Analysis-Sinn Fein struggles deal blow to nationalists' united Ireland dream

FILE PHOTO: Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald arrives with her party candidates to speak to media after a General Election was called, in Dublin, Ireland November 8, 2024. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo

DUBLIN/BELFAST (Reuters) - Sinn Fein's polling collapse from government-in-waiting to likely also-rans at an Irish election next week looks set to rob Irish nationalists of a potentially transformative moment in their pursuit of a united Ireland.

Earlier this year the party appeared on the brink of power in Dublin for the first time, placing it in government on both sides of the Irish border and ramping up preparations as it sought to force London to hold a referendum on a united Ireland within a decade.