Sigh. This is manifestly incorrect. The party that campaigns as Sinn Fein in Ireland now has very very little to do with the Sinn Fein that won the elections in

Sigh. This is manifestly incorrect. The party that campaigns as Sinn Fein in Ireland now has very very little to do with the Sinn Fein that won the elections in 1918. That Original Sinn Fein splintered into Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, a bunch of random socialist parties, and eventually the workers party which merged with Labour 30+ years ago. The Sinn Fein that did really well in the NI assembly elections yesterday is Provisional Sinn Fein, which is an outgrowth of the civil rights movement for Catholics that started in the 1960s. This Sinn Fein was the political wing of the Provisional IRA, an armed group which engaged in violence to bring about a united Ireland. So, yes they are IRA associated (though the pIRA haven't engaged in political violence since about 1997).