Has Sinn Féin changed under Mary Lou McDonald’s leadership?

Around this time five years ago, Ireland was battling ‘the beast from the east,’ not many people knew what a coronavirus was and Sinn Féin was trailing in third place in the polls, far behind Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

Without a leadership contest, Mary Lou McDonald, was declared president of Sinn Féin in 2018; taking over from Gerry Adams who had been at the helm for 35 years.

The story of her first five years at the helm is one of both disaster and thundering success, both electoral wipe-out and triumph at the ballot box. But perhaps the toughest challenge of her political career lies just ahead, with the prospect of a general election as early as next year.

Political Correspondent, Jennifer Bray, examines her tenure as Sinn Féin president so far and how she has changed in that time. In a party that keeps an extremely tight lid on dissent, Jennifer has been asking colleagues and party members what they really think of McDonald.