In the midst of all, the upheaval within unionism, which is on the hunt for not one but two new party leaders at the moment,

there's been a lot of soul-searching going on within republicanism too, apparently.

Sinn Féin's operation in the north-west has been in turmoil over the past week as its two stormant MLAs were asked by the leadership and agreed to stand down.

And maybe that hasn't quite had the attention devoted to it that it might have had under different circumstances.

So we're going to put that right in this edition of Red Lines.

Chris, what's going on?

Well, I think, Mark, what we're saying for Sinn Féin is they're realizing at this moment,

how painful and challenging the process of renewal can be for political parties.

It's really going to require careful navigation by their leadership to get through this

and emerge stronger at the other end of it.

Dahi?

I think that there's a need for renewal, certainly after the election results in file in the past

couple of years, but it is a risk. It's a major gamble to take out two certain NLAs. And there

is a risk that could actually backfire in the party as well. Mary, what's your perspective from

Dublin? Well, Martina Anderson wouldn't have been a high-profile figure in the South.

It's been covered by media, but in a low-key way,

and in terms of how it's been interpreted from Dublin,

I think the interpretation is that Sinn Féin has proved itself to be a ruthless party,

as other established political parties in the south have proven themselves

to be over the years and that even if you are republican royalty and I do appreciate that's a

contradiction in terms if your election results are purr as Sinn Féin's electoral results in the city

of Derry have been over recent years, then the party will cut you off.

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