – early January 1970. A splinter group emerged in both the army and the party that rejected the leadership of the Army Council. These formed what they called a Provisional Army Council. The part of the Sinn Fein party allied to this new group used as its new head office party facilities in number 2 Kevin Street in Dublin. Gaeilge: Sna seascaidí, bhí teannas laistigh den gluaiseacht na Poblachta. Tháinig scoilt sa ghluaiseacht thar cúpla seachtaine ag t-am na Nollag 1969. Tháinig grúpa nua chun cinn faoi Comhairle Arm Sealadach, le h-arm agus páirtí nua ann: an tIRA Sealadach agus Sinn Féin Sealadach. Bhain Sinn Féin Sealadach úsáid as oifig i uimhir 2 Sráid Chaoimhín i mBaile Átha Cliath.
context_page_description: Sinn Féin is a democratic socialist, Irish republican political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
  The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, but has split substantially on a number of occasions since then, notably giving rise to the two traditionally dominant parties of southern Irish politics—Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael—in the aftermath of the Irish Civil War. The party took its current form in 1970 after another split. It has historically been associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army. Mary Lou McDonald became party president in February 2018.
  Sinn Féin is one of the two largest parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly, winning just one seat less than the Democratic Unionist Party at the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election. In that assembly it is the largest Irish nationalist party, and it holds four ministerial posts in the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive as of 2020. In the UK House of Commons, Sinn Féin holds seven of Northern Ireland's 18 seats, making it the second-largest bloc after the DUP; there it follows a policy of abstentionism, refusing to sit in parliament or vote on bills.
context_section_description: The Sinn Féin party split in two at the beginning of 1970. At the party's Ard Fheis on 11 January the proposal to end abstentionism and take seats, if elected, in the Dáil, the Parliament of Northern Ireland and the Parliament of the United Kingdom was put before the members. A similar motion had been adopted at an IRA convention the previous month, leading to the formation of a Provisional Army Council by Mac Stíofáin and other members opposed to the leadership. When the motion was put to the Ard Fheis, it failed to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority. The Executive attempted to circumvent this by introducing a motion in support of IRA policy, at which point the dissenting delegates walked out of the meeting. These members reconvened at another place, appointed a Caretaker Executive and pledged allegiance to the Provisional Army Council. The Caretaker Executive declared itself opposed to the ending of abstentionism, the drift towards "extreme forms of socialism", the failure of the leadership to defend the nationalist people of Belfast during the 1969 Northern Ireland riots, and the expulsion of traditional republicans by the leadership during the 1960s.
  At its October 1970 Ard Fheis, delegates were informed that an IRA convention had been held and had regularised its structure, bringing to an end the 'provisional' period. By then, however, the label "Provisional" or "Provo" was already being applied to them by the media. The opposing, anti-abstentionist party became known as "Official Sinn Féin". It changed its name in 1977 to "Sinn Féin – The Workers' Party", and in 1982 to "The Workers' Party".
  Because the "Provisionals" were committed to military rather than political action, Sinn Féin's initial membership was largely confined, in Danny Morrison's words, to men "over military age or women". A Sinn Féin organiser of the time in Belfast described the party's role as "agitation and publicity". New cumainn (branches) were established in Belfast, and a new newspaper, Republican News, was published. Sinn Féin took off as a protest movement after the introduction of internment in August 1971, organising marches and pickets. The party launched its platform, Éire Nua ("a New Ireland") at the 1971 Ard Fheis. In general, however, the party lacked a distinct political philosophy. In the words of Brian Feeney, "Ó Brádaigh would use Sinn Féin ard fheiseanna (party conferences) to announce republican policy, which was, in effect, IRA policy, namely that Britain should leave the North or the 'war' would continue". Sinn Féin was given a concrete presence in the community when the IRA declared a ceasefire in 1975. 'Incident centres' were set up to communicate potential confrontations to the British authorities. They were manned by Sinn Féin, which had been legalised the previous year by Merlyn Rees, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
caption: 2 Kevin Street, Dublin, location of Provisional Sinn Féin's first head office.
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