'The media war against Sinn Féin' in the Dáil general election

SINN FÉIN faced “a media dirty war during the Dáil general election as the Establishment rounded on the only serious electoral threat to the Golden Circles and the elites of Irish society”, Mark Moloney writes in the March issue of An Phoblacht.

“Unsurprisingly, the first mud-slingers out of the traps were the Denis O'Brien-controlled Independent News & Media newspapers which launched a vitriolic and insidious campaign in an attempt to frighten voters,” Mark Moloney says, adding that Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams described it as “vindictive, personalised and untruthful”.

Peadar Tóibín TD said:

“I can't remember any election where a newspaper group owned by a billionaire targeted one political party in such a manner.”

State broadcaster RTÉ also came in for severe criticism as it slashed Sinn Féin's election coverage following a poll in the Sunday Business Post on 14 February which showed the party gaining ground in the election to be held less than two weeks later.

In the Irish Sun, Oliver Callan, creator of RTÉ's Callan's Kicks satire, was scathing in his criticism of the Irish media landscape.

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