Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein is expected to make a historic breakthrough and emerge from Thursday’s elections as Northern Ireland’s largest party. But Sinn Fein’s advance looks limited, as it is projected to lose votes compared to last time. It owes its poll lead to a greater fall in support for the Democratic Unionist Party – while support for the union itself remains robust.
Polls forecast that the largest party in the Northern Irish Assembly will soon be Sinn Fein – the former political wing of nationalist terrorist group the IRA, the biggest killer in the Troubles before renouncing violence in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
