[shin feyn] 
| 1. | a political organization in Ireland, founded about 1905, advocating the complete political separation from Great Britain of a unified Ireland. |
| 2. | a member of this organization. |
| Sinn Fein (shĭn fān', fě'ĭn) n. An Irish political and cultural society founded about 1905 to promote political and economic independence from England, unification of Ireland, and a renewal of Irish culture. It now constitutes the political branch of the Irish Republican Army. [Irish Gaelic sinn féin : sinn, we (from Middle Irish, from Old Irish) + féin, self (from Middle Irish, from Old Irish; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots).] Sinn Fein'er n., Sinn' Fein'ism n. |
An Irish political party (in Gaelic it means “Ourselves Alone”) that has long combatted Great Britain's influence in Ireland and sought the unification of Northern Ireland with the Irish republic in the south; generally considered the political portion of the Irish Republican Army. One wing of it has engaged in terrorism.