In 1981, ten young men starved themselves to death in a prison on the outskirts of Belfast. They were all members of the Irish Republican Army, and had been protesting their right to be treated as political prisoners. Their deaths shocked the world. The Hunger Strikes made martyrs of the young republican men who died and were the apex of a thirty year conflict in Ireland that – by its conclusion – had claimed the lives of 3,500 people, and gained a euphemism: The Troubles. The strikes also marked the moment that a little-known nationalist fringe group named Sinn Féin was catapulted from obscurity into the mainstream.

Four decades later, Sinn Féin made history when it won the popular vote in the Ireland’s 2020 General Election and came within touching distance of taking power on both sides of the Irish border. Now, with the country on the eve of another election, Sinn Féin should be riding high in the polls. Instead, they are bogged down in chaos and disorder. Criticised for failing to come up with a coherent policy on immigration, and dogged by allegations of sexual abuse and internal cover-ups. Their election prospects look dubious, at best.

Whatever you think of them, Sinn Féin remain one of the most consequential political movements in recent history, and, more so than any other political party, their political fortunes remain irrevocably shaped by their past. To understand Sinn Féin, you have to go back to their roots.

In this limited series launching on November 22, political editor John Lee, who has been covering Sinn Féin for three decades, explores the history of the conflict that came to be known as the Troubles to understand where Sinn Féin came from, and where it might be going. He has spoken to key players from both sides of the Irish border, including current and former politicians, peace activists, former Provisional IRA members and ordinary civilians. And he has asked them all... who are Sinn Féin, really?

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