Analysis: since the name emerged in 1907, many different organisations have claimed to be Sinn Féin of one sort or another 

In 2015, the current Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, adopted an approach that was largely absent from political discourse since the mid-1980s: the Fianna Fail leader began to occasionally refer to the party of Gerry Adams and Mary Lou McDonald as ‘Provisional Sinn Féin’. With the centenary of the Easter Rising approaching in 2016, Martin sought to prevent what he described as the ‘Provisional movement’ claiming ownership of this seminal moment in Irish history. He asserted that ‘Provisional Sinn Féin’ was not the old ‘Sinn Féin’ of Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins or Éamon de Valera, but a much younger organisation, entirely divorced from the Revolutionary Period (1912-1923).

The Fianna Fáil leader found an unlikely ally in Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar, who also highlights the distinction between the ‘Sinn Féin’ of today, and that of the early part of the 20th century. This was particularly evident during the recent general election, when he claimed that the party was founded in 1971. This met with derision on social media, where many opined that Varadkar needed history lessons, as "everyone" knew that Sinn Féin had been founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith.

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From RTÉ Radio 1's Documentary On One, 1971's Rock Among Men looks at the life of Arthur Griffith

As it happens, Varadkar was indeed wrong, but only by one year. McDonald’s party had actually been founded in January 1970, and is (at least) the fourth organisation to use the Sinn Féin name.

The birth of the Sinn Féin League

Contrary to popular belief, there was no organisation called Sinn Féin formed in 1905. Rather, it was in April 1907 that two minor groupings of advanced nationalists, the Dungannon Clubs, based in Ulster, and Cumann na nGaedheal, based in Dublin, merged to establish the Sinn Féin League. Under its first president, Patrick Daly, the League was heavily influenced by the Irish Republican Brotherhood. It was also greeted with suspicion by Griffith, as it threatened his own party, the dual-monarchist National Council.

By the latter part of 1907, however, circumstances forced a merger between the National Council and the League. In early 1908, under Griffith’s leadership, the new organisation officially adopted the name Sinn Féin and also accepted his policy of seeking an independent Irish parliament, with the British monarch as Head of State. This Sinn Féin had limited electoral success, and appeared destined to remain a minority taste within the Irish political landscape.

In 1937, it achieved the distinction of electing the first female leader, Margaret Buckley, of an Irish political party

Sinn Féin and the revolutionary years

However, the inaccurate association of Griffith’s Sinn Féin with the 1916 Rising reaped electoral benefits. A change in the public mood, and an influx of advanced nationalists, led to the Party adopting an overtly separatist policy. In 1917 de Valera became the new leader, and Sinn Féin effectively became the government of the revolutionary ‘Irish Republic’ (1919-1922).

Tragically, conflict over the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty ended this Sinn Féin’s existence. In January 1922, his opposition to compromise saw de Valera lose his position as president of the Dáil. He and his allies signalled their intention to effectively leave Sinn Féin, and formed a new party, Cumann na Poblachta. A short-lived pact between de Valera and Collins during the 1922 election only postponed the outbreak of civil war.

As the victors in the conflict, the pro-Treatyites could have retained the Sinn Féin name, but opted not to. Instead, in mid-1923, the new leadership of pro-Treaty Sinn Féin officially adopted the name Cumann na nGaedheal in something of an homage to the organisation of the same title from the early 1900s.

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From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime, Myles Dungan looks at the life and extraordinary political career of Éamon de Valera

The pro-Treatyite abandonment of the Sinn Féin name allowed de Valera to conscript it for the anti-Treaty cause in the latter months of 1923. The Cumann na Poblachta title was dropped, and this new anti-Treaty Sinn Féin refused to recognise the Irish Free State’s legitimacy, or to accept seats in the ‘partitionist’ parliament. By 1926, de Valera recognised that abstentionism was a political cul-de-sac, and advocated entering the Dáil. This prompted a split, with the majority leaving to join his new Fianna Fáil party.

Sinn Féin's "irrelevance"

The haemorrhage led to anti-Treaty Sinn Féin's electoral decline, and further descent into a solipsistic fantasy where it regarded itself as the 'real government’ of Ireland. Although in 1937 it achieved the distinction of elevating the first female leader (Margaret Buckley) of an Irish political party, this brought no electoral boons. By 1940, the organisation’s irrelevance was such, that the Irish authorities largely ignored it, even while arrests of anti-Treaty IRA men were widespread, due to fears they might collude with Nazi Germany.

In 1950, the moribund party finally lost its independence when it was taken over by a revitalised IRA. Later, when the IRA adopted socialist policies, and in 1969 traced de Valera’s path towards recognising the Dáil, anti-Treaty Sinn Féin duly followed suit.

Its second leader, Gerry Adams, argued the party could achieve more by dropping its abstentionist policy, and entering parliament

A split within the movement led to a new moniker, Official Sinn Féin, and in 1971 this Sinn Féin finally registered as a political party in Ireland. Though it remained linked to the Official IRA, Official Sinn Féin slowly grew in electoral strength during the 1970s. In 1977, it changed its name to Sinn Féin–The Workers’ Party, before dropping the Sinn Féin prefix in 1982. Today, it is simply known as The Workers' Party. 

Provisional Sinn Féin

The minority that opposed Official Sinn Féin’s recognition of the Dáil left that organisation, and formed a new party, Provisional Sinn Féin, on 11th January 1970. Under its first leader, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, Provisional Sinn Féin was simply a propaganda adjunct to the Provisional IRA.

However, during the mid-1980s its second leader, Gerry Adams, argued the party could achieve more by dropping its abstentionist policy, and entering parliament – just as Fianna Fáil and Official Sinn Féin had previously. In 1986, Adams convinced the majority of members, and Provisional Sinn Féin registered as a political party in the Republic a year later. As the Sinn Féin name had been discarded by The Workers’ Party, Provisional Sinn Féin was free to register simply as Sinn Féin. It would see its first TD, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, elected to the Dáil 10 years later, in 1997.

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From RTÉ Archives, 1986 RTÉ News' report on the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis vote to abandon abstentionism and to take Dáil seats if elected

Republican Sinn Féin

The fifth party to adopt the name Sinn Féin also emerged from a split. Those opposed to Provisional Sinn Féin’s recognition of the Dáil opted to leave, and formed a new organisation, Republican Sinn Féin, in November 1986.

Led initially by Provisional Sinn Féin’s first president Ó Brádaigh, Republican Sinn Féin is generally regarded as the political wing of the Continuity IRA, and it contests the ‘right’ of Provisional Sinn Féin to use the Sinn Féin name at all. It asserts that the Dáil is illegitimate, and not deserving of the allegiance of the Irish people. Although it has fought elections, no candidate runs under the name Republican Sinn Féin, due to the party’s refusal to add its name to the official Register of Political Parties in Ireland.

Ultimately, the question of who is entitled, legally or morally, to claim the ‘Sinn Féin’ name is a matter of opinion. However, a balanced assessment would appear to bear out Taoiseach Martin’s view in at least one regard. Whilst a quirk of Irish legislation meant that any organisation could have registered under the name ‘Sinn Féin’ in the Republic, no single party can lay exclusive claim to Ireland’s revolutionary past. That history belongs to all who choose to engage with it.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ