Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has promised her party will focus on clear 'solutions' and policies following weak local election performance. 

The main opposition party currently has an 11.3% share of votes in local elections, behind Fianna Fáil at 22% and Fine Gael at 23.3%.  

The party now also risks winning any seats in the three European constituencies. 

Speaking at the RDS count centre in Dublin, Ms McDonald said it wasn’t Sinn Féin’s day. 

"We are disappointed that we didn't manage to get more of them elected,” she said 

“We have made some gains - modest, but they are there. 

“It hasn't been our day - clearly frustrations, anger indeed, with Government policy has transferred to Independents and others." 

Dublin count centre in the RDS for local and European election. Image: Sasko Lazarov / © RollingNews.ie

Sinn Féin must now prepare for a general election “whenever that is”, according to Ms McDonald. 

“We've been on tens of thousands of doorsteps over the last number of weeks,” she said. 

“We listened carefully, we now need to reflect and learn from it - I'm sorry that we didn't do better, I know we can and I'm determined that we will do better." 

She has vowed to stay on as leader of the party and said there is still an appetite for a change of Government. 

“[Do people want] five years of more of the same, is it a Government of change and giving Sinn Féin its chance,” she said. 

"A very clear point for me is solutions, solutions, solutions – that’s what Sinn Féin now needs to bring to the table and articulate that clearly.” 

'When the going gets tough, that's when leaders step forward, they don't step down. @MaryLouMcDonald on @sinnfeinireland's performance at #LE24 pic.twitter.com/bgwnJNoXsy

— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) June 9, 2024

Sinn Féin in elections

These low election figures run against polls indicating Sinn Féin is the most popular party in the country – although support has been slipping in recent months. 

Barnados CEO and former Labour advisor Fergus Finlay said Sinn Féin’s main issue in this campaign was they “didn’t actually run a campaign”. 

“I can’t say that I followed it every waking hour but I saw no sign of Mary Lou on the campaign trail,” he said. 

“I don’t know if Mary Lou left Dublin – if she did it was in the dead of night, and she was back before morning.” 

Dublin MEP Lynn Boylan will be involved in a ‘dog fight’ for the final seat in that constituency.