The Mick Clifford Podcast: Doherty would have been Sinn Féin leader if put to a vote, says Ross

“He was more popular within the ranks of Sinn Féin and there was a kind of dormant resentment of Mary Lou because of her background. "

“I talked to one or two members of Sinn Féin who thought that if there had been a democratic vote Pearse would have won,” Shane Ross told the Mick Clifford podcast.

Pearse Doherty would have been elected leader of Sinn Féin instead of Mary Lou McDonald if the matter was put to a vote, according to the author of a new biography on Ms McDonald.

Former government minister Shane Ross says that in researching for his book, Mary Lou McDonald – A Republican Riddle, he met party members who told him that Mr Doherty would have won if the membership had voted on the matter after Gerry Adams stepped down from the role in 2017.