Léargas

Last Monday night this column was in Dundalk at a Right2Water public meeting. There was a good turnout and a lively discussion. Local Councillors and former Executive Minster Conor Murphy joined us. On Thursday night we repeated the process in Drogheda.     A few Saturdays before this a huge crowd of citizens poured on to the streets of Dublin to protest at the Governments introduction of additional water charges. Everyone, including the organisers were surprised at the turnout which was estimated to be at least fifty thousand strong. Six years of austerity and the Governments arrogance in setting up Uisce Eireann - a semi state company operating like a private company which claimed over fifty million euros of taxpayers money for consultants and huge bonuses for its management - was the trigger for widespread public opposition. Water is clearly a precious resource that must be protected and maintained to the highest standards. Clean water ...

The allegations of Maíria Cahill have been at the centre of the media and political system North and South, in recent times. Nobody doubts that Maíria has been through great distress. I have never doubted that she suffered abuse. And like every citizen she is fully entitled to truth and justice.   Over the course of the past week Maíria Cahill has made serious allegations against myself and named Sinn Féin members.   While I am very mindful of the trauma she has suffered I and the others she has named reject those allegations.   The allegations made by Maíria Cahill have been seized upon in the most cynical, calculated and opportunistic way by our political opponents. Their aim has little to do with helping victims of abuse, but everything to do with furthering their own narrow political agendas.   The serious and sensitive issues of abuse should be dealt with in a victim-centred way by the appropriate authorities. Instead they have been politici...

  The recent allegations made by Maíria Cahill are of serious concern to myself and Sinn Féin. While I refute completely Maíria’s allegations against myself and Sinn Féin it does raise the significant issue of how allegations of abuse had been handled in the past by republicans. Abuse respects no political boundaries. It affects all classes, creeds and social groups. Women and children in the main suffers as a result. It is now accepted that one in four citizens have experienced abuse. Our society has been extremely bad, until relatively recently, in facing up to this matter and developing the necessary responses and supports. This has been the case in both states but in the North these failures were further exacerbated by conflict. In conflicts civilians suffer the most, particularly women and children. This is especially the case when communities are under military occupation. During the conflict in the north many nationalist and particularly republican communities...

The Centenary anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising is now less than two years away. This hugely significant date in the history of the Irish nation should be marked in an appropriate, sensitive and inclusive manner. Any commemoration should be a fitting popular acknowledgement of the past but also, and just as importantly, an opportunity for all of us - political representatives and citizens alike - North and South, to engage in a serious discussion about what kind of an Ireland we want to build for the future. But as yet, no plan, no proposal and no programme of events, outlining how, where or what the Government intends to organise to mark this event has been published. This should be a cause for concern. Indeed, the only idea mooted by senior members of the Cabinet so far has been to invite members of the English royal family to whatever ceremony eventually takes place. Compounding the Government's bungling approach has been the shabby treatment of the relatives of tho...

There was a time when the Holiday Camp at Mosney was host to Joe Dolan and Dickie Rock. Thousands danced the night away to 'Oh Me Oh My' and 'The Church with the White Washed Gable'. Sadly Joe is no longer with us. Dickie is still going strong. So too is Mosney. I was there only once. Years ago. Maggie McArdle, God rest her, my favourite Mother in Law, was on a Senior Citizens Weekend Away and we called to visit her. Back in the day. The place was buzzing. Maggie really enjoyed her vacation. So did many others over the decades. When he heard I was to visit there last week Dessie Ellis TD regaled me with tales of his amorous adventures and countless more innocent Dublin family breaks at Mosney. These days Mosney is an Asylum Accommodation Centre. Me and Seanadoir Trevor Ó Clochartaigh and Councillor Eimear Ferguson visited it on Friday last. A letter to Trevor from The Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) set out the conditions for our visit. They ...

Two weeks ago I was pleased to visit New York and the 10 th Annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative held in the Sheraton hotel, in mid-town Manhattan. The event, organised by the Bill, Hilary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation is a gathering of international leaders dedicated to developing innovative solutions to some of the world’s pressing challenges. And it brings together current and former Heads of State, Government representatives, Nobel Peace Prize winners, hundreds of leaders in the business and non profit sectors, and civic society. Each year that I have attended, I have felt enriched, energised and uplifted by the collegial sense of addressing global problems, and this year was no different. The thinking behind the CGI is that members make a ‘Commitment to Action’ which amounts to a new, specific and measurable plan that addresses a shared concern. The focus is on actions rather than words. And at this Annual meeting 100 new ‘Co...