The Dodder suite of the RDS was the scene for a gathering of the young, and the young at heart. For the second year in a row, a 'Youth Fringe event' was organised to allow young people to gather and discuss the role of youth within Sinn Féin. Free article

The sense of betrayal and neglect felt by rural and coastal communities in Ireland was evident at the Ard Fheis. The communities that should be allowed harvest our natural resources are, literally, having the food taken out of their mouths. Speaking on the Common Fisheries Policy, Martin Ferris TD said: "The Irish fisheries sector has been in crisis for decades", and "fundamentally the crisis is a direct result of decades of mismanagement and neglect - ultimately based on the surrender of our fisheries to Brussels in 1973." Free article

At one of the best attended Friday evening sessions in many years, a large number of Ard Fheis delegates queued to speak on motions on party development and constitution and rules. While many of the speakers spoke on the issue of coalition, a range of other subjects were also debated, including the need to campaign more effectively and the promotion of the Irish language within Sinn Féin. Delegates rejected a motion that would have seen the party refuse to allow councillors who left other parties to join Sinn Féin. Free article

Public services have been dealt the full force of the Fianna Fáil led government and their agenda of cuts this year and this was reflected in the contributions of delegates on Saturday morning during the section on envionment and public services.. Free article

It's not every day you attend a Sinn Féin Ard Fheis hearing pigs, cows, dogs, rats and cuddly hares the topic of conversation but this was no ordinary day, as the section on culture and heritage demonstrated. Free article

The final section of the Ard Fheis was on motions dealing with democracy and accountability but was dominated by a debate on a motion from the Driver O'Boyle cumann in Wicklow condemning An Taisce's objections to rural one-off housing. Councillor Martin Kenny from Leitrim accused An Taisce of trying to turn rural Ireland into a wildlife reserve, saying: "There is an agenda in certain sections of Irish society to remove people from the rural countryside. People in rural Ireland need to live and work and they need homes to live in." Free article

National Officer Board

President –  Gerry Adams
Vice President – Mary Lou McDonald
Ard Runaí – Dawn Doyle
Chairperson – Declan Kearney
Director of Publicity – Seán Mac Brádaigh
Treasurers – Rita O’Hare and Maurice Quinlivan

Ard Chomhairle 

Rose Conway Walsh
Debbie Coyle
Bairbre de Brún
Kathleen Funchion
Mary McArdle
Áine Ní Gabhann
Pearse Doherty
Martin Kenny
Mícheál Mac Donncha
Barry... Free article

Sinn Féin Ard Fheis 2010 Free article