Daniel McConnell: Is Sinn Féin ready to go from a party of booing to one of doing?

A succession of opinion polls in recent months have placed Sinn Féin as the most popular party in Ireland. However, the path to power is far from straightforward, writes Daniel McConnell.

For all of her party’s inconsistencies and policy limitations, Mary Lou McDonald is now seen as potentially Ireland’s first-ever female Taoiseach

Anyone who knows politics understands that being in government is a world away from what life is like as an opposition party.

In opposition you speak, in government you act. Going from a party of booing to one of doing is rarely an easy transition. But the prize is substantial if it can be achieved.