Léargas

As you read this column I am in Washington DC briefing senior political figures and the Obama administration on the current difficulties within the peace process. But I will return to that again. For now let me deal with the local government and EU elections that has just concluded across the island of Ireland. The facts tell part of the story. ·        483,113 votes for Sinn Féin in the EU election. ·        4 MEP’s elected. ·        262 Local election candidates elected ·        76 women councillors ·        39 Councils with SF councillors ·        32 Counties with Sinn Féin MEP’s ·        21.2% of the vote in the EU election ·        19 Councillors in Belfast City Council ·        16 C...

The Fine Gael/Labour government is in crisis. The election results of recent days confirm this. They have been effectively given a notice to quit by the electorate. Fine Gael and Labour came to power in 2011 promising an end to cronyism and greater transparency and accountability. It was proclaimed by Enda Kenny as a ‘democratic revolution’. Three years later it’s looking more and more like the same old, same old. Enda Kenny and Eamonn Gilmore have lost control of the political agenda. For months they have been denying that there is any crisis in health, especially in respect of the removal of discretionary medical cards, or that there is a growing problem with housing, and especially homelessness. They also consistently and robustly defended the actions of their former Justice Minister Alan Shatter, even as the scandals in policing and justice increased, and public disquiet turned to anger. The treatment of the two Garda whistleblowers, John Wilson an...

With a week to go before the election north and south I decided to write a short note of encouragement to the almost 350 candidates Sinn Féin has standing in the European and Local Government elections and two by-elections for the Dáil. I included with it an article I wrote in 2005 for the Westminster elections. It was/is a wry and humorous look at the impact of standing in an election on candidates. Some of the names - for example Mary is Mary Harney - may not jump out at you now but I think you will get the idea.   Enjoy.   GerryA xoxo     Comrade Congratulations on your selection as a Sinn Féin candidate. It is a great honour to represent Sinn Féin in any capacity and a huge privilege to seek a mandate from your peers for our historic republican mission. Not every Sinn Féin candidate will get elected. That is the nature of elections but every Sinn Féin candidate has the ability to get elected. We should not be carried away by opi...

The decision by Drew Harris, the Assistant Chief Constable of the PSNI, not to investigate killings carried out by the secret British Army ‘Military Reaction Unit’ of the early 1970s will surprise few within the nationalist community. The MRF was the subject of a BBC programme last year. In it members of that clandestine force boasted of their activities. The MRF was particularly noted for carrying out drive-by shootings in which civilians were targeted. Pat McVeigh and Daniel Rooney were two of its victims. There were others. At that time it was widely believed that many of these attacks were the work of unionist death squads. Some were claimed by the British Army but it is clear that part of the strategy that the MRF was working to was to heighten sectarian fears. In more recent weeks Drew Harris’s profile has increased because of his claim that 95 of the 228 OTRs who received letters were linked to 295 killings. The fact that there was no evidence for this and that his c...

The Balmoral Press Conference on my release My recent detention and interrogation was a serious attempt to bring charges against me. It was conducted by the Retrospective Major Investigation Team of the PSNI or REMIT, which is based at Seapark, Carrickfergus, County Antrim. I had contacted the PSNI through my solicitor, Seamus Collins, in March to tell them I was available to meet them. This followed another intense round of media speculation which has tried to link me to the killing in 1972 of Mrs. Jean McConville. It is part of a sustained malicious, untruthful and sinister campaign going back many years. Last Monday the PSNI responded to my solicitor. They said they wanted to speak to me. I was concerned about the timing. Sinn Féin is currently involved in very important EU and local government elections. Notwithstanding this I left Leinster House and Leaders Questions with the Taoiseach on the Wednesday afternoon and travelled to the Antrim Serious Crime Suite where I a...