Sinéad O’Connor withdraws application to join Sinn Féin

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jan/28/sinead-o-connor-withdraws-sinn-fein-application-ireland

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Sinéad O’Connor has withdrawn her application to join Sinn Féin, accusing the party of not being serious about ending the partition of Ireland.

The Irish singer, who shot to global fame with her version of Prince’s Nothing Compares to You, had announced last month she was planning to become a Sinn Féin member.

But O’Connor has used her official Facebook to state that after discussions with two party officials she has concluded that “it makes no sense for Sinn Féin to speak of sovereignty and water but not speak of ending partition”.

She added: “It makes no sense to plan now for next year’s [Easter Rising] centenary, while not speaking now about the end of partition. I think Sinn Féin could risk being braver. If you seem afraid of the subject how on earth are you gonna convince anyone who is more afraid? i.e. the vast majority of residents of the Republic.”

Sinn Féin would not discuss the nature of the talks between its representatives and the performer. A party spokesperson said: “I can confirm that the party has met with Sinéad O’Connor but we don’t comment on our discussions with people who apply to join the party.”

O’Connor came under attack from critics of Sinn Féin, most notably IRA rape victim Mairia Cahill. On hearing that the singer, who is a priest in an anti-Vatican sect, had applied to join Sinn Féin, Cahill said: “I had no explanation for how a woman who has been so vocal about child abuse could have chosen to join a party which has been in the headlines for their handling of this issue since my own story broke on BBC Spotlight.”

When O’Connor went public earlier in late December expressing her interest in becoming a Sinn Féin member she immediately called for the party’s leadership, including its president, Gerry Adams, to step down and allow a new generation of activists to take over.

In a message before travelling to Dubai en route to an Australian tour, O’Connor claimed the Sinn Féin officials she met told her she would be “bored shitless” being a full party member rather than an outside supporter.

In the early 1990s, the Dubin-born singer initially expressed support for the Provisional IRA’s campaign but later retracted her comments, saying she was “too young to understand the tense situation in Northern Ireland properly”. In 1993 she took part in mass protests against an IRA bombing in Warrington that killed two children.