Sinn Féin’s Victory in Northern Ireland: Has Their Day Come?

Walking down the streets of the Falls Road in Belfast, visitors often notice a singular, highly visible phrase: Tiocfaidh ar la (Irish for “Our day will come”). Tiocfaidh ar la is a prophecy for Irish nationalists, particularly Sinn Féin, the political party that most outspokenly promises the end of the partition of the island of Ireland between Northern Ireland (which remains part of the United Kingdom) and the Republic of Ireland. After the Northern Ireland assembly elections on May 5, many Irish nationalists believe their day finally came as Sinn Féin won Northern Ireland's assembly election to become the largest party in Stormont. While many cite Brexit as the driver for Sinn Fein’s recent ascension to power, this surge of support has been years in the making, driven by the party’s emphasis on working-class politics, and focus on young voters. In the Northern Ireland assembly elections, members from various nationalist and pro-British unionist parties battled for a share of Stormont's 90 seats. Sinn Féin won 27 seats, two more than their nearest rivals, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The Alliance Party, which portrays itself as an alternative to the unionist versus nationalist fault line in Northern Irish politics, surged in the polls, which benefited Sinn Féin. Alliance gained three former DUP seats and four nationalist seats, but the nationalist seats did not belong to Sinn Féin.