The vilification of Sinn Féin illustrates the gulf between the Irish political elite and ordinary working people, the party's annual conference was told tonight.
In the opening address to the conference, Dublin European Parliament candidate Ms Mary Lou McDonald said her party was being subjected to "the same unsubstantiated and unfounded attacks" this weekend as they were exactly 10 years ago.
She told delegates: "It is remarkable that exactly 10 years ago this week the same denunciations, the same unsubstantiated and unfounded attack on Sinn Féin that are dominating the headlines this week were taking place then.
"Those attacks, while mainly focused on Sinn Féin, also took in any individual, organisation or any community that dared to have anything to do with Sinn Féin or Irish republicanism."
She was commenting a week after Northern Ireland Police chief Mr Hugh Orde accused the IRA of being behind the attempted abduction of dissident republican Mr Bobby Tohilll from a Belfast city centre pub.
Mr Orde's claims sparked a fresh political crisis in Northern Ireland, with Ulster Unionist leader Mr David Trimble threatening to lead his party out of talks to restore the Assembly if the British and Irish governments did not impose sanctions on Sinn Féin by suspending them from the review of the Belfast Agreement.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, added to the controversy yesterday by claiming he had always assumed when he met Sinn Féin leader Mr Gerry Adams that he had been a member of the IRA in the past.