The term "republican" is used in Northern Ireland to refer to nationalist groups such as the Irish Republican Army and their political wing Sinn Fein who support violence as a means of establishing a republic (in the more common sense) encompassing the whole of the island of Ireland. This is in contrast to democratic nationalist groups such as the [Social Democratic and Labour Party]? (SDLP). During the decades of the [Northern Ireland Troubles]? the democratic nationalist have had more support than the republicans among the minority Catholic electorate. With the recent, albeit shaky, development of a peace process, Sinn Fein's move away from violence has resulted in increased support and in the recent elections they received slightly more votes than the SDLP.
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