The Forthcoming General Election in the Republic of Ireland: Winds of (Left‐Wing) Change or Plus Ça Change?

Abstract The forthcoming general election will be the most consequential electoral contest for the Republic of Ireland in a century. The polity is situated in truly novel territory with the potential for an historic first: the incoming of a Sinn Féin‐led, left‐wing government. Any such government would portend change in the North of Ireland, symbolising a critical juncture on the path towards the ending of partition. Analysing electoral and ideological shifts across the post‐2008 period, this article examines the immediate prospects for the coming to power of a left‐wing government and an historic first in Irish politics.