Sinn Fein's rise akin to that of Nazis in 1930s and is a threat to democracy on this island

The general election results in Republic make me ashamed of my country, writes Ruth Dudley Edwards

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald during the election count at the RDS in Dublin

Ruth Dudley Edwards

Today I am ashamed of my country, a vast number of whose voters have intentionally or unwittingly just endorsed a fascist party. This reminds many who know Sinn Fein as puppets of the IRA Army Council of Germany in 1932, when the Nazi party became the largest in parliament: Hitler became Chancellor in January 1933 and wasted no time in establishing his brutal dictatorship.

Sinn Fein members and apologists, of course, are exulting in the Irish election results, some enjoying themselves insulting supporters of Breege and Stephen, the heartbroken but courageous parents seeking justice for their son Paul Quinn, savagely beaten to death by the Provisional IRA in 2007 and then slurred as a criminal by Conor Murphy and Gerry Adams.