Denis Bradley’s proposal in his column in the Irish News that Sinn Fein should concentrate exclusively on advocating Irish unity while eschewing socialism is misguided. To do so would leave the party increasingly isolated in the South while confining it to a dangerously narrow brand of nationalism in the North. For republicans, after all, uniting Ireland politically is only a means to the end of establishing a republic across the entire island. What form that republic takes assumes ever greater importance as the global economy tumbles deeper into recession. Indeed, Gerry Adams would be well advised to seek a much closer formal alliance with the Irish Labour Party rather than move away from Left politics.