Eoin Ó Broin: Will Sinn Fein be part of Ireland's government?
The Interview
BBC
4.3 • 537 Ratings
🗓️ 18 March 2020
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Sinn Fein’s Eoin Ó Broin. Coronavirus is first and foremost a global health crisis. But its impacts go so much further. The economic damage is deep and worldwide, and political systems face profound challenges too. Ireland is a telling case study. Last month’s election left the country without a stable government. Eoin Ó Broin is a leading figure in Sinn Fein, the party that won the most votes, but failed to form a government. Does political uncertainty now make Ireland especially vulnerable?
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You're listening to a podcast from the BBC World Service. This is Hard Talk with me, Stephen Sacker. |
| 0:07.0 | Thanks for downloading this edition of the program. I do hope you enjoy it. |
| 0:13.2 | Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service with me, Stephen Sacker. My guest today is an Irish politician who just a month ago was riding the |
| 0:22.3 | crest of a political wave. Owen Obrin is a senior figure in Sinn Féin, the party that won the most |
| 0:29.1 | votes in Ireland's election and had aspirations to form a government. But much has happened since then. |
| 0:36.2 | Most importantly, the global spread of coronavirus |
| 0:39.4 | has put Ireland, along with countries worldwide, on an emergency footing. The caretaker Prime |
| 0:46.2 | Minister, Leo Varadka, has introduced a series of measures that come close to a national lockdown. |
| 0:51.9 | While the number of cases hasn't yet reached 200, the feeling is that |
| 0:56.7 | Ireland's healthcare system will soon be put under enormous strain. So what will happen if Ireland |
| 1:03.1 | remains in post-election limbo? Well, Sinn Féin, traditionally the party of hardline Irish republicanism and the political voice of the IRA |
| 1:13.2 | during the conflict in Northern Ireland is at loggerheads with Ireland's two traditionally |
| 1:18.7 | dominant political parties, that is, Finnegale and Finnafoil. They may form a grand coalition |
| 1:25.5 | to guide the country through the crisis, but will the voters buy it? |
| 1:30.2 | Is political uncertainty leaving Ireland especially vulnerable? |
| 1:35.1 | Well, Owen Obrin joins me now from Dublin. |
| 1:38.4 | Welcome to Hard Talk. |
| 1:40.1 | Thank you very much, Stephen. |
| 1:40.8 | You hopes that by now your party would be forming a government, |
| 1:46.1 | would be the government in Ireland, but it hasn't worked out that way. So you have to respond to |
| 1:52.1 | what the, in essence, the caretaker government led by Leo Varadkar is doing. He's passed or initiated |
| 1:58.1 | a whole host of emergency measures to respond to coronavirus. Are you supporting him? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.