Shane Ross: Who exactly is the real Mary Lou McDonald?

The real Mary Lou is a mystery, a republican riddle. The political world – in both Northern Ireland and the Republic – has been asking: how did a middle class, privately- educated woman, reared in one of Dublin’s most prosperous suburbs, end up as leader of Sinn Fein? She is now one of the most powerful politicians on the entire island, heading up a party that attracts more voters than any other on both sides of the border. The onward march of Sinn Fein has rendered the Republic’s civil war politics irrelevant, forcing our historically opposing factions to unite against Mary Lou’s electoral triumphs. She is winning.

She may be destined for greatness, but little has hitherto been written about Mary Lou’s background. The Sinn Fein spin tells of a young girl of twelve who had her ‘Road to Damascus’ moment when Bobby Sands died. It tells of her great uncle executed after taking the republican side in the civil war, of a nationalist background on her mother’s side in Tipperary and on her father’s side in Dublin.

But the Sinn Fein narrative does not address the harder questions. Like, how did this remarkably amiable woman manage to allow her republican convictions to lie dormant from the age of twelve to the time when she joined Fianna Fail at the age of 28? How did she suppress any trace of these beliefs throughout her secondary education, her time at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), her masters’ degree in Limerick, her marriage and her first jobs? She would have had plenty of opportunity for pursuing political passions in TCD, a breeding ground for Irish politicians of all hues. She didn’t.

After her surprise plunge into politics, she rose rapidly up the republican ladder. Her transition from one party to another has been shrouded in mystery. The book MARY LOU McDONALD, A Republican Riddle narrates the story of her defection from Fianna Fail, her meteoric promotion through the Sinn Fein ranks and how she was protected and promoted by Gerry Adams throughout her unopposed ascent to the top tables in the party.

The serious question of how acceptable Mary Lou was - at least initially - to the ‘hard men’ in Belfast who controlled Sinn Fein is addressed. The book details the actions she was dedicated to taking to win over the IRA veterans in her relentless determination to land the prize of the leadership. It relates the unswerving loyalty she gave to her party leader’s unconvincing and unacceptable stances on the IRA’s behaviour over the rape of Mairia Cahill, the murder of Jean McConville and the ‘good republican’ credentials of ‘Slab’ Murphy from South Armagh. She is one of the only people left on God’s Earth who still claims to believe Adams’ yarn that he was never a member of the IRA. She took many political hits in the republic for this blind deference to Adams, but she survived them all.

She is politically fascinating, personally likeable and charismatic. I served on the Dail’s Public Accounts Committee with her for five years. On this committee, operating in a non-political sphere where republicanism never raised its head, she was supremely competent.

In the book I sought to discover the hidden picture and the people who helped to mould Mary Lou. I unearthed a wild, daredevil father who separated from her mother when Mary Lou was only 10. I found an equally republican sister and two other talented siblings. All four children were educated at TCD, achieving good degrees, despite the family’s stressed financial circumstances. I found a husband who shuns the limelight.

The book examines how unionists see Mary Lou. It addresses the question of whether her protestations of good faith and benign intentions towards her ‘unionist friends’ are merely lip service, necessary in her tireless drive for a united Ireland. It documents her great skill over the years, in playing the part of the middle -class Dubliner to the Southern electorate while highlighting her republican convictions to the faithful in Northern Ireland.

The book itself is already embroiled in controversy. Last week RTE, the national broadcaster, refused at the last minute to put out a radio interview they had recorded with me about the book. They called off its transmission, even after it had been heavily legalled and certain topics had been forbidden. They were particularly sensitive to the attitude of Sinn Fein. The Taoiseach Micheal Martin described RTE’s decision as ‘chilling’. Opponents of Sinn Fein are linking RTE’s decision to a legal action that the Sinn Fein leader is taking against the station.

Finally, is the real Mary Lou a true republican believer, an idealistic visionary? She walked through hot coals for Gerry Adams. She commemorated the deeds and the deaths of hundreds of republican volunteers. She was unflinching in defending the seemingly indefensible for the Sinn Fein cause. Or is she an opportunist who saw a bright future for a young girl from a prosperous background in a party of former IRA volunteers, socialists and radicals?

l MARY LOU McDONALD, A Republican Riddle, written by Shane Ross and published by Atlantic Books is available from New Alibis, Waterstones, Little Acorns and all good bookshops for £16.99 and online.

Shane Ross is a former Independent Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport in the Irish Government, having served in the cabinet from 2016-20. He is the author of four previous best- selling books on current affairs in Ireland.