Editing Sinn Féin (section)

===1976–1983===
Political status for prisoners became an issue after the ending of the truce. Rees released the last of the internees, and ended '[[Special Category Status]]' for all prisoners convicted after 1 March 1976. This led first to the [[blanket protest]], and then to the [[dirty protest]].{{sfn|Feeney|2002|pages=277–279}} Around the same time, [[Gerry Adams]] began writing for ''Republican News'', calling for Sinn Féin to become more involved politically.{{sfn|Feeney|2002|page=275}} Over the next few years, Adams and those aligned with him would extend their influence throughout the republican movement and slowly marginalise Ó Brádaigh, part of a general trend of power in both Sinn Féin and the IRA shifting north.{{sfn|O'Brien|1995|pages=[https://archive.org/details/longwarirasinnfe00obri/page/n114 113]–}} In particular, Ó Brádaigh's part in the 1975 IRA ceasefire had damaged his reputation in the eyes of northern republicans.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ruairi-o-bradaigh-ira-leader-who-believed-fervently-in-armed-struggle-8648303.html |title=Ruairi O Bradaigh: IRA leader who believed fervently in armed struggle |date=6 June 2013 |first=David |last=McKittrick |author-link=David McKittrick |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |location=London |language=en |access-date=11 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206214220/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ruairi-o-bradaigh-ira-leader-who-believed-fervently-in-armed-struggle-8648303.html |archive-date=6 December 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The prisoners' protest climaxed with the [[1981 Irish hunger strike|1981 hunger strike]], during which striker [[Bobby Sands]] was elected Member of Parliament for [[Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)|Fermanagh and South Tyrone]] as an [[Anti H-Block]] candidate. After his death on hunger strike, his seat was held, with an increased vote, by his election agent, [[Owen Carron]]. Two other Anti H-Block candidates were elected to [[Dáil Éireann]] in the [[1981 Irish general election|general election in the Republic]]. These successes convinced republicans that they should contest every election.{{sfn|Feeney|2002|pages=290–291}} Danny Morrison expressed the mood at the 1981 ''Ard Fheis'' when he said:
{{blockquote|Who here really believes we can win the war through the ballot box? But will anyone here object if, with a ballot paper in this hand and an [[ArmaLite|Armalite]] in the other, we take power in Ireland?<ref name="Taylor 1997, pp. 281–2">Taylor (1997), pp. 281–282.</ref>}}
This was the origin of what became known as the [[Armalite and ballot box strategy]]. Ó Brádaigh's chief policy, a plan for a federalised Irish state dubbed ''[[Éire Nua]]'', was dropped in 1982, and the following year Ó Brádaigh stepped down as president, and was replaced by Adams.{{sfn|Feeney|2002|page=321}}