History of Sinn Féin 218. De Valera resigned and formed a new party, Fianna Fáil, on a platform of republicanising the Free State from within. He took the great majority of Sinn Féin support with him along with most of Sinn Féin's financial support from America. The remains of Sinn Féin fielded only 15 candidates and won only six seats in the June election, sinking to a level support not seen since before 1916. In the August 1927 by-election following the death of Constance Markievicz, SF's Cathal Ó Murchadha gained just 2.5% of the vote. Shortly after Vice-President and de facto leader MacSwiney announced
History of Sinn Féin between Sinn Féin and the other nationalist parties, north and south. On becoming Taoiseach in 1987, Haughey authorised face-to-face discussions between Martin Mansergh, Head of Research for Fianna Fáil, and Sinn Féin representatives Adams, Pat Doherty and Mitchel McLaughlin. Meetings between the SDLP and Sinn Féin began in January 1988 and continued during the year. Sinn Féin aimed at forming an alliance of Irish nationalist parties for the purpose of achieving self-determination for the whole of Ireland, but the SDLP insisted that this could only happen in the context of an end to IRA violence and the dropping of the