https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp99dgkkyk0o
Mary Lou McDonald has said she has no plans to step down as leader of Sinn Féin, following disappointing election results for the party.
Ireland's main opposition party have performed worse than expected in local elections amid concerns that they had run too many candidates in certain areas.
Ms McDonald has said she will lead a full review into Sinn Féin's performance.
"Obviously we are disappointed," she said.
"It hasn't been our day, clearly frustrations – anger, indeed – with government policy on this occasion have translated into votes for independents and others," Ms McDonald said.
"We will regroup. I am sorry that we did not do better. I know that we can do better."
Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Simon Harris responded: “I think what Sinn Féin need to realise here is the Irish people see through the noise.
"The Irish people don’t believe they live in a failed state, the Irish people don’t believe in all of the negativity."
Mr Harris said he was "absolutely delighted" with his party Fine Gael's performance "right across the country, in rural Ireland and urban Ireland".
Simon Harris smiling with some people in the background. He is wearing a suit and tie
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA
Image caption,
This is the first electoral test for new taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris since he stepped into the role in March
Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) and Fianna Fáil leader Michéal Martin said his party had performed "far better" than predicted.
Counting is currently ongoing for three sets of elections in the Republic of Ireland for local councils, the European parliament, and a mayoral race in Limerick city.
Results so far indicate that government coalition partners Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will be the largest parties in local government, with independents also faring well.
The polls will provide political parties with an insight into voter sentiment ahead of the next general election, which must be held by March 2025.
This is Mary Lou McDonald's second local election as party president.
In 2019 the party's local government representation collapsed to 81.
Ms McDonald was under severe pressure at the time to improve her party's polling, which was then bolstered by its most successful general election in their history.
Now she is once again under pressure, as it has fallen in opinion polls and are seeing losses across local authorities.
BBC News NI's Kevin Sharkey reports from Dublin
Mary Lou McDonald looked glum when she entered the count centre at the RDS in Dublin.
This was an appearance neither she nor her party had anticipated.
Right up to the end of polling on Friday night, they were preparing for election celebrations. They expected this to be their big moment for a big political breakthrough.
It didn’t happen.
Now the party faces many questions.
Why did so many people who wanted change opt for independent candidates, from a wide variety of social and community backgrounds, instead of Sinn Féin?
The failure to capture these votes will sting. For years now, Sinn Féin has styled itself as the party with its ear closest to the ground, the party most in tune with communities up and down the country.
Something, somewhere seems to have been lost in transmission.
Time to 'reflect'
Sources within Sinn Féin told the BBC that there was a feeling among some local groups that head office were not listening to those on the ground when it came to candidate selection.
"What we're going to do is review and reflect on all of those things," Ms McDonald told the BBC.
"Everything for the review is on the table," she said.
"I will lead this reflection and this process. When the going gets tough, that's the point at which leaders step forward, they don't step down.
"I lead a party with immense talent and immense potential, we don't always get it right. We clearly have lessons to learn."
The Sinn Féin president said that she would prefer a general election "tomorrow morning" and the party will not be looking again at their manifesto.
She denied that Sinn Féin's tougher stance on immigration in recent months had affected their performance.
The party had suggested means testing asylum seekers in recent weeks.
Immigration featured as one of the key issues in the election campaign.
by BelfastBodyBuilder
5 comments
12% of the votes when not too long ago they might’ve been hoping for 30%+
And a large part of that drop is due to Mary Lou’s general unlikeability in the south compared to someone like Doherty.
Mary Lou moving into ‘if you won’t jump then you’ll be pushed’ territory.
Unless they come out with a clear position on immigration they will continue to hemorrhage votes
Mary Lou is very good standing on the sidelines shouting about how awful the government is. But when it comes to the bit, I don’t think Sinn Fein actually have a plan and I think the voters in the south have realised that and punished them for that.
Not SF‘s biggest fan but I’ve noticed a weird narrative around this election. Though they didn’t do as well as they’d obviously have wanted, they did increase their vote share from last time and will end up with more councillors than before. FG and FF in particular lost vote share and will lose councillors. Yet the headlines from this election are painting this as an existential disaster for SF.
Plus there was a weird question in an opinion poll down south a week ago that asked who people would prefer as SF leader, with no equivalent asking the same for any other party leaders.
Add on all the anti-migrant nonsense on social media imported and promoted by Brits and Yanks over the last few months – where the target of the far-right’s anger seems to be the leader of the opposition and the main opposition party, rather than the government – and this whole current trend in the discourse seems really manufactured.
Convenient too that it’ll mean FF-FG will probably stay in government after the next election and any kind of notionally left-wing government is completely out of the question
Sinn fein continues to seperate themselves from the average man once a working class party they have moved into the middle classes and people can see that.
Sinn Fein are not the same party anymore.
Continuing euro scepticism within the party,no concrete policy on immigration and overwhelmingly posh at times mary Lou has undone the support of the average man who sees the party heading down the same road as FF before them.
She needs to step aside and let the party elect a man or woman who people can feel some sort of connection with as their representative.
Over 50k a year to educate Mary Lou and her jumping ship from Fianna Fail early in her career should show people the working class Sinn Fein are gone and it’s very much a pro establishment party .
it’s about her not our people otherwise she would step aside.