Sinn Fein sweep past unionist rivals again in N. Ireland local elections

FILE PHOTO: Vice President of Sinn Fein Michelle O'Neill arrives to vote at a polling station during local elections in Coalisland, Northern Ireland, May 18, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

BELFAST (Reuters) -Irish nationalists Sinn Fein followed up last year's historic Northern Ireland Assembly victory by overtaking their unionist rivals by a wide margin in council elections on Saturday to become the biggest party at local level for the first time.

It is the latest political milestone for the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who want to leave the United Kingdom and form a united Ireland.