October 23rd 09

Adams expresses sadness at death of Redmond O Neill

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams today expressed his ‘deep sense of shock and sadness at the death of Redmond O Neill’.

Mr. Adams extended his 'sincere condolences to the family and friends of Redmond who died on Wednesday afternoon during surgery, following a long and valiant battle against cancer'.

Mr. Adams said:

'Le bás Redmond tá laoch ar son saoirse na hÉireann caillte againne agus is fíor bhrón e sin.

It was with a deep sense of shock and sadness that I learned of the death of Redmond .

I want to express my sincere condolences and sympathy to Redmond’s partner Kate, his sisters Fidelma, Ann and Tara and all the very close friends and comrades who loved and respected him.

I met Redmond many times during my visits to London . He was a very dedicated and energetic supporter of Irish reunification, of the peace process and of justice and equality campaigns.

During Sinn Féin’s recent discussions around initiating a focussed campaign on Irish reunification Redmond played a very helpful role. Right up until the day before his death, he was advising and contributing to the discussion and bringing to it wealth of energy, talent.

His suggestions were insightful and have helped shape the approach Sinn Féin will be taking, and the structure and content of the conference that is planned for London next February.

As an Irishman, born in Britain , Redmond ’s vigour and enthusiasm for promoting many progressive campaigns and initiatives was respected and infectious.

Most recently, in his role as policy director to Ken Livingstone when he was Mayor, Redmond championed the promotion of London ’s St Patrick’s Parade and Festival which made it one of the largest celebrations of Irish heritage anywhere in the world.

His key role in this and many other endeavours, in supporting justice and freedom in Ireland and in other parts of the world, were widely known and underline why his loss will be so greatly felt.

Redmond was a kind, generous, and courageous comrade. These qualities are reflected in how well liked and loved he was by those who he met in both his political and personal life.

He will be remembered by all those who had the privilege to work alongside him.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time and we also remember, in happiness, his positive and exceptional contribution.’

Is measc laochra na nGael go raibh a anam dílís.'

Sinn Fein

The Week in Review 8-15 October    

Sinn Fein reiterate need for justice and policing powers transfer

  On 13 October Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams reiterated Sinn Fein’s desire `to see a democratically accountable civic policing service in the north’. Central to this was, he said, the transfer of powers on policing and justice as agreed at St. Andrews.
He said that the Sinn Féin leadership, meeting in Dublin that day to decide on a formal party response to the financial package put forward by the British Government to enable the transfer, was taking a `twofold approach’ to this negotiation. This was, he said `to secure an adequate financial package for a quality frontline, civic policing service and a fair and effective justice system; and… ensuring that existing budgets for health, education and the other departments would not be affected by transfer’.
The previous day the British government had given details of the financial package proposed and party Chief Negotiator Martin McGuinness `recommended to the Officer Board that we proceed on the basis of this financial package’, added Mr Adams.
He said the board had `accepted this recommendation and Martin McGuinness will inform the British government of this in discussions in London this evening’. He concluded: `The process to transfer powers should now be completed quickly.’    

Peace process must tackle social and economic inequalities  

On 11 October, on the eve of the visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams called for the peace process to deliver `sustainable economic development while integrating economic growth and tackling the deep rooted inequalities and discrimination that still exists’. He said it must `deliver for communities, including deprived unionist working class neighbourhoods, which are oppressed by multiple deprivations’.
·These areas had to `materially benefit from the change that is taking place’ which, he added, meant `inward investment from the US and elsewhere has to contribute positively to an inclusive future’. This, he said `must be directed into areas which have been excluded for generations from investment’.
He said there was a `responsibility’ on political leaders `to structure policy and practice in a way that ensures opportunity and access for all. No one can be left behind in this process.’
Nationalist areas, especially in Belfast and west of the Bann, `continue to suffer from higher than average levels of unemployment and disadvantage, resulting often in significantly greater levels of sickness and premature deaths’, he said, adding `structured political, religious and economic discrimination is still a major factor in creating and perpetuating inequality’.
He said that while some progress had been made `the recent report by the Independent Review of Economic Policy into InvestNI is a damning indictment of that agency and its lack of strategic vision’.
He added: `between 1998 and 2007 Invest NI (and before it the IDB) failed to invest in jobs west of the Bann, and in the north west, as well as in west Belfast. These areas lagged well behind South Belfast for actual jobs promoted.’
He said this was `unacceptable and symptomatic of the inequalities that lie at the heart of this state’ and that `if the peace process is to mean anything it must deliver sustainable economic development which tackles the deep rooted inequalities and discrimination that still exists’.
The peace process had to `deliver for communities, including deprived unionist working class estates, which are oppressed by multiple deprivations… these areas have to materially benefit from the change that is taking place.’

l Conference on Irish Unity – FURTHER DETAILS ANNOUNCED Gerry Adams will join a range of speakers from Britain and Ireland at the forthcoming conference in London early next year, to open a debate in Britain on Irish unity. The conference, organisers announced this week, will take place at the TUC Congress House on Saturday 20 February 2010. Further details to be announced. For information, or to register an interest in the conference please email londonconference@sinn-fein.ie

Programme for Government `gives a green light for attacks on the most vulnerable’  

On 13 October Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said the new Programme for Government, agreed by Fianna Fáil and the Green Party at the weekend, meant that the Green Party had signed up for `savage cuts in public spending, NAMA and more attacks on working people and disadvantaged citizens’. Mr. Adams said that while the new Programme for Government avoided making any comment about the cuts that it will implement `it states that its approach to the public finances will include taking into account the findings of the McCarthy report – this means severe and far reaching cuts to public services and social protections’. He said `Many people will be particularly angry that the new programme does not contain a commitment to maintain current social welfare rates and reinstate the Christmas Social Welfare Bonus. Why did the Greens seek no assurance on this key issue?’   Meanwhile Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD called for a full debate in the Dail on the Revised Programme for Government. He said `the forthcoming Budget of Cuts would be the real Programme for Government’. Deputy Ó Caoláin said the Green Party and Fianna Fáil had `produced a revised Programme for Government that is essentially a face-saver for the Green Party, allowing them to remain in Government and to avoid the punishment from the electorate which they would face in a General Election’.
Earlier on 10 October Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin described the Green Party decision to endorse a new programme for Government as `a missed opportunity to do the right thing by the Irish people and turf Fianna Fáil out of Government’. Deputy Ó Caoláin added `The Green Party is obviously terrified of the prospect of a general election. They had the opportunity today to do the right thing by the Irish people and turf Fianna Fáil out of Government. Instead they missed that opportunity and acted in their own selfish interests. They are now set to join with Fianna Fáil in imposing savage cutbacks that will hit the less well off the hardest while the parasites who caused the economic crisis are bailed out by NAMA.’    

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Email fisherj@parliament.uk or visit www.sinnfein.ie  

Latest News - 6 October, 2009

• Talks on devolving policing and justice move to Downing St today
• DUP need to be saying when transfer will happen, not when it won't - McGuinness
• Gerry Adams comments on Lisbon result
• Lisbon will not solve Ireland's economic problems

Talks on devolving policing and justice move to Downing St today

Ongoing negotiations to secure a deal to transfer policing and justice powers to Stormont will continue this afternoon at Downing Street after a full day of meetings yesterday in the North.

These will be the fifth talks involving British prime minister Gordon Brown convened to address the devolution of powers.

Mr Brown spent yesterday in talks with the DUP, Sinn Féin, Alliance, the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP.

Mr McGuinness later said in the Assembly: "At the meeting I have just left with Gordon Brown, he had made it clear that he wants to ensure that the issue of finance isn't a blockage to the process moving forward." He insisted an agreement to transfer powers should be finalised "sooner rather than later", a position echoed by SDLP leader Mark Durkan.

Earlier Mr McGuinness pressed Mr Robinson to confront what he called "the 12 angry men" within the DUP who, he claimed, were opposed to a deal on justice.

Mr Robinson, also the DUP leader, met the prime minister with a large party delegation which included some Assembly members who have spoken against imminent devolution of justice powers. "I have not seen any angry men in the DUP," he said. "I have seen some irritable characters in Sinn Féin."

Asked about the deteriorating relations between him and Mr McGuinness, he said: "I was not elected to be a buddy for Martin McGuinness, I was elected to work with him and that is why I am here."

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DUP need to be saying when transfer will happen, not when it won't - McGuinness

Sinn Féin MP and joint First Minister Martin McGuinness has said that outbursts from the DUP are becoming increasingly 'bizarre'.

Mr McGuinness said;

"Sinn Féin is interested in getting and concluding the right deal on policing and justice. We are committed to achieving this in partnership with the DUP through our joint office of OFMDFM. Sinn Féin is fully involved in policing and wants to get the budget right. Policing and justice is not in the sole ownership of the DUP.

People need to hear the DUP saying when transfer will happen, not when it won't.

The British government have yet to make a full offer so of course there is more to come on finance and more to be offered.

However we believe these negotiations can only be concluded in meeting with the British. Nothing will be gained or concluded by running away from meetings with Gordon Brown and the British Government.

We are committed to resolving the outstanding issues on policing and justice finance in partnership with the DUP and putting a joint position to the British.

Any deal will be concluded jointly on the basis of the best deal possible for policing and justice."

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Gerry Adams comments on Lisbon result

Speaking from Dublin Castle on Saturday following the announcement of the result in the second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams commended all those who came out and voted in this second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

"To those hundreds of thousands of people who again voted No, I want to congratulate them for doing so in the face of huge pressure including threats that a No vote would have negative implications for jobs and the economy. You had the courage to make a stand for a better deal and to stand by the values of decency, citizenship, fairness and democracy", he said.

"The problems facing Irish society will not, in any way, be resolved by the result. Sinn Féin will continue to work for a better Europe -- one that is more democratic and that puts the interests of ordinary citizens and workers above that of big business and bureaucrats. We will continue to work for a fairer Ireland and for an economy and a society which serves the interests of its citizens.

"The fact remains that this government and its policies remain deeply unpopular. For economic recovery and for social progress this government has to go."

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Lisbon will not solve Ireland's economic problems

Sinn Féin Vice President Mary Lou McDonald said the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty will not solve Ireland's economic problems. She said Sinn Féin accepts the decision of the electorate to ratify the Lisbon Treaty but said those campaigners who promised jobs on the back of Lisbon must now deliver.

Ms McDonald said:

"Sinn Féin fully accepts the decision of the electorate to ratify the Lisbon Treaty. However, the ratification of the treaty will not solve Ireland's economic problems and there is an onus on those who promised jobs on the back of Lisbon to now deliver for communities and the unemployed.

"There can be no doubt that the referendum result, aided and abetted by both Fine Gael and Labour, has breathed a new lease of life into this discredited Government. They will now attempt to force through their deeply unpopular and economically flawed policies such as NAMA and the report from An Bord Snip with all its cutbacks.

"Sinn Féin will continue to campaign for and give voice to those communities and people who never benefited from the Celtic Tiger and are most affected by the economic recession. We will also continue to campaign on behalf of the more than half a million people who voted against the Lisbon Treaty."

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Latest News - 3 October, 2009

• Lisbon Treaty passes second time around

Lisbon Treaty passes second time around

The Lisbon Treaty was passed by voters in the 26 Counties of Ireland yesterday with the Yes side getting 67% of the vote and the No side 33%. The announcement came today at the vote count centre in Dublin Castle.

The Lisbon Treaty had been rejected by voters last year. Instead of using that mandate to negotiate a better treaty, the Irish Government put the exact same treaty to the voters on Friday with only loose promises of future benefits somewhere down the line. The Yes side used the economic downturn to scare voters into rejected the treaty a second time.

Sinn Féín was the only political party who campaigned against the treaty this time and last time. They argued that the treaty would be a bad deal for Ireland and for Europe and that a better deal was possible. The lamented the fact that the Irish government wasted the opportunity after the first No vote to negotiate a better deal. They accused the government of failing in their duties as they have with the economy.

The next battles for the government come with the upcoming NAMA legislation and the negotiation between the Greens and Fianna Fáil on a new programme of government. The results of those negotiations must be approved by a 2/3 majority of Green party members at a special party conference on Oct 12th. Failure to approve the programme will result in the government falling and a new general election being called.

Recent polls indicate that both Fianna Fail and the Greens would suffer sever losses in an election with Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin increasing their mandates.

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Latest News - 2 October, 2009

• McDonald appeals to electorate to come out and reject the Lisbon Treaty
• Polling information for the Lisbon Treaty
• Brown in the North for further talks on Monday
• Hillary Clinton to visit the North
• Greens and FF talks may trigger a general election

McDonald appeals to electorate to come out and reject the Lisbon Treaty

Sinn Féin Vice President Mary Lou McDonald is calling on the electorate to come out today and reject the Lisbon Treaty as decisively as they did in 2008. She said, "this is a bad treaty negotiated by an incompetent government and if it goes through it will seriously undermine Ireland's position within the EU."

Ms. McDonald said:

"A yes vote will mean the loss of our automatic right to a commissioner, a massive reduction in our voting strength on the Council of Ministers and the handing away of our right to a referendum. If we hand this power away tomorrow we won't get it back.

"It is important that people come out and vote and not to give in to the scare tactics of the yes campaign. Because the simple fact is - this is a bad deal for Ireland -- it is bad for the economy, bad for workers' rights, bad for farmers, bad for neutrality. I am calling on people to come out today and reject the Lisbon Treaty as decisively as they did in 2008. A no vote is a demand for change in Ireland and Europe."

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Polling information for the Lisbon Treaty

Polling Stations open at 7am today, and will remain open until 10pm to enable more than three million voters cast their ballots in the Lisbon Treaty referendum.

Counting of votes will begin tomorrow at 9am, and an official result is expected in the early evening.

Polling cards and a statement of information were due to have been sent to all voters. Regardless of whether they have polling cards, voters may be required to produce evidence of identity at a polling station. A range of documents will be accepted as evidence of identity.

They include a passport, driving licence, employee or student identity card containing name and photograph, a travel document containing name and photograph, a bank book with an address in the constituency, a birth certificate or a marriage certificate.

The ballot paper for the referendum will be white. If voters wish to approve the proposal they should put an X in the square beside TÁ/YES or, if they do not approve, they should mark X in the square beside NÍL/NO.

While voters should mark X in the box, any clear sign of their preference such as 1 in the relevant box will be taken as a valid vote.

If a mark is put in both boxes then the vote will be invalid.

All political activity will be prohibited in the vicinity of polling stations for the duration of the poll and for half an hour before and after.

After the polls close the ballot boxes at each station will be brought to the count centre for the constituency concerned.

They will be opened at 9am tomorrow. Counting will begin with the verification of the number of papers in the ballot boxes, followed by the counting of votes for each side.

The results of each constituency count will then be forwarded to the count centre in Dublin Castle.

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Brown in the North for further talks on Monday

Gordon Brown is expected at Stormont on Monday where he will continue his talks with Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness on the devolution of policing and justice powers.

British Secretary of State Shaun Woodward said US firms are poised to invest in the Six Counties once a deal on justice and policing is agreed.

He said the transfer of these powers was "the final part of the jigsaw".

There has been annoyance at the slow pass of the talks from SInn Féin. Mr McGuinness held a press conference at Stormont on Wednesday suggesting that Mr Robinson was engaging in needless delay. "This isn't a time to be getting cold feet," he said.

"I have to record my annoyance at the fact I have not been able to develop a close working relationship with Peter Robinson. That is through no deficiency or lack of effort on my part," he said.

Mr Robinson responded Wednesday evening by saying that it was "regrettable".

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Hillary Clinton to visit the North

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is planning to visit the Six Counties on 12 October.

The planned trip was announced by the British Secretary Shaun Woodward during his speech to the British Labour Party conference in Brighton.

He said Mrs Clinton wanted to come to "help look at the jobs, opportunities and investment that American can bring".

She made a number of visits while her husband Bill was U.S. President.

Meanwhile, the new US economic envoy to the North has met the First and Deputy First Ministers at Stormont.

Declan Kelly said it was not his role to get involved in of the North's politics but added: "It is fair to say that the US administration is anxious to ensure that there is an environment created for inward investment in Northern Ireland.

"Clearly, stability and progress in the political institutions is a key element of that."

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Greens and FF talks may trigger a general election

Talks between Fianna Fáil and the Greens on a new programme for government are likely to continue into next week.

The review of the existing programme involving negotiation teams from both parties got under way yesterday morning.

Talks will continue today and have also been scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Both sides said that it was certain that they will continue into next week.

The Greens, will take any new programme for government to a party conference for approval on October 12th. It will need 2/3 majority to pass according to party rules. If it does not get the 2/3 approval, the Greens are expected to leave government and trigger a snap election.

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Latest News - 28 September, 2009

• Gerry Adams' Opinion piece in today's Irish Times
• Lisbon - still all to play for with a week to go
• Lisbon con job on jobs
• 'Yes' Side Resorting to Bribery in Lisbon campaign

Gerry Adams' Opinion piece in today's Irish Times

Opinion piece in today's Irish Times: The Irish people are being asked to vote on exactly the same text they rejected last time, writes GERRY ADAMS

ON FRIDAY you have an opportunity to shape the future of Europe. The question you have to ask yourself is whether the Lisbon Treaty is a good deal for Ireland and whether it takes the European Union in the direction you want it to go. On June 12th last year the people said No to the Lisbon Treaty. They did so because they wanted a better deal for Ireland and for Europe. The result presented the Government with a strong mandate to negotiate a better deal.

At the time Sinn Féin presented Brian Cowen with detailed proposals as to how we felt the concerns of the electorate could be met. These included positive proposals outlining how the EU could be made more democratic and more responsive to the needs of ordinary people.

What did the Government do? They prevaricated, sat on their hands and did nothing. Just as they did on other issues and particularly the economy. As a result they have not secured a single change to the text of the Lisbon Treaty. On Friday you will be voting on exactly the same text as you did last year.

The Government and their supporters on the Yes side are claiming that while the text of the treaty has not changed somehow the proposition before the people has.

The Council of the European Union has a very different view. In its June 2009 Presidency Conclusions, the council clearly stated that the guarantees, "clarify but not change either the content or the application of the treaty".

The Lisbon Treaty proposal to reduce the size of the European Commission from 2014 remains in place in article 9D.

The Protocol on the Internal Market, which will strengthen the hand of the commission and force the hand of the European Court of Justice to pursue an anti-worker agenda, remains in place.

The detailed changes to the areas of common security and defence policies contained in article 28, so detrimental to this State's neutrality, remain in place.

And the highly controversial, self-amending article 48 that removes the automatic right to referendums on all future treaty changes remains in place.

If the treaty wasn't good enough in 2008, why would it be good enough in 2009? If it was a bad deal last June then surely it remains a bad deal this October.

The Government and its supporters on the Yes side have stopped talking about the Lisbon Treaty itself. Instead they are making increasingly outrageous claims that a second No vote will result in the loss of jobs, investment and influence.

The claims on jobs and investment are not new. Fianna Fáil and their supporters in Fine Gael and Labour made the same arguments last year. It seems that it's not just the treaty that hasn't changed.

So what have the experts to say on these claims?

In July of this year IDA chief executive Barry O'Leary said: "It should be noted that 2008 saw a 14 per cent increase in foreign direct investment on the previous year."

Saying No to Lisbon in 2008 had no impact whatsoever on inward investment. The same will be true if we reject the treaty on Friday.

Speaking to the Oireachtas sub-committee on the Future of Europe on October 21st, 2008, Paul Rellis, managing director of Microsoft Ireland said: "I have not seen any material impact on jobs, market access or sales in recent months attributable to the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty."

International economic commentators have dismissed claims by the Government as mere scare tactics.

The fact is that most international observers are smart enough to recognise that a second No vote would not affect Ireland's place in the European Union. Decisions on jobs and investment will be made on the basis of what the Government does here to make it an attractive place to do business, including whether it invests in education and infrastructure.

Rather than help our economy recovery, the Lisbon Treaty will, in my view, make recovery more difficult.

The treaty was negotiated by Fianna Fáil. It was cut from the same right-wing policy cloth that underpinned the last 15 years of government economic policy in this country. These same policies caused the banking crisis, the property crash, the doubling of unemployment in 12 months to 400,000, and the massive public finances deficit.

If the Government has got it so wrong on the economy how can it be trusted on the Lisbon Treaty? It the Government is wrong on Nama and "An Bord Snip Nua", then how can it be right on Lisbon?

In 2008 Sinn Féin outlined the key reasons why the people should oppose the Lisbon Treaty.

The treaty reduces Irish power in the EU: we will lose our permanent commissioner from 2014 and our voting strength on the council will be cut by half while the bigger states double theirs. It is bad for public services and workers' rights, will lead to further downward pressure on wages and increased "competition" and privatisation in vital public services such as health and education.

The treaty will further undermine the viability of rural Ireland and family farming through the strengthened powers for the EU trade commissioner effectively ending the Government's veto on mixed international trade deals.

The treaty states for the first time that there will be a common defence and obliges all member states to increase military spending.

The Government and its supporters on the Yes side are telling you that a better deal is not possible. I simply don't agree. There would not be a Belfast Agreement if that approach had been adopted.

During the early days of the peace process the Irish people were told that the Downing Street Declaration was the only deal possible. But Sinn Féin kept negotiating. The Irish people were then told that the framework document was the best deal possible. We didn't agree with that either. In the end and as a result of political will and hard work we collectively negotiated the Belfast Agreement.

Just as a better deal was possible in the peace process, a better deal is possible in Europe -- a deal based on democracy, equality and prosperity; a deal that replaces the outdated and discredited Lisbon Treaty with a new deal for the new and challenging times in which we find ourselves.

The first step in securing that better deal for Europe is voting No to the Lisbon Treaty on Friday.

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Lisbon - still all to play for with a week to go

With opinion polls showing similar results to pre-polling day surveys in the last Lisbon referendum when the 'No' side was victorious, it is still all to play for with a week to go in the campaign on the Treaty which will determine the future of the EU.

As polling day approaches the supporters of the Treaty have been getting ever more desperate in their efforts to scare the people into voting Yes, focusing not on the alleged merits of the Treaty itself but threatening dire economic consequences if we vote No. This was epitomised by Pat Cox's unveiling of a signpost offering the choice of 'Ruin' or 'Recovery'.

For its part Sinn Féin has focused on the actual content and real implications of the Lisbon Treaty. Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, Vice President Mary Lou McDonald and Dáil spokesperson on European Affairs Aengus Ó Snodaigh launched the party's Alternative Guide to the Lisbon Treaty on Friday. Speaking at the launch Gerry Adams said:

"On 2 October people are being asked to vote on exactly the same Treaty as they voted on last year with exactly the same implications for Ireland and the EU.

"Indeed the European Council in the conclusions to the June Summit made it very clear that the so-called legally binding guarantees do 'not change either the content or the application of the Treaty of Lisbon.'

"Sinn Féin's Alternative Guide to Lisbon 2 outlines in detail the specific sections of the Lisbon Treaty which we believe will have a negative impact on issues such as Ireland's influence in the EU; workers' rights and public services; international trade and family farms; neutrality and EU militarisation.

"This is not about our membership of the EU. That is secure. It is about a better Ireland and a better Europe."

European Affairs Committee

On Thursday Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin was before the Oireachtas European Affairs Committee which discussed Lisbon with all the party leaders in turn. Ó Caoláin is the leader of the only anti-Lisbon party in the Oireachtas. He asked the meeting:

"If it wasn't good enough for the electorate in 2008 why on earth should it be good enough for us now? Fianna Fáil and their supporters in Labour and Fine Gael are using the economic crisis to scare people into supporting the treaty. We are told that if we vote No we will lose investment, jobs, and support from our EU counterparts.

"The truth is very different. The cause of this recession is the failed economic policies of this government and their counterparts across Europe. Many of these failed right- wing politicians were responsible for negotiating the Treaty and many of their failed right- wing policies are contained in the Treaty."

Ó Snodaigh hits back

Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh has attacked the Labour Party for deliberately misleading workers after Eamonn Gilmore claimed Sinn Féin should use its position in government in the Northern Assembly to increase the minimum wage. Ó Snodaigh said the minimum wage in the Six Counties is set by London and cannot be increased by the Assembly government. He accused the Labour Party of going on the offensive with Sinn Féin in an attempt to cover up its own betrayal of workers. Deputy Ó Snodaigh said:

"Everybody knows the Labour Party gave up on workers years ago when it decided to pursue coalition power over workers' rights. Its marriage to Fine Gael shows the extent it is willing to go in its quest for power, but it appears willing to undermine its own guiding principles -- as can be seen by its policy stated twice this year to withdraw trade union membership tax reliefs from workers.

"In 2006 Sinn Féin highlighted the problems with the minimum wages North and South in our Workers' Rights policy document, a comprehensive paper received well by trade unions on both sides of the border. Our position on the wage is that it should be set at 60% of the average industrial wage across the island."

Government scare-mongering

Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin has described as "dangerous and disingenuous" Government claims that a second No to Lisbon on 2 October would represent a "withdrawal from Europe" and would damage any prospect of "economic recovery." The Cavan-Monaghan TD also asked "If the government have it so wrong on NAMA how can they be trusted on Lisbon?"

"Contrary to the Government claims on inward investment made during the last referendum campaign the IDA have confirmed that 2008 saw a 14% increase in foreign direct investment. Managing Director of Microsoft Ireland Paul Rellis told the Oireachtas sub-committee on the Future of Europe on 21 October 2008 that he had not, 'seen any material impact on jobs, market access or sales in recent months attributable to the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty' in 2008."

Barroso butts in

A protest comprising members of Sinn Féin, PANA, Say NO To Lisbon campaign and the Socialist Party was held outside Limerick City Hall last Saturday to coincide with the visit of José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. Sinn Féin Councillor Maurice Quinlivan personally expressed to Barroso his disappointment at the timing of his visit to Ireland as its represents a blatant interference by the EU Commission in the Lisbon Treaty Referendum campaign.

Quinlivan said: "While I welcomed Mr. Barroso to Limerick I expressed my disappointment at the timing of his visit. I also expressed the view that the EU Commission had not respected the views of the Irish people."

Speaking in the aftermath of Barroso's visit Sinn Féin Vice-President Mary Lou McDonald accused the Commission President of being "dishonest on the impact of a second No Vote on the economy." McDonald said:

"At a meeting in Brussels earlier this month Sinn Féin MEP Bairbre de Brún asked Jose Manuel Barroso whether the Commission will treat Ireland differently to other EU member states if Irish people again reject the Lisbon Treaty on 2 October. In reply President Barroso said: 'There will be no discrimination against Irish people if there is a No vote. You will not hear from me any threat to Ireland.'

"However, the Commission President's message in Ireland at the weekend was very different.

"The Referendum Commission chairman Mr. Justice Frank Clarke has confirmed that the Lisbon Treaty 'contains no provisions' relating to investment or employment."

Shannon Airport insult

Roger Cole of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA) slammed the decision of pro-Lisbon politicians to meet Barroso in Shannon Airport which has been used as a staging post for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said it "gives a clear message to the people of Ireland that a Yes vote will mean an even deeper involvement in these wars at a time when the majority of the people in the US and many, if not most of the states of the EU, want the occupations to end and the troops from the EU/US/NATO alliance withdrawn."

Read Sinn Féin's Alternative Guide to the Lisbon Treaty online at http://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/17392

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Lisbon con job on jobs

By Eoin Ó Broin

It's all about the economy, stupid. Brian Cowen keeps telling us that 'we're stronger in Europe' and that we will lose jobs and investment if we vote No on 2 October. Enda Kenny tells us that saying Yes to Lisbon means saying 'Yes to Jobs'.

Neither of these two economic geniuses are in a position to offer advice on job creation. Brian Cowen has presided over the loss of 200,000 jobs in the last 12 months. Enda Kenny proposed the sacking of 14,000 public sector workers in Fine Gael's April pre-Budget submission.

Their claim that supporting the Lisbon Treaty will lead to an influx of foreign direct investment and a surge of new jobs is utter nonsense. The Treaty contains nothing that will incentivise investment or stimulate growth.

So long as Brian Cowen remains in charge jobs will continue to disappear. And if you think he's bad, just wait till Enda is Taoiseach.

So the Lisbon Treaty has nothing to do with the economy, right? Wrong! While Cowen and Kenny's claims on investment and job creation are pure fantasy, the Treaty has a lot to say about the economy.

The irony is that the kind of policies promoted by Lisbon are exactly the same policies that drove us all into our current economic crisis.

For the past 20 years the EU has been pushing a right-wing economic agenda, promoting deregulation and liberalisation. Existing EU rules attempt to limit member states' spending and place restrictions on government support for failing companies. The EU aggressively promotes competition, in all areas of the economy, including public services. All of this weakens the ability of the state to manage the economy and leads to privatisation and inequality.

The Lisbon Treaty contains seven important articles and a protocol that together will further accelerate the EUs right wing neo-liberal economic agenda.

Article's 10A, 16, 2B and 188C give the European Commission significant powers over the negotiation and conclusion of international trade agreements. This will have a liberalising impact on agriculture and services, including health and education. In turn this will result in lower incomes for farming communities and increased privatisation of public services.

Article 57 limits the ability of the EU to reverse recent liberalising policies of movement of capital to and from non-EU countries. At a time when the public is calling for greater regulation of international banking and finance such a restriction would be utter madness.

Article 115A strengthens the powers of the Commission to police what they call 'excessive spending' by member states giving it increased powers to limit government deficits to 3% of GDP.

Article 176A sets out the EUs new energy policy and explicitly places this in the context of the 'market' where the rules of competition and restrictions on state apply.

And finally the Protocol on the Internal Market provides a general rule on 'distortions to competition'. This is important in cases where, say, the rights of workers clash with the rights of business. Under the terms of the protocol the Protocol will allow the Commission and Court of Justice to side with companies over workers every time.

Of course, don't listen to me, I'm a Shinner and obviously economically illiterate. Listen to the economic experts at IBEC. During the first Lisbon referendum campaign the employers' organisation told the Forum on Europe that the Treaty "creates the legal basis for the liberalisation of services of general economic interest. A Yes vote for the Lisbon Treaty creates the potential for increased opportunities for Irish business particularly in areas subject to increasing liberalisation such as Health, Education, Transport, Energy and the Environment".

There you have it, straight from the horse's mouth.

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'Yes' Side Resorting to Bribery in Lisbon campaign

Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald on Sunday slammed the offer by Europe for Ireland and Ryanair to fly supporters of the Lisbon Treaty into Ireland free of charge.

McDonald said:

"The Europe for Ireland website is today advertising to fly supporters of the Lisbon Treaty to Ireland free of charge with Ryanair to canvass for the Treaty, with Europe for Ireland offering to pay any additional flight taxes.

"Their website asks people if they are 'Interested in traveling to Dublin to work for the Lisbon Treaty?' and that, 'Ryanair have offered us some free seats for people who volunteer to canvass for the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland.'

"The offer also makes clear that anyone interested 'must agree in writing to canvass for a 'Yes' vote while in Dublin. 'We will put you in touch with one of the relevant organisations in Dublin. (If you do not turn up to canvass, your return flight may be jeopardised'.'

"The 'Yes' side is clearly resorting to bribery in the final days of the campaign.

"Already we have seen major corporate interests spending enormous amounts of money on the Lisbon Treaty campaign, with Ryanair and IMB spending up to €1 million between them.

"The European Commission office in Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs have also spent between them €1million in 'informing' people about the work of the EU in the final weeks of the referendum campaign.

"It is estimated that the 'Yes' campaign will spend €10 for every €1 spent by the 'No' side.

"Not content with spending massive amounts of money the government and their supporters on the Yes side are now trying to bribe people with offers of cheap flights."

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Latest News - 22 September, 2009

• Joint First Ministers talk policing with Brown again
• Durkan to stand down from SDLP leadership
• Barroso is being "dishonest" on Lisbon and the Economy - McDonald
• Collusion and cover-up in Loughinisland massacre

Joint First Ministers talk policing with Brown again

Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness met Gordon Brown in Downing Street last night working on a deal where the British prime minister will provide the necessary funding for the PSNI to try to facilitate the transfer of policing and justice powers to the Six County Executive.

First Minister Mr Robinson has repeatedly calimed that unless there are British government commitments on proper funding of the proposed new policing and justice arrangement that he will not agree to the transfer of these powers.

Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness said after the meeting that progress was made but that there was still no overall agreement on a budget. The Joint First Ministers are to meet Mr Browne in New York tomorrow to try to conclude a deal.

Mr McGuinness, said progress was significant and he was hopeful a deal could be concluded later this week.

"I said last week that I thought we had made good progress," he said.

"I think we've made further good progress - even significant progress - in the course of our discussions this evening around a range of issues that are of concern to us.

"We are hoping to conclude our discussions on all of this in New York on Wednesday. I think it is make-your-mind up time."

Mr Robinson said they discussed a wide range of issues but no overall deal had been agreed.

"As the prime minister was able to make offers on some elements, we will now consider these in greater detail," he said.

The meeting between Mr Robinson, Mr McGuinness and Mr Brown was the second such encounter in the past six days.

Mr Brown and Mr Woodward, according to reports, have attempted to impress upon Mr Robinson that any hold-up would not only cause political problems but would undermine opportunities to win significant inward investment from the US.

Mr McGuinness made the same point yesterday. He said the new US economic envoy to Northern Ireland, Declan Kelly, privately had made it very clear that if transfer of policing and justice powers did not happen then "effectively the prospect of investment from the US is dead in the water". Mr McGuinness said he was saying this in the context of the expectation of a very important economic announcement from the US.

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Durkan to stand down from SDLP leadership

Mark Durkan is to stand down as the leader of the SDLP and give up his Assembly seat after next year's Westminster election in which he will try to defend his Foyle seat. Mr Durkan (49) succeeded John Hume in 2001.

He made the announcement, stunning many in his party during a live interview at lunchtime yesterday with BBC NI.

A party statement was issued shortly afterwards which put the resignation in the context of ending double-jobbing whereby Mr Durkan and his most senior colleague are elected to both Stormont and Westminster.

Party sources said they were surprised by Mr Durkan's move despite his comments about ending the dual mandate.

It has been reported that some party members are questioning whether Mr Durkan could credibly lead the party for up to eight months after expressing his wish to vacate the leadership.

The scramble is now on to replace Mr Durkan with Alasdair McDonnell (60), SDLP deputy leadership and Margaret Ritchie (51), the SDLP's sole minister in the Six County Executive, considered favourites.

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Barroso is being "dishonest" on Lisbon and the Economy - McDonald

Speaking in the aftermath of the EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso's visit to Ireland last weekend, Sinn Féin vice president Mary Lou McDonald accused the Commission President of being "dishonest on the impact of a second No Vote on the economy."

At a meeting in Brussels earlier this month Sinn Féin MEP Bairbre de Brún asked Jose Manuel Barroso whether the Commission will treat Ireland differently to other EU member states if Irish people again reject the Lisbon Treaty on 2 October. In reply President Barroso said: 'There will be no discrimination against Irish people if there is a No vote. You will not hear from me any threat to Ireland.'

However, the Commission Presidents message in Ireland at the weekend was very different.

McDonald said: "Commissioner Barroso knows perfectly well that Ireland has no intention of leaving the EU. He also knows that rejecting the Lisbon Treaty will have no negative impact on inward investment or job creation. Despite this fact he repeated many of the scaremongering claims of the Yes side.

"These same claims were made by Treaty supporters in 2008. They were wrong then and they are wrong now. In July of this year the IDA confirmed that 2008 saw a 14 per cent increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) on the previous year.

"The biggest threat to investment and job creation is the current Fianna Fáil government and their failed economic policies. These same failed policies, undermining workers' rights, family farms and public services are also contained in the Lisbon Treaty."

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Collusion and cover-up in Loughinisland massacre

A Police Ombudsman report is expected to confirm state collusion and cover-up in the Loughinisland massacre, in which six Catholic men were killed by a UVF death squad as they watched Ireland play Italy in the World Cup on 18 June, 1994, in the Heights bar in the small Co Down village.

It is expected that in addition to confirming "major failings" by the police to properly investigate the Loughinisland attack, the report will reveal that four RUC Special Branch agents were aware that the UVF was planning the massacre.

Eamon Byrne (39), Barney Green (87), Malcolm Jenkinson (53), Daniel McCreanor (59), Patrick O Hare (35) and Adrian Rogan (34) suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the back as they sat watching the game after two masked men stormed into the pub and fired up to 30 bullets from an AK-47 and a Czech-made rifle into the patrons. No-one has ever been convicted of the brutal sectarian rampage, which devastated the quiet village of Loughinisland and left nine children without a father.

The report is the outcome of an Ombudsman review into failings by the RUC/PSNI to properly investigate the massacre, launched after the victims' families filed a complaint in 2006 following revelations by investigative media reports that the getaway car was supplied by an RUC agent. Originally scheduled to be published last summer, the report was delayed and was due to be released on Tuesday 15 September -- but the Ombudsman has now delayed its release for a second time, "for several weeks", claiming new information must be assessed.

The delay has caused more frustration for the families in that "new evidence" coming to light only days before the scheduled release of the report indicates either a failure of the Ombudsman's investigation or else simple stalling on the release of what will inevitably be damaging information.

'Major failings'

The families' 21 March 2006 complaint to the Ombudsman included the allegations that:

• The investigation into the murders has not been efficiently or properly carried out;
• No earnest effort was made to identify the persons that carried out this atrocity; and
• There persists a suspicion of state collusion in the murders.

Specifically the families demanded to know if any of the suspects were working for Special Branch and why the car used by the killers to get away was subsequently destroyed by police.

Other concerns were the fact that a viable hair follicle was recovered but nobody has been charged, and the fact that investigators reported at least one of the weapons used was imported from South Africa by British intelligence's Force Research Unit agent Brian Nelson.

A draft public statement on the investigation by the Police Ombudsman from 21 July, supplied to An Phoblacht, states the complaint that the investigation by the RUC/PSNI has not been properly carried out will be upheld.

"Major failings have been identified. There was a failure to speak to persons of interest. There was a loss of policy logs," the draft statement says. It says the allegation that no earnest attempt was made to apprehend those responsible will be partly upheld due to the "unavailability" of police logs and interview notes. Some suspects were swabbed for DNA samples while others were not.

The draft statement also confirmed that there was no contact recorded between the RUC/PSNI and the victims' families between 1994 and 2005 and that there was a consistent failure to update the families on developments.

Special Branch agents

Police sources revealed to the media last weekend that the investigation's report will reveal the role of four Special Branch agents within the UVF in ordering or organising the attack. The report will mention but not name the agents; however, it has already been established that Mark Haddock and Terry Fairfield were two of the agents involved.

The RUC knew that Fairfield, an agent handled by Detectives Johnston Brown and Trevor McIllrath, provided the getaway car, a red Triumph Acclaim, used in the attack but he was not arrested and continued to work for Special Branch following the massacre.

Car destroyed

The most glaring evidence of a cover-up is the destruction of the getaway car by the police in 1996 -- supposedly because of "overcrowding". The RUC claimed it carried out forensic tests on the car in 1994 and found no useful evidence. In their complaint, the families said: "The car may have retained the prospect of evidential product in the context of developing science. It is wholly unsatisfactory and unreasonable that this crucial exhibit was wilfully destroyed by the police."

The Ombudsman's draft public statement acknowledged the destruction of the car "was a breach of police procedure at that time" and "it should not have been destroyed".

Kevin Winters Solicitors, representing the families, wrote to the Ombudsman in October 2007 that the families had been advised by Detective Williamson on 11 October 2005 that "all aspects of the trail" relating to the car had been followed up in 1994 and he was "satisfied" with it.

The families' solicitors said: "It is unacceptable that the PSNI, 11 years on in October 2005, attempted to gloss over the history and facts of this car as being a line of enquiry which was satisfactorily pursued, without recourse or mention to the involvement of one of their agents."

Weapons' history

At a meeting between families and the PSNI on 11 October 2005, DI Wilson said that the rifle used in the attack "was a Czech-made weapon that was one of the weapons that came to [the North] from South Africa in the late 1980s" -- in the weapons consignment effected by FRU agent Nelson. DSI Williamson said at the same meeting that three murders and two attempted murders, all attributed to the UVF, had been carried out using the same weapon.

The Ombudsman's draft statement says: "In 2006 a forensic review [of the weapons] was taken by [the PSNI's Historical Enquiries Team] and PSNI Serious Crime Branch. It has not progressed and is a substantial failing by police."

The families want to know which specific murders these weapons can be traced to; whether or not there was evidence of state collusion in these murders (including any evidence they came from the Nelson consignment); and whether or not there has been any prosecutions for the other attacks.

Report's failings

While the Ombudsman's report has yet to be released and the Loughinisland families reserve their assessment of its findings until it has been published, the draft statement shows several failings in the approach of the Ombudsman's investigation and contradictions between its findings and its conclusions.

It claims in the provisional statement that the allegation of state collusion has not been substantiated; that there was "no preventability" -- but clearly if at least four Special Branch agents knew of the massacre plans, and were directly involved, the RUC would have had prior warning the attack was going to happen if not a direct hand in it.

The fact that the report confirms a cover-up to protect agents, including the deliberate destruction of evidence, itself confirms collusion in the massacre.

The draft statement says there is no evidence linking Nelson or the South African consignment to the weapons used in Loughinisland, contradicting the previous statements made by investigating officers -- and then goes on to say that the failure to establish the ballistic history is a "substantial failing" by the police.

The Ombudsman's office failed to arrest and question the handlers of the agents involved, or the officers responsible for the destruction of evidence and says there is "no evidence of crimiality" on the part of police.

However, whether there is the basis to prosecute those responsible for the collusion and cover-up will be one of the issues that can be judged by the victims' families on the publication of the Ombudsman's final report.

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Sinn Fein

The Week in Review

11-18 September 2009

 

 

Sinn Fein oppose asset Agency’s `bailout for the greediest and most corrupt’ and urge banks nationalisation

On 17 September 17, Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin described the proposed National Assets Management Agency (NAMA), devised by the Irish government to buy `bad’ loans from the banks, as a `bailout for the greediest and the most corrupt in Irish society’, with the biggest losers being the unemployed, ordinary mortgage holders and the least well off `who will be hit by savage Budget cuts’. He called for nationalisation of the main banks and the development of a State bank.

Deputy Ó Caoláin said there was `no doubt’ whose interests Fianna Fáil and the Greens were serving with `this rotten Bill’, which was `a bailout for the greediest and the most corrupt in Irish society – the bankers and the speculators whose boundless avarice has devastated the Irish economy’.

The Celtic Tigers years had, he added seen Fianna Fáil-led Governments `pamper this elite group’, allowing them `to benefit from massive tax breaks at unknown cost to the State’. They had `allowed them to determine the State’s housing policy – a policy which was no policy but to let the market drive everything’, which he said `drove property prices to unreal and unsustainable levels’.

He said it `drove a frenzy of greed for profitable property, inducing many who could not afford to do so, to borrow to buy in the grossly inflated market’ and `drove debt to levels previously unknown in this country’, fuelled by cheap loans `supplied by a banking system corrupted by the culture of greed that saw massive salaries, bonuses and perks lavished at all senior levels in the financial institutions’. This was `driven into a wall and we are now left to deal with the train wreck that is the Irish economy’.

The `biggest losers’ were now set to the `over 400,000 unemployed people in this State, they are the families saddled with massive mortgages, many of whom are being evicted from their homes, they are the people who never had the chance of a decent home during the Celtic Tiger years, they are the weaker sections of the community who are about to be punished most by the savage Budget cuts now in preparation.’

Instead, he said Sinn Féin believed that the only way to deal with the current crisis was to nationalise the two main banks, the Allied Irish Bank and Bank of Ireland `with the potential of turning these two banks into a state bank’, which would offer greater security for the taxpayer, whereby `bad loans can be dealt with in the context of nationalisation and the state can make informed decisions about whether these loans should be foreclosed or managed’. The government could then `decide on a process of recapitalization and restructuring, and deliver the management control that will ensure resumed lending.’

For the full text of Deputy Ó Caoláin’s speech see: www.sinnfein.ie/contents/17369

Meanwhile on 17 September Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Arthur Morgan TD refuted the claim by Labour Party Chief Whip Emmet Stagg that Sinn Féin is incorrect in its interpretation of the provisions in the Constitution which would allow for a referendum on the NAMA Bill. Deputy Morgan said that the Labour Party should be supporting a referendum on NAMA

 

NAMA’s implications for the Island of Ireland economy

On 15 September Sinn Féin Economy Spokesperson,  Mitchel McLaughlin MLA stated that the Irish Governments’ National Assets Management Agency proposals will have detrimental implications  for the economy across the Island of Ireland if it were to go ahead and submitted a  motion to the Assembly calling for an all-Ireland economic summit to address the economic implications for the Island and to find alternatives to NAMA which will assist in the economic recovery on an island wide basis.

Mr McLaughlin said the NAMA scheme, was `highly flawed and will place an immense economic burden on taxpayers both North and South while banks and developers walk away scot free’.

If the Irish Government was allowed to proceed with NAMA, he added, it would mean `profound repercussions for people living in the north as it is estimated that  €4.8bn of assets are held in the north which would fall under the control of NAMA’.

 He added that currently `there is no stated timeframe for NAMA to take place’ and a `very real danger is the possibility of NAMA having a rapid time frame and a minimal discount on the loans bought up’ leading to `a quick sale of land and properties in the north that will be included in this scheme’.

He said, `this, given the €4.8bn total would be a staggering amount of land to be placed on the market which in economic terms could see a plummeting of local prices and the free fall of the economy.’

He concluded by calling for `an open and full debate in an All Ireland economic summit to find alternatives to NAMA and an all Ireland strategy towards mutual economic recovery.’ He said: `The two economies cannot operate in perfect isolation. Politicans in the north cannot bury their heads in the sand and let this blow over. Both economies are inter-dependant and measures must be taken in order to find common practices and close co-operation in future economic planning on an all Ireland basis.’

The Sinn Féin Assembly Motion selected for the 28 September is as follows: 

This Assembly expresses deep concern at the negative economic consequences for the Island of Ireland if the National Assets Management Agency legislation currently under consideration by Dáil Éireann is passed into law. This Assembly calls for the NSMC to discuss and agree a way forward in regards these Assets which will ensure the economic stability of the Island of Ireland and movement towards economic growth.

 

Sinn Féin’s outline progressive alternatives to Lisbon

On 18 September at the launch of Sinn Féin’s alternative guide party vice-president Mary Lou McDonald said it outlined many `positive and progressive alternatives to Lisbon, including how the `democratic deficit’ could be addressed by strengthening the role of member state parliaments in real and meaningful ways, rather than the cosmetic proposals contained in Lisbon.

It also outlined the way public services, workers’ rights and our neutrality could be promoted and protected, she said, adding `Sinn Féin wants to see Ireland play a central role in shaping the future of the EU, saying No to Lisbon and yes to our party’s alternative vision for the future is one real way of doing this.’. For full details and coverage of Sinn Fein’s campaign on Lisbon, visit www.sinnfein.ie

 

Sinn Fein at British Labour Conference

A senior Sinn Fein delegation will be in Brighton at the end of September for a series of events and engagements at the British Labour party conference in Brighton. On 27 September Sinn Fein Assembly Member and economy spokesperson, Mitchel McLaughlin will address Sinn Fein’s fringe meeting on the issue of Irish Unity – opening the debate in Britain. The meeting will take place at 6pm at the Queen’s Hotel, Kings Road, and will be followed by a discussion. All welcome. Later in the week, Sinn Fein deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness will be the keynote speaker at the annual Champ Breakfast, which takes place on Tuesday 29th September. For enquiries, please contact Jayne Fisher on 07940 565123.

* More details have been announced about Sinn Fein’s Irish Unity Conference in London on 20 February. Gerry Adams will be a keynote speaker at the  which will take place at the TUC Congress House, in central London and to registration and further queries can be directed to londonconference@sinn-fein.ie Further details to follow.  

Meanwhile Irish Unity and opposing racism will be the themes of the Annual James Larkin Commemoration in Liverpool on 10 October, assembling at 12 noon at Mount Pleasant, where there will be a senior Sinn Fein speaker among others from the trade union movement.

 

Martin McGuinness writes on why there will be no return to majority rule

On 18 September writing in the Belfast Telegraph, Sinn Féin mid-Ulster MP Martin McGuinness described his disappointment with the DUP’s current position on the issue of equality.

Mr McGuinness looked at the logic behind current DUP intransigence and what is required in the time ahead. The article can be read in full at: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/robinson-plan-of-a-return-to-majority-rule--is-just-fantasy-says-mcguinness-14499732.html

 

Assembly must ensure equality for all victims

On 14 September Sinn Féin north Belfast Assembly Member Gerry Kelly said that all victims of the conflict deserve the necessary respect and consideration from the Assembly.
Mr Kelly was speaking as his party made clear they would oppose a DUP motion, calling for compensation from the Libyan Government for victims of the IRA. Sinn Féin has repeatedly made it clear that there can be no hierarchy of victims
Mr Kelly said Sinn Féin would `certainly support compensation for all victims’.
He said `some victims were killed directly by British agents, others by their surrogates. British state forces have also killed or injured many citizens. British intelligence agencies have armed unionist paramilitaries, including Ulster Resistance, which was established by the DUP. We also acknowledge and recognize the victims of the IRA.’
However, he added the motion `fails to recognise these many facts and instead chooses to focus in on a singular section of victims’, saying `as a result of this Sinn Féin submitted an amendment to the DUP motion seeking equality for all victims of the conflict, the Speaker’s Office refused to select that amendment’. He added `I have no doubt questions will be asked of why it failed to be selected over the coming days.’
Sinn Féin had, he said, made it clear that there can be no hierarchy of victims and while we acknowledge the hurt and pain of those victims of the IRA, we must also see the necessary respect and recognition from the DUP for all of the victims of the conflict in equal measure.’

Later that day Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams addressed the Assembly on the motion.

In his speech he said Sinn Fein believed the motion was `unfair and partisan’.

The full text of his speech can be found at http://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/17344

.

Policing and Justice transfer `one step closer’

On 14 September, a bill to bring forward the transfer of powers on policing and justice went before the Assembly for its first reading. Sinn Féin spokesperson on Policing Alex Maskey said that this was `the latest stage’ in working through the process and that the next stage must be the setting of the date for transfer to take place.
He said it was `not an issue of public confidence it is an issue of political will’ adding that `Communities are crying out for more responsive and accountable policing and criminal justice structures which can respond to their needs’. He said that local politicians `taking the responsibility to deliver in this key area with local communities having then a real voice is the only way this can happen’ concluding, `Sinn Féin are satisfied, the wider community want to see this process quickly concluded in the time ahead.’

 

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs

Email fisherj@parliament.uk or visit www.sinnfein.ie

 

Latest News - 17 August, 2009

• National Hunger Strike Commemoration 2009
• West Belfast Remembers Pogroms of August 1969
• Disappointment expressed at Pól Brennan decision

National Hunger Strike Commemoration 2009

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP MLA speaking at the National Hunger Strike Commemoration in Galbally, Co. Tyrone on Sunday said that Sinn Féin are not in the business of electoral politics for the sake of it but to bring about real change for the better in the lives of citizens.

Speaking about activism Mr Adams added:

"Activism for Irish republicans' means being firmly rooted and active in our local community; . . . and republican in our politics and motivation.

". . . our objectives are about a better Ireland, a reunited Ireland, a new inclusive society -- and a new national Republic based on equality, freedom and justice."

In a strong attack on the Irish government Mr Adams said:

"The Irish government . . . is a bad government, taking bad decisions, in the interests of its money lender friends in the banks and among the developers.

"The decisions that have been taken so far and the decisions likely to emerge out of the McCarthy report and in the budget later this year, amount to an attack on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in society.

"Instead of taxing the wealthy the Irish government is slashing public services and jobs and beating up on the unemployed, the elderly, the children and the sick."

Mr Adams said:

"The republican struggle was not and is not about bums on seats in the Executive or Parliament Buildings or Leinster House or the EU or any other forum just for the sake of it!

"Our representatives know this. They are about delivering. They are about using the political strength we have vested in them to deliver the rights and entitlements of citizens and to achieve our republican objectives.

"We are not in the business of electoral politics for the sake of it but to use the political mandate we receive to bring about real change for the better in the lives of citizens.

"Activism for Irish republicans means being firmly rooted and active in our local community; relevant in the work that we do; and republican in our politics and motivation.

"Republican politics are about the national and the social: the national and the local.

"In simple terms our objectives are about a better Ireland, a reunited Ireland, a new inclusive society -- and a new national Republic based on equality, freedom and justice.

"There are a number of prongs to our activism and to our strategy.

"One is about bedding down the peace process.

"This means completing the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement; on the transfer of powers on policing and justice; on a Bill of Rights and on Acht na Gaeilge.

"It also means tackling disadvantage and poverty and injustice and delivering effective government.

"And it's also about reaching out to and engaging with unionism at all levels; community, church, political, the orange order, the working class and middle class.

"We who want a United Ireland must be prepared to persuade those who don't of the merits of our position.

"While all this is a huge challenge in many ways the work we do in the South is just as difficult.

"Since 1927 the politics of the southern state has been dominated by the two big conservative parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

"The reality is that it is only in recent years that Sinn Féin has been able to seriously take on the task of building a long term political strategy in the south.

"It is a slow process but Republicans are about changing political conditions so that citizens are empowered to make their lives better, to reclaim their rights.

"The Irish government purports to be republican. There is nothing republican about its policies.

"It is not about equality or citizens rights.

"It is a bad government, taking bad decisions, in the interests of its money lender friends in the banks and among the developers.

"The decisions that have been taken so far and the decisions likely to emerge out of the McCarthy report and in the budget later this year, amount to an attack on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in society.

"Instead of taxing the wealthy the Irish government is slashing public services and jobs and beating up on the unemployed, the elderly, the children and the sick.

"There is an urgent need to build opposition to the coalition government, and to the conservative forces in the state.

"They cannot be allowed to destroy the social fabric of Irish society.

"Our responsibility is to make republicanism relevant to our time by bringing forward commonsense and practical solutions to the chaos the conservative parties have caused.

"What is needed is a new politics delivering and implementing new policies that protect jobs, create new jobs, invest in public services and remove the threat of homelessness from tens of thousands of families.

"There are lots of potential allies out there. The prison protests in Armagh and the H Blocks brought together many people who disagreed on other issues.

"The hungerstrikes became a catalyst for a huge mass movement.

"In dire economic times, not dissimilar to today, prison candidates including Martin Hurson, received substantial votes and two prisoners were elected TDs.

"So while building Sinn Féin, we also have to help build an alliance for change.

"We have to come together with others to forge a stronger, united progressive and democratic movement for our country - one that aims to meet the needs of all citizens.

"Just as we did in that long hard summer of 1981.

"I believe that this can be done.

"The first hurdle we will face will be the re-run of the Lisbon Treaty.

"This was a bad treaty when it was first put to the electorate and it is still a bad treaty, negotiated by a bad government.

"Think about it: Would you buy a second hand treaty from this government?" ENDS

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West Belfast Remembers Pogroms of August 1969

Hundreds of members of the West Belfast community gathered on Sunday, Sunday 16th August, for a march and rally to mark the 40th anniversary of the pogroms of August 1969.

The march began at Divis, where Hugh McCabe and nine-year-old Patrick Rooney were murdered by the RUC on 15th August 1969.

It progressed up the Falls Road, passing Saint Comgall's Primary School which was attacked by unionist mobs and courageously defended by a poorly armed but courageous and determined IRA.

It made its way through Conway Street and Cupar Street where homes were burned out.

It moved up Clonard Street past Clonard Monastery which was targeted by petrol bombs and saved only by the tremendous bravery of the young people of Clonard and the members of the men's confraternity.

The march ended in Clonard Gardens and Bombay Street which was completely destroyed in the burnings and where Fian Gerard McAuley was shot dead by loyalists while defending the area.

Emotions were raw among participants as the memories came flooding back like it was yesterday.

The Orange state had sought to put an end to nationalist demands for basic civil rights, for decent housing and for one person, one vote.

The state inflicted massive violence and suffering upon the nationalist people, but this time they fought back like never before.

As West Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Fra McCann put it - 'We said never again and we meant it.'

Veteran Clonard Republican Sean 'Spike' Murray, who was involved in the defence of the area in 1969, was the speaker at the rally.

The following are extracts from Sean's speech:

'First of all, I would like to thank the organisers of today's event, the Clonard Martyrs Memorial Committee, for all the ongoing work involved in maintaining the garden, murals and numerous commemorative plaques around the area. They ensure through their dedication and hard work that our patriot dead are commemorated in a fitting manner.

'The garden behind us incorporates three main commemorative plaques. The centre piece records all the Volunteers from 'C' Company on the Roll of Honour alongside civilians from the Clonard area who were killed over the years by British forces and their loyalist murder gangs.

'On the right hand side of the garden the plaque perpetuates the memory of all deceased ex-pows from the area from 1916 until this present day, many of whom gave a life time of service to the Republican Movement.

'Last, but not least, on the far side of the garden a plaque acknowledges the essential role in our struggle played by our 'unsung heroes' who, in their own quiet way, assisted over the years by opening their doors and their hearts to the IRA. Without your assistance the struggle would not have survived and we owe you everything.

'Forty years ago, this area, like the Falls and Ardoyne, was in a state of shock, trepidation and disbelief, at what had unfolded before our very eyes over the previous 48 hours.

'And of course, this was not the first time that this community had been subject to murder and terror.

'In July 1920, eight local residents were murdered by the British army, including Brother Michael Morgan from Clonard Monastery. The rationale for the attacks in the 1920's was to coerce, intimidate and terrorise Nationalists into tolerating partition and the establishment of the Orange state.

'In 1969, the loyalist pogrom across Belfast was the Orange states response to our just demands for basic human and civil rights, for housing and the right to vote.

'8 died, 750 were injured and 133 were treated for gunshot wounds. 1,505 nationalist families were driven from their homes through burning and intimidation. 179 homes and buildings were completely destroyed and almost 400 were damaged.

'But in 1969 a generation of young nationalists weren't for lying down. Mindful of other inspirational events worldwide the pogroms were a major watershed in their lives.

'No longer would they accept unionist discrimination and one party rule. The death knell was sounded for the Orange state.

'When that generation looked around for leadership, direction and inspiration, local Republicans afforded it. The older heads like Volunteers Billy Hannaway and Proinsias McAirt, who were highly respected and experienced, provided both leadership and direction. The bravery of Fian Gerald McAuley, who fought with his bare hands against the guns of the unionist mob, was our source of inspiration.

'Young and old, male and female were united in the quest to provide an adequate defence for our community. Within 10 months of the pogrom Oglaigh na hEireann had developed an effective defensive capacity as was evidenced in June 1970 at Mayo Street , Saint Matthews and Ardoyne.

'This scenario motivated many young men and women to join the ranks of the IRA. They were all rational people who weighed up the obvious risks involved alongside the potential gains for their community. Republican tradition had taught them that there were only two possible destinations for active Republicans i.e. the prison cell or the grave, but their commitment to the struggle overcame their concerns and fears.

'Many subsequently featured on the C Company Roll of Honour. We remember the youthful spirits of Fians McAuley and O'Riordan. The leadership of Volunteers Proinsias McAirt and Billy Hannaway. The executions of Volunteers Seán Gaynor, the Duffin brothers, Gerard O'Callaghan, Tom Williams, Dan McCann and Seán Savage.

'The fearlessness of Volunteers Sean McCartney, Seamus Burns, Seamus Simpson, Danny O'Neill, Gerard Crossan, John Johnston, Tony Lewis, Tom McCann and Big Finbar McKenna.

'We will never forget the quiet resolve and commitment of Volunteers Peter Blake, Tom McGoldrick, Joe McKenna, Martin McKenna, Brian Dempsey and Jim McKernan.

'Many more were to experience the hospitality of her Majesty's prisons, many of whom are in attendance today. Along with their fallen comrades they shared a common desire for justice and freedom and they were motivated by a vision for a better future for all in a democratic and united Ireland . They fought for a better quality of life for all of our people, not just a small elite.

'After almost 30 years of armed struggle, in which we fought the British war machine relentlessly, resulting in military stalemate, despite our enemy using harassment, repression, imprisonment, collusion and execution, our resolve remains intact.

'Republicans have made a long and painful journey over forty years of struggle from the pogroms of '69'. The sacrifices of so many Volunteers and members of our community have brought us to where we are today.

'We must realise their dreams and aspirations, but those dreams will only become a reality if all Republicans apply themselves to the task at hand. There is clearly a role for anyone and everyone who buys into our vision for a united Ireland . Let us attempt to match their resolve by making our contribution count.

'Let us collectively reflect on what we have achieved and the suffering we have ensured to deliver it. Let us all rise together to meet the challenges ahead. Let us build political strength nationally and bring about freedom.

'Our commitment and cohesion have been forged over 40 years of struggle.

'Together, we must continue to work for the Republic.

'Beirigi Bua.'

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Disappointment expressed at Pól Brennan decision

Commenting on the news that Long Kesh escapee Pól Brennan has lost his final appeal against deportation from the US, Sinn Féin Assembly member Gerry Kelly said:

"Pól Brennan is married to a US citizen and has lived there for over 20 years.

"It is desperately disappointing for Pól and his family that the US authorities have rejected his final appeal to remain resident there.

"It now seems that Pól will be deported back to Ireland in the coming days. Sinn Féin have been making representations on Pól's behalf to the US authorities and we will continue to work with him and his family in the time ahead."

Mr Brennan (56), who is being held at the Port Isabel immigration detention center in Los Fresnos, Texas, was informed of the decision on Thursday. His supporters have launched an 11th-hour bid to ask members of Congress to intervene on his behalf.

The Belfast native has been in custody since January 2008, when he was detained at a Texas immigration checkpoint over a lapsed US work permit. While he had submitted his renewal forms on time, officials hadn't sent him a new one by the time of his detention.

He escaped from Long Kesh in 1983, along with 37 other republican prisoners.

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Latest News - 15 August, 2009

• Tyrone MPs call for big turnout to commemorate 1981 Hunger Strike
• Sinn Féin launches No to Lisbon Campaign
• Sinn Féin to launch major campaign against Government cuts
• EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW -- Gerry Adams on the Reconquest of Ireland
• The Thomas Cook affair - 'Sometimes you just have to stand up and be counted'

Tyrone MPs call for big turnout to commemorate 1981 Hunger Strike

TYRONE republicans were busy this week in their final preparations for the National Hunger Strike rally which will be held for the first time in the county on this coming Sunday 16 August.

The march is the culmination of a weekend of events that includes a Friday night Torchlight procession in Dungannon, a panel discussion, a number of events organised by Ógra Shinn Féin and an exhibition.

Several thousand people are expected for the parade which will mark the 28th anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strike. The commemoration will also remember Tyrone Hunger Striker, Seán McCaughey who died on Hunger Strike in the 1940s as well as Michael Gaughan and Frank Stagg who died in prisons in England in the 1970s.

The Tyrone Hunger Strike commemoration committee this week has also launched a website detailing events throughout the weekend as well as providing an insight into the 1981 Hunger Strike.

Speaking ahead of the parade Chairman of the Tyrone commemoration committee, Sean Begley said:

"Final preparations are well underway for the mobilisation in Galbally on Sunday. As well as a huge interest throughout Ireland we will also be hosting a number of international guests at the parade on Sunday including Basques and Catalans. Each year the march attracts groups from as far away as Scotland, England, Europe and North America. There will also be buses from various locations throughout Tyrone and local people are asked to avail of these services."

Calling for a large mobilisation on Sunday were the three Sinn Féin MPs representing County Tyrone; Martin McGuinness, Michelle Gildernew and Pat Doherty.

In a joint statement the three MPs said:

"We are calling for people not only from County Tyrone but from across Ireland to make an effort to commemorate the sacrifices made and to celebrate the lives of the hunger strikers.

"We appeal to all those who recognise the contribution of the hunger strikers to the cause of Irish freedom to come to Galbally this Sunday. We would especially encourage ex-POWs to attend as a good opportunity to meet up with former comrades and show solidarity with the comrades who are no longer with us.

"We also encourage the republican and indeed the wider community to take part in many of the other events being organised throughout County Tyrone, these include processions, panel discussions, exhibitions and events coinciding with Na Fianna Éireann's centenary celebrations."

The Hunger Strike commemorative events will commence on Friday 14 August and further information can be obtained by logging on to www.tyrone2009.com

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Sinn Féin launches No to Lisbon Campaign

Sinn Féin Vice President Mary Lou McDonald Friday launched her party's No to Lisbon Campaign in Dublin. Speaking at the campaign launch Ms. McDonald said the electorate is being asked to vote once again on the very same treaty that they rejected last year. She accused the Government of wasting the mandate that it was given last year to secure a better treaty for Ireland. She said guarantees secured by the Government do not alter the text of the treaty in any way or change the impact it will have on Ireland.

Ms. McDonald said, "Almost 1,000,000 people, or 53% of the electorate rejected the Lisbon Treaty on June 12th 2008. People voted for a better deal for Ireland and Europe. The result presented the Irish government with a strong mandate to go to the European Council and negotiate a better Treaty for Ireland and Europe. The Government wasted that mandate.

"The Government and the Yes side are claiming that the so called legally binding guarantees secured at the European Council meeting in June have addressed the concerns of the Irish people about this Treaty. These 'guarantees' are nothing more than a series of clarifications of some aspects of the Lisbon Treaty. They do not alter the text of the treaty in any way nor do they change the impact that the treaty will have on Ireland and the EU. Their legal status is irrelevant. On October 2nd we will be voting on exactly the same treaty, with exactly the same consequences for Ireland and the EU, as we did last year.

"After the last referendum Sinn Féin presented the government with a detailed series of proposals for a better deal for Ireland and the EU. Our proposals aimed to create a more democratic, equal, just and peaceful EU with protocols on Irish neutrality and tax sovereignty, a strengthened social clause, the retention of a permanent commissioner for all member states and the removal of the self amending clauses. The Government's guarantees do not address any of these issues.

"The Lisbon Treaty was a bad deal for Ireland when it was presented to the people last year and it remains the very same bad deal. Sinn Féin will continue to fight for a better deal for Ireland and for Europe. In order to get a better deal we must reject this treaty once again. I am calling on the voters to do just that."

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Sinn Féin to launch major campaign against Government cuts

Monday saw Sinn Féin activists from across Ireland gather in Navan, County Meath, for a key political meeting. Those attending included TDs, MPs, MLAs councillors, regional organisers and activists as well as members of the party's ruling Ard Chomhairle.
The Navan get-together was was the culmination of a series of party meetings in recent weeks which discussed this year's local and EU elections, the upcoming Lisbon referendum and the future political strategy of the party.


Speaking afterwards, party president Gerry Adams said: 
"Activists today put forward proposals on a range of pressing issues.
"We discussed Sinn Féin's ongoing efforts to bring forward outstanding aspects of the Good Friday and St Andrew's agreements, such as the transfer of policing and justice powers and an Irish Language Act for the North.

"The meeting endorsed the Ard Chomhairle's decision to oppose the Lisbon Treaty in the upcoming referendum.
"The political establishment in this state has never accepted the decision of voters to reject the Lisbon Treaty last year. The Government, assisted by Fine Gael and Labour, are being untruthful by saying that voters' concerns on the treaty have been met.
 "Sinn Féin will also be vigorously opposing the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) legislation when it comes before the Oireachtas next month.  This is not the way to sort out the banks and every euro of public money spent on the banks is a euro taken away from education, from health, from social welfare and from job creation.
"Sinn Féin will be supporting local communities fighting to keep resources for all these essential entitlements."



EDUCATION CUTS


Gerry Adams declared that Sinn Féin will focus particularly on the Government's cuts in education in the autumn. 
"Cutting education is the worst thing the Government could do. It will have disastrous long-term consequences for children and for the economy.  Sinn Féin is committed to opposing this.  
"December's Budget is on course to implement savage cuts to public services and social protections. The McCarthy Report gave some sense of what can be expected. This is the wrong approach.
"Sinn Féin believes that there is massive popular opposition to these punitive measures.  Our party is committed to playing a leadership role in the development of an alternative which will usher in politics based on citizens' rights and in complete contrast to anti-people policies of the Government and its mirror reflection in Fine Gael."

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW -- Gerry Adams on the Reconquest of Ireland

For many republicans today, including voters, members, full-time activists and a large number of the party's elected representatives, their introduction to Sinn Féin republicanism came through Gerry Adams.

Whether it was the 1970s Brownie articles amongst which An Phoblacht and Republican News, the early books in which The Politics of Irish Freedom stands out, or the speeches at public meetings, commemorations and ard fheiseanna, Gerry Adams became the defining touchstone of a political movement that was, and still is, transforming Ireland.

Then there were the TV interviews which were too infrequent in the1980s and early 90s but which in the Peace Process years blossomed into what was at times the only radical left republican voice on the Irish airwaves.

This week, Sinn Féin members, North and South, met in Navan, County Meath. The grouping, a cross-section of MPs, TDs, MLAs, councillors and local activists as well as ard chomhairle members, discussed the recent local and EU elections, the upcoming second Lisbon referendum and the future political strategy of the party.

The main debate, chaired by Assembly MLA and Sinn Féin's first elected councillor in Belfast in1983, Alex Maskey, was opened and closed by Gerry Adams who, as he has done so many times in the past, aptly and succinctly caught the mood of the room.

With over 100 Sinn Féin members that had for more than four hours engaged in friendly, robust and serious debate it was an impressive feat. When Adams told the room that the difference between Sinn Féin's politics and motivation and those of many other parties was that "some people do things to get elected and we get elected to do things" he had nailed a key theme of the day.

At the opening of the meeting, Adams had told party representatives that what Sinn Féin is about is "the reconquest of Ireland for the Irish people, not about elections for the sake of them, but to effect real positive change in the lives of citizens, nothing more and nothing less".

Adams also echoed and endorsed the wisdom of Sinn Féin's leader in Leinster House, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, who had said the secret of electoral success is a simple formula: "We need to be rooted in our communities, relevant in what we do and republican in our outlook and motivation."

This was the theme of the day as party activists discussed not just recent elections and campaigns but looked forward to Ireland, North and South, in five and ten years' time and strategised on the role Sinn Féin would play over the next decades in Irish political life.

We spoke exclusively to Gerry Adams after the meeting and got him to unwrap a bit more of his vision for the next phase of republican campaigning and politics while also teasing out some of the themes of the day and his views on the wider Irish political environment and Sinn Féin's contribution to it.

Interviewing the Sinn Féin president is not daunting because of his stature or the extraordinary political achievements he and many others have been party to; it is daunting because Gerry Adams has a lot to say about a lot of things and he moves back and forth between ideas and points. While the hapless interviewer is still trying to digest the gravity of one comment, he throws in three or four others!

But there was one critical theme running throughout our interview with Gerry Adams, echoed in his two brief contributions to the Navan meeting but also in his recent articles and blogs.

In short, Gerry Adams believes that "there is an urgent need for building opposition to the Coalition Government, to the conservative forces in the state". Why? "Because if they are left to do what they want, they will destroy the social fabric of Irish society." Sinn Féin Adams says, "needs to give people commonsense, practical solutions, with practical examples".

This point had been a recurring theme of the meeting with Munster's Paul O'Connor, Toiréasa Ferris, David Cullinane, Martin McGuinness and others all echoing this key point.

Looking at the wider political environment and the impact of the economic downturn on everyday political allegiances, Adams talked about the difficulties of persuading people of the veracity of the Sinn Féin message in the current political climate.

"People won't necessarily move to the Left," said Adams, who believes that Sinn Féin must convince the public that Fine Gael "would not make a blind bit of difference in government".

The Sinn Féin leader said:

"We need to create the conditions for a genuine debate about a new way forward, rooted in the core values of egalitarianism and citizens' rights."

The key thing to remember and "sometimes remind ourselves", he said, is that "we have credibility on core issues".

Adams said that, in the course of his work and that of many of the party's other public faces, "We go to speak at events that hold together the social solidarity of society." He cited examples of the voluntary and community sectors, the environment, sports clubs, and schools across rural and urban environments where Sinn Féin activists and elected representatives are there playing key roles.

Throughout our interview Adams turned repeatedly to this key theme "that when that social solidarity is being undermined, Sinn Féin activists need to be there" and this is a key arena for the party.

Turning to the ongoing challenge of becoming a more effective and stronger voice in 26-County politics, Adams said:

"Since 1927, the politics of the state has been dominated by two big parties. It is only now that Sinn Féin is seriously building an electoral strategy which is made the more difficult by the fact that we are working in a limited space, in that people are often giving a verdict on a government rather than endorsing a Sinn Féin policy platform."

"Sinn Féin had been successful at electoral interventions, such as was the case in the 1950s [when republicans elected two prisoners and four TDs as MPs] and the Hunger Strikes but that does not constitute an electoral strategy."

He admitted that one of his first electoral lessons had been to understand "the difference between short-term electoral interventions and a long-term electoral strategy".

"It is not just about a campaign for votes. It is about taking a stand alongside communities. There is a need for people to defend citizens' rights, to stand up for disadvantaged communities with practical alternatives based on a different set of core values."

Throughout Adams's interview, and also in the context of the meeting, there was an interesting play on James Connolly's The Reconquest of Ireland strategy and we asked Gerry Adams about this.

His response was to focus on how the Fenians made the politics of Tone relevant to their era and built through the Land League a mass political movement. The success of the 1916 and 1918 republicans was that, again, "they made it relevant to their time" and this is the challenge for Sinn Féin today. "I believe that we need to find a straightforward way of being confident in republicanism and articulating that to the citizen."

There, is according to Adams, "a need for a realignment of politics" and part of the problem is that within the political establishment and wider society "those who engage in rhetorical republicanism and verbalised republicanism understand the threat of genuine republicanism" and have sought to actively marginalise Sinn Féin.

A related issue highlighted by Adams was the role of the Sinn Féin membership in future years.

"It is a big thing to be an activist but people don't cease to be republicans if they are not full-time members." One solution is to have a wider criteria for membership of and participation in the party such as is found in the GAA or the credit unions. These are organisations, he said, that "have the ability to pull together in large numbers when the occasion demanded it" but also had a wider understanding of what constituted a member, and that not everyone was "a super-activist".

Adams believes that we have to be active now in opposing Coalition Government policies of spending cutbacks and service withdrawals because "good solid campaigning will defend people from the worst excesses of the current government".

One common theme arising from the meeting and echoed in our interview with Gerry Adams was the long-term nature of the process that Sinn Féin is involved in. There was rightly much discussion about the recent elections at this week's activists' meeting but also a lot of focus was on the next ten years and much further beyond.

Adams said, both at the wider meeting and in the An Phoblacht interview, that the nature of partition meant that the focus of republican politics was mostly on the North for the past 40 years, "But now we are in a different mode and face a new challenge."

Adams cited the growth of Sinn Féin in Belfast from one councillor in 1983 to being in the position it is now as the most dynamic party in the city with double-figure representation as well as many MLAs and an MP. The same was equally true of Cavan/Monaghan and Kerry North, where the party grew from small beginnings. Adams said that this was political and electoral growth that "took years to achieve". Building a stronger Sinn Féin in Dublin or any other constituency will be a long-term challenge.

It was clear in the meeting that there is considerable debate within the party on what happens next. When we questioned Adams responded:

"We have a very strong history of debate and dissent within the party which An Phoblacht has always been a part of. It would be an abdication of responsibility if we didn't discuss policy and strategy."

Adams pointed out that Sinn Féin was the only nationalist party to have had a debate on the Good Friday Agreement and vote on it. And, similarly, the party has had robust and difficult debates over the last 30 years on federalism, abstentionism, developing an electoral strategy, the Peace Process and more recently on policing. Current debates and discussion are following a well-established trend within republicanism.

Adams said at the wider meeting:

"We have to have debates that are relevant to people outside the party. We must be advocates of change who will change the lives of citizens on this island."

Pressed on this in the An Phoblact interview, Gerry Adams broadened out the point:

"We have to do it, not just say it. We need to get in there and deliver."

Earlier, Adams had also talked of the need to build the party locally, returning to Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin's theme of being rooted in your community and relevant to them. Adams echoed this, saying:

"It has to be happening locally and that leadership has to happen collectively at this level, whether people are organisers, speakers or fund-raisers, it has to be a joined-up approach.

"There has been a huge job of work done in republican politics over the last 30 years. It is unprecedented."

Focusing on this next phase, Adams said:

"We know what we want to do."

In terms of the immediate future path, the activists' meeting had dwelt on the coming second Lisbon referendum and the possibility of a by-election in Donegal. Asked for a final word on this, Adams said:

"We have to fight Lisbon. It was a bad treaty and it is still is a bad treaty."

Also, admitting that the quip was not originally his, but that he was appropriating it anyway, Adams ended:

"Would you buy a second-hand treaty from this government?"

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The Thomas Cook affair - 'Sometimes you just have to stand up and be counted'

THE lives of staff at the Thomas Cook travel company in Dublin were thrown into disarray two weeks ago when management told them that they were to be sacked immediately.

The Thomas Cook branches at Grafton Street and North Earl Street weren't due to be closed for another month but, in the height of arrogance, the company decided to cut its losses and shut up shop ahead of schedule. To add insult to injury, the redundancies came after Thomas Cook CEO Manny Fontenla-Novoa handed himself a very handsome bonus of €7 million and a 34% pay rise last year. The redundancy packages offered to the staff Thomas Cook and Manny were sacking would cost the company just €600,000.

So, on Friday 31 July, when the staff were told they were to pack up and leave their jobs, they refused. Spontaneously, they locked themselves into their offices throughout a bank holiday weekend until the early hours of Tuesday morning when gardaí broke in and arrested them on foot of a High Court injunction.

Wendy Aldren was a senior manager for the company.

"The atmosphere was a bit surreal over the days from the Friday until Tuesday," Wendy tells us, looking back at the workers' occupation of the worldwide travel giant's flagship premises on Dublin's busy Grafton Street.

"There was a myriad of emotions, mostly upbeat: excitement and hope. But sometimes people were frightened and, of course, concerned for family members at home.

"It wasn't a pre-planned sit-it. When they came and told us to pack our things and go, we instantly decided to refuse and we went to our offices and locked ourselves in. Some of the staff who hadn't been at work that day came in to join us. One worker had just lost his mother, he came in. Another one was due to travel to Australia and she came in too.

"It was a bank holiday weekend and everyone had things planned. We had to set about getting childcare and contact with our families."

For the staff involved the episode was harrowing enough, living for five days in cramped conditions away from their families. Two of the staff were pregnant, with one woman going into labour as the gardaí arrived. It was a first for the protesters in more ways than one -- mass arrests, held in police cells, dragged before the state's High Court and the whole ordeal of taking on the millionaire bosses of a household name in the worldwide travel industry.

At a special sitting of the High Court on the bank holiday Monday, a court order was made directing the staff to vacate the premises but the workers refused and remained in the building until 5am the following Tuesday, when gardaí smashed into the building and arrested them.

"There were about a hundred gardaí outside the office on the Tuesday morning," Wendy recalls, "and the surrounding streets were barricaded off. It was like they were getting ready for a riot.

"About 10 or 15 of them smashed their way into the building and told us we were to be taken to the Bridewell. We left in a peaceful and orderly way. We were taken to the Bridewell, processed and put into cells. There were 28 of us in all. We were aged between 19 and 40.

"The girls were all together in one cell and the men were in the cell beside us. We were travel agents who send people on holiday and here we were in the Bridewell. I must say the warders were fantastic. They were very sympathetic to our plight."

At a court hearing that day they were released when the judge accepted assurances that they were willing to purge the contempt by agreeing not to reoccupy the Thomas Cook premises. The company had agreed to talk to the workers' union representatives, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association.

"At 2pm we were taken to the High Court. There was a huge crowd of supporters and media outside. The support we got was terrific.

"I was a bit concerned that the judge might get annoyed by all that and that things could go wrong for us. But he was measured in his response. He had to be seen to uphold the law. But it was a long wait and as the time went by I was starting to think that it was just possible we could end up in jail. None of us had ever been in a courtroom before, never mind a jail.

"We were holding hands, waiting for the verdict. Some of the girls were crying. The gardaí were looking at us -- they seemed to feel sorry for us."

Finally, the result was announced.

"We had purged the contempt, meaning we agreed not to occupy the Thomas Cook premises again and the judge didn't inflict any penalty.

"When we got out of the courtroom the reception was amazing from supporters and the media. On Wednesday, a union rep went to London for talks with the Thomas Cook company and we are still awaiting an outcome on that."

Among the issues they are contesting is the redundancy package.

"The redundancies that we are being offered amount to five weeks' pay for every year we worked. Some people have said that's not bad as some people who have been let go from other jobs have gotten as little as two weeks' pay per year. But it's not just about the redundancy. It's about the whole way we were treated -- young girls being bullied and intimidated in an attempt to make them go quietly."

Like her colleagues, and indeed the thousands of others who have found themselves suddenly unemployed of late, Wendy's life has been flung up in the air.

"It's been a life-changing experience. I have a young child and a mortgage, like so many of the others. People have said to me that I was foolish and that if I'd sided with the management of Thomas Cook I'd have been looked after. I've been with the company for 17 years. We have a great team of workers and I wasn't going to let them down."

The company had apparently been a good employer in the past until greed set in.

"In fact, the Thomas Cook company had been very family-friendly and a great place to work," Wendy affirms. "I've travelled the world, which I couldn't have done otherwise. But things changed and greed set in and money was more important to Thomas Cook than people so when the recession hit Ireland, Thomas Cook bailed out."

Though the whole episode has thrown a cloud over Wendy's life, she is proud of herself and her colleagues.

"It's the end of an era for me personally after all those years working with Thomas Cook. But I believe that my team and myself were right to take the step we did. Sometimes you just have to stand up and be counted. I'm very proud of my team and myself."

And so are many workers and families, in Ireland and beyond.

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Latest News - 12 August, 2009

• Sinn Féin to campaign for No vote to Lisbon
• Watch the latest Sinn Féin videos at our YouTube Channel
• Death of Eunice Kennedy Shriver - founder of the Special Olympics
• North's new PSNI Chief Constable announced
• Ó Snodaigh challenges Hanafin to live on Social Welfare for a month
• 1981 Hunger Strike talk set for Strule Arts Centre
• Gerry Adams - Memories of '69

Sinn Féin to campaign for No vote to Lisbon

Sinn Féin has formally decided to again campaign for a no vote in the re-run of the Lisbon Treaty referendum in the autumn, party president Gerry Adams announced on Monday.

Mr Adams said:

"This was a bad treaty when last it was presented. The people said no. Exactly the same treaty is being presented once again and we will be formally launching our campaign later this week," he said.

Party vice-president Mary Lou McDonald said Sinn Féin would be mounting a strong campaign against Lisbon notwithstanding the expectation that the treaty will be carried this time in a recession.

"It was a tough fight last time round. The Government and the Yes campaign will rather opportunistically choose to use the economic chaos that we have as rationale for passing for what is a bad treaty for Ireland," she said.

"People need to make the right decision in the medium and longterm interests of this country. Lisbon is simply a bad deal. We can do a whole lot better. The Government had an opportunity to deliver something substantially different. They failed that test, and in so doing they failed the people," added Ms Mac Donald.

"As we debate Lisbon we won't be doing it in a vacuum; we do it against a backdrop of people losing their jobs, fearful of losing their homes, and we are saying that we need a new way forward, a new direction. Lisbon does not offer that," she said.

"We are asking people to think twice and to say no again," added Ms McDonald.

She added that people were capable of distinguishing what is good for the country and what is bad. It was important not to make mistakes over Europe. "You have to think long-term," said Ms McDonald.

"Propaganda and spin and even scare tactics are no substitute for good policy, for a thought-out vision for this State and this country."

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Watch the latest Sinn Féin videos at our YouTube Channel

Watch the latest Sinn Féin videos at our YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/sinnfeinireland. We also encourage you to subscribe to our Channel so you will be sent a notice when new videos are uploaded.

The latest videos include coverage of Sinn Féin activist meeting from Monday, an interview with Gerry Adams about his appeal for dialogue with the Orange Order and a preview for this weekend's annual Hunger Strike Commemoration to be held in Tyrone,

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Death of Eunice Kennedy Shriver - founder of the Special Olympics

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has expressed his condolences to the Kennedy family on the death of Eunice Kennedy Shriver the founder of the Special Olympics.

Mr Adams said:

"As well as being a member of the Kennedy family, Eunice Kennedy Shriver will be best remembered for her work with the Special Olympics movement which she formed in 1968. Through her work and her campaigning she has helped change the perception of those with disabilities around the world.

"When the Special Olympics came to Ireland in 2003 I was felt privileged and humbled to attend what was a truly remarkable event.

"I am sure that the many thousands of people who have been touched by the work of the Special Olympics movement over many decades will be truly saddened at the news of Eunice Kennedy Shriver's passing this morning and I would wish to extend my condolences to her family and friends at this time."

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North's new PSNI Chief Constable announced

Matt Baggott was the unanimous choice of the north's Policing Board for the position of PSNI chief constable replacing Hugh Orde. Orde is leaving the PSNI to become president of the Association of Chief Police Officers.

The 50-year-old Mr Baggott has been Leicestershire Constabulary chief since 2002, and is a strong advocate of the type of community-style policing favoured by the Policing Board, and its chairman Barry Gilligan paid tribute to his "impressive track record".

Mr Baggott said: "I'm looking forward to bringing my expertise in leading on neighbourhood policing and policing with the community to the PSNI."

"This is an important time for policing with the devolution of policing and justice on the cards.

Members of the Policing Board body had interviewed four candidates for the post. The interview panel included Alex Maskey of Sinn Féin.

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Ó Snodaigh challenges Hanafin to live on Social Welfare for a month

Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh has challenged the Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin to live on social welfare for a month after the Minister yesterday confirmed that welfare rates will be cut in the upcoming budget.

Minister Mary Hanafin announced yesterday, that the €21billion social welfare budget is 'a huge drain on public finances'. She revealed how the government prioritises its citizens. Committing the necessary funds to maintain an adequate standard of living, that have determined is a burden on the public finances according to this Government and should be cut.

Speaking Tuesday Deputy Ó Snodaigh said:

I challenge Minister Hanafin and her colleagues to make concerted efforts to live on social welfare for a month, to provide for a small family on the subsistence the State offers to families, to settle the range of debt that Irish people today have accumulated since the death of the Celtic Tiger, all on the welfare payments that the State provides.

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1981 Hunger Strike talk set for Strule Arts Centre

ÓGRA Shinn Féin have announced plans for a weekend of events in Tyrone from 14 to 16 August. The weekend of events will coincide with the National Hunger Strike Commemorative Weekend being hosted in Tyrone.

Headlining the Ógra weekend of events will be a talk on the 1981 Hunger Strike in the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh on Friday 14 August at 8pm. Amongst the speakers addressing the event will be 1980 Hunger Striker Raymond McCartney, West Tyrone MP Pat Doherty and Belfast republican Eibhlín Glenholmes.

The panellists will address the talk from a personal perspective, talking about their roles and emotions at that time and how they feel 28 years on.

This will be particularly intimate as Eibhlín was a close friend of Bobby Sands, and Raymond was on hunger strike for 53 days during the 1980 Hunger Strike.

Spokesperson for the 1981 Youth Committee, Kerry McColgan, said Ógra will use the weekend to educate the public, especially young people on the 1981 Hunger Strike, a turning point and catalyst in recent Irish history:

"The talk in the Strule Arts Centre will kick-start a weekend of events which will include a republican tour of Tyrone, various talks and debates as well as a dinner dance marking the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Fianna Éireann. The weekend of events will culminate with our participation in the National Hunger Strike Commemoration on Sunday.

"We urge any local people who may be interested in coming along to the talk to do so. The talk will commence at 8pm and entry is free."

• Anyone interested in finding out more can contact osfnational@yahoo.ie or call 07885569940.

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Gerry Adams - Memories of '69

The Falls area of west Belfast was a very different place in 1969. Then there was a multitude of small back to back red brick houses in row after row of narrow streets. Like many other parts of Belfast they had been constructed in the shadow of the Linen Mills. They housed the workers who slaved under the worst of conditions for the most meagre of wages.

Most of those who worked in the Mills were women and children, mostly girls. They started work at 6.30 each morning and worked until 6 pm each night. On Saturday they worked until 12 noon.

The quality of life was very bad. Wages were low, disease was widespread, the diet was very poor and the death rate was high.

The growth of the city in the 19th century had witnessed an explosion of population with many Catholics traveling in from rural areas, some as far away as the west of Ireland, seeking employment. They were generally to be found employed in the unskilled jobs as navies and general labourers or working in the foundries.

But Belfast was a unionist dominated city. And this meant that when it came to naming the streets in which the workers lived the planners turned to the British Empire for inspiration. Consequently, names like Sevastopol or Odessa from the Crimea War found their way onto the Falls Road. Balkan Street, Balaclava Street were there also. And in and around Clonard names drawn from the Indian sub continent like Bombay and Kashmir found their place.

The summer of 1969 was a very tense period. The Unionist regime at Stormont was resisting any meaningful reforms. Ian Paisley was leading counter demonstrations to Civil Rights marches. And several Catholics, Samuel Devenny in Derry, Francis McCloskey in Dungiven and Patrick Corry in Fermanagh had already died as a result of injuries received in beatings from the RUC.

Civil rights marches had been banned from town centres for over a year and beaten off the streets. But in Derry the Apprentice Boys, one of the marching orders, were to march through the City centre and along the walls looking down into the Bogside.

At the edge of the Bogside, young nationalists clashed with loyalists, and the RUC launched baton charges. Fighting side by side with the loyalists, the RUC brought up armoured cars and, for the first time in Ireland, CS gas. For forty-eight hours the mainly teenage defenders of the Bogside used stones, bottles and petrol bombs against the constant baton charges of hundreds of RUC and loyalists. Exploiting high rise flats with great effect, they lobbed petrol bombs at their attackers and succeeded in keeping them at bay.

In Belfast tension was at fever pitch. There was an emergency meeting of the Civil Rights Association on August 13th which I attended. From it came an appeal for solidarity demonstrations across the north against the events in Derry.

I went from that meeting to one in Divis Flats which I chaired. It was agreed we would march to the RUC barracks at Hasting Street and then to Springfield Road. As we assembled in front of Divis Flats our mood was defiant. We sang 'We shall overcome' amid chants of 'SS/RUC' and carried placards saying 'The people of the Falls support the people of Derry'. The RUC attacked the march and this led to heavy rioting in Divis Street.

On the late evening of the 14th I remember leaving Springhill for to the Falls. There the situation was one of bedlam. A loyalist mob, including many members of the B Specials, armed with rifles, revolvers and sub-machine guns had gathered on the Shankill Road and moved along the streets leading to the Falls. They petrol bombed Catholic houses that lay on their route, beating up their occupants and shooting at fleeing residents.

This loyalist mob invaded the Falls, and as it reached the Falls Road itself, it started to attack St Comgall's school. The IRA opened fire and a loyalist gunman was killed.

Now the RUC, coming in behind the loyalist civilians and B Specials, opened up with heavy calibre Browning machine-guns from Shorland armoured cars. They directed their firing into the narrow streets and into Divis flats itself, where they killed a nine-year-old boy Patrick Rooney and a young local man, Herbert McCabe, home on leave from the British army.

Within a remarkably short space of time, the streets off the Falls Road, and the Falls itself, had been turned into a war zone. The IRA's armed intervention throughout Belfast was an extremely limited one. The real defence of the area was conducted by young people with petrol bombs and stones and bricks, though the IRA actions in the Falls and in Ardoyne were crucially important in halting the loyalist mobs at decisive times.

However, Bombay Street, Dover Street, and Percy Street were burned out and fighting continued all night in Conway Street. And in Ardoyne scores of homes were attacked and many destroyed in Hooker Street and Brookfield Street.

As dawn arose on the morning of 15 August, it did so over a scene of absolute devastation. Six people were dead, five Catholics and one Protestant; about I5O had been wounded by gunfire and hundreds of Catholic homes had been gutted. The Unionist Regime had also responded by introducing internment and 24 men from across the north had been arrested -- all nationalists or republicans.

A pall of smoke rose over the Falls. The old familiar streetscape was shattered. The environment that I grew up in was gone.

The self¬-contained, enclosed village atmosphere of the area and its peaceful sense of security had been brutally torn apart, leaving our close¬knit community battered and bleeding The everyday world in which we lived our childhood had been destroyed. None of us knew what it presaged for the years ahead but we did know that things had changed utterly.

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Latest News - 31 July, 2009

• Gerry Adams Open Letter to Orange Order

Gerry Adams Open Letter to Orange Order

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams today issued an open letter to the Orange Order Grand Secretary Drew Nelson. The letter published in the Belfast Telegraph challenges the Order to talk to Sinn Féin and also details links between the Order and loyalist paramilitaries.

An Open Letter to Drew Nelson

Drew a chara,

After personally reflecting on the statements and resolutions issued by the Orange Order I would like to outline a personal perspective for consideration.

As Grand Secretary you call for 'Respect'. This I fully endorse. But respect, if it is to be meaningful, must be mutual. Accordingly, I would call for mutual respect between all parties to parading disputes. If the Orange Order seeks 'respect' from others, then it in turn must respect the views of those who differ from them, and address their concerns in a peaceful and dignified way.

This applies particularly to parades through or fringing sensitive areas, where little or no respect has been shown to local residents. The annual insistence on contracting Loyalist paramilitary or 'kick the pope' bands, the appearance of UDA, UVF and YCV flags and bannerettes and the refusal to countenance alternative non-contentious routes, is hardly indicative of a manifestation of respect or Christian forbearance.

Mutual respect could also be demonstrated if the Orange Order and indeed all the Loyal Orders could agree to a process of meaningful dialogue with the political representatives of the Nationalist community. This should not present a difficulty for the leadership of the Orange Order whose members have over the years held discussions in Belfast and beyond with myself and other Republicans.

Furthermore on the Orange website you declare your organisation to be Christ-centred, Bible-based and Church grounded. As a Christian institution in 1998 you agreed with the heads of the main Protestant Churches that you 'cannot refuse to talk to anyone made in the image of God'. How do these declarations reconcile with your continued refusal to meet with Sinn Féin?

After the 12th this year, as a prerequisite to dialogue, you called on me to apologise for and to stop glorifying IRA killings and 'the murder of those 273 members by the Provisional IRA'.

I have never glorified IRA killings. I made it a point in my media interviews after your public comments to directly address your request. I expressed my sincere regrets for the deaths and injuries caused by republicans. I do so again. This includes members of loyal institutions.

In my opinion all of the deaths and the bereavement of families from all sides should be a matter of regret for everyone, republican and Orangeman alike. A commitment to prevent such deaths should also be the responsibility of republicans and Orangemen.

This year's 12th resolutions declare, "As an institution which has lost 335 members to a vicious terrorist campaign". So who was responsible for the deaths of the remaining 62 members? Was it a direct or indirect result of membership of Loyalist paramilitaries? Were some brethren killed by members of the British Crown Forces, the same Crown who you reaffirm your devotion and loyalty to every 12th?

How many nationalists were slain by Orangemen in Loyalist paramilitary groups? Or in the British Crown Forces? Perhaps I could offer some examples of paramilitarism. A Belfast lodge, renowned for its UVF connections, is the 'Old Boyne Island Heroes' LOL 633. On their bannerette were listed 6 UVF lodge members who were killed in the recent conflict.

• Aubrey Reid was killed in a premature explosion while on 'active service' for the UVF;
• Noel Shaw was killed in an internal UVF feud;
• John Bingham, a UVF commander was shot dead in 1986; He received an Orange funeral with members of his lodge flanking his coffin wearing traditional regalia;
• Brian Robinson a UVF and lodge member was shot dead on 2/9/1989 by a British Army undercover team, just after he shot dead a catholic resident of Ardoyne, Patrick McKenna. He also received an Orange funeral.
• Bobby 'Basher' Bates, also a UVF and lodge member, who was part of the Shankill Butchers gang which savagely killed many Catholics. He was shot dead by a fellow Loyalist in a revenge attack.
• And finally, Colin Craig, another UVF and lodge member, was shot dead by the INLA in 1994. He initially featured on the bannerette but was removed when it was alleged that he was an informer.

Furthermore, on June 28th 2003 the 'Old Boyne Island Heroes' LOL 633 walked in the contentious Whiterock parade along the Springfield Road. Carrying their bannerette depicting Brian Robinson was none other than Eddie McIlwaine, adorned with Orange sash who was sentenced to 8 years for his part in the Shankill Butcher's campaign of terror.

These UVF links extend to leadership figures within the Orange Order. The former District Master of No.9 District who file for the Whiterock parade every June, was described in death and subsequent anniversary notices as Vol. John Bradshaw McFarlane, Chief Medical Officer, UVF.

As a self proclaimed Christian institution the Orange Order should take cognizance of a relevant reference from the Bible, Matthew 7:3-5 (King James Version) "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote of thy brother's eye".

Irrespective of the differences which exist between us, let us all focus on how to resolve the remaining handful of contentious parades in a spirit of mutual respect. As a society, we cannot afford the negative and unsustainable political, financial and social costs from parading disputes.

The Orange Order and Orangeism is a part of who we are as a nation.

Irish republicans want a dialogue with the Orange in order that we can each understand and appreciate the position of the other.

There are over 3000 orange marches each year. Irish republicans accept the right of the Order to parade and to promote its sense of orangeism. But this has to be on the basis of equality and mutual respect and tolerance. The overwhelming majority of orange parades take place without rancour or dispute. But there are a small number which each year give cause for concern.

I am again asking you and the Orange Order to engage in dialogue with local residents and with Sinn Féin and let us together seek to resolve these in a common sense and respectful manner. Our door is open.

Le meas

Gerry Adams MP MLA

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Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
23-30 July 2009

Sinn Féin react to revelation that PSNI spent £300,000 on informants

On 29 July, commenting on figures showing the PSNI spent almost £300,000 on informers in the last financial year, Sinn Féin Policing Board member Martina Anderson said that `given our history here and in particular the use of informants to manipulate, control and direct loyalist death squads people will be rightly concerned with this revelation’.

She added `There is also a widely held belief that many informants currently operated by the PSNI are active within various dissident groupings’, and said `There is also a suspicion that many of these individuals are involved in criminal actions while others act as agents provocateur and no decisive police action is being taken to prevent it. This perception clearly undermines confidence in the PSNI in their task to deliver an accountable civic policing service’.

She said the information `should first of all have been brought to the Policing Board and discussed there. Now that it is in the public domain I expect a statement on the issue from the Chief Constable at our next meeting.’

Tyrone to host National Hunger Strike Commemoration

Tyrone will host this year’s National Hunger Strike Commemoration weekend. The annual event has previously been held in Derry and Belfast.

The venue for the main parade on Sunday 16 August will be Galbally, birthplace of the sixth hunger striker to die, Martin Hurson. Martin died on 13 July 1981 after 46 days of hunger strike. His death had a profound impact on the local community and the wider Tyrone area.

The march will go to the Republican Monument in Cappagh Main Street, where Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP will address the commemoration.

Tyrone Hunger Strike Committee Chairperson Seán Begley said Tyrone was a `hive of activity throughout both the 1980 and 1981 Hunger Strikes’ and `a microcosm of many communities in the North of Ireland at that time’.

People in the areas of south Tyrone such as Dromore had voted `in great numbers and elected Bobby Sands as their MP during that period’, he said, and added `28 years on, we will be remembering the legacy of the Hunger Strikes in Tyrone and aim not only to remember these events but educate a generation who were alive during those turbulent events in 1981 and new generations who have grown up since those momentous, tragic yet heroic times’.

1981 was `a watershed in Irish history in the same way as 1916 was and should be remembered in the same manner’ he concluded.

British expression of regret on murder of Aidan McAnespie `highlights years of lies’

On 27 July 27, commenting on the expression of regret by British Secretary of State Shaun Woodward and the British Defence Minister on the shooting dead by the British Army of Aidan McAnespie at Aughnacloy in 1988, Sinn Féin Dáil Leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin called for the publication of the special Garda enquiry into the murder.

He said the statement came `very late in the day and it causes further insult by asserting again that Aidan McAnespie was killed by a ricochet, a self-serving claim that has no credibility’. The statement he added `highlights the years of lies from the British government, the British Army and the RUC about the murder of Aidan McAnespie’. 

He said that Aidan's murder by a British soldier `was compounded by the lies that were told afterwards’, adding `the soldier who fired the fatal shot claimed his finger slipped onto the trigger when he was moving the General Purpose Machine Gun. This lie was exposed by the Historical Enquiries Team report last year. The McAnespie family and the community were vindicated.’

He said that `such was the outrage at Aidan's death that the then Fianna Fáil government ordered a Garda inquiry. During the course of that inquiry I met with Deputy Commissioner Eugene Crowley and outlined the litany of harassment Aidan had endured. Like others who participated in that inquiry I find it totally unacceptable that the report is still being kept secret after over 20 years. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform should now publish that report.’ 

He concluded: `Aidan McAnespie was killed after he had been subjected to years of harassment by the British Army and the RUC. It must be recorded that the British Army and the RUC were facilitated in their conduct towards Aidan and many others like him along the Border at the time by the attitude and actions of the forces of this State. This was because Aidan was also subject to harassment by members of the Garda Síochána, undermining any credibility’.

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone Michelle Gildernew rounded on comments made by DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds on the media that evening, where he said that the British Government had ‘nothing to be sorry about’ in relation to the murder of Aiden McAnespie.
Ms Gildernew said the on BBC Radio Ulster News this evening were `nothing short of callous’.
She said that it was `yet another example of unionist denial, denial at the legacy of British injustice in Ireland, and a denial of the systematic British Government policy of collusion and shoot to kill’.
The announcement from Shaun Woodward indicated that the British Government, `not least due to the tireless campaigning of Aiden’s family, have been brought to a point where they can no longer deny the facts, it is a gross situation when Nigel Dodds cannot even do the same’, she said.
Dodds’ comments were, she concluded `yet another indication that the DUP are still prepared to justify Britain’s seedy and dirty war in Ireland.’

Attacks on schools are attacks on our childrens future.

On 29 July 29, Sinn Féin MLA for North Belfast Gerry Kelly slammed the latest attack on St Mary’s star of the sea. The school was targeted in a second asron attack within two weeks.

Speaking today Mr Kelly said it was luck that the school was not destroyed, adding that the  impact of arson attacks on schools had been seen by the razing to the ground of Whitehouse Primary School last week

He said Schools `should in no way be targeted’ and added `they are attacks on all of our children and on their futures. Schools are not just centres of learning for our children but they also provide, on an ever increasing basis, services and facilities for the wider community.’

He added his voice `to the chorus of voices across society for an end to these attacks’ and said `there is no justification for these actions whatsoever and anyone with any information on any of these attacks should bring it forward to the PSNI.’

He concluded `In the meantime we need to start exploring initiatives to protect our schools from attacks whether they be sectarian in nature or acts of vandalism and protect our children’s right to education.’

Sinn Féin demand end to repressive legislation

On 29 July Sinn Féin Assembly member John O’Dowd met the Independent Reviewer of the Justice and Security (NI) Act 2007 Robert Whalley. Speaking after the meeting Mr O’Dowd said that the retention of so called security provisions was completely unacceptable.

Mr O’Dowd said that `a stable society will not be built with the assistance of repressive and draconian legislation. This throwback to the failures of the past must be removed.’

Sinn Fein were opposed to draconian legislation, he said and that `the retention of the provisions of Part VII of the Terrorism Act in this piece of legislation is unacceptable. This legislation has no place in our society.’

He called for the ‘Independent Reviewer’ to recommend that the British Secretary of State repeal these powers without delay.

Under section 40 of the Justice and Security (NI) Act 2007 the British Secretary of State is obliged to appoint a person to review the operation of sections 21-32 of 2007 Act (which provide the British army with various powers). This appointee must carry out such a review as soon as practicable after the 31st of July each year and forward any findings in a report to the British Secretary of State.

Robert Whalley has been appointed the ‘Independent Reviewer’ of this piece of legislation.

Equality measures secure under Good Friday Agreement

On 27 July 27, speaking after a statement from DUP leader Peter Robinson, criticising the make-up of the Equality Commission, Sinn Féin’s Equality and Human Rights spokesperson Martina Anderson MLA said called on Robinson and the DUP to `acknowledge that all of the equality mechanism and safeguards flow directly from the Good Friday Agreement and Sinn Fein has made it very clear that these aspects are in no way up for sale.’
Whilst accepting the point that `we must look at equal make-up and balance of many organisations’ she put it to Peter Robinson `that he take the same interest in the make-up and appointments within the senior civil service’. As a former Finance and Personnel Minister `he had direct responsibility for the civil service and I am therefore certain he was aware of the imbalance within that organisation’, she added.
The Equality commission had, she said `been in existence for just over ten years, compare this with the time the civil service has had to rectify the imbalance within its structures’.
She underlined that Sinn Féin `will not allow the equality measures secured under and which flow directly from the Good Friday Agreement to be undermined in any fashion.’

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Email fisherj@parliament.uk or visit www.sinnfein.ie

 

Latest News - 27 July, 2009

• Debate, strategy and leadership
• Orange Order rejects dialogue with Sinn Féin on parades
• The Clonard Pogrom, 1969
• First victim of 'Troubles' commemorated

Debate, strategy and leadership

utely right. The southern state has existed for almost 90 years. It has a political legitimacy, identity and culture of its own.

It developed economically and socially apart from the North and these dynamics, along with other international economic and geo-political influences, modernised the 26-County state in a very distinct way. Party political traditions and voter allegiance have all, inevitably, developed within that context.

So, we should never underestimate the scale of what Sinn Féin has embarked upon: to mainstream, popularise and build real political support for our vision in the 26 Counties.

The political opposition to Sinn Féin is immense, South and North. While our ideological core values tap into the pulse of the South in a very potent way, Sinn Féin, as an organised party, has been largely outside the political mainstream in this state for 83 years. Make no mistake about it, we're playing a form of historical political 'catch up' to become more relevant to the lives of ordinary people here in this part of Ireland.

All of these reasons make frontline political activism in the South much more difficult today. But we have strengths in our favour. Our identity is clear -- it always has been -- we are definitively socialist republican, and our political strategy provides a framework to guide our political activism within the real world of Irish society.

It follows the basic formula of 'getting our ducks lined up' in terms of political planning, organisation and activism, in all its forms; to build political strength, and grow popular support; and to use this to change the political context, and reduce, limit, or neutralise the room for manoeuvre by our political opposition.

Those opposed to Sinn Féin in the South have long since recognised those strengths, and that our historical political republican roots resonate with a deeply-ingrained republican sentiment at the heart of Irish society. But these big business, political and status quo interests which are so fite fuaite, aren't going to run scared in the face of our potential alone.

Sinn Féin's big weakness is that we have been inconsistent in developing a coherent strategic plan for the South and in pulling our project together and maintaining its cohesion.

In the past, the political priorities of the Peace Process and sheer scale of developing Sinn Féin with limited resources and less capacity (as well as contending with internal opposition and political opportunists) have all distracted our focus from what was needed across the South.

And we have surely politically underestimated the actual durability of the electoral surges in support we enjoyed here since 2002.

In some ways, all that is part and parcel of struggle.

But, a number of things are now clear. There are no short-cuts or quick-fixes for what needs to be done in the South. This is arguably a watershed for our overall political development. Debate and discussion is crucial. That gives us the process with which to hone the focus of developing a coherent 26 Counties strategy.

But we also need to hold our nerve.

Questions and doubts inevitably arise in seminal periods of struggle. Back at the turn of the 1990s, I and other young activists had doubts about our strategic direction. Few, if any, arenas for internal debate existed then. But that reflected the realities of the time.

We relied upon a few really sound, individual leadership figures for comradely advice and guidance. And we learned then that to argue for particular political positions meant accepting the responsibility to 'step up to the plate', to later accept leadership positions, and then translate those views into real world strategy and tactics.

By contrast, there are many arenas for discussion in the party today, but as important, a genuine commitment exists within this leadership to facilitate as much democratic discussion and consensus as possible.

Unless ideas and opinions are shaped into coherent strategies, they remain just that. Championing and winning internal and popular support for particular strategic options does mean 'stepping up to the plate' and accepting responsibility for being involved in party leadership.

What's required now is a shared and revolutionary perspective across the party on what needs to be done. Yes, it does mean recognising that our political ideas need to be crunched down into accessible political messages: we do need to become smarter and more scientific about how we target that message; we need to become far more relevant in this state -- but with more, not fewer, ordinary citizens.

It also means recognising that this is another, even more complex, phase of struggle which is going to be long-term in nature. There will be high and low points. So we also need a political consensus, maximum cohesion and unity, and organisational coherence. And we need a great deal of political patience, maturity and comradeship.

Sinn Féin in the South, especially, suffers from organisational under-development. That, and our lack of capacity, needs to be fixed. We need to constantly regenerate on a national basis and not just when others hit retirement.

These remarks are not clichés. They need to be understood as real live priorities for every activist. Unless we become fit for purpose we can have debates until the cows come home. Debate needs to be a catalyst for action, political and organisational growth and renewal... and a willingness to share and assume responsibility for leadership.

Political leadership means leading from the front and taking the rough with the smooth. Political frontlines can be forbidding places but less so when the leadership is increasingly coll

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Orange Order rejects dialogue with Sinn Féin on parades

ORANGE ORDER Grand Secretary Drew Nelson stood in front of the camera and demanded an apology, but what he was really offering was little more than a lame excuse. Nelson was responding to an offer by Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams of dialogue as a means to resolve the outstanding matter of contentious Orange parades.

Republicans would have to apologise for "the IRA murder of the 275 Orangemen murdered during the Troubles" before he could even contemplate any dialogue with Sinn Féin, Nelson told the media.

For nationalists, it was a curious statement; for republicans disingenuous in its implication. No one would dispute that members of the Orange Order died as a result of the conflict but it wasn't because they were Orangemen -- it was because they were combatants, either as members of the RUC or unionist paramilitaries like the UDA and UVF.

Indeed, one of the reasons Orange Order parades remain unwelcome in nationalist areas is because of their long and well-documented association with sectarian, anti-Catholic violence, either in the form of Orange mobs attacking Catholic areas (usually but not exclusively during the marching season) as well as their blatant association with unionist paramilitaries. Why else are Orange parades often accompanied by paramilitary bands and banners?

Of course, we've mostly moved away from the most blatant displays of sectarian hatred formerly indulged by Orange Order marchers, such as the notorious five-fingered salute given by Orangemen parading past the Ormeau Road bookies just weeks after loyalist paramilitaries had murdered five Catholics in a sectarian machine gun attack.

Or the time those accompanying an Orange march in Portadown re-enacted the sectarian murder of Robert Hamill by miming jumping up and down on someone's head as they passed the nationalist Garvaghy Road estate.

Or after the appalling murder of the Quinn children in Ballymoney in the early hours of the Twelfth in 1998, the reaction to a suggestion by one of their own Orange Order chaplains that "no road is worth a life let alone three lives of three little boys" -- Reverend William Bingham was unceremoniously thrown into a ditch.

And attempts by the loyal orders to reinvent the Twelfth as a community festival, an 'Orangefest', has also been seen by some as an attempt at reform, a move away from 'Kick-the-Pope' bands and alcohol-fuelled sectarian hostility, the usual corollary of Orange parades.

Of course, the more cynical cite the fact that many of the changes undertaken by the Order have been in response to the imposition of parading restrictions and the opportunity of acquiring funding.

In a study of the recent meltdown within financial institutions, Gillian Tett, a former anthropologist and Financial Times journalist, describes "social silences" which often underpin acceptance of half-truths as truth or fantasy as fact. Tett is only concerned with the myths that underpinned the money market crisis but social silences are ideological constructs which apply to so much more.

NOT WANTED

The Orange Order has a few "social silences" upon which it perpetuates its image and justifies its position. The most blatant is that it is not a sectarian organisation. To maintain this, the Order must deny its roots, silence its history and obscure the role it has played during the last 30 years of conflict.

Another "silence" is the fact that, out of over 3,000 Orange parades, only half a dozen are contentious and subject to re routing.

Another myth, uncontested by "silence" and often used as a justification by Orangemen to march where and when they please with no reference to the local residents, is the notion that Orange parades "uphold civil and religious liberty"

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The Clonard Pogrom, 1969

MY abiding memory of the events in west Belfast on Thursday night, 14 August 1969, was of standing in the grounds of Clonard Monastery, watching in sheer disbelief nationalist homes in neighbouring Cupar Street, Norfolk Street, David Street and Conway Street burning. This was my introduction to naked sectarian hatred and the true nature of the Orange State.

Growing up in Clonard, we always sensed that we were trapped within a hostile statelet, whose flag was not our flag, whose police force treated us with suspicion and contempt, but nothing could prepare us for what was unfolding before our very eyes that evening.

Earlier that day, word had spread throughout the area that Clonard Monastery had been warned of an imminent attack. Local residents alongside men from the Clonard Confraternity, who worshiped in the church, resolved to defend it to the best of their ability.

Crowds gathered that evening around the monastery, armed with stones, bottles and hurling sticks. They later proceeded to put a row of bins across Clonard Gardens beside the monastery, presumably to provide some form of deterrent barrier to would-be attackers.

There was an air of innocence and naivete about the whole situation, besides a sense of standing together, irrespective of the odds, emboldened by what was happening in Derry.

That night, Trooper Hugh McCabe home on leave and 9-year-old Patrick Rooney were shot dead in Divis Flats as the area was raked by heavy machine-gun fire from the RUC's Shorland armoured cars.

As the pogrom erupted along the Falls Road, Nationalist homes were burned to the ground in Percy Street and Dover Street, facing Divis Flats, and further on up the road around Cupar and Conway Streets.

Meanwhile, Clonard remained tense but unaffected. We erected a small barricade across the Kashmir Road, beside where I lived, at its juncture with Bombay Street. We were subsequently persuaded by Fr McLaughlin to take it down and return to our homes in the early hours of Friday morning. He assured us that the monastery bells would be rung if the area came under attack. The RUC had promised him earlier that the monastery and local homes would be protected in the event of any loyalist incursion.

Later that morning, the home of a local republican at 6 Kane Street, Proinsias Mac Airt, was raided and weapons taken away. Mac Airt, along with Lurgan republican Malachy McGurran were arrested. These weapons were to assist in the event of any attack of the area; now it was defenceless.

THE ATTACK BEGINS

Mackie's, a large engineering works was located on the Springfield Road, where Springvale Training College is now situated. Despite its location in a nationalist area, it employed only a handful of nationalists, similar to employment patterns in other engineering firms like the shipyard, Shorts and Sirocco in east Belfast. Every working day, the mainly unionist workforce walked through Clonard to work and local residents feared the worst that morning in the aftermath of the burnings the night before. But their fears were unfounded as the unionist workforce proceeded rather sheepishly to work.

Later that morning, a nationalist worker by chance walked into a meeting in the toolroom. The room fell silent and he was questioned as to what he had overheard. When the Mackie's afternoon shift finished that Friday, around 3 pm, the workforce again were strangely quiet and wasted no time making their way home via Clonard.

Shortly after they had reached the relative safety of the Shankill, the attack on Clonard began.

A large mob advanced from Cupar Street at its juncture with Kashmir Road, armed with sticks, stones and petrol bombs. As many of the local men were still at work, the initial defence of the area was left to a handful of teenagers and young men, who bravely held the mob at bay. Around this time, a local priest phoned the RUC at Springfield Road Barracks, requesting their assistance, but no help came.

SHOTS FIRED

Around an hour and a half later, the first shots rang out from the loyalist side.

It was at this time that 15-year-old Fiann Gerald McAuley was shot and subsequently died as he bravely fought to repel the incursion. His death alongside the events which led to it were to inspire a generation of young men and women never again to acquiesce to unionist misrule and the denial of human and national rights. He was anointed at the spot where he fell in Waterville Street by Fr Egan, who had been watching events unfold from the upstairs window in the adjoining monastery. He was to anoint four other residents within the next hour.

Fr McLaughlin decided, given the gravity of the situation, to go directly to Springfield Road RUC Barracks. He observed RUC men sitting around, drinking tea, but was informed that they were under orders not to leave their barracks, fearing an imminent IRA attack!

Fearing a massacre, Fr Egan attempted to contact the British Army's GOC in Lisburn to request the presence of troops to deter the murderous onslaught that was now underway.

As residents desperately tried to defend their homes, without any assistance from the 'forces of law and order', in spite of earlier guarantees, fires began to take hold in many homes as the petrol bombs rained down relentlessly.

This was obviously not a spontaneous attack given the ferocity, confidence and size of the mob and the number of petrol bombs in continuous use. It was well-organised and well-resourced with deadly intent: a brutal, murderous plan to completely destroy the Clonard community.

The Falls was in the firing line the night before; it was Clonard's turn today.

BRITISH SOLDIERS

The first batch of British soldiers arrived on the Falls Road at 7pm. Fr Egan attempted to persuade their commanding officer to move into the Clonard area but to no avail -- he had his orders!

Around 9 pm, the first detachment of British troops moved into Clonard Gardens and began to charge the loyalist mob back towards Cupar Street. However, this proved to be totally ineffective as undeterred the loyalists systematically went from door to door along Bombay Street and petrol bombed our homes and our local primary school, St Gall's.

In essence, they called the British Army's bluff because they knew that they were under orders not to open fire. Bombay Street in its entirety and the bottom ends of Kashmir Road and Clonard Gardens were now a blazing inferno.

The firemen were fearful of driving into Bombay Street and local residents commandeered their vehicles but couldn't operate them, relying instead on fire extinguishers from the local monastery.

A handful of men did arrive with limited weaponry during the evening but despite their courage and tenacity they were unable to prevent the Clonard Pogrom.

A GENERATION RADICALISED

As was the case in the 1920s, Clonard once again was on the receiving end of a loyalist backlash as revenge for nationalists having the audacity to challenge the Orange state.

But our generation would not be cowed or intimidated. Overnight, a generation of young nationalists was radicalised. It proved to be a massive watershed for me and my generation. Never again, unlike our parents' generation, would we accept discrimination and second-class citizenship. The death knell was sounded for the Orange state.

When we looked around for a vehicle for change the only viable option, unlike today, was the ranks of militant republicanism, namely Fianna Éireann or Óglaigh na hÉireann. Many young men and women of my generation took that step. Out of the ashes of Bombay Street arose the Provisional IRA like the legendary phoenix of old, reborn and rejuvenated and, as they say, the rest is history.

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First victim of 'Troubles' commemorated

SINN FÉIN held a candlelight vigil to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the death of Francie 'Pol Beag' McCloskey. The first victim of 'The Troubles' died on 14 July 1969, a day after he was baton-charged by the RUC in Dungiven after a controversial Orange Order parade.

The mayor of Limavady, Cllr Cathal Ó hOisín, and author Aidan Hegarty addressed the gathering.

The death of McCloskey is recorded in Hegarty's book, A Turbulent Year in Dungiven 1969. A plaque at the spot where Mr McCloskey fell was unveiled by Martin McGuinness MP five years ago.

APPEAL TO INVESTIGATE

Cllr Ó hOisín said:

"It is 40 years since Pol Beag died and it has yet to be investigated. The file was passed to the Historical Enquiries Team back in 2006. It would seem logical to me that the inquiry team should start at the first unsolved murder of 'The Troubles' and work forward chronologically. The older the incident the greater the likelihood that witnesses and indeed those responsible would pass on. I appeal to the Police Ombudsman to act without further delay."

Several friends and neighbours of Mr McCloskey attended the service, including veteran republican Tommy Donaghy, who said:

"It was just like it happened yesterday, the shock was so vivid.

"The day we buried Pol Beag in Dungiven, Sammy Devenny died in Derry after being attacked by the RUC in his own home. And then, a couple of days later, the TV showed pictures of a man walking on the moon. That's a week I will never forget as long as I live."

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Latest News - 13 July, 2009

• Drumcree - rerouting is a resolution, say residents
• Loyalist flags increase tension
• McGuinness challenges Orde on withholding of files
• O'Loan appointed to British House of Lords

Drumcree - rerouting is a resolution, say residents

THE Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition (GRRC) has called on the Portadown Orange Lodge to accept the rerouting of their annual parade to Drumcree away from the nationalist Garvaghy Road as "a perfectly good alternative".

The annual Orange march passed off peacefully last Sunday, 5 July as Orangemen were once again stopped from marching through the nationalist district.

GRRC spokesperson Joe Duffy said there is no prospect of a return parade along the Garvaghy Road.

"It's a dead duck," says Duffy.

Coalition chair Breandán Mac Cionnaith called on the Orange Order to "get real in this situation. The people of Garvaghy Road simply don't want the parade and it's high time the Order accepted the rerouting alternative."

There are currently more than 3,000 loyal order parades in the North every year. The vast majority are not contested by nationalists. A handful of contentious parades, where Orangemen insist on marching through a nationalist area, are challenged.

None of these marches is banned. Some are rerouted away from areas where they are not wanted, often away from areas formerly subjected to gross sectarian hostility and violence against the local nationalist community. It's a compromise but one which a few Orange lodges, including Portadown, have yet to accept as reasonable.

The Drumcree parade has been rerouted away from the Garvaghy Road for the last 11 years. The decision to reroute the parade followed years of unspeakable intimidation and violence meted out by Orangemen and their supporters against nationalist families living along the Garvaghy Road and throughout the Six Counties.

ORGY OF VIOLENCE

In 1998, the first year the Order was rerouted, Orangemen and their supporters engaged in an orgy of violence, within a 24-hour period, mounting hundreds of attacks, including 96 petrol bombings and gun attacks, targeting Catholic homes, businesses and churches.

Following an Eleventh Night bonfire, in Ballymoney, Orange supporters of the Drumcree parade petrol-bombed the home of a local family. The Quinn children -- Richard (10), Mark (9) and 8-year-old Jason -- targeted because their mother was a Catholic, were burnt alive in the ensuing inferno. Not surprisingly, support for the Drumcree protest dwindled.

Eleven years later, around 300 Orangemen, accompanied by two bands, marched to Drumcree Church, passing St John's Catholic Chapel without incident. After a token protest at police lines against being rerouted away from Garvaghy Road, the Order marched back to Carleton Street Orange Hall before dispersing.

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Loyalist flags increase tension

LOYALIST flags and bunting are nothing new. During the Orange marching season, streets in loyalist areas are often festooned with Union flags, loyal order flags and loyalist paramilitary flags as well as the ubiquitous red, white and blue bunting.

But this year we have witnessed what joint First Minister Martin McGuinness has comically referred to as an outbreak of "flag flu". It is an outbreak which has not only seen the usual cacophony of flags in unionist areas in the run up to 'The Twelfth' but also the erection of flags in mixed areas and attempts to put up flags in predominantly nationalist areas.

But what unionists routinely describe as an expression of their cultural identity and exercise of their democratic right to celebrate that identity has a long and well-documented history as a mechanism of intimidation, intimidation that has often acted as a prelude to violence.

NORTH BELFAST

In north Belfast, the erection of loyalist paramilitary flags near mixed areas was accompanied by attacks on Catholic homes and the daubing of threatening sectarian graffiti warning Catholics residents to stay out of council-run parks.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, a mob of around 15 loyalists from Tiger's Bay rampaged through nationalist Alliance Avenue, smashing car windscreens and wing mirrors, and jumping on the bonnets of cars parked outside the homes of local residents. They then smashed the front windows of a house in Newington Avenue before fleeing back to Tiger's Bay.

A spokesperson for the local residents' group, Kevin Murphy, said people living there were worried that the attack on their property was a prelude to something worse.

"This week is the mini-Twelfth and then we have the main Twelfth parades and residents are nervous about what could happen next. Could someone be attacked? Could someone be killed? There's a sense of fear."

Sectarian graffiti daubed on the walls of a north Belfast park announced "ATAT" (All Taigs Are Targets) and "Warning all Taigs, use your own park". The playing fields are located between the largely unionist Shore Road area and the Antrim Road which is predominantly nationalist. The park is used by both communities.

GLENGORMLEY

In the centre of Glengormley, an Orange arch is festooned by Union flags. Last week, up to 300 loyalist band supporters converged in Glengormley for the opening of the Ornage arch and hurled sectarian abuse at children and young people playing football on a green in the predominantly nationalist Church Road area.

Within the last two weeks, hundreds of flags have been placed in predominantly nationalist areas in south Belfast. The Ormeau Road and Finaghy crossroads areas have been overwhelmed with loyalist flags.

A spokesperson for the area, Vincent Parker, said the majority of residents in Finaghy don't want flags erected.

"Local business owners on the Lisburn Road have also said the flags have a negative impact on their summer trade."

BALLYMENA

Shots were fired into a house in Ballymena after residents confronted loyalists erecting flags in a mixed housing estate in the Tullygarley area of the town.

Up to three shots were fired through the living-room window of a Protestant couple's home. No one was injured.

The shooting followed an approach by the woman to people putting up Apprentice Boys flags and asked if they had sought the residents' permission and informed them they were in breach of an agreement concerning the flying of flags in Rossdale.

A local DUP councillor, John Carson, confirmed an agreement had been brokered in which unionist flags could be flown on the main thoroughfare but not in the residential area. "Last year there was a deal brokered and it still stands," said Carson.

INCREASES

Across the Six Counties, nationalist and mixed residential areas have reported not only unprecedented increases in the number of unionist flags being erected but also the targeting of mixed and nationalist areas where none or very few have been erected before.

Last week, in Coleraine, there were disturbances after loyalists returned to the scene of the brutal sectarian murder of Catholic father Kevin McDaid and attempted to erect paramilitary flags close to where he died and his grieving family live.

Northern nationalists don't object to unionist flags simply because they are a cultural expression of 'Britishness' but because of their long association with anti-Irish and anti-Catholic hostility and violence.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony last week, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams described racism and sectarianism as "two sides of the same coin" and urged "all of us in political and community leadership to stand up against the racists and the bigots who are trying to stir up racist and sectarian conflict".

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McGuinness challenges Orde on withholding of files

THE North's joint First Minister and Sinn Féin MP for Mid-Ulster Martin McGuinness has called on PSNI Chief Hugh Orde to end his policy of cover-up and concealment and release files on a number of controversial killings in order to allow inquests to proceed.

Speaking on Wednesday McGuinness said: "In the course of recent years Hugh Orde has adopted a policy of concealment and cover-up with regard to co-operating with Inquests into the controversial killings of a number of nationalists and republicans. Some of these people were killed directly by British State forces others by their surrogates in the loyalist gangs.

"Hugh Orde is deliberately and quite consciously denying these families their right to the truth by continuing to withhold files and preventing Inquests proceeding in an open and transparent manner.

"This is unacceptable. Sinn Féin have raised this issue both with Mr Orde and the British Government. Quite simply this policy has to change. Sinn Féin will continue to support these families in their search for the truth. But people should be under no illusion where the problem lies. It lies directly with Hugh Orde, he has the power to release these files and finally fulfil his obligations to the Inquest process."

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O'Loan appointed to British House of Lords

Former Police Ombudsman for the Six Counties Nuala O'Loan is to be appointed to the British House of Lords.

Ms O'Loan spearheaded investigations into the PSNI's handling of the Omagh bombing.

Ms O'Loan said she was honoured by the appointment.

"I see my appointment as a wonderful opportunity to continue to make a contribution.

"Throughout my career I have always tried to bring an independence of thought to issues in a way which would benefit people and enhance the services they get,' she said.

"I hope my experience will be of value to the House of Lords."

She will sit on the cross-benches as an independent.

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For information:

Gerry Adams’ article on Irish Unity can be read on the Guardian’s Comment is Free  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/15/united-ireland-gerry-adams

People may wish to add their comments to the debate.

 

Latest News - 4 July, 2009

• Strong support for cause of Irish unity in San Francisco
• Progress confirmed on Loyalist decommissioning
• McDaid murder - witnesses' lives threatened
• Residents say there is a win-win solution to contentious march

Strong support for cause of Irish unity in San Francisco

Sinn Féin had a capacity crowd in San Francisco on Saturday, 27 June at the second of its two major US Forums on the theme of a United Ireland and the role of Irish America in helping to achieve it -- and a euphoric Gerry Adams sat in a San Francisco pub -- Fiddlers Green -- and watched Antrim win an Ulster senior football semi final while sitting among a crowd of Tyrone supporters.

San Francisco was also celebrating gay pride weekend and was alive with colour, music and throngs of visitors from all parts of the world.

The Forum had seating for 600 seats but it was standing room only as Gerry Adams entered St. Anne's Hall. The smile on his face told the story of a very happy Antrim supporter buoyed up by the success of his county team. The Sinn Féin President sang the praises of Antrim and threw down the gauntlet to all the Tyrone supporters in the hall -- 'We're coming for you on July 19th in Clones!'

As in New York two weeks ago a distinguished panel addressed the theme of a United Ireland. They included Professor Ruán O Donnell, Head of the History Department at Limerick University, internationally acclaimed actress Fionnuala Flanagan, renowned Irish artist Robert Ballagh and John L Burton, Chairman of the California Democratic Party.

Gerry Adams told those present that the US conferences are only the beginning of a new phase in the struggle to achieve Irish reunification.

The efforts of Irish Americans had in the past he said made an enormous difference, for example in raising awareness through the MacBride Principles campaign, on the issue of discrimination in employment, and forcing a reluctant British government to introduce tougher anti-discrimination legislation.

"A united Ireland can only be achieved by the people who live on the island of Ireland. However, as the Peace Process has shown the Irish diaspora, and particularly Irish America, has the ability and the political influence to significantly advance the goal of Irish reunification", he said.

Over two dozen speakers from the audience representing a wide range of Irish American organisations also addressed the hall.

There was an enthusiastic welcome for the conference and an eagerness on the part of all of the speakers to begin this new phase of struggle. The ideas mirrored those made at the New York conference -- lobbying state and national legislators and legislative bodies; proposing resolutions for city and municipal and community organisations; securing the support of other Irish American organisations; e-mailing campaigns; letter writing; holding other similar type conferences and much more. Making maximum use of social networking sites like Youtube and Facebook was a constant theme.

One speaker was applauded when he suggested that an effort should be made to co-ordinate all of the St. Patrick's Day events in the USA and to ensure that they adopt the united Ireland theme. Another spoke of the support which the Irish struggle had won over the years from other ethnic groups and that a real effort should be made to win support for a united Ireland from them.

Concluding the Forum Gerry Adams said: "The breadth of representation from Irish America at the two conferences is evidence of how much Irish America cares about what is happening in Ireland and of the desire to achieve a united Ireland.

Irish freedom and independence has been a dream of Irish people for many centuries. We have the ability to do more than dream. We can be the generation that can actually achieve. Let's go and do it."

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Progress confirmed on Loyalist decommissioning

The weapons decommissioning body has confirmed it has witnessed a "major decommissioning event, involving arms, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices" belonging to the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Red Hand Commando.

In a statement released last Sunday, the commission (IICD) said the leadership of both organisations had advised them that the weapons and materials put beyond use in their presence "included all the arms under their control".

The commission is scheduled to give a written report to the Irish and British governments at the end of August, the current deadline ending the role of the decommissioning commission. The issue of loyalist and other paramilitary weaponry is scheduled to revert to the criminal justice system after August.

Earlier, General John de Chastelain, head of the commission, had confirmed that he had also witnessed a "significant act of decommissioning by the UDA/UFF". However, the UDA/UFF had so far failed to destroy all its weaponry, said de Chastelain but added:

"This is a significant move and we look forward to completing the process of putting all UDA/UFF arms beyond use at an early opportunity."

Previously, British Secretary of State Shaun Woodward had warned that he would pull the plug on special legislation if there had not been "significant progress" on the loyalist arms issue.

"This is the final opportunity to join the rest of society in building a shared future or face the consequences," Woodward had said. It is currently unclear if the UDA's actions warrant the "progress" cited by the British minister but a likely extension of the August deadline has already been mooted within the media.

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McDaid murder - witnesses' lives threatened

AN ongoing campaign to intimidate witnesses to the sectarian murder of Coleraine Catholic Kevin McDaid has been confirmed by the High Court in Belfast after lawyers disclosed that ten people were now under threat. The information emerged as one of the men accused of the killing was refused bail.

Opposing the bail application of 48-year-old David Cochrane, who is accused of causing an affray, Prosecution barrister Peter Coll said the defendant had been part of a group shouting sectarian abuse when Kevin McDaid was attacked close to his home.

A second man, Damian Fleming, was critically injured by a sectarian mob, who targeted both men because they were Catholics. Kicked unconscious and on life support for days, Damian was not expected to live but miraculously survived. He has been able to name members of the gang that carried out the attack but now lives in fear for his life.

According to the prosecution, the PSNI have issued official warnings of death threats to six witnesses to the incident, advising them that their lives are now in danger. A further four witnesses have made complaints to the PSNI that they have been personally threatened, told to leave Coleraine and warned against giving statements to the police.

UDA INVOLVED IN MURDER

"It is further the police view that UDA members were involved in the murder of Mr McDaid, the attempted murder of Mr Flemming and the wider incident," said Coll.

The barrister highlighted "widespread fear in the local area" and witnesses "fearful for their lives and the lives of family members" and reiterated the belief that members of the UDA were involved in the killing.

Refusing the bail application, presiding Judge Hart accepted as "significant" that a number of witnesses believe they are at risk and have received notification of threats against their lives.

"The extent of the events themselves and the nature of the threats to so many people all suggest there are a number of people who may well be determined to intimidate actual or prospective witnesses," said Hart.

ORANGE MARCH

Orange Order march is scheduled to pass close to where Kevin McDaid was murdered. This will be the second march held by unionists since the killing. A few days after McDaid died and during a time when the body was still being waked at his family home, a loyalist band, one of whose members has been implicated in the murder, brought around 2,000 supporters onto the streets.

Prior to the band parade, hate crime messages were posted on a loyalist website, urging the band to play "loud so they can hear you over the river", and afterwards celebrated the fact that "the McDaid family could hear you loud and clear as the coffin returned home".

In the run up to the second parade, this time by the Orange Order and possibly accompanied by the same loyalist 'Pride of the Bann' band, loyalists attempted to erect flags in the Heights area close to where Kevin McDaid was murdered.

LOYALIST FLAGS ERECTED AT MURDER SCENE

Loyalists entered the area around 6pm last Friday, 26 June and began putting up flags and taunting nationalist residents. Several flags were placed on a lamppost directly at the scene of the killing. Children in Catholic school uniforms were told to "fuck off home".

A relative of Kevin McDaid was injured after he became caught up in a skirmish close to the scene where his cousin had died. He was arrested by PSNI officers at the scene and is currently facing charges of behaviour likely to incite hatred.

Anti-Irish racism and anti-Catholic sectarianism is often so ingrained in the North that the officers who arrested and charged the murder victim's cousin are probably unaware of the hypocrisy of their actions.

ROLE OF UNIONIST POLITICIANS AND MEDIA

In the immediate aftermath of the McDaid murder, unionist politicians and the media attempted to justify the actions of the loyalist killers by identifying the flying of a flag supporting a Catholic football team in a nearby nationalist area as so provocative that it could provide some sort of explanation.

Local nationalists had already made an agreement to remove the allegedly 'offensive' flag the following day after the conclusion of the Scottish football tournament. But that was insufficient to mollify the sectarian hatred of loyalists who still believe croppies should lie down, and be seen to lie down.

It was an action of pure provocation by loyalists to return to the scene of a despicable sectarian murder and attempt to erect flags. But the provocation was apparently invisible to the PSNI officers at the scene who made no attempt to deter loyalists putting up flags.

Subsequently the Orange Order, fearing their proposed march might risk being banned, removed the flags and voluntarily rerouted their parade away from the actual street where the McDaid family live and Kevin McDaid died.

The officers and brethren of the Coleraine lodge expressed "a great deal of sadness and indeed no small amount of anger". But they weren't sad on behalf of the McDaid family or angry at the loyalist flagsters.

"They resent the way in which they have become embroiled in a controversy," reported the Newsletter, and they feel concerned that attempts to deny them their traditional route are being motivated by "certain party political agendas coupled with a reluctance to understand the significance, nature and culture of the event in question".

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Residents say there is a win-win solution to contentious march

RESIDENTS in the Springfield Road area of west Belfast have called on the Orange Order to "get real" after another Orange parade was pushed through the nationalist area without their consent.

Despite hoax bomb alerts and some stone-throwing from a small number of youths, Saturday's controversial Whiterock Orange Parade passed off peacefully but, as a spokesperson for local people pointed out, not without considerable distress and disruption to residents living in the area.

Seán Murray of the Springfield Residents' Action Group said:

"There were some aspects of the parade that were inflammatory, including the participation of well-known UVF and UDA bands. For those who have lost loved ones to loyalist violence, that is highly insensitive.

"We respect everyone's right to practice their culture but are loyalist bands part of Orange culture? I've spoken to Orangemen who insist they aren't, so why are they still being invited to parade?

"The Order has to recognise the rights of people living along the Springfield Road. They want a resolution, they deserve a resolution. It isn't enough to manage a bad situation from year to year.

"It's incumbent on the loyal orders to get real and work out a meaningful resolution with local residents. And there is a straightforward solution, a win-win scenario which would see the entire Orange parade go through Mackies and avoiding the nonsense of opening gates at Workman's Avenue solely to allow Orangemen to march where they're not wanted."

The residents' spokesperson said he believes that, out of a number of ongoing controversial Orange Order parades, this one is one of the easiest to resolve if the will exists to negotiate.

"There is going to be pain for both communities in reaching a resolution but it's possible and all it requires is leadership and resolve. We are prepared to give leadership to our community but, unfortunately, it hasn't been forthcoming on the other side."

Murray condemned the action of 'dissident' micro groups who added to the tension, delaying the parade for an hour until their telephone warnings were exposed as an elaborate hoax.

"These people don't act in the interests of our community; they don't have our support. They only fuel tensions and we are totally against what they did."

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Latest News - 20 June, 2009

• Loyalists start decommissioning weapons
• Irish to vote again on very same Lisbon Treaty already rejected
• New York Conference puts Irish unity on the agenda
• 100 Romanians flee homes after racist violence
• Remembering the Past: Theobald Wolfe Tone

Loyalists start decommissioning weapons

There is widespread media reports that the loyalist paramilitary gang, the UVF, have been working with the IICD (International Independent Commission on Decommissioning) and have put a significant amount of arms beyond use. It is also believed that the UDA and the Red Hand Commandos are also working with the Decommissioning body.

The IRA dealt with the issue of arms in a decisive way four years ago.

The disarmament is understood to have taken place this month with the head of the decommissioning body, Gen John de Chastelain, in attendance at the operations, along with one or two independent witnesses.

Gen de Chastelain, who has not confirmed the decommissioning, was due to make a report on disarmament in August, but that statement could be brought forward if, as expected, the loyalist paramilitaries shortly verify that they have disarmed.

Sinn Féin Assembly member for North Belfast Gerry Kelly said:

"If these reports prove to be true and the UVF have now followed suit then that would obviously be a welcome move.

"It is also important that other armed organisations go down this road. Politics is now working and there is no basis for any organisation holding onto arms."

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Irish to vote again on very same Lisbon Treaty already rejected

The Irish government is expected to announce a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty will be held in early October.

But the government failed at the conclusion of a two-day EU summit to get any changes to the text of the treaty. Instead the got a promise of a protocol to be attached to a treaty at some future date.

Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald has said, "it appears the Irish people will be asked to vote again on the very same Treaty they rejected last year."

"On the face of it, it appears the government have neither sought nor secured any changes to the text of the treaty itself. So, later this year the Irish people will be asked to vote on exactly the same treaty with exactly the same contents as before. Only this time with a

"It is deeply disappointing that the government has failed to address the genuine concerns of the Irish people on workers rights and public services. Even supporters of the Lisbon Treaty have described the declarations as failing to 'adequately address the needs of workers in Europe and Ireland.

"The government has worked hard over the last couple of weeks to create the impression that something important has been secured. Nothing could be further from the truth. This marks a missed opportunity by the Irish government and EU leaders.

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New York Conference puts Irish unity on the agenda

There was a loud buzz of anticipation in the hall as 800 Irish American activists gathered last Saturday afternoon in the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, in New York.

Old friends who had campaigned together over many decades on a range of justice issues, from internment, through political status campaigns, the hunger strikes, collusion, plastic bullets and the MacBride Principles Campaign against discrimination, and many more, came together for a special one day conference organised by Sinn Féin.

There were smiles, laughter, warm handshakes. Some reminiscing could be heard among the older activists but there were many new faces and young people there eager to hear the distinguished panel and make their contribution to the debate on reuniting Ireland.

There were scores of Irish American organisations represented at what was probably the biggest single gathering of Irish American organisations and activists in several decades.

The New York event was organised by Sinn Féin. It was billed as a 'United Ireland Forum' with the theme of the conference described as; 'A Public Conversation to discuss: Unity -- Our destination: How do we get there?'

By 12.30 the panel of distinguished guests had taken their seats and the large audience hushed to hear the format of the next three and a half hours of conversation.

Pete Hamill was Fear an Tí. This well known former New York journalist, essayist and novelist spoke of the importance of the conference and of the issue and introduced each of the panellists.

He was joined on stage by Gerry Adams, Sinn Féin President; Brian Keenan, author and broadcaster who was a hostage in Beirut for four and a half years and who is from East Belfast; Dr. Brendan O'Leary, is Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania who has written extensively on the north, is an advisor to the Kurdistan National Assembly, the UN, EU and others; and Terry O'Sullivan, the General President of the Labourers' International Union of North America.

New Phase of Activism

Gerry Adams as the host of the Forum opened the proceedings by dedicating his remarks to the memory of four great Irish Americans who had died in recent months and had "kept the faith and who are with us here in spirit: Dave Burke; Mike Doyle; Danny Withers and Billy Briggs".

The Sinn Féin President reminded his audience of the goal of the meeting, "A Public Conversation to discuss: Unity -- Our destination: How do we get there?". He identified two sub themes:

"Firstly for the people of Ireland -- what kind of united Ireland do we need?

"And secondly for the diaspora, particularly here in the USA, the question is not so much how do we get there as how can the USA help the people of Ireland get there? How do you help? How can you be active and effective?

"Because it isn't a matter of IF we will get a united Ireland -- be sure of that my friends. It is a matter of HOW and WHEN.

"For Sinn Féin a united Ireland is more than just about changing the flags. We want a real republic -- a national democratic republic -- but that is for the people of the island of Ireland to decide, free from outside interference. So, this conference is about what you can do about uniting Ireland. In other words this is the start of a new phase of activism throughout Irish America.

"For hundreds of years we Irish have struggled for independence and freedom from Britain. Our struggle has taken many forms, sometimes armed and violent, sometimes electoral, sometimes peaceful.

"We have fought on all fronts -- we have suffered. Others have suffered also. We have persisted; we have made enormous progress and we have prevailed. And always, at the heart of our struggle there has been our fundamental right, our basic human right, to determine our own future.

"And always, working alongside us has been the Irish diaspora, especially here in the USA. And with your support we have made progress. There is an end to armed conflict. The Good Friday Agreement contains a legislative, peaceful and democratic mechanism to set up a new and democratic Ireland.

"I believe that the economic and political dynamics in Ireland today make a united Ireland a realistic and realisable objective in a reasonable period of time.

"But there are still rigid differences, attitudes, opinions, self interests, partitionism, bigotry and sectarianism which have to be overcome. This is a daunting challenge.

"A United Ireland must guarantee liberty and justice for all. It must ensure religious and civil liberty and equal rights and opportunities for all. It must reconcile all sections of our people and heal the hurts between us. It will require thoughtful strategies -- huge outreach to our unionist brothers and sisters and a patient process of nation building to unite orange and green.

"But it can be done. We can do it, all of us together. The peace process has given us countless examples of the unthinkable, the unexpected and the unbelievable actually happening.

"Twenty years ago who would have believed me if I had told you there would be cessations, and a Peace Process, and an Agreement, and Ian Paisley or Peter Robinson sitting in government as an equal with Martin McGuinness, and Sinn Féin emerging from an election -- as we did last week -- as the largest party in the North?'

Gerry Adams reminded his audience that Irish America made a key contribution to the Peace Process and succeeded in pushing the Irish, British and US governments into taking decisions they would otherwise have resisted. He said:

"The decisions that Irish America took then allowed you to reach into the White House; to reach into 10 Downing Street; to reach into Unionist Party headquarters and to change the direction of Irish history, to give hope where none had existed and to save countless lives in the process.

"That's what you did. Well I believe we can go one better. Irish freedom and the end to British rule in Ireland has been the goal of generations of Irish republicans and of the diaspora.

"I believe this generation can make it real. But to succeed we have to be active. And to remember always that in activism every little bit counts. Every little step forward brings the end of the journey closer.

"There is nothing we cannot do; nothing we can not achieve; if we are determined to make it happen. Sinn Féin is determined. We have appointed Conor Murphy, Minister for Regional Development and Senator Pearse Doherty to jointly head up our United Ireland task Force.

"They have a responsibility to roll a series of events throughout every Irish county and to mainstream their work into every elected forum on the island of Ireland. This is in addition to work here in the USA, Australia, Europe and Britain.

"But let me make it clear that Irish unity is bigger than Sinn Féin. We have no monopoly and we do not want a monopoly on this primary national and international issue. It is the business of everyone who desires peace and justice and freedom and prosperity for the people of Ireland

"So my friends this conference is the beginning of a new phase of struggle. It will be followed by others. I believe it will mobilise and motivate the diaspora in a way never seen before. And that is our purpose today. To begin that process."

Brendan O'Leary outlined the desirability but in his view not the inevitability of a United Ireland. In his remarks he spelt out the changes in demographics, as well as the options, he believes, are available to securing the consensus necessary to create a viable united Ireland. His clear preference was for a form of federal arrangement as the best way of reassuring unionists.

Professor O'Leary also raised the recent election results in Scotland in which the Scottish National Party had inflicted a serious defeat on the British Labour Party.

He said: "If the SNP permanently replaces Labour in Scotland as the largest party, then a confrontation with the British conservatives over the first Union lies ahead ... If and when that other union dissolves that may be the moment for launching fully the idea of the federalisation of Ireland."

Brian Keenan received a warm welcome which became a standing ovation when he drew the audiences attention to his friend, fellow Beirut hostage Terry Anderson who was in the hall. Brian captured the attention of the audience with his very personal and moving account as a protestant growing up in east Belfast. He spoke of the lack of connection between people, of the dangers of sectarianism and of the need to reach out to others beyond the cultural stereotypes. And he recounted his experience of interviewing a Presbyterian Minister who wept for the loss of that radicalism that marked Irish Presbyterianism in the 18th century.

Terry O'Sullivan cut right to the core of what activism must be about and he pledged his support and that of his union to spread the word; use its resources; and exploit its political clout to help advance the argument for a United Ireland.

He identified for activists what activism must mean in this new phase of struggle and this theme was picked up by the almost 40 other speakers who then addressed the meeting, either as representatives of organisations like Irish Northern Aid, the AOH, Clann na Gael, the Irish American Unity Conference and many, many others, or as individuals who wanted to express their opinion.

The conference was also unexpectedly addressed by two senior New York politicians US Senator Schumer and Congressman Elliot Engel who both pledged their support to the campaign.

In summary there was an acceptance that Saturday's conference was just the beginning and that it was crucial that Irish America talked about Irish unity and kept talking about it as a means of getting it on the political agenda.

Some suggested lobbying politicians; others said that Irish America now had to revitalise bodies like the Congressional Ad Hoc Committee on Ireland and the Friends of Ireland Committee.

The MacBride Principles Campaign was a constant touchstone for activists who see it as a template for a United Ireland campaign

Consequently many spoke of the need to build alliances and coalitions of organisations, writing to their local newspaper, persuading the universities and colleges to host debates on this theme and bringing forward resolutions to City Councils, State legislatures and Congress, all as a means of building awareness, support and momentum.

Several speakers lambasted those, especially the Irish Government, who are forever saying the time is not right to raise this issue. One contributor got a rousing reception when he said "we don't need anyone's permission to raise this issue or push for a united Ireland."

There was also an understanding, probably assisted by the contributions of Brendan O'Leary and Brian Keenan, of the need to find ways of addressing unionists and their fears. The Brehon Society of Lawyers proposed a series of essays specifically addressing unionism.

At the end of the four hours the hall was alive with participants enthused by the contributions talking excitedly about the next steps for them.

Niall O'Dowd in a column the next day remarked: "Sinn Féin did the Irish American Community a service by hosting this event and laying out the pitfalls as well as the promise."

In his summing up Gerry Adams expressed his confidence in Irish America. He said: "We cannot afford failure. We cannot falter. We do have the ability to achieve Irish unity."

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100 Romanians flee homes after racist violence

More than 100 Romanian immigrants have been forced to flee their homes in the Lisburn Road area of south Belfast following a week of violent attacks by far-right racist thugs. On Tuesday night 115 people, including a newborn baby and several young children, gathered their belongings and took refuge overnight in a church before being bussed to a leisure centre on Wednesday morning.

The Belfast City Council and Housing Executive were attempting to find new accommodation for the families, who have said they plan to try to save enough money to return to Romania.

New refugees

Over the weekend, a group of about 20 facists attacked the homes of two Romanian families in south Belfast. Reportedly chanting slogans of the neo-Nazi group Combat 18 and the British National Party, the gang smashed windows and kicked in doors on Belgravia and Wellesley avenues, terrorising the occupants, who included children and pregnant women.

One of the families had moved to the property just days earlier following similar racist attacks at their previous home nearby.

As families began to leave their homes on Monday night, more than 150 people gathered from the local community in a demonstration against racism and in solidarity with the victims. The protest was attacked by a small group of people who made Nazi salutes and threw bottles at demonstrators.

Literature with excerpts from Hitler's Mein Kampf has been pushed through the letterboxes of migrants' homes and other homes in the area.

Following further racist attacks on Romanians in the Lisburn Road area since the weekend -- which the PSNI failed to prevent despite the fact that the attacks were reportedly being carried out by the same gang in the same location at around the same time each night -- several households packed up their belongings and moved to one "safe house" on Monday, seeking safety in larger numbers.

Having already suffered physical injuries, members of the Romanian community told the media they feared the next attack would be deadly. The PSNI said they had prevented a petrol-bomb attack.

But by Tuesday about 20 Romanian families -- 115 people -- were seeking shelter in this single five-bedroom house, prompting the local University Avenue Belfast City Church to step in and offer emergency refuge.

Belfast's new refugees slept in sleeping bags and blankets after food and water was distributed by the Salvation Army and Red Cross.

Hate crime

The fact that these families have come under sustained racist attacks is appalling -- but the fact that the PSNI have failed to protect their homes against a small band of organised fascist thugs is even more so.

Local residents stood guard outside Romanian families' homes overnight after the weekend attacks because of a lack of confidence in the PSNI to effectively provide basic protection against violence.

Sinn Féin south Belfast DPP member Vincent Parker said that PSNI figures showed a "huge increase" in racist hate crime over the past three months in south Belfast while there was a clearance rate of only 9.9 per cent.

"This has dropped from 16.7 per cent this time last year, which was also too low," he said.

"The PSNI must catch and prosecute those involved in racist hate crime and, with a clearance rate of 9.9 per cent, confidence in their ability to do so is very low.

"It's not good enough and must be improved."

The nearby staunchly loyalist Village area has also seen several migrant families from Africa, Asia and eastern Europe forced out by racist attacks in recent years.

Fighting racism

Just as Kevin McDaid's murder by a loyalist lynch mob last month was explained as "football violence", the media has repeatedly explained this crisis as arising from "increased racial tension" following violence at a World Cup qualifier between the Northern Ireland and Poland football teams in March.

The rise of racism, and the rise of the far-right across Europe in the recent European elections, is a result of the increased poverty, unemployment and insecurity brought about by the recession, combined with a failure of political leadership to identify the real causes of these problems.

The sudden and sharp rise in unemployment; the super-exploitation of workers from eastern Europe and the push by EU companies to use the free movement of capital and labour to try to drive down working conditions in the western European states are all factors which have contributed to this.

The problem is not the free movement of workers throughout EU states but rather the conscious pitting of workers from one member state against another in order to undermine wages and conditions -- the 'race to the bottom'.

The rise of racism needs to be resisted through public anti-racism mobilisations such as the one held by residents in solidarity with the Romanians who were made refugees. The police must also be forced to take racist hate crime seriously and develop an effective strategy to deal with it.

In the longer term we need to identify the causes of the unfolding economic crisis and pose real solutions to it, while challenging attempts to scapegoat migrants and divide the working people who are bearing the brunt of the recession.

McGuinness visit

On Wednesday morning, the North's deputy First Minister, Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness, visited the Romanian families forced to flee their homes.

Speaking from the O-Zone Leisure Centre, where the families have fled to, McGuinness said:

"People are shocked and completely disgusted by this incident, I came here this morning to show very clearly my commitment to facing up to any form of intimidation in our community, no matter where it may come from. I met with numerous families who are genuinely fearful for their lives and those of their families; I held a five day old baby girl in my arms today, she was born in Belfast and now forced to leave her home as a result of attacks by racist, criminal thugs.

"We need strong, clear and decisive leadership, standing together against the elements in our society who think that these actions are justifiable in any shape or form. For too long now other groups have been in the shadows espousing and justifying racist attacks. We need to see anyone with information on who is behind these attacks, and intimidation to bring it forward to the PSNI. There must be a full and thorough investigation into the litany of racist attacks both in South Belfast and elsewhere and we must bring those responsible before the courts."

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Remembering the Past: Theobald Wolfe Tone

THEOBALD Wolfe Tone was born at 44 Stafford Street (now Wolfe Tone Street), Dublin, in 1763. His father was a coachmaker and the family was relatively prosperous. Tone studied law at Trinity College Dublin and in London but never practised. His adventurous character drew him to military affairs and to politics.

Observing Irish politics, reading Irish history and hearing news of the revolution in France in 1789, Tone quickly made what he called "a great discovery". He concluded that "the influence of England was the radical vice of our Government, and consequently that Ireland would never be either free, prosperous or happy until she was independent". His first pamphlet (The Spanish War) was published in 1790 and argued for Irish neutrality and non-involvement in Britain's wars.

In 1791, Tone addressed a pamphlet to the Dissenters, the Irish Presbyterians, whom he described as "patriotic and enlightened" but still subject to prejudices. An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland urged their support for full civil rights for the majority of their fellow Irish people. In his autobiography, Tone described his purpose:

"To subvert the tyranny of our execrable government, to break the connection with England, the never-failing source of all our political evils, and to assert the independence of my country -- there were my objects.

"To unite the whole people of Ireland, to abolish the memory of all past dissensions, and to substitute the common name of Irishman in place of the denominations of Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter -- these were my means."

UNITED IRISHMEN

That same year, Tone was one of the founders of the Society of United Irishmen.

Beginning in Dublin and Belfast, the society quickly spread across the country. The society asserted that "in the present great era of reform... all government is acknowledged to originate from the people, and to be so far only obligatory as it protects their rights and promotes their welfare".

The society called for the "radical reform of the representation of the people in parliament" and unity of the people to counteract the influence of England. This first declaration fell short of calling for separation from England but Tone wrote to his friend, Thomas Russell, saying that the need for Irish independence was "my most decided opinion".

The British Government saw the danger to its regime from the United Irishmen and it attempted to sew divisions among the Irish people and to suppress the Society. The wealthy Catholics and their hierarchy were mollified with the establishment of Maynooth College in 1795, sustained by English grants in return for pledges of loyalty to the English connection. At the same time, the Orange Order was established to stir up sectarian hatred, especially in Ulster.

Tone was forced into exile in America 1795. Before his departure he met with Thomas Russell, Henry Joy McCracken and others on Cave Hill in Belfast and they pledged "never to desist until we had subverted the authority of England over our country and asserted our independence".

From America, Tone went to France, where he persuaded the revolutionary government to aid the Irish struggle for freedom. In 1796, he sailed for Ireland with a French fleet, reaching as far as Bantry Bay before being forced by storms to return to France.

Undaunted, Tone continued to lobby for French forces and, on 16 September 1798, he sailed with a small fleet to Lough Swilly. He was captured and taken prisoner to Dublin where he died in British custody on 19 November 1798.

Wolfe Tone is still regarded as the founding figure of Irish republicanism because of his pioneering commitment to a democratic, non-sectarian Ireland and his ceaseless effort and ultimate sacrifice for Irish freedom.

Theobald Wolfe Tone was born on 20 June 1763, 246 years ago this week.

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Sinn Fein

The Week in Review

13-20 June 2009

 

Martin McGuinness visits Romanian families forced after racist attacks

 

On 17 June, Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness MP, visited those Romanian families who were forced to flee their homes in south Belfast following racist attacks and intimidation.
Speaking from the leisure centre, where the families had fled, Mr. McGuinness said people were `shocked and completely disgusted by this incident’ and added `I came here this morning to show very clearly my commitment to facing up to any form of intimidation in our community, no matter where it may come from.’
He said he had met numerous families `who are genuinely fearful for their lives and those of their families; I held a five day old baby girl in my arms today, she was born in Belfast and now forced to leave her home as a result of attacks by racist, criminal thugs.’
He called for `strong, clear and decisive leadership, standing together against the elements in our society who think that these actions are justifiable in any shape or form.’ He said that for `too long’ there were groups who had been `in the shadows espousing and justifying racist attacks’. He called for `anyone with information on who is behind these attacks, and intimidation to bring it forward to the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland).’
He concluded: `there must be a full and thorough investigation into the litany of racist attacks both in South Belfast and elsewhere and we must bring those responsible before the courts’.

 

 

On 17 June Sinn Féin Representatives Assembly Member Paul Maskey and Balmoral Representative Vincent Parker attended a multi-agency meeting to discuss solutions to the current crisis facing the Romanian community in Belfast.
Vincent Parker said that racist crime in south Belfast had increased in the past six months and the clearance rate for the PSNI was alarmingly only `currently sitting at only 9.9%’.
He said this was `unacceptable’ adding `more must be done to ensure ethnic minority communities feel safer in our city’.
He concluded: `those responsible for these attacks and the intimidation of any minority group must be brought before the courts and I call on anyone with information regarding these attacks to bring it forward to the PSNI immediately.’

 

 

Kelly comments following contentious north Belfast Loyalist Parade

 

On 19 June Sinn Féin north Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly commented on that evenings’  ‘Tour of the North’ loyalist Parade in north Belfast.

Mr Kelly said he was `deeply disappointed’ by the fact that the Parades Commission had `once again allowed this contentious parade to pass by the Ardoyne community’, and added `thankfully though, it passed off without major incident’.

He praised the people of Ardoyne for their `peaceful and dignified protest highlighting our continued opposition to this contentious parade’.

However, he added `a number of individuals from certain micro groups attempted to entice young people in the area into attacking the parade; thankfully many of the young people approached me and other community representatives to inform us of this fact and stated very clearly that they would not be engaging in this type of activity’.

He said `sadly however these individuals succeeded in enticing a small number of vulnerable young people into attacking the parade with stones. It is now up to those groups and those individuals to explain themselves to the people of Ardoyne; to explain to stand over, before the people of Ardoyne, the fact that they chose to entice young people, not themselves, into attacking the passing parade.’

He said: `What were their plans for after this took place? What did they hope it would achieve, other than to put further stress onto the people of this community?

These individuals and organisations chose not to take part in a community led, multi agency approach to this evening and I believe that reflects greatly their motivations and intentions in relation to tonight.’

He commended those young people `who showed such maturity and restraint and am saddened by those who allowed themselves to be manipulated by certain individuals’ and added, `I also want to thank and pay tribute to those community activists and representatives whose great work ensured that tonight passed off without major incident and that the people of Ardoyne were freed from unnecessary violence and disruption.’ He said he hoped the rest of the thing `remains peaceful’.

 

Gerry Kelly had previously met the Parades Commission on 17 June, over their determination on whether to allow loyalist supporters to parade past Ardoyne shops. 

Mr Kelly said that the `Tour of the North’ paraded through a number of interface areas in North Belfast and recent years had seen loyalist supporters following the bands and lodges banned from marching past Ardoyne shops. He said that `inexplicably the Parades Commission has this year decided to allow these hangers-on, who are quite often drunk, to march through this nationalist area’.

He condemned the `entirely the wrong decision’ pointing out there had been `no real dialogue in the course of the past 12 months and the decision of the Commission to facilitate this sort of coat trailing through Ardoyne is unacceptable and unnecessary’. He said it `made an already difficult situation which inevitably results from this parade even worse’ and concluded: `residents in Ardoyne have asked the Parades Commission to review their determination relating to the Tour of the North. It is my view that this must now happen speedily and the decisions taken reversed.’

 

 

Irish Unity - A realistic and realisable Goal

 

On 13 June Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams was in New York, to open the party’s one day conference on achieving Irish Unity.
At a press conference he was joined by Pete Hamill; Brian Keenan, Brendan O Leary and Terry O Sullivan.
Mr Adams said that the purpose of the Forum was to have a `public conversation’ on the theme of ‘Irish Unity – Our destination: How do we get there?’
He said the issue was how Irish America and the US people could `help the people of Ireland get there’.
The issue of Irish unity, was he said, not one of `if’ but about `how and when’.
He said `From before the Fenians, through the Land War and the 1916 Rising, the hungerstrikes, and the peace process up to today, Irish America has supported the struggle in Ireland.’ He added, `with your support we have made progress’.
He went on to say: `There is an end to armed conflict. The Good Friday Agreement contains a legislative, peaceful and democratic mechanism to set up a new and democratic Ireland.’
He said he believed `the economic and political dynamics in Ireland today make a united Ireland a realistic and realisable objective in a reasonable period of time.’
This `daunting challenge’ he added, would `require thoughtful strategies – huge outreach to our unionist brothers and sisters and a patient process of nation building to unite orange and green’.
He said Sinn Féin was `determined’ that this was possible and had appointed Conor Murphy, Minister for Regional Development and Senator Pearse Doherty to jointly head up a United Ireland task Force with responsibility to `roll a series of events throughout every Irish county and to mainstream their work into every elected forum on the island of Ireland’.
He said there would be work in the US, Australia, Europe and Britain, but also made clear `Irish unity is bigger than Sinn Féin,.
He said it was `the business of everyone who desires peace and justice and freedom and prosperity for the people of Ireland.’
A conference in London will take place in early 2010, and Mr Adams will be in London in July to launch the inititative.

 

 

SF comments on UVF weapons speculation

 

On 18 June responding to media speculation that the UVF working with the IICD have put a significant amount of arms beyond use Sinn Féin Assembly member for North Belfast Gerry Kelly said: `The IRA dealt with the issue of arms in a decisive way four years ago. If these reports prove to be true and the UVF have now followed suit then that would obviously be a welcome move.’

He added `It is also important that other armed organisations go down this road. Politics is now working and there is no basis for any organisation holding onto arms.’

 

 

Time for Left Alliance at Dublin City Council

 

On 15 June, speaking in advance of the first meeting of Dublin City Council Sinn Féin group leader Larry O’Toole has called for a ‘left alliance to fundamentally change the direction of the City.’
Cllr O’Toole said that Dublin electorate had `voted for change’ and by a clear majority had `rejected the failed right wing policies of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael’, adding `there is a responsibility on the rest of us to deliver real change for the people of the city.’
Sinn Féin believed, he said, `that it is time for a left alliance at Dublin City Council’ and had had a number of `positive meetings with the Labour Party since the election and will continue to engage positively with both Labour and others in order to develop a policy led agenda for change’.
He said the objective in the five years ahead was `to fundamentally change the way in which the Council does its business’.
He said that as a demonstration `of our desire for a meaningful left alliance in the City our councillors will tonight support the Labour Party candidates for Mayor and Deputy Mayor.’
He concluded: `In the coming days we will be seeking meetings with Labour and other progressive Councillors to discuss the development of common policy agendas on issues such as economic development, housing, service delivery, public transport, environmental protection and local government reform. Sinn Féin wants to build an open and honest relationship with the Labour Party. We believe that working together we can deliver real change in our city. It is time for Dublin City Council to stand up for Dubliners and put all the people of the city first.’

 

 

Sinn Fein demand power sharing in Lisburn Council

 

On 17 June Sinn Fein warned Unionists politicians on Lisburn City Council that any legislation going through the Assembly to confer city status on the new Lisburn council would require cross community support at the Assembly and that unless the DUP removed the blockage on proper power-sharing arrangements on the Council, Sinn Fein would not support such legislation.

Paul Butler spoke ahead of the Council AGM planned for 22nd June. Legislation is required under the new boundary changes which will see Twinbrook, Poleglass and Lagmore move into Belfast.

Paul Butler said: `Any legislation to confer city status on the new Lisburn Council will require cross-community support in the Assembly. Sinn Féins support for such legislation will be contingent on whether or not arrangements are in place within the Council to guarantee proper power sharing and genuine partnership.’  

He added that `The abuse of power by Unionists on Lisburn Council has meant that Sinn Féin representatives are excluded and the council is being run to a unionist agenda. We are continuing to challenge this. We will not countenance a situation where the present unacceptable and undemocratic arrangements are recreated under a new Lisburn City Council.’

He said `Nationalists hoped that when city status was conferred on Lisburn that it would become a city for everyone including nationalists and non-unionists. Sinn Féin supported the campaign for Lisburn to become a city on the basis that Lisburn Council would be more inclusive and representative of both communities within Lisburn.  This will require the establishment of new governance arrangements within the new Council based on genuine partnership.’

Paul Butler continued: `There is no willingness by unionists on Lisburn Council to share power with Sinn Féin despite the fact that we have had a power sharing executive at Stormont since May 2007. Power-sharing, mutual respect and equality should apply to local councils such as Lisburn. City status should not be conferred on Lisburn until it changes its discriminatory policies.’

New legislation regarding city status is required due to the boundary changes which will see Twinbrook Poleglass and Lagmore areas move into Belfast. When city status was conferred on Lisburn in 2001 it included areas such as Twinbrook Poleglass and Lagmore being part of Lisburn city.

When the boundary proposals were brought forward by the Boundary Commissioner it arose that city status for the new Lisburn council area would need new legislation to be put through the assembly.

 

 

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs.

Email fisherj@parliament.uk or visit www.sinnfein.ie

 

Latest News - 13 June, 2009

• McDonald launches Sinn Féin Task Force for Unity
• Christy Burke should return Sinn Féin seat - Ó Snodaigh
• Coalition has lost moral authority to govern - time to build an Alliance for Change
• SF Local Election roundup - Gains council seats across the 26 Counties
• Sinn Féin's EU vote roundup

McDonald launches Sinn Féin Task Force for Unity

Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald today announced that senior party colleagues Conor Murphy and Pearse Doherty will jointly head the Sinn Féin task force on Irish Unity. At a Press Conference in Dublin Ms McDonald outlined ambitious plans for the taskforce including events throughout Ireland and with the Irish diaspora in the USA, Australia, England and Scotland.

She also indicated that the work of the taskforce would be brought into every elected forum on the island as part of the work of Sinn Féin elected representatives.

Mary Lou McDonald said:

"During the course of the past 15 years Irish Republicans have transformed politics on this island. When we set out on the journey of building a sustainable peace process people predicted that the task was too big, that the obstacles would be too large to overcome. We have proven them wrong. Peace has become a reality. Sinn Féin is sharing power with unionists on the basis of equality.

"The next inevitable stage on this journey is the completion of the job of uniting Ireland. That is our primary political objective. No doubt the same people who lacked the vision to see that peace was possible, will now say that the reunification of our country cannot happen either. Well I disagree. We have a strategy and we have a political project which will deliver a united Ireland.

" We are publicly launching the party's taskforce on Irish unity. This comes about after months of detailed planning both here in Ireland and with the Irish diaspora across the world. The seriousness with which we are taking this work can be seen in the decision to place the Task Force jointly in the hands of Minister Conor Murphy and Senator Pearse Doherty.

"Today in New York, party President Gerry Adams will host the first of the taskforce events. He will be joined by former Beruit hostage Brian Keenan and other significant Irish American leaders and groups for a conference on advancing the United Ireland agenda in the US.

"In the coming months the United Ireland taskforce will roll out a programme of events throughout every Irish county in addition to further events in the US, Australia, England and Scotland. The work of the taskforce will also be mainstreamed into every elected forum on the island as part of the work of Sinn Féin elected representatives.

"So we enter this new phase with confidence and with the expectation that once again Irish Republicans well organised, building alliances and advancing ahead at all times will continue to drive forward this project to its inevitable conclusion."

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Christy Burke should return Sinn Féin seat - Ó Snodaigh

DUBLIN City Councillor Christy Burke has resigned from Sinn Féin just days after the results of the Dublin Central by-election and the Local Government Elections in which he stood as a Sinn Féin candidate.

Burke received the full backing of Sinn Féin in the by-election contest where he was nominated by party vice-president Mary Lou McDonald and in the contest for a council seat in the North Inner City ward. He has now publicly declared his intention to keep the seat, which he won on a Sinn Féin ticket and that he will act as an Independent councillor. This is despite the fact that prior to the election he signed a solemn pledge that if elected he would abide by the directions of Sinn Féin and that he would resign his seat if he left the party.

During both election campaigns Christy Burke had the full co-operation of party members and activists in the constituency and at all levels of Sinn Féin.

In media interviews on the day that he resigned, Burke indicated that he felt he could more successfully pursue his electoral ambitions outside of Sinn Féin.

Commenting on Burke's actions, the Chairperson of Dublin Sinn Féin Aengus Ó Snodaigh said:

"Christy fought the council and by-election campaigns under the Sinn Féin banner with the full support of the party. His decision to resign from the party only days after being elected on a Sinn Féin mandate is disappointing not least because it runs totally against the commitment which he made to the party and electorate only weeks ago when he sought and received the endorsement of a Sinn Féin election convention.

"He has been a republican activist all of his life and is recognised for his contribution. He should now honour the commitment that he made only weeks ago and return what is a Sinn Féin seat to the party.

"We are in the process of completely re-organising the party in Dublin Central blending experience with new people. Sinn Féin has always stood side-by-side with the people of this constituency and this will continue into the future.

"Sinn Féin is building the party right across the country and will continue to pursue and popularise our republican objectives of a united Ireland with equality and social justice for all."

Sinn Féin in Dublin Central is establishing working groups in a number of areas and is building the party and recruiting members in the area. Supporters who are interested in involving themselves with Sinn Féin's ongoing work in Dublin Central are asked to contact local party structures or Dublin Sinn Féin at 44 Parnell Square, Dublin 1. Phone: 8726100/8726932

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Coalition has lost moral authority to govern - time to build an Alliance for Change

LAST WEEK'S local and European elections in the 26 Counties have seen a massive defeat for the Government parties with Fianna Fáil obtaining the lowest share of the vote in its history and the virtual wipeout of the Greens.

In the two Dublin by-elections, Fianna Fáil was pushed into third place in Dublin South and fifth place in Dublin Central.

The election of Fine Gael's George Lee in Dublin South and of Independent Maureen O'Sullivan in Dublin Central has cut the Government's Dáil majority to just three.

In the local elections, the Fianna Fáil share of the vote dropped to 25%, a drop of 7% since the last local elections in 2004 and a drop of 17% since the general election two years ago, while the Greens were down over 1% to 2.4%.

Following the election results, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said that the Fianna Fáil/Green coalition has lost the moral authority to govern and that a political alliance for change must now be built.

Adams said the election has been a good one for Sinn Féin and that key gains have been made in several constituencies, such as Wicklow where the party took two county council seats, in Limerick City where Maurice Quinlivan made a significant breakthrough, in Waterford, Kerry, Carlow, Offaly, Mayo and Cork.

"I want to thank everyone who stood for the party, who worked for the party and especially those who voted for the party," Adams said:

He acknowledged that there have been some losses in Dublin but said that the focus in Dublin was the EU seat, where, although she lost, Mary Lou McDonald polled very strongly.

Sinn Féin also polled particularly strongly in the Ireland South EU Constituency with Toiréasa Ferris as well as putting in strong performances in North West with Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, and in Ireland East with Kathleen Funchion and Tomás Sharkey.

In an historic development, Bairbre de Brún topped the poll and kept her MEP seat in the North.

LEFT UNITY NEEDED

"There has been a clear swing to the Left and I am repeating the call that I made at our Ard Fheis in February for a Left realignment in Irish politics. In councils across the state there is now the potential to form Left alliances and to start providing people with a real alternative in local government. Fianna Fáil and the Greens have lost the moral authority to govern. It's now time to call a general election," Adams said.

Gerry Adams said the big story of the election was that the vast majority of people want a "rights-based, decent and fair system of governance".

Pointing out that the broad left did well, he added that the Left is fragmented.

"Unity needs to be built. That will take time but it does'nt have to wait until the next election. That work must start now.

"It is not good enough to be against Government policy. People need hope and positive, hard-nosed leadership to turn around the economy in the interests of working people.

"In the North, the work of peace-building must continue. That's what citizens want. Bairbre de Brún's success is proof of that."

VOTING DOES MATTER

Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said the people of Dublin had shown that voting does matter, that there is a growing momentum for change and that the Government has been sent a strong and clear message that they need to go.

Mary Lou McDonald congratulated the newly returned MEP for Dublin Joe Higgins and wished him well over his term in Europe.

"While disappointed I just missed out taking the third seat, I am very proud to have had the privilege of representing Dublin in Europe over the past five years.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who worked on the campaign with me but I would especially like to thank everyone that came out and voted not only for me but for Sinn Féin representatives across the this city and country. I am also delighted that Bairbre de Brún has retained her MEP seat and topped the poll in the North.

"To the people of Dublin, you have shown that voting does matter and there is a growing momentum for change. The Government has been sent a strong and clear message from you that they need to go.

"Together we can build on that momentum and start to turn this country around.

"Sinn Féin will continue to stand up for ordinary people, I will continue for stand up for ordinary Dubliners and be a voice for those this government wants to trample on."

"This is just the start. Now is the time for a new direction in politics. Let's continue to drive forward the momentum for change."

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SF Local Election roundup - Gains council seats across the 26 Counties

New county council seats in Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick, Mayo, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford and Wicklow all show the tangible gains by Sinn Féin as the party held up and improved upon its substantial 2004 performance in local and EU elections.

Across the five EU constituencies on the island Sinn Féin took a massive 331,797 votes and 14.34% of the all-Ireland vote. In the County council elections Sinn Féin entered the election with 51 seats and came out of the poll with 54 county council seats and 67 town council and borough seats.

Robbie Smyth runs through the council votes county by county outlining the Sinn Féin performance which varies from seats won topping the poll to one vote margins in Cavan.

Carlow: New Town council seat

In a first time election for Sinn Féin John Cassin took 11.2% of the vote running in Carlow West and running in Carlow Town Council took a first seat here for the party.

Cavan County Council: One new seat

Sinn Féin took 10.2% of the vote across Cavan County council, winning four seats and representation in each of the county's four electoral areas, up 1 from 2004.

In Bailieborough Paddy MacDonald was re-elected to the council with 8.4% of the vote.

Pauline Tully McCauley's vote share increased for the third election running as she was re-elected for the Ballyjamesduff ward of Cavan County Council with 11% of the vote up slight on 9.76% in 2004.

In Belturbet, Damien Brady won a new seat for Sinn Féin with 8.7% of the vote. Brady won by one vote and a recount was called by the returning officer, which only changed the votes to put Sinn Féin three votes ahead.

Fianna Fáil who lost the seat to Sinn Féin were demanding a full manual recount while the returning office favours a smaller recheck of how surpluses were allocated. As An Phoblacht goes to print it is still a Sinn Féin gain.

In Cavan county electoral ward Charlie Boylan topped the poll with 15.3% of the vote up slightly on 2004 and was elected on the first count.

Cavan Town Councils

Sinn Féin didn't win back the seat it last held on Belturbet Town Council in 1999. Noreen Quinn Briddigkeit won 2.2% of the vote. In Cavan town Council Brian McKeown was elected on the fifth count and running mate Richard Cassidy didn't make it a double for Sinn Féin who took 13.7% of the vote here. In Cootehill Sinn Féin did retain its two town councillors as Harry McCabe and John Martin were returned for the third successive election.

Clare: New seat on Ennis Town Council

Sean Hayes won 2.8% of the vote running in the Ennis West ward of Clare County Council and 3% of first preferences on Ennis Town Council. Cathy McCafferty was elected on the fourth count to Shannon Town Council with 6.4% of the vote.

Cork City: Two new seats

Sinn Féin took 10.8% of the vote in Cork city up marginally on 2004, but in 2009 the party doubled its representation on council seats across the six city wards.

In Cork North Central Thomas Gould was elected on the ninth count winning a new seat for Sinn Féin with 7.8% of the vote in the five seat ward. In Cork North East Pat Coughlan took 7.7% of the vote in this four seat ward but did not win a seat.

In Cork North West Jonathon O'Brien was elected on the first count with 21.7% of the poll, up from 17.25% in 2004.

In South Central Fiona Kerins took a seat on the fifth count with 11.06% of the vote, up from 9.02% in 2004. In South East Ken Ahern took 7.17%, repeating the 2004 result, but didn't take a seat. In South West Henry Cremin was elected on the fifth count with 12.38% of the vote.

Cork County

In 2004 Sinn Féin made a breakthrough onto Cork County Council winning its first seat in Middleton. In 2009 the party held its seat with increased votes across the county.

In Bandon Sinn Féin's Rachel McCarthy took 7.45% of the vote, Sam Simpson took 1.62% of the vote in Bantry, and in Blarney John Stanton won 5.77% of first preferences.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire won 6.39% of the poll in Carrigaline up on 5.92% in 2004, Seamus Coleman took 4.67% of the vote in Fermoy and Donal Kelleher took 3.43% of the vote in Kanturk where Sinn Féin did not run in 2004.

In Macroom Sinn Féin's Des O'Grady won 6.45% of the vote. Sinn Féin didn't run here in 2004. Willie O'Regan took 8.44% of the vote in Mallow, another county council ward Sinn Féin did not contest in 2004.

Sandra McClellan retained the Sinn Féin seat in Middleton with 10.04% of the vote and in Skibbereen Cionnaith Ó Suilleabhain tool 6.19% of the vote, mirroring his 2004 performance.

Cork Town Councils

In Bandon Rachel McCarthy held the Sinn Féin seat with 7.53% of the vote. Mary Horgan took 2.74% of the vote in Bantry, while in Clonakilty Sinn Féin ran two candidates, with Cionnaith Ó Suilleabhain getting elected on the first count but Sinn Féin couldn't retain the two sets won in 2004 and Paul Hayes wasn't elected. Sinn Féin won 14.5% of the vote here.

In Cobh Sinn Féin won a seat in 2004 with 8.35% of the vote. In 2009 Kieran McCarty was re-elected on the fourth count, but running mate Albert McGroarty as just short of the second seat with a total Sinn Féin vote of 10.99%.

In Fermoy Seamus Coleman held the Sinn Féin seat with 4.62% of the vote, while In Kinsale Sinn Féin's Noel Harrington won a new seat with 8.07% of the vote. Sinn Féin didn't contest these town council in 2004.

In Macroom, Dermot O'Donovan polled 2.26% of the vote, while in Mallow where Sinn Fein won a seat in 2004, two candidates were fielded in 2009. Willie O'Regan retained his seat but second party representative Stella O'Sullivan didn't make the second seat. Sinn Fein won 10.55% of the vote in 2009 compared to 9.16% in 2004.

In Midleton Sinn Féin won a seat here in 2004 with 4.99% of the vote. The party ran two candidates in 2009 with Pat Buckley being elected on the third count. Gerry O'Sullivan wasn't elected and the party vote share more than doubled to 11.13%.

In Passage West, Sinn Féin retained their seat with 8.75% of the vote and Michael Frick Murphy was elected. Also in Skibereeen, Donnachadh O Seaghdha retained the Sinn Féin seat with 9.05% of the vote up on 2004, while in Youghal Sandra McClellan and Michelle Hennessy held the two Sinn Féin seats. McClellan was elected on the first count and Hennessy on the seventh.

Donegal County Council

Sinn Féin's vote share on Donegal County Council was at 13% in 2009, almost unchanged from 2004.

In the Donegal County Council ward, Jim McLaughlin took 6.51% of the vote, not enough to win a seat. In Glenties, Maire Therese Gallagher and John Ó Fearraigh took 15.82% of the vote, an increase on the 13.2% won by Pearse Doherty in 2004. Gallagher took a seat for Sinn Féin on the eighth count.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Seán Ruddy ran for Sinn Féin in the Inishowen ward. Together they polled 17.42% of the vote, up on the 15.36% won in 2004. Mac Lochlainn topped the poll and was elected on the first count. His transfers could not pull in Ruddy for the second seat.

In Letterkenny, Mick Quinn was elected on the 10th count with 8.26% of the vote. Over in Stranorlar, Cora Harvey topped the poll and was elected on the first count with 19.04% of the vote.

Donegal

Rosaleen Branley retained the seat formerly won by her father on Ballyshannon Town Council. PJ Branley died in a tragic car accident in 2008. Rosaleen topped the poll in the council with 15% of the vote.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Darren Lalor retained their seats on Buncrana Town Council but could not go the extra mile and bring in the third Sinn Féin candidate, Ciarán McGuinness, even though Mac Lochlainn topped the poll here also.

In Bundoran, Sinn Féin did add an extra seat and Arthur Rafferty joins sitting Sinn Féin Cllr Michael McMahon on the town council. In Letterkenny, Sinn Féin's Gerry McMonagle retained the seat he won in 2004.

Dublin City Council

The Leinster House breakthrough in 2002, where Sinn Féin won two Dáil seats in Dublin, narrowly missing out on a third for Dessie Ellis in Dublin North-West, was followed up by watershed elections in 2004, where on Dublin City Council Sinn Féin won 10 seats. Holding these was always going to be a serious challenge.

Organisational transition throughout the party in the city, boundary changes and a hostile print and broadcast media ignoring the party's work on the doorsteps and in the council made the success in holding seven Sinn Féin seats all the more impressive, especially in the context of a campaign of hostile reporting targeted at Dublin South-East Cllr Daithí Doolan.

In the week before the election, the seven daily newspapers chose to ignore many of the party's campaign activities and focus instead on the unfounded claims that Sinn Féin activists had burned the car of an electoral rival to Daithí Doolan.

This non-story made the front page of the capital's only evening newspaper, the Evening Herald as "SF bullies smash up rival's car". The following day it was reported as "Sinn Féin accused over car damage" in the Independent; it was "SF election opponent's car vandalised" in the Times; and "Terrorised by my brother's killers" in the Mirror. The Star reported the story least negatively with a "Sinn Féin condemns attack".

Even after the election, the Evening Herald has maintained its campaign against the party, running a headline on 8 June "Why most of us still see SF as revolting". None of this can take away an impressive performance by the party in the capital, taking 12% of the total city vote, in the face of such stern challenges.

In Artane/Whitehall, Cllr Larry O'Toole topped the poll again for Sinn Féin, where the party took 22.35% of first preferences. Sinn Féin ran two candidates here but Denise Mitchell's 930 votes were not enough to take a second seat for the party.

Louise Minihan was elected on the eighth count in Ballyfermot/Drimnagh with 13.67% of the vote. In Ballymun/Finglas, Cllr Dessie Ellis was elected on the first count but a strong showing by Cllr Ray Corcoran of 1,190 votes could not hold a second seat for the party here even though Sinn Féin had 26.6% of the first-preferences. Only the Labour Party at 31.6% registered a better first-preference share.

Seamus McGrattan had to wait until late on Sunday in Cabra/Glasnevin after a stop-start election count, with recounts and challenges demanded by Fianna Fáil, as Maurice Ahern lost his council seat. McGrattan was elected on the ninth count, notching up 9.6% of first-preferences.

Helen McCormack took 3.9% of the first preferences in Contarf. On the other side of the city, in Crumlin/Kimmage, Ray McHugh could not hold the Sinn Féin seat won in 2004. McHugh had 8.7% of the first-preferences.

Back over on the northside, in Donaghmede, Cllr Killian Forde was re-elected on the seventh count with 16.1% of the vote, just below his 2004 vote share. Sinn Féin ran two candidates in the North City: Christy Burke and Ruadhán Mac Aodháin. Burke held the seat and Sinn Féin took 15.6% of the vote here.

In the south of the city, Oisín Ó Dubhláin won 1.7% of the vote in Pembroke/Rathmines while in the South-East Inner City Daithí Doolan lost his seat, polling 11.9% of the vote.

Críona Ní Dhálaigh was elected on the seventh count to the South-West Inner City ward with 12.2% of the vote.

Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown

Sinn Féin have still not cracked this council. In the Ballybrack ward, Eoin Ó Broin polled 3.6% of the first preferences. Oonagh O'Reilly also took 3.6% of the vote in the Dundrum ward. In Dún Laoghaire, Brian McNally won 1.3% of the first-preferences.

Shaun Treacy, who was also running in the Dublin South by-election, took 5.9% of the vote in Glencullen/Sandyford. In the Stillorgan ward, Seamus Mac Floinn won 1.3% of the vote. Across the council area, Sinn Féin took 3% of the vote.

Fingal

Running in the Balbriggan ward, Sinn Féin's Fergus Byrne took 3.8% of the vote. Byrne was also trying for a seat on Balbriggan Town Council but didn't get elected.

Charlie Maples won 3.6% of the votes in the Castleknock ward. Colm Ó Murchadha took 2.9% in the Howth/Malahide ward.

In Mulhuddart, Sinn Féin Cllr Paul Donnelly's 11.4% of first-preferences was not enough to hold this council seat for Sinn Féin. In Swords, Conor Kelly won 4.6% of the vote. Across Fingal, Sinn Féin took 5% of the total vote.

Galway City and County

Sinn Féin took 3% across the three Galway city wards. Anna Marley won 2.1% of the vote in City Central, Martin Concannon took 4.7% of the vote in City East while Tom Hanly won 1.9% of first preferences in City West.

On Galway County Council, Sinn Féin won 5% of the total poll with Dermot Connolly holding the Ballinasloe ward seat he won in 2004. In 2004, he took 9.7% of the vote and increased this to 12.7% in 2009.

Sinn Féin had two candidates in Connemara and Trevor Ó Clochartaigh and Kenneth Coyne shared 9.7% of the vote here. Anna Marley took 1.9% of the vote in Oranmore while, in Tuam, Grainne Morahan won 1.5% of the vote.

Jason Devlin held the Sinn Féin seat on Ballinasloe Town Council. Unfortunately, in Loughrea and Tuam town councils Eoghan Mac Cormaic and Grainne Morahan weren't elected.

Kerry

Sinn Féin's vote on Kerry County Council rose to 10% in 2009.

Theresa Moriarty Raftery ran for the party in Dingle, taking 2.7% of the vote. In Killarney, Lynn Ní Bhaoigheallain and Con Walsh shared 3.3% of the vote.

Robert Beasley topped the poll in Listowel with 2,523 votes and was elected on the third count. Risteard Ó Fuarain took 1,005 first preferences and the total Sinn Féin vote here was 21.6%.

In Tralee, Toiréasa Ferris was elected on the first count with over 800 votes to spare. Moss Hannon was the second Sinn Féin candidate here; he took 609 first-preferences. The total Sinn Féin vote share was 20.7%.

Lynn Ní Bhaoigheallain didn't take a seat on Killarney Town Council but, in Listowel, Tom Barry topped the poll and was elected on the first count, followed by Anthony Curtain on the fourth count. In 2004, there was just one Sinn Féin seat here. The total Sinn Féin Listowel vote was 20.19% in 2009.

In Tralee, Sinn Féin held its two council seats with Toireasa Ferris elected on the first count. Cathal Foley had to wait until the 17th! The total Tralee Sinn Féin vote was 15.21%.

Kildare

Seán Downey ran for Sinn Féin in the Kildare ward on the county council and took 4.2% of the vote.

Paddy Wright held his seat on Athy Town Council elected on the third count with 9.3% of the vote.

Seán Downey also ran for Newbridge Town Council and polled 4.3% of first preferences here.

Kilkenny

Sinn Féin contested four of the five council wards in Kilkenny.

In Ballyragget, Ray Quinlan polled 3.6% of the vote. In Kilkenny, Kathleen Funchion garnered 6.2% of the vote. Peadar De Bluit took 3.8% of the vote in Piltown. In Thomastown Jamie Roche picked up 2.4% of the vote.

In Kilkenny Borough, Kathleen Funchion made the significant breakthrough of winning a seat for Sinn Féin on the 14th count, having polled 5.55% of the vote on this 12-seat council.

Laois

Sinn Féin contested all of the wards on Laois County Council, winning 8% of first-preferences, more than doubling the party's 2004 vote share.

In Borris-in-Ossory, Ray Fitzpatrick took 5.3% of the vote. In Emo, Aidan Mullins was narrowly beaten for the last seat, having won 10.3% of first-preferences.

Marie Johnston ran in Luggacurren, taking 2.6% of the vote. In Mountmellick, Adam Haughton polled 2.7% of first-preferences.

In Portlaoise, Brian Stanley was elected on the first count with 17.5% of the vote. Stanley was also elected on the first count to Portlaoise Town Council. In Mountmellick, Stephen Lynch was elected for Sinn Féin, winning a new seat for the party here.

Leitrim

Sinn Féin won 12.5% of the vote on Leitrim County Council.

In Ballinamore, the party ran two candidates: Maureen Martin was alongside sitting Cllr Martin Kenny. Kenny was re-elected and the total Sinn Féin vote here was 21.7%.

In Carrick-On-Shannon, Chris Cronin polled 3.6% of the vote. In Dromahaire Padraig Fallon won 10.5% of the vote.

Michale Colreavy held the Sinn Féin seat in Manorhamilton with 15% of the vote.

Limerick

In Limerick City, Sinn Féin picked up 7.2% of the vote with Maurice Quinlivan elected on the 13th count in Limerick City North with 10.6% of the vote.

In City East, Tom Collopy took 6.4% of the vote. In City South, Seán Griffin won 4.1% of first preferences.

On Limerick County Council, Sinn Féin contested two of five wards. In Castleconnell, Seamus Keating won 1.7% of the vote and in Kilmallock it was a 1.7% share for Richard Young.

Longford

Sinn Féin contested the four wards of Longford County Council and got 2.2% of first-preferences.

Conor Nolan ran in Ballymahon and won 2.7% of the vote. In Drumlish, Ciarán Grimes took 1.9% of the vote. In Granard, Jack Mulvey polled 1.2%. In the Longford ward, Brendan Farrell won 2.7% of the vote.

Brendan Farrell also unsuccessfully defended his seat on Longford Town Council.

Louth

The Sinn Féin vote in Louth was at 17.4%, marginally higher than 2004.

In Ardee, Pearse McGeough, with 14.9% of the vote, had to wait until the seventh count to be the first councillor elected for Ardee in this five-seater.

In Drogheda East, Imelda Munster held her seat with 12.5% of the poll. In Drogheda West, Paddy McQuillan added a new seat for Sinn Féin with 14.4% of the vote.

Moving up the coast, in Dundalk/Carlingford, Sinn Féin took 24.8% of the vote and two council seats as Jim Loughran and Edel Corriagn were returned to the council.

Tomás Sharkey topped the poll in Dundalk South with 19.4% of the vote.

Pearse McGeough held his Ardee Town Council seat, as did Kevin Meenan and Todd Harry on Dundalk, now joined by Ian Dooley.

In Drogheda Borough, Sinn Féin elected three members: Matthew Coogan, Imelda Munster and Dom Wilton.

Mayo: New councillor

Sinn Féin contested four of the six county council wards in Mayo winning 7.2% of the vote. The most significant breakthrough came in Mayo where Rose Conway-Walsh won a new seat for the party. Elected on the fourth count she won 15.1% of the vote.

In Castlebar Therese Ruane took 6.1% of the vote while in Swinford Gerry Murray topped the poll and was elected on the first count with 24.6% of the vote.

Dave Keating ran in Westport for both the county and town council elections. In the county council he polled 5.1% of the vote but didn't hold his town council seat.

Meath

All of the Meath County Council wards were contested by Sinn Féin who won 7.9% of the vote slightly down on 9% in 2004.

In Dunshaughlin Michael Óg Ó Gallachoir won 1.9% of the vote, while in Kells Michael Gallagher took 10.7% of first preferences, but it wasn't enough to hold onto the council seat he won in 2004. Conor Ferguson took a seat on Kells Town Council.

In Navan, Sinn Féin ran two candidates Joe Reilly and Peadar Toibin, who together won 15.5% of the vote. Reilly held his seat.

In Slane Sinead Burke won 5.9% of the vote and in Trim Caroline Lynch took 4.9% of first preferences.

On Navan Town Council Joe Reilly and Peadar Toibin held their seats. On Trim Council Caroline Lynch lost her seat by the narrowest of margins, a result compounded by the distribution of ballot papers to voters who didn't live within the town council boundary.

Monaghan

Sinn Féin won 27.6% of the Monaghan Council vote and retained their council seats won in 2004. Sinn Féin are still the largest party on Monaghan County Coucil.

In the Carrickmacross ward the party retained their two council seats with Matt Carthy and Noel Keelan re-elected having won 29.8% of the vote here. Jackie Crowe was elected on the first count to the Castleblayney ward of the county council with 21.1% of the vote while in Clones Pat Treanor was also elected on the first count with 22.1% of the first preferences.

Sinn Féin's strongest performance in the this council area was in the Monaghan ward where the party took 34.2% of the votes. Brian McKenna was elected on the first count, Sean Conlon on the sixth and Sheila McKenna on the tenth count. The fourth Sinn Féin candidate Malachy Trainor was not elected.

In the Monaghan Town Councils Sinn Féin had mixed results. In Ballybay 11.5% of the vote was not enough to keep the two council seats won in 2004. Gene Duffy was elected on the fifth count and Barry Cunningham lost his seat.

In Carrickmacross Sinn Féin ran four candidates after electing three councillors here in 2004. This time around Matt Carthy topped the poll and was elected on the first count as was Noel Keelan. There were no seats for the other Sinn Féin candidates Rose McMahon or Enda Tourish.

Sinn Féin elected three councillors to Castleblayney Town Council running four candidates here. Jackie Crowe and James Cunningham were elected on the first count. Sitting councillor Mariea Kelly lost out to Peter Grimes who was elected on the sixth count.

On Monaghan Town Council Sinn Féin fielded five candidates electing four. Sean Conlon was elected on the first count, Donal Sherry on the second, Pádraigín Uí Mhurchadha on the tenth and Paul McGeown on the 11th count displacing Malachy Toal who had a seat for Sinn Féin here in 2004.

In Clones Sinn Féin's Pat Treanor and Niall Quigley were elected but there were no seats for Marcella Leonard and Aidan Sheerin.

Offaly: New town councilor

Sinn Féin contested two of the four Offaly electoral areas. In Edenderry Martin O'Reilly took 3.2% of the vote while in the Tullamore Ward Brendan Killeavy won 6.7% of first preferences.

O'Reilly also stood for Edenderry Town Council taking 2.65% of the vote. On Tullamore Town Council Killeavy was elected on the first count with 10.36% of the vote.

Roscommon: Two new councilors

Sinn Féin contested four of the five Roscommon electoral areas in 2009 winning 4.2% of the vote.

Alma Keogh running in the Athlone ward took 4.5% of the vote while in Boyle Jane Suffin polled 5.6% of first preferences. Jane Suffin was succesfully elected onto Boyle Town Council

The Sinn Féin breakthrough came in the Castlerea ward where Michael Mulligan was elected on the sixth count with 7.5% of the vote and in the Strokestown ward Catherine Vallely won 1.6% of first preferences.

Sligo

Sinn Féin won 7.9% of the vote in Sligo County Council slightly up on 2004. In Ballymote Thomas Healy took 10.9% of the vote more than doubling the 2004 Sinn Féin performance and narrowly missing out on the last seat here.

In Dromore Pádraig Hallinan polled 6.2% of first preferences while in the Sligo Drumcliffe ward Arthur Gibbons took 8% of the vote. Sean MacManus was elected on the first count in Sligo Strandhill with 12.9% of the vote.

In Sligo Borough, Arthur Gibbons was elected on the fifth count with 11.78% of the vote. Chris MacManus was elected on the fifth count in Sligo East with 11.9% of the vote while in Sligo West Sean MacManus topped the poll and was elected on the first count with 25.18% of the vote.

South Dublin

Sinn Féin won 11.1% of the votes in South Dublin electing three councillors.

In Clondalkin Sinn Féin ran two candidates sitting councillor Shane O'Connor and new candidate Matthew McDonagh. Sinn Féin held its seat with 17.45 of the vote and McDonagh was elected.

In Lucan Robert Ballesty won 3.7% of the vote, while in Rathfarnham Sorcha Nic Cormaic polled 3.2% of first preferences.

Séan Crowe was elected on the 9th count in Tallaght Central after taking 11.4% of first preferences while in Tallaght South Sinn Féin won 20.4% of the vote. Cathal King and Sinead Cooke were the Sinn Féin candidates with King elected on the 5th count.

Tipperary: New council seat

Seamus Morris was elected on the 9th Count to the Nenagh ward of Tipperary North Council with 8.7% of first preferences, securing Sinn Féin's first seat on that Council since 1957. Morris also won a seat on Nenagh Town Council. David Doran held his seat on Thurles Town Council.

In Tipperary South Kevin Brunnick took 2.8% of the votes in Cahir while in Fethard David Dunne won 5.1% of first preferences.

Liam Walsh held his seat on Carrick-On-Suir Town Council as did Michael Browne in Cashel.

Waterford: Newcounty council seat

Sinn Féin took 9.2% of the vote in Waterford City electing one councillor. In the City East ward Bill Hayes took 6.15 of the vote, while in City North 12.9% of first preferences was not enough for Joe Kelly to hold the Sinn Féin seat here.

In City South David Cullinane retained the seat he won in 2004 with 9.9% of the vote.

Brendan Mansfield was elected to the Dungarvan ward of Waterford County council with 11.5% of the vote. Mansfield also won a seat on Dungarvan Town council. He was elected on the first count.

Pat Fitzgerald won a new seat for Sinn Féin in the Tramore ward of the council. He was elected on the ninth count with 8.4% of the vote.

Westmeath

Paul Hogan narrowly missed out on the last seat in the Athlone ward of Westmeath council when he won 7.9% of first preferences in this six seat ward. Hogan was re-elected on the ninth count to Athlone Town Council.

In Coole Mick Kenny took 6.1% of the vote while in Mullingar West Sorcha Clarke won 3.5% of first preferences. Clarke also ran for Mullingar Town Council but was unsuccessful.

Wexford

Sinn Féin won 7.6% of the vote in Wexford and suffered some council losses.

In Enniscorthy Noirin Sheridan polled 5.2% of the vote while in Gorey Michael Carty took 6.5% of first preferences.

John Dwyer's 12% of first preferences in New Ross were not enough to help him keep his seat. Maurice Roche polled 6.7% of the votes in Wexford Town and lost his council seat also.

Johnny Mythen won a seat on Enniscorthy Town Council, while Liz Kenny lost out in Gorey with 3.33% of the vote

In New Ross John Dwyer was elected on the ninth count while the second Sinn Féin candidate Mary Pyne was not elected.

In Wexford Borough a marathon count elected Anthony Kelly on the six count.

Wicklow: New county and town council seats

Sinn Féin won its first two seats on Wicklow County council with a major breakthrough for the party also taking 8.2% of the votes across the county.

Gerry O'Neill took 11.1% of the votes in Baltinglass up on 2004, while In Bray John Brady was elected on the first count with 13.4% of the vote.

Anthony McCoy won 3.4% of the vote in Greystones while in the Wicklow ward John Snell was elected on the fourth count with 12.8% of the vote. McCoy also ran for Greystones Town Council.

Sinn Féin won two seats on Bray Town council for Rossa Murray and John Brady. Catherine Hannon Kennedy was the other Sinn Féin candidate for Bray Town Council. She polled 5% of the vote. Eamon long retained his seat on Wicklow Town Council being elected on the fourth count.

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Sinn Féin's EU vote roundup

THESE EU elections were among the most difficult Sinn Féin has ever contested. In the Six Counties motivating turnout was always going to be a key factor and the party's success in topping the poll and maintaining a 26% first preference vote share is testimony to a hugely successful campaign.

In the 26 Counties the party came under sustained negative campaigning and opposing party political tactics deliberately designed to undermine and target the Sinn Féin vote. Sinn Féin polled 11.2% of the total 26-County EU vote, up slightly on 2004.

In Dublin the systematic and sexist attacks by the establishment political parties on Mary Lou MacDonald in the last weeks of the campaign showed just how underhand they can be.

Fianna Fáil minister Mary Hannafin admitted in Newstalk that the selection of Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher to run in North West was solely motivated to undermine the Pádraig Mac Lochlainn campaign.

Mac Lochlainn was also running for town and county council seats which he successfully won for Sinn Féin but still had to weather questions about giving up local authority representation to be an MEP. Fianna Fail's Gallagher is a sitting TD!

In Munster, the killing of Jerry McCabe in 1997 was yet again raised, just after a second opinion poll confirmed the growing support for Toiréasa Ferris who narrowly missed out on winning the third seat for Sinn Féin in South.

Dublin

In a much tighter race than in 2004 with the constituency crucially losing a seat -- going from four seats to just three -- this was a key battle for all political parties.

Sinn Féin's winning of a seat in 2004 confirmed how disillusioned large sections of the electorate are with establishment politics, 2009 election showed similar results.

The Sinn Féin vote share was down on 2004, but displayed huge resilience considering the campaign to undermine Sinn Féin in the city, particularly the lack of fair news coverage in the print media throughout 2009.

The importance of the Sinn Féin vote in electing Joe Higgins to the last MEP seat cannot be underestimated and shows that there is a substantial core of left republican votes in the city, the potential development of which cannot be ignored in the coming months when it comes to broad based campaigns against a government obsessed with cut backs and penalising those who can least afford to pay for its failures.

East

The ongoing growth in the Sinn Féin vote echoed new council victories in Wicklow, Kilkenny and Offaly and showed the long term potential of the party to add to its one Leinster House seat in this region. The implications for Wicklow and Carlow Kilkenny are immense.

South

The growth of Sinn Féin as a political party is aptly demonstrated by the South EU vote where party support is in 2009 more than 12 times greater than 1994, just 15 years ago.

The growth in the party vote in Cork, Kerry and the more rural electoral areas of Waterford show further potential for Sinn Féin in terms of Leinster House representation.

Toiréasa Ferris polled third on the first count and hung onto until the seventh, with her transferable votes split almost evenly between Labour's Alan Kelly and independent Kathy Sinnott.

North West

Having been almost caught out in 2004 when the Sinn Féin vote trebled Fianna Fáil were determined to scupper the party challenge in this region at every opportunity. The deliberate confusion and smokescreen around candidate selection in the North West show how little real value Fianna Fáil put on being an MEP.

Mac Lochlainn's vote though not as high as 2004 was still a significant statement of the anti government sentiment in the region and with so many candidates plumping to contest this constituency it was all the more remarkable to hold up the Sinn Féin vote given that so much airtime and news media coverage was been given to other candidates particularly Declan Ganley's theatrics in forming Libertas to contest elections.

Six Counties

Holding the seat and topping the poll was a significant first for Sinn Féin in this election where too little media focus is put on EU issues. It also emphasises Sinn Féin's role as an all-Ireland political party.

Much of the media coverage was on the three way unionist contest for two seats and ignored the failure of the SDLP to make any headway in this election.

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Latest News - 29 May, 2009

• Sinn Féin's new website launched
• Elections in one week
• Gerry Adams on Twitter
• SF News at the count centres

Sinn Féin's new website launched

On Wednesday, Sinn Féin launched their brand new site(www.sinnfein.ie) , which has been in development for many month. It reinforces the party's long standing commitment to using the internet as a way of bringing the republican message to as wide an audience as possible in Ireland and across the world.

Sinn Fein has embraced the latest technologies to encourage and facilitate dialogue and to help advance their struggle to achieve their objectives of a 32 county united Ireland, equality, justice, peace and prosperity.

New features include:

• interactive ability which allows you to leave comments on our press statements and many other pages
• blogs from many SF representatives across the 32 counties
• an extensive library of historic documents tracing the history of the peace process
• extensive use YouTube videos throughout the site
• thorough policy section called "Issues" that explains the party's positions through the use of policy summaries, documents in PDF form for download and videos
• advanced searching functions to make it easier for you to find what you are looking for

This site is also fully navigable as Gaeilge and in English. Please note that Sinn Féín are continually working on adding new content as Gaeilge as part of the party's ongoing commitment to the Irish language.

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Elections in one week

With one week to go before the European and Local Elections, things are heating up across Ireland.

Local Election

In the Local Elections that are taking place only in the 26 Counties, Sinn Féin is contesting 258 local government seats and is looking to build on the gains made in 2004.

They are standing on their strong record of delivering for local communities and on a manifesto which is about transforming local government in the interests of the people. On local councils throughout Ireland Sinn Féin has given first class representation, standing up for local communities, taking on powerful vested interests and seeking a complete reform of local government. The county will take place on Saturday June the 6th.

EU Election

The EU elections are taking place in all 32 counties of Ireland and across all of Europe. Sinn Féin's Bairbre de Brún is standing again in the Six Counties. There is media speculation that she may top the poll in the north, a first for Sinn Féin or any non-unionist candidate.

The count for the EU in the 26 counties takes place on Sunday June the 7th and in the Six Counties on Monday June the 8th

The DUP MEP, Jim Allister, left the party two years ago over the DUP's decision to enter power-sharing government with Sinn Féin and is now running under his new party banner TUV - Traditional Unionist Voice. The DUP are running Diane Dodds, the wife of Nigel Dodds who is a minister in the Six County Executive.

The UUP are oddly running their MEP Jim Nicholson under a new party banner, Ulster Conservatives and Unionists - New Force, being teamed up with the Tory party in Britain. The SDLP are running Alban McGuinness.

In the 26 counties, Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald is in a dogfight for the 3rd seat with Fianna Fáil's Eoin Ryan after the Dublin constituency was narrowed from 4 seats to 3.

Elsewhere, Sinn Fein's Pádraig Mac Lochlainn is running strong in the North West constituency, Toiréasa Ferris is in contention for a seat in the South constituency and Tomás Sharkey and Kathleen Funchion are both competing for a seat in the East.

By-Election

Also, on June 5th, by-elections will take place in Dublin Central and Dublin South. These by-elections were called following the deaths of Independent TD Tony Gregory and Fianna Fáil TD Seamus Brennan. Contesting Dublin Central for Sinn Féin is Councillor Christy Burke and Shaun Tracey is standing in Dublin South. There is media speculation that Christy Burke has a strong chance of taking the seat.

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Gerry Adams on Twitter

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams will be using the social network site Twitter to keep voters posted for the remainder of the election campaign. Check him out at http://twitter.com/sinnfeinireland.

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SF News at the count centres

Sinn Féin News will be at the vote centres bring you the latest and most up to date results for the elections next weekend.

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Sinn Fein

The Week in Review

12-19 May 2009

 

SF Challenges other parties on Westminster Expenses

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP last week called on all political parties to publish full accounts of monies they receive in salaries and allowances.

Mr Adams said `the electorate has the right to expect the highest standards from those holding public office and to be confident that taxpayer’s money is being used properly’.

He pointed to the `deep public anger over the abuse of allowances by MPs at Westminster’ and at the `systematic ripping off of tax payer’s money from those elected to high office and anger at the complete lack of transparency and accountability.’

He called for the system to change and `for a change in political culture’.

Pointing out that for several years Sinn Féin has `voluntarily published our full annual accounts, north and south and in the US’, he added `we do this because we believe that this is something to which the electorate is entitled. We have repeatedly called on other parties to do the same but in the majority of cases they refuse to do so’.

He said that Sinn Féin MPs, like all party members who are paid a wage, `receive exactly the same average industrial wage which is £356 per week, net’.

He added `there is no personal or self-gain by Sinn Féin MPs in respect of monies or allowances paid by Westminster’.

He said recent days had seen `wildly inaccurate and political biased reports about Sinn Féin MPs’, and responded `the facts are very simple’.

Sinn Féin MPs do `not take our seats at Westminster but we represent our constituents every single day of the week on social and economic matters and in relation to the peace process’, he said, adding `we do so in Ireland and in London. In order to represent our constituents we employ a number of staff. We also have office facilities and accommodation in London.’

He said `in the interests of full disclosure we are publishing the full breakdown of staff costs, travel, administration and accommodation allowances’ and called for other parties to `do the same’.

He said the British government `refuses to pay Sinn Féin MPs our salaries and other grants which all other Westminster MPs receive’ and that `wver the last five years this has amounted to almost £2 million’.

There are also a number of allowances, which Sinn Fein do not claim, he pointed out and that `Sinn Féin MP’s who become Ministers do not claim for constituency travel allowances’.

He said Sinn Féin `and those who vote for us expect the highest standards from all of our public representatives’ adding `we will continue to act in an open and transparent manner.  And we will do all that we can to end the corrupt political culture which operates on both parts of this island.’

The full details of Sinn Fein’s accounts are on the Sinn Fein website www.sinnfein.ie 

 

David Cameron would do better dealing with corruption in his own party – Sinn Féin

 

On 21 May Sinn Fein MP, Conor Murphy, has described David Cameron’s comments on Sinn Fein’s expenses as `a transparent attempt to divert attention from the scandal involving his and other British MPs that continues to unfold at Westminster’.

Conor Murphy said, `David Cameron’s time would be better spent dealing with the systematic corruption and abuse of the expenses system within his own party rather than attacking the democratic rights and entitlements of Sinn Fein representatives and the Sinn Fein electorate’.

He added `Sinn Fein is the only party that has published its accounts. I am challenging other political parties, including David Cameron to do the same. Citizens are entitled to know how their money is being spent.’

 

Scale of recession due to government policy

 

On 30 April Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said that the current economic crisis was directly attributable to government policy. He said the scale of the recession, as revealed yesterday in the latest quarterly economic report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and in the latest Live Register figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), underlined the government’s failure in addressing the crisis.

Calling for a change in political direction, he said the severity of the economic recession forecast in, taken with the latest live register figures, `starkly demonstrates that the government is failing to tackle the economic crisis or stop escalating unemployment’.

The economy had, he said `gone from boom to bust in what seems like the blink of an eye’, adding `the policies of the present and previous Fianna Fáil-led administrations are directly responsible for this catastrophe.’

He said there could be `an egalitarian alternative to the politics of greed, inefficiency, waste and corruption’, which had been `the hallmarks of governments in this country for far too long’. Ireland needed `a progressive movement for change’ he said and concluded: `the time is right for a new alliance of all people and parties that want real and fundamental change’.

  

Sinn Féin launch local government election candidates

 

On 19 May Gerry Adams launched the party’s campaign for the  Local  government  elections.  Sinn  Féin  is  contesting 257 local government  seats  and  is  looking  to build on the gains made in 2004, particularly  in  electing  councillors for the first time to county and city councils such as Limerick, Westmeath and Wicklow.

Mr. Adams said the party was standing on `a  manifesto  which  is  about  transforming local    government in the interests of the people.  On local councils throughout    Ireland  Sinn Féin has given first class representation, standing up for

local  communities,  taking  on  powerful vested interests and seeking a    complete reform of local government.’

He said these elections were an opportunity `to build the momentum for real change.’

 

 

Sinn Fein travel to Gaza with aid convoy

 

On 16 May Sinn Fein Councillor, Gerry MacLochlainn, joined elected representatives from across Europe to accompany the latest aid convoy for Gaza across the Rafah border.

Councillor MacLochlainn met the other European politicians in Cairo on Thursday 14th before travelling to Alexandria to join the hundreds of trucks in the `European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza’ (ECESG) convoy as it makes its way to the Gaza crossing and into Gaza itself. Councillor MacLochlainn will spend 2 days in Gaza.

Cllr MacLochlainn said the convoy would `help bring much-needed medical supplies and equipment for the people of Gaza who have been forced to endure even more appalling conditions than usual since the Israeli invasion and bombardment.’

He added that the Convoy consisted of more than 100 trucks delivering wheelchairs, medical tools, medicines that have run out in Gaza, as well as toys for the people and children of Gaza. 

 

Latest News - 11 May, 2009

• Petrol bomb attack on home of Sinn Féin MLA
• McGuinness calls on 32CSM to condemn attacks on Mitchel McLaughlin's home
• Christy Burke to run in Dublin Central

Petrol bomb attack on home of Sinn Féin MLA

Sinn Féin's Mitchel McLaughlin today branded an overnight petrol bomb attack on his family home in Derry as attempted murder. Two devices were thrown at the South Antrim MLA's house at about 1am today. At the time of the attack four people were in the house which suffered scorch damage to a wall. Three men were seen running away from the area shortly after the attack. This is the third attack on the house in the past six weeks.

Mr McLaughlin said there could have been fatal consequences and added the assailants would not intimidate him or his family.

"Once more, cowards came in the dark of night and attacked my home in an attempt to intimidate me and my family," he said.

"The difference this time was that they attempted to set my home on fire with petrol bombs with no regard for anyone who was in the house at the time. This is attempted murder and there is no other way to describe it."

"This is attempted murder and there is no other way to describe it," he said. "To those individuals who are responsible I would say, if you have some difference with me have the courage to confront me face-to-face. Your actions are those of the most cowardly and will not intimidate me or deflect me from my course."

Mr McLaughlin added: "To those groups ultimately responsible for this type of attack, through their rhetoric and public threat I call on them to come forward and explain how these types of actions will progress the cause of Irish freedom one iota.

"They had the opportunity to test their position at the forthcoming European elections but obviously realise that they would have been totally rejected by the Irish people and did not have the courage to put forward a candidate."

The attack was condemned by the Joint First Minister, Martin McGuinness, who said those responsible needed to "catch themselves on".

"It could have resulted in loss of life, and I think these people who are involved in these types of activities need to recognise there could be a very serious outcome to some of these attacks.

"In this case we don't know specifically who is responsible for these attacks but I believe that it is people from the Bogside area, people who live in the community, and people who have been writing slogans on the wall in support of so-called dissident organisations," said Mr McMcGuinness.

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McGuinness calls on 32CSM to condemn attacks on Mitchel McLaughlin's home

Sinn Féin Leader Martin MCGuinness MP,MLA has called on 32CSM spokesperson, Gary Donnelly as a representative of the organisation who facilitated the event at which threats against the Sinn Féin Leadership were made in Derry City Cemetary on Easter Sunday to publicly condemn the attacks on the home of Mitchel McLaughlin and his family.

Martin McGuinness said:

"Wether the individuals who carried out the attack on the McLaughlin home acted unilaterally or in concert with any particular group, the 32CSM who organised the event in Derry City Cemetary on Bloody Sunday at which clear threats were directed at the Sinn Féin Leadership can not absolve themselves from the actions of those that are encouraged by these comments.

"I therefore call on Gary Donnelly as a member of the 32CSM to explain that organisations role in setting the stage for these attacks and how they see these actions as contributing to achieving Irish unification. Those who are opposed to the Sinn Féin political project and strategy had the opportunity to oppose us in the European elections but chose not to do so because they know that the vast majority of the Irish people agree with the Sinn Féin strategy.

"It is obvious that those responsible for carrying out these attacks and those in organisations such as the 32CSM who set the context for them are more opposed to Sinn Féin than British government interference in Ireland."

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Christy Burke to run in Dublin Central

Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald MEP Sunday afternoon announced Cllr. Christy Burke as the party's candidate in the forthcoming Dublin Central by-election. Ms McDonald and Cllr. Burke were joined by Sinn Féin Dublin South candidate Shaun Tracey for the announcement.

Ms McDonald said:

"I am delighted to announce that long serving Councillor Christy Burke will be Sinn Féin's candidate in the forthcoming Dublin Central by-election.

"Christy Burke was first elected to the City Council in 1985 and has since served the interests of the people of the North Inner City, working on many committees, projects and forums to protect and deliver for the city. Christy leads the Sinn Féin's Dublin City Council team of Councillors.

"Dublin Sinn Féin has a big challenge ahead contesting local, European and two by-elections on June 5th. Our message to the electorate over the coming weeks will be a straightforward one. If want change, vote for change.

"Sinn Féin is different to other political parties. We stand up for the interests of ordinary people, not vested interests. We deliver for communities across Ireland. We were the only party on the side of the people in the Lisbon Treaty. Our TDs, Senator and MEPs only take home the average industrial wage, the rest of their money goes into their constituencies. This is a principal we are proud of and it means we as a party and as individuals actually understand the challenges facing the communities we represent.

"Sinn Féin was the first party to produce a comprehensive Job Retention and Creation Strategy to tackle Ireland's soaring unemployment which has left 200,000 workers jobless since this government took the helm in 2007. This strategy included key measures such as a 300million job retention fund to subsidise workers in viable SMEs struggling through the current financial crisis. Sinn Féin's public finance package submitted to government in advance of the emergency called for a wealth tax, reform of the taxation system, abolishing once and for all tax exile, shelters and loopholes. We called for the National Pension Reserve Fund to be invested into desperately needed infrastructure such as a national school building programme.

"Sinn Fein also called for the establishment of Eolas Glas Éireann a new national green technology body for research, promotion and funding of green energy and environmental technologies. Sustainable Energy Ireland would be the key element of this new body and would provide leadership in the sector, working with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Unit, as well as forming partnerships with the Irish Wind Energy Association, the ESB, Eirgrid and others, to formulate and implement an all-Ireland strategy on green technology use.

"Dublin needs new leadership. This city just cannot afford to keep Fianna Fáil on."

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Latest News - 9 May, 2009

• Sinn Féin Election appeal
• The challenge of change
• Mary Lou 'the best candidate in Dublin' launches EU bid
• Pádraig Mac Lochlainn hands in his nomination papers

Sinn Féin Election appeal

There are three easy ways you can help during this election time - Please make a donation, join Cairde Sinn Féin or buy a United Ireland T-shirt. Click here to play your part.

A chairde,

In 2009 Irish republicans are as committed to the objectives of Irish independence, national unity and social equality as we were when the first and only all-Ireland Parliament -- An Chéad Dáil -- met 90 years ago.

Sinn Féin has a strategy and comprehensive policies to achieve these objectives.

Building political strength across the island and winning allies internationally is key to this.

There are also huge challenges facing the people of Ireland in terms of the economy; tackling sectarianism; reconciliation; creating a society which improves the quality of life of every citizen; ending corruption and building equality and justice.

Sinn Féin and Irish republicanism is ready and able to meet these challenges and to deliver real change for citizens.

This June Sinn Féin will contest elections North and South.

We are the only party contesting all of the Irish constituencies in the European elections.

We will also be standing candidates throughout the 26 counties in the local government elections.

This is a huge endeavour. Every single vote will count.

We need your help -- financial and personal.

We want to return the strongest possible Sinn Féin team to Europe and the greatest number of Sinn Féin Councillors across the 26 Counties.

Over the last number of years I have asked for your help on many occasions and you have always responded positively.

Your support has allowed us to take brave decisions to advance the Peace Process and to put our agenda for change firmly onto the political agenda.

Please make a donation to our election campaign and help Sinn Féin deliver for Ireland's future.

Thank you for your help and support. Go raibh maith agat.

Is mise

Gerry Adams MP

There are three easy ways you can help during this election time - Please make a donation, join Cairde Sinn Féin or buy a United Ireland T-shirt. Click here to play your part.

Or send donations to:

Sinn Féin Finance Department,
58 Parnell Square,
Dublin 1.

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The challenge of change

The EU election campaign across Ireland and the local election campaign across the 26 Counties begins in earnest this week.

The campaign takes place in unprecedented circumstances as the country plunges deeper into the greatest economic crisis in decades. That crisis has reached into most homes in Ireland with soaring unemployment, reduced wages, increased taxes, cuts in health and education and other social services.

Fianna Fáil has not known such unpopularity since its foundation in 1926. Voters are incensed at its dishonesty, corruption and incompetence. Brian Cowen, Brian Lenihan and company have not uttered a syllable of acknowledgement, let alone remorse, that any of their disastrous policies of the past decade led to the current crisis.

There is anger but there is also disillusionment with politics. So sickened are many people that they may not vote in elections which, in the past, have always had relatively low turnouts in contrast to general elections. "You're all the same" is a refrain still heard too often on the doorsteps.

But now more than ever it is vital to ensure the highest possible turnout on Friday 5 June. Working-class areas with traditionally lower voter participation have most to lose from opting out. They are suffering most in this recession and the Fianna Fáil/Green Government will breathe a sigh of relief if the message is apathy rather than anger, disillusion rather than determination.

But the momentum for change is there. The need for political change is more relevant than ever in people's everyday lives. Sinn Féin is leading the demand for change.

No effort should be spared between now and 5 June to meet the challenge of change and to give Sinn Féin a resounding All-Ireland vote.

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Mary Lou 'the best candidate in Dublin' launches EU bid

MARY LOU McDONALD'S bid to hold Sinn Féin's European Parliament seat in Dublin was formally launched last week with 350 supporters crowding into the Gresham Hotel on O'Connell Street with Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness to get the campaign off to a rousing start.

Setting the tone for the evening and the campaign ahead, Paul Donnelly, a sitting Fingal county councillor and local election candidate for Mulhuddart, opened the proceedings by saying:

"We are not in this to make cosmetic changes or just to change the faces. We are not in this to tinker along the edges. We are here to make a real difference -- to make a real change in Dublin people's lives."

Tomás Sharkey, Sinn Féin's EU candidate for the East consitutency (what used to be the Leinster area), revved up the crowd with a customary rallying cry for the candidate's hard work and efforts to be mirrored by republican supporters everywhere.

"This is the time to speak out for Ireland," Tomás declared to rising applause. "This is the time to speak up for Ireland!"

In a brief intervention from the floor, Gerry Adams called for "a Hill 16 roar" for Mary Lou McDonald, to which the Dubs duly obliged. Invoking the memory of the 1981 by-election campaign in Fermanagh/South Tyrone which saw the historic election of Bobby Sands as MP, he recalled the hard graft it took to get Bobby elected. He called on those gathered to "fight exactly the same way as we in Bobby Sands's campaign did".

Pointing to Mary Lou, Gerry Adams said, to another round of applause and cheers:

"There is no other political leader of the natural stature of Mary Lou McDonald.

"This evening needs to be the beginning of a five-week process to get this woman re-elected for the people of Dublin."

The North's joint First Minister, Martin McGuinness, said:

"This is an important election for us. We clearly have in Mary Lou the best candidate in the whole of Dublin fighting for an EU seat. We need to show the people of Dublin they have the chance to elect a champion. But we need to get out and inspire."

Mary Lou took to the podium and pointed to the fact that "people are struggling with mortgages -- people are struggling with tax -- people are struggling on hospital waiting lists".

Declaring that the Fianna Fáil/Green/PD Government is incompetent, she went further and said it is "a Government that doesn't care.

"They are now asking the people to carry the can for their greed. They are asking for understanding when they wallow in their own self-pity."

The local elections, she said, are "a referendum on the Government. The people of this city need to send Government councillors packing -- to sack them and to demand an apology for the damage they have done to this city.

"When they call to your door, ask them can they defend the indefensible -- the cuts to the Christmas bonus, cervical cancer treatment, special needs education."

On the EU campaign and the Lisbon Treaty, she said it has been her privilege to represent the capital city as a republican representative for almost five years and she wants to continue to hold that honour.

"No matter what the Government says, Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty did not cause the economic meltdown. No matter what the Government says, the Lisbon Treaty will not save Ireland from the economic meltdown.

"We need a new treaty. Sinn Féin will not accept bullying or bribery as a reason to accept a bad deal for Ireland."

Mary Lou was as forthright and clear as ever in what she wants the message to be on the doorsteps to an electorate that is disillusioned with politicians because of the calamitous policies of the Fianna Fáil-led Government.

"My message to the people of Dublin and beyond will be a straightforward one: If you want change, vote for change. Don't let Fianna Fáil continue to punish you for their mistakes.

"The people's rejection of Lisbon gave the Government a strong mandate for a more democratic, equitable and peaceful European Union. Fianna Fáil and the Greens chose to ignore this mandate and instead kowtowed to their European cronies.

"The scale of the economic challenge facing Ireland and Europe demands a new approach to creating and sustaining jobs, protecting workers' rights, investing in critical infrastructure and front line services and tackling poverty. Billions are being pumped into the financial sector yet it is ordinary people who are losing their jobs and their homes. Right now the focus of economic stability and growth has got to be on jobs. We need to get Ireland back to work. Sinn Féin has published a comprehensive jobs strategy that can address Ireland's soaring unemployment.

"Fianna Fáil has no strategy for holding on to jobs or creating new ones. Their focus is solely on regressive cuts and tax hikes. This toxic government is attacking the lowest paid and those on social welfare whilst saddling us all with an unprecedented level of the bad property debt. SMEs cannot afford to do business yet Fianna Fáil is protecting property developers and banks at every turn.

"Irish politics can serve the people but only if it changes. Sinn Féin has the solutions. We are a party that is all about change that delivers for people. We are about a fair deal. Dublin cannot afford to keep [Fianna Fáil MEP] Eoin Ryan, and the country cannot afford Fianna Fáil.

"Stand up for yourself, stand up for one another. Vote Sinn Féin on June 5th."

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Pádraig Mac Lochlainn hands in his nomination papers

CLLR PÁDRAIG Mac LOCHLAINN handed in his nomination papers for the EU elections last Saturday in the Court House in Sligo. He is the party's candidate to represent the 11 counties in the North & West constituency.

The North & West EU constituency stretches from Loop Head in Clare to Malin Head in Donegal, from Carrickmacross in Monaghan to Belmullet in Mayo. It includes the Aran islands, Inishboffin, Achill islands, and Tory island, among others, as well as the Gaeltacht areas of Galway, Mayo and Donegal. New to the constituency are the midland counties of Longford and Westmeath

Pádraig helped his party colleagues, Senator Pearse Doherty and Martin Ferris TD, with compiling their recent comprehensive Oireachtas reports on developing the Western region.

The 35-year-old Donegal County Councillor was Sinn Féin National Campaign Director during the Lisbon Treaty referendum. He has been a board member of the cross-border business development body InterTradeIreland since 2007. During the 1990s, Pádraig served on the national executive of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU). He represented the INOU on the National Rural Development Forum.

Mac Lochlainn was nominated by Sinn Féin Dáil group leader and Cavan/Monaghan TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin.

Cllr Mac Lochlainn said:

"Despite the vastness of the constituency, travelling through it over recent months I was most struck by what the towns and villages across the constituency have in common.

"Ireland is at the periphery of Europe but the counties of this constituency have for far too long been at the periphery of Ireland. From the foundation of the state they have been ignored by government, policy-makers and job-creation agencies. As a result, they have in the past been decimated by generational emigration and still do not have infrastructure and public services on par with the rest of the state.

"For those who want an alternative to the failed politics of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, in the North & West constituency Sinn Féin is the only realistic option

"We can get a fairer deal for this region -- in Ireland and in Europe. On issues such as the review of the Common Fisheries Policy and the Common Agriculture Policy it is vital that this region has a strong voice in Europe.

"When measures such as the Postal Services Directive which has the potential to rip the remaining post offices from rural areas are brought forward, your opposition needs to be articulated. When EU restrictions on state aid seek to stop the Government making the investment required to make the region competitive you need to know that your interests will be defended. But we also need to look at what Europe can do for us. We need to be ready to exploit all that the EU can offer this region.

"I would be proud to represent this constituency and the communities and people who encompass everything that is good about Ireland -- a belief in the need to maintain strong community ties, pride in their own language, the tenacity to make a living from small farms on difficult land, the determination to establish innovative businesses with little assistance. Having resisted the greed and self-interest that characterised Celtic Tiger Ireland, values are what we need to build a better future."

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Latest News - 17 April, 2009

• Gerry Adams visits Gaza and Israel
• 1916 Easter commemorations 2009
• Sinn Féin attend Belfast rally in support of workers
• Ferris Accuses Cork Ministers of Failure Over Economy
• Irish People Do Not Want Nuclear Plants – Fine Gael MEPs must come clean.
• Cowen has taken on tainted mantle of Bertie Ahern
• "We need a new treaty for new times" Sinn Féin EU candidate, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Gerry Adams visits Gaza and Israel

THE visit by Gerry Adams at the head of a Sinn Féin delegation to Gaza and Israel this month, after talks in Washington last month with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Special Envoy George Mitchell about the Middle East, made headlines across the Arab world, Israel and beyond. It was a world news story. On 7 April, the Sinn Féin delegation – Richard McAuley, Ted Howell and Harry Thompson – visited the region for four days. This week, in the first of a two-part series (the second part will appear next week), Richard McAuley recounts their experience. ON 27 December 2008, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) commenced an intensive military offensive against Gaza. It involved heavy artillery, an air bombardment and a ground attack. Twenty-three days later, on 18 January, the IDF called a halt but by then almost 1,400 Palestinians had been killed and thousands more wounded. A huge proportion were children. The statistics of this war are grim but the reality in the small strip of land that is called Gaza is much worse. THE sights and sounds, the silences and smells of Gaza will stay with me forever. There’s the father and mother standing in a hospital room waiting for their 13-year-old to die from bone cancer because the Israelis wouldn’t allow her to get the medical treatment she needed. Then there’s the family living within a cave made from the twisted ruins of a bombed building after their home was blasted by Israeli shells. The smell of burned timber in the hospital devastated by Israeli bombs. The state-of-the-art radiation machine standing quiet because the spare parts needed for it to save lives cannot be brought into Gaza because of the Israeli siege. The derelict ruined buildings with empty windows and huge holes punched through their walls. Watchtowers From the moment we drove through the huge gates, under sullen watchtowers and between the enormous blast walls of the Erez Crossing, we knew we were going into a prison – a monstrous affair in which one and a half million people have been held in the worst of conditions by the Israeli siege. The derelict landscape which greeted us on the other side of the Erez Crossing – from Israel into Gaza – looked like a scene from some apocalyptic movie. But this wasn’t the work of clever Holywood designers and scenic artists or CGI experts – this was real. Real buildings, real workplaces, real homes, real farms, real schools, real hospitals. The hearts of real communities that had been bombed and bulldozed into rubble. And within this landscape of twisted girders, collapsed buildings, of toppled walls and concrete blocks, human beings are trying to survive. And good people in UNWRA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, in the International Committee of the Red Cross, in MFS and Oxfam, in the Palestine Red Crescent Society and countless other NGOs and individuals are working exhaustively to help over a million refugees, many of whom are still stunned – shell-shocked – by the destruction around them. Gaza was not the starting point of our four-day visit to the region but the 48 hours we spent there have left memories and images of despair and pain and of hope and courage that are unforgettable. Gerry and I were in Israel and the West Bank two-and-a-half years ago. Then we were unable to visit Gaza because of insufficient time. Following the 23-day Israeli assault on that besieged territory over Christmas and the start of the New Year, Gerry was determined to visit the Middle East again, and especially Gaza. He wanted to talk to as many people as possible – Israelis and Palestinians – and receive as much information as he and we could absorb. support for the Palestinians Irish republicans are in an exceptional position. Unlike most of those who are part of the enormous conflict resolution business around the world, republicans have experienced the reality of conflict and peace-making, and not just the theory. Sinn Féin is for an end to:– • The Israeli occupation of Gaza; • The blockade and sanctions; • The wall which steals Palestinian land and divides families and communities; • The refugee camps. With a new US President in Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declaring that the resolution of Palestinian and Israeli issue is a strategic priority for the new US administration, and with the appointment of George Mitchell as Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East, Gerry believed that the time was right for a visit to the region and for the production of a report which might be useful to those likely to be involved in any new peace efforts. Such an initiative appears likely. George Mitchell’s appointment has especially heightened interest in the Middle East into his role in the negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement. Last month, when we were in Washington, Gerry and I and Rita O’Hare spent over an hour with Senator George Mitchell, mainly talking about the Middle East. In our meeting with Hillary Clinton we also discussed this issue. In this context, Gerry felt very strongly that a visit to the region at this time and a report containing observations and suggestions could be helpful. Our first day in Israel So, four of us – Gerry, myself, Ted Howell and Harry Thompson – travelled to Jerusalem on Monday, 6 April. We arrived in the early hours of Tuesday morning and a few hours later met Tony Blair, the British former Prime Minister, in the American Colony Hotel. Blair is in the region representing the interests of the Big Four or what is known as the Quartet – the EU, the USA, Russia and the UN. Latterly much of his focus appears to have been on economic development. With the long lead-in to the US elections last November and the Israeli elections of last month, and the negotiations underway between the Palestinian groups in Cairo, there has been a political hiatus in effect for some time. The plan for our visit was that we would spend the first day in Israel. Trocaire funds a number of NGOs in southern Israel specialising in trauma counselling for families living in Sderot. This Israeli city has been the target for many of the thousands of primitive Kasssam rockets fired out of Gaza, The Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem had also arranged a number of engagements for us. Following an hour with Tony Blair talking about the current situation in the region, we travelled to the Sderot Resilience Centre and met local activists as well as representatives of the Israeli Trauma Coalition. We were told that the rockets have killed up to eight people in the seven years of their use and injured many others. One activist at the centre told us: “It is the uncertainty. The rockets can arrive at any moment and families have only seconds to take cover. Parents worry constantly about their children who no longer can play outside. “Many families now have one room which is like a temporary bomb shelter and that is where they live and sleep. The constant worry is causing serious physical and psychological trauma.” The trauma counsellors also brought us to the local market where we examined one of the bomb shelters the Israeli Government has built everywhere for citizens. It’s primitive and tiny and resembles a very small bus shelter. By this point some of the media in Israel were reporting that we were to be refused entry into Gaza. The Israeli Government had asked for a commitment from Gerry that we would not meet Hamas. We refused to give such a commitment. Our position was quite simple – we would meet anyone who wished to meet with us, and especially democratically-elected representatives. The Israeli Government had said that neither ministers nor officials would meet us. Apparently, this approach by the Israelis has so far succeeded in securing such a commitment from other delegations visiting Gaza. On the kibbutz From Sderot we travelled to the kibbutz at Kfar Aza (Gaza Village), where we met Shai Hermesh, a member of the centre-left Kadima party in the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset. Up to last month his party had been in government. Shai told us the story of Israel and its relationship, from his perspective, with the Palestinians. He brought us around the kibbutz and it was from there that we had our first real glimpse of Gaza in the distance beyond the barbed wire surrounding the village. Here, as in Sderot, Gerry asked our Israeli hosts of their hopes for the future. All were sceptical of the Palestinian desire for peace but expressed the hope that it was possible. Almost all acknowledged supporting the recent Israeli assault on Gaza. When asked how they felt as they watched the attack proceed they expressed a ‘deep sadness’. There was no sense of jubilation. Hours later, back in Jerusalem, we met Rabbi Arik Asherman from the Rabbis for Human Rights group. They have taken a very strong stand against human rights violations by the Israeli Government and its agencies and have stood with Palestinian families whose homes have either been destroyed or are threatened with destruction. He brought Gerry to meet several such families in east Jerusalem. Later again, we met with members of the Van Leer institute and it was during the evening that we received confirmation that we were to travel into Gaza the next morning. The Jerusalem Post was still claiming the next morning we were not getting in. The Jerusalem Post was wrong. We were on our way into Gaza – what Gerry Adams was to call “a huge, outdoor prison”.

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1916 Easter commemorations 2009

Easter speeches by Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, Vice-President Mary Lou McDonald, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD and Gerry Kelly MLA can be read in full at www.sinnfein.ie ANTRIM Belfast Main THOUSANDS of Belfast republicans turned out on Easter Sunday to mark the 93rd anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising with a parade from Beechmount Avenue to the Republican Plot in Milltown Cemetery. The main speaker Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams paid homage to Ireland’s patriot dead, “not just the men and women who fell in 1916, but to every generation of heroes and heroines and particularly those of our own time”, he said. “We are extremely proud of the Volunteer soldiers of the Irish Republican Army and the activists of Sinn Féin and all others who gave their lives for Irish freedom. We are indebted to their families.Our resolve is to finish the work that they began and Sinn Féin is about uniting the greatest number of people in active support of this aim.” While it may take some unionists time to realise that the situation has changed their leaders know that there is no going back to the old days of sectarian domination and two-tier citizenship”. Commenting on the so-called republican dissidents the Sinn Féin leader said: “I uphold the right of everyone to dissent from Sinn Féin’s point of view. “But no one is entitled to hijack our proud republican history and our republican future and abuse it for narrow selfish interests or self-gain. “Sinn Féin, standing firmly on a republican platform, sets ourselves firmly against those elements who do this.” Speaking about the current economic crisis, Gerry Adams said: “I note assertions by DUP ministers after the lay-offs at Bombardier, FG Wilson and Visteon that there is little that a devolved administration can do in the face of a global crisis. I disagree. “We can always do more. We can be imaginative and innovative. “And if we have not enough powers, as the DUP appears to suggest, then it makes economic sense as well as political sense, that we should take whatever powers we need to do the job we are elected to do. “While working to improve the quality of life in the here and now, we see a united Irish economy as the best option.” He said that republicans must ensure that the Irish Government does not renege on its obligations to the political institutions and all-Ireland integration. “For our part, Sinn Féin will continue to push for Northern representation in the Oireachtas. “We will continue to work for an Acht na Gaeilge here in the North.” Adams summoned up the republican spirit of resistance to continue the unfinished struggle. “Forty years ago,” he said, “the Orange state thought it could crush us. It failed. “Today, we stand proudly at the gravesides of our fallen comrades, unbroken and unbowed and ready to prosecute the next phase of our struggle. “The spirit of 1916 is needed at this time. “We leave here today confident in the reality that that spirit is alive and well in republican Belfast and throughout republican Ireland. “There is work to be done. Let us go from here and do that work.” New Barnsley Addressing the New Barnsley commemoration on Tuesday Bairbre de Brún MEP paid tribute to former leading republican Brian Keenan and Sinn Féin Councillor Marie Moore who passed away this year. Dealing with the past de Brún said: “Within this area many families have suffered tragic loss at the hands of the British State, the British Army and its loyalist surrogates. A loss made all the worse by the response of the British State. We remember the victims of the Ballymurphy massacre. I want to pay tribute to the work of the campaign. I also want to pay tribute to the ongoing efforts of the Jordan family who continue their quest for justice. “The British Government needs to start acknowledging its role as a protagonist in the conflict and deal with the reality of the more than one thousand victims of collusion and state violence. “Reconciliation and a true healing process will make many demands of us. It will also make demands of others who need to realise and to recognise that families of IRA volunteers or Sinn Féin members go through the same pain and grief. “Sinn Féin will continue to stand with the victims of state violence in their campaign for the truth. I pay tribute to those who have been so steadfast and I say to them that we recognise that dealing effectively with the past is an essential part of moving forward and one we will not abandon.” North Antrim Sinn Féin held 1916 Easter Commemorations throughout North Antrim, last weekend. Wreath laying ceremonies were held at republican graves in Waterfoot, Glenravel, Rasharkin, Dunloy and Loughgiel. Local cumainn laid wreaths in memory of fallen comrades whilst a piper played a lament. Colour parties led large gatherings of local activists and families of the bereaved. ARMAGH Mullaghbawn MEP Bairbre de Brún, speaking in Mullaghbawn, paid tribute to the legendary status of south Armagh in the fight for Irish freedom. “When we think of south Armagh we think of republicanism, an area which faced the might of the British Empire for decades and won. South Armagh could not be conquered, I know that, we all know that but more importantly the British Army knew that. “Unfortunately many Volunteers lost their lives during the war and it is their sacrifice that we remember today. I see the many banners with the faces and names of the many from this area who made the ultimate sacrifice in the struggle for Irish freedom. They will not be forgotten. “We particularly remember a republican icon who sadly passed away during the year. Brian Keenan had become synonymous with south Armagh and had made this area his home. “Brian was a no-nonsense, direct and honest man; a remarkable man. His total commitment to the Irish Republican Army and to the cause of Irish freedom was an inspiration to us all. He did what most people only thought about. Brian did what he believed in and felt it was his duty. He truly led by example and people followed him. He was a comrade to many and a true Irish patriot. He will continue to inspire generations to come.” She said that Sinn Féin’s strategy – the strategy backed by Brian Keenan and the majority of his comrades – has dismantled the Orange state and the old ways that have now gone for good. “Republicans created these opportunities by being strategic, focused and disciplined. That same focus is now required in this phase of struggle.” Concluding De Brún said: “Is iomaí ré a ndeachaigh an streachailt tríd chun Éire aontaithe agus neamhspleách a bhaint amach ó bhí 1916 ann. I 2009 leanann Sinn Féin lena straitéis chun aontacht na hÉireann a bhaint amach agus Poblacht a bhunú ins an oileán seo ar fiú an t-ainm sin – Poblacht bunaithe ar chomhionannas agus ceartas sóisialta. CAMLOUGH THE commemoration in Camlough at the Republican Plot in St Malachy’s Cemetery attracted a large crowd, including families of fallen IRA Volunteers, republican ex-prisoners, local community and sporting activists, Newry & Armagh MP Conor Murphy, Sinn Féin Cllrs Pat Mc Ginn and Jimmy Mc Creesh, and Camloch, Derramore and Belleek Sinn Féin cumainn. Local Fews Councillor Turlough Murphy chaired the proceedings. Veteran republican Joe McElhaw opened proceedings with the solemn observation that “on this Easter Sunday morning, we remember with pride those comrades from every generation who gave their lives for the cause of Irish freedom”. The main speaker was west Belfast MLA Paul Maskey who received a warm welcome from the large crowd. Paul said the ideals and principles of the Proclamation are as relevant today as they had ever been. “The realisation of those ideals and principles is among the many tasks that we must complete in the time ahead. “Irish unity remains Sinn Féin’s primary objective. We have a strategy to achieve that objective. Others disagree. But they offer no alternative. There is no feasible alternative to Sinn Féin’s strategy for a united Ireland.” CROSSMAGLEN IN CROSSMAGLEN, south Armagh, Carál Ní Chuilín said that the Peace Process offers the fastest way to see the dream of republicans become a reality. “We have seen massive changes over the past year,” the Sinn Féin speaker said. “Our government is delivering and the All-Ireland Ministerial Council is meeting regularly with ministers from the North and South now working together.” And she made an appeal for people to join the republican cause for a united Ireland and the achievement of the Irish Republic. “Now is the time for ordinary people to come to the fore, including those who may not have been involved in the struggle in the past. “Now is the time to make your voice heard. In working together we can achieve great things.” DROMINTEE THE Dromintee commemoration was chaired by local Councillor Packie McDonald. The Roll of Honour and the Roll of Remembrance were read out by Sean Keating. The Proclamation was read out by Colin McDonald. The Easter message from the Sinn Féin leadership was read out by Brian Fearon. The main speaker was Paul Butler, MLA for Lagan Valley who said Easter was “a time when we explore our memories and recall those who started out with us on our life’s journey as republican activists and lost their lives in the freedom struggle”. The commemoration continued with the laying of wreaths at the Republican Plot. The Last Post was sounded by Stephen Murphy before Amhrán na bhFian. The crowd then listened to a rendition of the song James Connolly performed by Ellen Maguire. LURGAN GERRY KELLY, H-Block escapee and former hunger striker who is now a minister in the Northern Executive, was in Lurgan, County Armagh. He paid tribute to IRA Volunteers from today’s generations and stretching back to 1916 but he also had a message for those who seek to misuse the name of the IRA in trying to perpetuate armed conflict. Kelly recalled his time as a member of Fianna Éireann, as an IRA Volunteer, a political prisoner and hunger striker along with Michael Gaughan and Frank Stagg and as a Sinn Féin activist. He said he was proud of the different roles he fulfilled in the struggle because they were part of a coherent strategy, using tactics that could make a difference. “Armed struggle is not a philosophy or ideology in itself. It is a decision of last resort, something that can only be justified because there is no other avenue to achieve justice, equality and freedom. It has to have a moral basis. It has to be understood and supported by huge numbers of those who are being oppressed. “We are in a very different place than we were when I was a teenager, believe me. The Orange state is long gone. ‘A Protestant state for a Protestant people’ has disintegrated. Loyalist pogroms will not be happening because republicans stood up to all of it. “There is no going back to sectarian domination or a two-tier citizenship. This generation of republicans coming up behind my generation are supremely confident and capable because republicans in previous generations fought that battle.” Gerry Kelly said that nationalists “will never again accept the status of second-class citizens. Neither will we ever impose second-class citizenship upon anyone else.” He warned that, in the weeks and months ahead, elements in the DUP will be sounding increasingly offensive and abusive, perhaps particularly on the Irish Language Act and the transfer of powers on policing and justice. “There is, after all,” he noted, “a European election coming up.” But, despite this, he added, “we will make progress. We will not allow those opposed to change to stop the agenda of change. Unionists should be assured that republicans are totally committed to equality. That is equality for everybody. “Despite the objectionable behaviour of some bigots, good work is being done at grassroots level by some local unionist and republican leaders in areas across the North. I commend this work.” In the midst of “this great journey of ours, with all its twists and turns and difficulties,” Gerry Kelly said, “I have a message not just for bigots but for those so-called ‘dissidents’ whose only tactic is to undermine and wreck the Peace Process and the republican political strategy. You will not, you cannot stop us. You will not, you cannot turn the clock back.” Gerry Kelly made a special appeal directly to those who might think of supporting these groups. “There are some young people who are sincere; there are those of you who believe in purely physical force republicanism. I can only say that you’re on the wrong road in 2009. “I want to appeal to you to study the last 40 years and come and debate it with us. There are some in it for personal gain, some involved in drugs – these are the users and abusers of the community. Add to the mix that sprinkling of agents provocateurs who are still fighting the war for securocrats. They will be used, abused and thrown to the wolves by their handlers. “Whatever the reason for joining these groups, the one thing that is certain is that they have no viable strategy to advance the cause of Irish freedom. “If you really want to do that then join with the rest of us. We haven’t achieved our primary goal yet but we’re closer now than we have every been in Irish history.” CAVAN The annual Easter commemoration for County Cavan was held on Easter Monday in the west Cavan town of Ballyconnell. The commemoration assembled at the local Community Centre and proceeded to the Kieran Doherty memorial in the centre of town. The commemoration was lead by local piper Sean Kelly, followed by a colour party and the Burns/Moley memorial band from Crossmaglen. The commemoration was chaired by local Sinn Féin candidate, Damien Brady. The oration was given by Leitrim county councillor Martin Kenny after been introduced by Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin. CORK CORK CITY A larger than normal crowd turned out for this year’s Easter Commemoration in Cork City. The Youghal Republican Flute Band led the procession from the National Monument in the Grand Parade to the Republican Plot at St. Finbarr’s Cemetery where several hundred people gathered. Ceremonies were chaired by Henry Cremin. Following the laying of wreaths the Proclamation of the Republic was read by Sinn Féin local election candidate Thomas Gould. Kerry County Cllr and Ireland South EU candidate Toireasa Ferris was the main speaker. Ferris spoke about the legacy of the men and women of 1916 and the need to spread the republican message of hope to as many people as possible over the coming seven weeks. Cllr Ferris spoke about the people of Ireland looking for an alternative and leadership and said that it was this generation of republicans who are providing the alternative and leadership needed to get Ireland back to work. The day concluded with the playing of the National Anthem by the Youghal RFB. CLONAKILTY The annual commemoration to remember the Easter 1916 Rising was held at Astna Square, Clonakilty on Easter Sunday with a fine crowd in attendance. Cllr. Cionnaith Ó Súilleabháin chaired the proceedings and extended a Céad Míle Fáilte to all. The commemoration got underway with father and son, Dan and Donal O’ Brien jointly laying the wreath at the monument in memory of the men and women of 1916 and all who have given their lives for Irish freedom since. (Dan’s uncle, Volunteer Thomas O’Brien was captured in the Dripsey Ambush on 28th January 1921 and executed on 28th February in Cork Jail by British Forces.) Following a minute’s silence, the Proclamation of the Republic was read by Donal O’Driscoll. The oration was delivered by local town councillor Paul Hayes. BANDON St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Bandon on was the occasion of a commemoration on Easter Sunday afternoon. The large attendance included Mary Horgan, Sinn Féin candidate for Bantry Town Council. Lou McCarthy read the Proclamation Noel Harrington, Sinn Féin candidate for Kinsale Town Council read the Roll of Honour. Sinn Féin local election candidates Rachel McCarthy and Des O’Grady, addressed the assembled crowd. Rachel McCarthy said the policies of ‘Mé Fein’ had informed the sitting and previous Governments. She said their policies had rewarded greed and neglected many with the result that the economy was brought to its knees. she said that the words Historian and mentor with the GAA Des O’Grady was the principal speaker. He assured those present that the torch of republicanism had now been passed into their keeping and reminded those present that a local man, IRA Volunteer Diarmaid O’Neill gave his life in the cause of Irish freedom in London in the most recent phase of struggle. Michael de Courcey raised the Tricolour and Dan Mc Sweeney laid a wreath in memory of the many young Bandon men who had died for a better Ireland. DOWN DOWNPATRICK AS Downpatrick republicans gathered on Monday evening, 13 April, to mark the 93rd anniversary of the 1916 Rising they were acutely aware of the loss they suffered earlier this year with the untimely death of Sinn Féin activist and former councillor Geraldine Ritchie. Nonetheless the commemoration took place with the usual high spirits and determination we have come to expect from republicans in the South Down area. Led by a smartly turned out colour party and Banna Fliuit Naomh Phadraig from Kilkeel the parade marched to the republican memorial at St Patrick’s Avenue. The memorial stands on the spot where IRA Volunteer Collie Marks was gunned down by the RUC on April 10 1991. At the memorial the commemoration ceremony was carried out with quiet efficiency before Sinn Féin Assembly member Mickey Brady (Newry) was called to deliver the main oration. In his address Brady encouraged the assembled republicans to organise and ensure the success of Sinn Féin’s Bairbre de Brún in next month’s European election. DUBLIN Dublin Main SEVERAL hundred Republicans gathered at the Garden of Remembrance on Easter Sunday for the main Dublin commemoration. At the GPO the proceedings where chaired by Cllr Críona Ní Dhálaigh and, after the lowering of the flags, the Proclamation was read out in Irish by North Inner City candidate Ruadhán Mac Aodháin and in English by Jack Moylett. Jer O’Leary then read out an extract from one of James Connolly’s final articles which he penned just a week before Easter 1916 and Tony Duncan read out the Sinn Féin leadership statement. Sinn Féin Vice President Mary Lou McDonald gave the main oration. During the course of her address she said: “The electorate in the 26 Counties has lost confidence in the Government. Last week’s budget was further proof that Fianna Fáil and the Greens has no plan, no vision and no courage. The longer they stay in office the worse our economic situation will get. “The current crisis offers an opportunity – an opportunity to re-shape this state. A recovery plan must focus on ensuring that we come out of this crisis with the kind of society we want, that we have the infrastructure, skills and public services that will put us at the top of the competitive rankings as well as delivering an improved quality of life for all our citizens. “But change won’t come about by replacing the current Fianna Fáil led Government with a Fine Gael led coalition. That is the politics of tweedle dum versus tweedle dee. “There was never a greater need for the Left in Irish politics and the trade union movement to unite in common purpose to challenge the conservative agenda and call to account those who have created the economic crisis. Sinn Féin wants to create a new political alliance for change in Ireland to offer a credible egalitarian alternative to Irish voters. Such a movement should involve the Labour Party which has a duty not to prop up Fianna Fáil of Fine Gael. Instead the Labour Party should explore with us and others the potential for co-operation in the future. She said that while the Peace Process had changed things for the better, Ireland must continue to move forward. “Republicans are as determined as ever to pursue the democratic goal of Irish unity”, she said. Dún Laoghaire On Easter Monday local republicans gathered for the annual Dún Laoghaire Easter Commemoration at Deansgrange. About one hundred people met at Bakers Corner before parading along Abbeyroad and via Rockford Park to the cemetery. They were led by local election candidates in the Dún Laoghaire area, Eoin Ó Broin, Shaun Tracey and Sorcha Nic Cormac. At the graveyard wreaths were layed by Stevie Grennan and Orlaith McCann. The leadership message was read by Dublin City Councillor Críona Ní Dhálaigh before the guest speaker, Mary Lou McDonald MEP gave the main oration. DONEGAL Drumboe CARRIGART’S Pat Doherty, MP and MLA for west Tyrone, spoke at the memorial to the Drumboe Martyrs: IRA Volunteers Charlie Daly, Daniel Enright and Timothy O’Sullivan (all from Kerry) and IRA Volunteer Seán Larkin from County Derry. Traditionally, this is one of the biggest Easter commemorations anywhere in Ireland. While the Irish Peace Process has transformed life in this country and has opened up a peaceful and democratic path to a united Ireland, Pat Doherty said, republicans cannot just sit back and wait for the British Government to do the right thing for Ireland. “We need to organise for freedom. We need to plan for freedom and we need to unite for freedom.” And there are more republicans in Ireland now than at any time since partition, he said. “Our job is to turn those republicans into activists. Change will not come about because we ask for it. Change will only come about if we work together to make it happen. “There is no place in any struggle for spectators – we must all be activists; we must step forward and contribute. “That is our duty as republicans in 2009 – to drive forward the republican vision of a united, democratic and free Ireland; to popularise republicanism; to ensure that the political institutions deliver for all of the people. “Our job is to build the party, and to mobilise the Irish Diaspora across the world behind the demand for Irish unity.” He said republicans are “very mindful” that there is a significant element within the Southern political establishment and the SDLP “whose inclination is to view the Good Friday Agreement and the institutions which have arisen from it as a final political destination”. It is not the view of republicans, he insisted. He recalled the words of Professor Joseph Mac Devitt of St Enda’s College, Dublin, said at the same spot in 1925 on the second anniversary of the Drumboe Martyrs: “No eulogy, however glowing or passionate, could adequately express our regard, our respect and our reverence for our dead comrades, who lived and died in the faith of Tone, Emmet and Pearse.” Those words, the Sinn Féin MP said, “reflect all of our views”. Republicans have travelled a long road since 1916 and since the execution of the Drumboe Martyrs, he said. “But our chosen destination remains the same. I have confidence in republicanism, in republicans and in our strategy. Together we can build a united, sovereign Irish republic based on equality for all. “This will be the only truly fitting monument to the men and women of 1916, the Drumboe Martyrs and all those who died in the cause of Irish freedom, a free independent, united Ireland.” KILKENNY KILKENNY CITY On Saturday, 11 April the annual 1916 Commemorations for County Kilkenny took place in Mooncoin and Kilkenny City. There was a large turnout for both commemorations. EU East and Local Election Candidate for Kilkenny City, Kathleen Funchion was the main speaker at the afternoon commemoration in the City. The crowd included republicans from across the South East, Waterford, Carlow and further afield. Kathleen spoke of the ‘pride we all have in the men and women of 1916 and how we must give of ourselves each day to build an Ireland that would be a fitting tribute to their sacrifice. June 5 would give the opportunity to the people of Ireland to elect those who have as their core beliefs, the same ideals as our patriot dead. Sinn Féin will deliver the change needed to ensure the Children of the Nation are treated equally’. The large crowds attending Kilkenny’s 400th anniversary as a city celebrations, applauded as the Carrick Republican Flute Band led the march down High Street. Wreaths were laid at the monument in Friary Street to Dermody and Hennessy, IRA Volunteers who were killed during an ambush of Crown Forces in 1921. MOONCOIN The main speaker at the Mooncoin Commemoration was local election candidate for the Piltown Electoral area, Peadar de Bluit. He spoke of the need to finish the job begun on Easter Monday 1916, “Sinn Féin has a strategy to bring Ireland out of the current downturn, get people back to work, and repair the damage done to our economy. We presented this strategy to the government prior to the recent budget. They however chose to ignore it. They would prefer, it seems, to continue to punish working people.” The Proclamation was read by Kevin Dunphy and wreaths were laid on the grave of republican stalwart Jo Foran. Proceedings were concluded by the playing of Amhran na BhFiann by the Carrick Republican Flute Band. Limerick IN LIMERICK, the annual 1916 Commemoration assembled outside the main gates of Mount St Laurence Cemetery and proceeded to the Republican Plot, where the ceremonies were chaired by Tom Collopy, East Ward local election candidate and vice-chair of Limerick City Sinn Féin. A wreath on behalf of the Republican Movement was laid by Maura Nash, the Proclamation of 1916 was read by Jenny Loughman (Ballynanty Beg) and the Easter message from the leadership of Sinn Féin was read by Maurice Quinlivan (North Ward candidate). The main speaker was Aengus Ó Snodaigh who said: “In the Proclamation of 1916 and also in the Democratic programme of An Chéad Dáil, whose 90th anniversary we celebrate this year, a vision of a new Ireland was clearly set out. Fianna Fáil every year claim they are Irish republicans, including their local TD, Willie O’Dea. But he, like the rest of his Cabinet colleagues and party, have ruled over and facilitated – encouraged even – one of the most corrupt banking and property sectors in the world. “Over the last few decades, the scale of the corruption has slowly emerged, but the last few months has shocked even those of us who believed that Fianna Fáil was rotten to the core. The corruption they presided over is going to cost us because Fianna Fáil are set to bail out their friends to the tune of billions while at the same time special needs assistants are cut, a promised cystic fibrosis centre is delayed due to lack of funding, and regeneration projects – including the one desperately needed it this city – face an uncertain future.” Following the main commemoration, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the grave of Seán Glynn, an IRA Volunteer who died in Arbour Hill Military Prison in September 1936. LONGFORD The Longford Commemoration was held at the Republican Memeorial in Longford Town following a parade from Market Square. Proceedings were chaired by Sinn Féin Councillor Brendan Farrell. The main address was delivered by An Phoblacht Editor Seán Mac Brádaigh. In the course of a wide ranging address Mac Brádaigh who said that the progress of recent years made possible by the Peace Process meant that the struggle for Irish freedom has entered a new phase where peaceful means provide the way forward. But, he added there is still a significant way to go before the achievement of republican goals. “British jurisdiction in Ireland will end through the combined will and the combined efforts of the Irish people. “In our journey towards a united, independent Ireland, republicans seek to make peace with our unionist fellow countrymen and women. The new Ireland we seek is one in which the unionist section of our people feels secure. The fulfillment of the vision of 1916 will be the peaceful coming together of Orange and Green.” Mac Brádaigh urged all present to play their part in support of Sinn Féin in the Local Government and EU elections which, he said were very important elections for struggle. He concluded by saying: “The business of 1916 remains unfinished business. It is business we intend to see through to completion. Together we can build the republic.” LOUTH Dundalk On Easter Saturday wreath-laying ceremonies were held in Dundalk at Quay Street in honour of John and Patrick Watters. The proceedings were chaired by Damien Johnson from the Watters Brothers Cumann and the gathering was addressed by local Sinn Féin Councillor Ian Dooley. Wreaths were laid on behalf of the Watters family by Nancy Rafferty, niece of the brothers, the Republican Movement and the Watters Brothers Sinn Féin Cumann. In Knockbridge a wreath was laid on behalf of Louth Sinn Féin at the plaque in memory of the members of the 4th Northern Division and Sinn Féin County Councillor Tomás Sharkey addressed the gathering. On Easter Sunday the colourful Easter Commemoration was led by the Dundalk Colour Party and the Martin Doherty Flute Band from Glasgow. They were followed by a group of young people who marked the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Fianna Éireann. At the Republican Monument in St Patricks Cemetery proceeding were chaired by Edel Corrigan, Sinn Féin candidate in upcoming local elections. Wreaths were laid on behalf of the Republican Movement, Louth Sinn Féin and the Worthington Watter/Gerry Halpenny Sinn Féin Cumann. There followed the Last Post and lowering of the flags. The Proclamation was read by local election candidate and long time Sinn Féin member Briege Elliman and the Sinn Féin leadership Easter message was read by Chris O’Donnell. Edel then introduced the main speaker, Sinn Féin Councillor and EU Candidate Tomás Sharkey who addressed the large crowd. During the course of his address Sharkey said: “Easter is a good time to think of the regrowth, regrouping, reenergizing and reorganising that we must be part of. Let us bring as many people as possible into the planning for commemorations into the future. A party always needs building. Sinn Féin Cumainn always need strengthening. Council, Dáil and European seats are not just held or retained; they have to be won every time. We are facing into EU elections across the island. We are the only party contesting in all the Irish constituencies. There will also be local government polls in the 26 counties. These are important elections and it is important that we once again maximise our political strength. Tacaimís, oibrímís agus buaimís le chéile. MEATH Around a hundred Republicans from Meath gathered in the small village of Ballinlough, Kells to mark the 93rd anniversary of the Easter rising. The crowd was led by a colour party and a piper. Cllr Michael Gallagher chaired the event with speeches from Ireland East EU candidate Tomás Sharkey and Cllr Conor Ferguson, Kells Town Council. A wreath was laid on the grave of IRA volunteers Seamus Cogan and Patrick McDonnell on behalf of Meath Sinn Féin. TIPPERARY NENAGH Nenagh Sinn Féin held its annual commemoration on Easter Saturday this year. After a march through the town led by the Dunloy Fallen Comrades Flute Band from Co. Antrim, the participants assembled in the town’s Banba Square. A wreath was laid at the Republican Monument by elderly citizen and long-time republican Kitty Quigley. This was followed by a reading of the Proclamation and a recital of the names of all those from North Tipperary who died during the Rising and War of Independence. Local election candidate Tom O’Donoghue read the Democratic Programme from the First Dáil to mark its 90th anniversary. Former republican prisoner Ella O’Dwyer then read the Easter Statement from the leadership of Sinn Féin. The main oration of the day was delivered by European candidate Toireasa Ferris. Toireasa stressed that it was not sufficient for the present generation of republicans to “hand on the flame” to the next, but that we must seek power because “whoever takes power over the next few years can shape the world for the better for years to come”. Chairman for the day, Cllr Séamus Morris, gave the final address, identifying the architects of the current economic meltdown, emphasising that “those who are asking us to share the pain are not willing to share any of the pain themselves or indeed accept the blame for the bankrupting of this proud country that so many gave their lives for in 1916”. TYRONE Coalisland HUNDREDS of republicans from the east Tyrone area gathered on Easter Saturday for the annual Easter parade from Coalisland town to the cemetery at Brackaville. Led by a colour party and accompanied by the Martin Hurson Republican Flute Band and the South Derry Martyrs Flute Band, the parade, the largest there has been in the town in some years, made made its way to the cemetery. On reaching the cemetery, the colour party broke off and walked to the graves of Volunteers who are interred in family plots where wreaths were laid on behalf of the Tyrone Brigade of Óglaigh na hÉireann. After the individual wreath-layings ended, the colour party moved on to the Republican Plot where, under the guidance of Sinn Féin MLA Michelle O’Neill, who chaired proceedings, the commemoration ceremony got underway. Wreaths were laid at graves of Volunteers Tony Doris, Seán O’Farrell and Kevin Barry O’Donnell before the Tyrone Roll of Honour was read out. After the lowering of the flags, during which a lament was played, South Armagh republican Seán Hughes delivered the main oration. Hughes said that while it may take some unionists time to realise that the situation has changed “their leaders know that there is no going back to the old days of sectarian domination and two-tier citizenship. “The relationship between the North of Ireland and Britain has also been fundamentally altered and an increasingly confident republican community is taking co-ownership, as is our right, of every sphere of public, political and institutional life here. And, importantly, a peaceful and democratic path to a united Ireland has been opened up. “But that does not mean that we republicans can sit back and wait for the British Government to do the right thing for Ireland. We need to organise for freedom.” SLIGO SLIGO MAIN EU candidate Cllr Pádraig Mac Lochlainn addressed the main commemoration attended by over 200 people at the Republican Plot in Sligo Cemetery, reminding them of the historic context of the north-west in the Sligo commemoration: “Two of the most central figures in the organisation and execution of the Easter Rising are associated with this region: Constance Markievicz in Sligo and Seán Mac Diarmada from Leitrim.” The men and women involved in the Easter Rising represented the coming together of a number of progressive forces in Irish society, he said. “There was the cultural and sporting revival, the workers’ movement stemming from the 1913 Lock-Out, the women’s suffragettes, and the traditional republican separatists. That is why the 1916 Proclamation, read out here today, embodies all the principles that we hold dear today and which are needed, now more than ever, as a guide to us in these turbulent times. “We remain deeply committed to these principles, to independence, unity and social equality. Unlike other parties, we never abandoned the people of the Six Counties to the oppression of an apartheid state. But now we need to reach out to other republicans around us – republicans in other political parties, in the GAA, in the credit union movement and in wider society. We have to forge a new alliance in order to offer a real, credible egalitarian alternative to the failed politics of successive governments here in the 26 Counties.” BALLISODARE Earlier in Ballisodare, Pádraig Hallinan, candidate for west Sligo, delivered an address at the graveside of 1916 veteran Martin Savage. He told the crowd to remember not only the men and women of 1916 but also the many thousands of exiled Irish people who died in foreign lands for the dream of a free and equal land. UNITED STATES SAN FRANCISCO IRISH republicans in San Francisco, USA, gathered at the grave of Fenian hero Thomas Desmond on Easter Sunday to hear Sinn Féin Chairperson Declan Kearney at the 1916 Rising commemoration. Thomas Desmond is honoured for his key role in the escape of six Fenian prisoners from Fremantle, Australia, in an operation masterminded by Clann na Gael in the United States in 1876. Addressing a crowd of over 250 supporters, Declan Kearney said: “Our history tells us that the greatest potential for change in Ireland has always been realised when the Diaspora, and in particular Irish-America, maximised its strength and influence. Now, in 2009, Sinn Féin is calling upon Irish America to organise a modern day momentum to bring about a united Ireland.” The launch pad for this effort will be two major conferences organised by Sinn Féin this summer on 13 June in New York and 27 June in San Francisco, focusing on the theme “A United Ireland – How Do We Get There?” These will be open forums, hosted by Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, where Irish-Americans will be encouraged offer new ideas about how their efforts can help achieve an independent, united Ireland. In his Easter speech, Declan Kearney emphasised the importance of securing Irish-American support in both political and economic terms. “Our priorities must include maximising the goodwill which exists for the Peace Process in the new US administration, in the US Senate, and in state legislatures and cities across America. “We need to continue encouraging other state and city comptrollers to follow the example of New York State and New York City in signalling investment of pension funds investment to Ireland.” During the visit, the Sinn Féin chairperson met with representatives from numerous Irish-American groups, including trade unions, the GAA, San Francisco’s United Irish Societies, the Emerald Society, educators, local media, attorneys and long-time supporters to stress the key role the Irish Diaspora plays in stimulating change in Ireland. He was also the featured speaker at the Ulster Gaelic Club Easter Breakfast. He also met with San Francisco Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, who is eager to be involved in the investment campaign. “Sinn Féin's message this Easter,” Declan Kearney said, “is that with unity and strength at home, and in the Irish Diaspora, we will move forward together, and make the Republic proclaimed in 1916 a living reality.”

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Sinn Féin attend Belfast rally in support of workers

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Ferris Accuses Cork Ministers of Failure Over Economy

In a hard hitting speech in Cork tonight, Sinn Féin Munster Spokesperson, Cllr Toiréasa Ferris will put it to the three Cork Ministers that they have seriously failed the people who elected them and the people they govern. In government they are pursuing policies which seek to protect their friends in the golden circle by punitively taxing those both in and out of work and cutting essential services to the core.

Speaking at meeting in the Victoria Hotel tonight on the theme of "Lets Get Ireland Working" Toiréasa Ferris will say:

"Ireland cannot simply cut or tax its way out of recession. The fall out from the emergency budget will be serious and long term. Families will continue to see their household incomes slashed. Workers will continue to loose their jobs. It is a recipe for the creation of a black economy rather than a real economy. And for what - to pay for a massive slush fund which will ensure their friends in the golden circle, particularly those who invested in the banks, will be saved.

What this economy needs is sustenance not further punishment. It needs policies which will seek to maintain the existing employment where possible and prepare the ground for new employment.

Sinn Féin is the only political party that has set out substantial detailed proposals - 80 of them - to get Cork and the rest of the country back to work. Protecting jobs and creating new employment is the absolute priority for us

· A comprehensive skills and education strategy can prepare workers to create and take up new employment - getting early school leavers back to education, investing in Community Employment and allowing unemployed workers to keep benefits while attending college.

· At risk jobs can be saved by establishing a state fund to subsidise viable jobs and by sending in expert groups to assist companies that are in trouble. If what we have is good, or needs guidance, then better hold on to it than put workers on the dole.

· Construction workers can get back to work building schools, insulating homes and delivering much needed broad band infrastructure. Cork city and county has its fair share of school buildings which desperately need upgrading. The Minister for Education may not know how many but it is a disgrace that we are paying out hundreds of million euro per year on prefabricated buildings when we could provide gainful employment building schools of the future.

All the evidence shows that societies which are more equal prosper more in the long term. We need to get away from the politics of unsustainable development; of an economy run for the golden circle rather than those who create it. The Sinn Féin proposals are aimed to build an economy which is sustainable and which will reward those who contribute to it.

Full Text of Speech below:

A Chairde,

There are three government Ministers in Cork. Each and every one of them has seriously failed the people who elected them and the people they govern. In government they are pursuing policies which seek to protect their friends in the golden circle by punitively taxing those in and out of work and cutting essential services to the core. Their use of public servants wages as a cash cow to protect their friends is nothing less than disgraceful.

These Ministers are responsible for:

Slashing the income of all workers except consultants and professionals. This has a particularly harsh effect on younger people who are starting out at a lower level of income. On the one hand talking the talk on the knowledge economy but on the other hand undermining children's educational opportunities by deep cuts in the service and preparing to make university education more exclusive with the introduction of even higher fees. Cynically promising retraining, while only providing a token number of places which would not be enough to retrain those who were laid off in January and February alone. Already people, many of them with skills, are being told there is no place for them in retraining centres. Slashing the job seekers allowance of people under twenty even though there are no courses for them to go on. Cutting childcare for young families.

Ireland cannot simply cut or tax its way out of recession. The fall out from the emergency budget will be serious and long term. Families will continue to see their household incomes slashed. Workers will continue to loose their jobs. It is a recipe for the creation of a black economy rather than a real economy.

And for what - to pay for a massive slush fund which will ensure their friends in the golden circle, particularly those who invested in the banks, will be saved. Quite simply, you and I will have to fork out a lot for a long time to support those who were willing to bring this country to its knees, in the pursuit of their personal fortunes.

There is an alternative and that alternative is protecting jobs and developing new jobs. The unemployment figures here in Cork are truly frightening. The photograph of the long queue of men and women winding its way out of dole office across the bridge and along the quay illustrates the gravity of the situation as much as any statistics from the CSO.

The layoffs from firms such as Flexitronics and Donnellys get the headlines but thousands more are loosing their jobs or are on short time in retail and tourism and other areas. Unions in the construction industry are reporting that members are now in long term unemployment and struggling to maintain mortgages. There is an embargo on recruitment in major public employers like the HSE.

What this economy needs is sustenance not further punishment. It needs policies which will seek to maintain the existing employment where possible and prepare the ground for new employment.

Sinn Féin is the only political party that has set out substantial detailed proposals - 80 of them - to get Cork and the rest of the country back to work. Protecting jobs and creating new employment is the absolute priority for us. I will not, you will be pleased to hear, go through every one of them tonight. We have published them widely and the full set of proposals is available on the national Sinn Féin website.

But I would like to put to you some of the principle points.

· A comprehensive skills and education strategy can prepare workers to create and take up new employment - getting early school leavers back to education, investing in Community Employment and allowing unemployed workers to keep benefits while attending college.

· At risk jobs can be saved by establishing a state fund to subsidise viable jobs and by sending in expert groups to assist companies that are in trouble. If what we have is good, or needs guidance, then better hold on to it than put workers on the dole.

· Construction workers can get back to work building schools, insulating homes and delivering much needed broad band infrastructure. Cork city and county has its fair share of school buildings which desperately need upgrading. The Minister for Education does not know how many but it is a disgrace that we are paying out hundreds of million euro per year on prefabricated buildings when we could provide gainful employment building schools of the future.

· Jobs can be created with a focus on areas such as green technology, agrifood industries and other sectors which are showing a potential for growth even in the international circumstances.

· Families should be helped to manage mortgage and credit card debt. It is important that families are sustained through this economic crisis. It does society no good at all to see thousands of people loose their homes through no fault of their own. Banks and lending institutions which made such spectacular profits from spiralling house prices now ensure that their clients keep their homes.

A chairde, all the evidence shows that societies which are more equal prosper more in the long term. We need to get away from the politics of unsustainable development; of an economy run for the golden circle rather than those who create it. The Sinn Féin proposals are aimed to build an economy which is sustainable and which will reward those who contribute to it.

The economy here in Cork and across Ireland can be turned around. These measures and others must be brought together in a three-year jobs plan. This plan must set targets and those targets must be met.

With the right plan and strong leadership we can get Ireland back to work. This means a change in policy and a new politics in Ireland. It means new ideas from new people. It means building a political alternative. We have just not the duty but also the opportunity to do the building which will bring a new a prosperous Ireland.

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Irish People Do Not Want Nuclear Plants – Fine Gael MEPs must come clean.

Louth County Councillor and MEP hopeful Tomás Sharkey (Sinn Féin) has hit out at plans for more Nuclear Plants in Britain. He has said that the plans are dangerous and a slap in the face for the Irish People. He also claims that Fine Gael in Europe are campaigners for cheaper Nuclear plants across Europe and wants Europe to be a "world leader" in nuclear energy.

"Nuclear power plants are a stupid idea. The Irish people reject the nuclear industry. We have been victims of Sellafield and live under the threat of Thorp every day. Reports that the British government plan to build 11 more nuclear plants come as no surprise. The Nuclear lobby has been active across Europe for some years now. They are trying to market themselves as green, clean energy providers. They are nothing of the sort."

"There is a limited supply of uranium for nuclear plants. It takes at least 10 years to plan and build a Nuclear Plant. Global warming is happening now. Off shore wind farms can be installed in a matter of months. The carbon emissions from building a Nuclear Plant and mining the fuel means that they are barely carbon neutral.

"The worrying thing for Irish people is that Fine Gael MEPs are part of the campaign to build Nuclear Plants and to promote the notion of nuclear energy. The Fine Gael party is in the EPP political group in Brussels. Their key priorities for 2004 to 2009 have included "New, more efficient, lower-cost reactor designs." That party's co-ordinator of the Committee on Climate Change wants Europe to be the global leader in nuclear technology.

"It is now time for Mairéad Mc Guinness and the other Fine Gael MEPs to admit that they are part of this pro nuclear campaign. She must declare her intention to leave the EPP or admit her Nuclear loving politics.

"For my part, I have led Louth County Council's position in opposing the Euratom Agency which uses taxpayers money to promote the nuclear industry."

Tomás Sharkey can be contacted on 087 9090629 His website is www.sharkeyforeurope.ie and there are photos of the Sinn Féin candidate available on that site.

Below are links and quotes to the Fine Gael/ EPP websites relating to their pro-nuclear policies.

http://www.epp-ed.eu/group/en/priorities.asp New, more efficient, lower-cost reactor designs need to be developed by intensifying research into both fission reactors and the management of irradiated fuels and waste. By doing so, we must also guarantee that the new Members States apply the same high nuclear safety standards and strictly adhere to their closure commitments for old power plants.

http://www.epp-ed.eu/policies/clim/default_en.asp With this Committee the European Parliament is responding to the concerns of European citizens and will strive to keep the leading role of the European Union on this major global challenge called climate change. The European Parliament will ensure that it stays high on the political agenda and problems linked to climate change are better communicated. Our citizens expect European Union leadership on this issue. Now is the time for decisions on how to put Europe in particular, as well the world, on the path to a more energy-secure, low-carbon future with an integrated energy and climate change policy. The EU has the potential to be the global leader in a range of new technologies, (such as carbon capture and storage; wind and solar energy; renewable energy; nuclear energy) that are waiting to be further developed and will strengthen our competitive position. The challenge of turning the EU into a low carbon society has to be seen as an opportunity, with the potential for important economic and job-creating opportunities. Intelligent regulation can lead to more innovation!

Romana Jordan-Cizelj MEP (Slovenia) EPP-ED Coordinator on the Temporary Committee on Climate Change

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Cowen has taken on tainted mantle of Bertie Ahern

Sinn Féin North West EU Candidate and Lisbon Campaign Director Pádraig Mac Lochlainn is a guest speaker at a conference being held today in the European Parliament in Brussels entitled 'The Lisbon Treaty - The real reasons the people say No'. Today's conference brings together progressive political parties and trade unionists from across Europe. Cllr. Mac Lochlainn concluded his speech with a call for a new treaty for a new time noting, "the people of Ireland and Europe cannot afford the Lisbon Treaty's failed agenda".

Speaking at the conference Cllr. Mac Lochlainn said:

"In his Budget speech last week Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan shamefully tried to deflect his own governments responsibility for the recession by blaming the peoples rejection of Lisbon for the collapse in Ireland's public finances and the states soaring unemployment.

"Lisbon has nothing to do with Ireland's recession. The truth is that the culture of vested interests and big business lobbyists in the corridors of Brussels are what created the EU Constitution and its reincarnation, the Lisbon Treaty. And just like in Ireland it is these very same golden circles that have caused and underpin the current recession in other parts of Europe. It is the interests of these lobbyists that insured a privatisation, centralising of powers and decision-making and an anti-workers rights agenda was at the heart of the Lisbon Treaty.

"Let us not forget that it was former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern who delivered the EU Constitution during his European Presidency in 2004. In fact when the failed Constitution was revived in the guise of the Lisbon Treaty Bertie Ahern proudly stated, "90 per cent of it is still there...These changes haven't made any dramatic change to the substance of what was agreed back in 2004."

"It is the very people who have led our economy into recession through unbridled greed and reckless speculation that have inspired the substance of the Lisbon Treaty. And it is business as usual at the government cabinet table. Brian Cowen is pushing the very same agenda pursued by Bertie Ahern, who arguably took his mantle from Charlie Haughey.

"The Lisbon Treaty was drawn up and delivered by the very leaders who have led us into recession. It is quite simply a wish list of lobbyists and vested interests. It is reckless for any political party or government to promote this Treaty as one that will help Ireland out of recession. Europe is in uncharted waters and now needs a treaty that will reflect this new political and social reality.

"Sinn Féin wants to work with progressive political parties and others across Europe to bring to fruition for our vision of a better Europe - one based on solidarity and fairness. The first step in that campaign is to get a new treaty.

"The Lisbon rerun deal agreed between the government and Brussels does not address the substantive concerns raised by the electorate. The broader issues of the EU's democratic deficit, its erosion of workers' rights and public services, it's emerging foreign and defence policy agendas, and its promotion of free trade over fair trade have not been addressed.

"The people of Ireland and Europe cannot afford the Lisbon Treaty. We need a new treaty for a new time." CRIOCH

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"We need a new treaty for new times" Sinn Féin EU candidate, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Speaking ahead of his key note address, tomorrow (Wednesday 15th) to a Brussels based conference of progressive political parties from across Europe on the Lisbon Treaty, Sinn Féin European Parliament candidate for the North West constituency and the party's Campaign Director for last year's Lisbon Treaty, Cllr Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has called for a "new treaty for new times".

At the conference entitled "The Lisbon Treaty: the real reasons the people say No", he will outline the concerns of the Irish people that led to the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in last year's referendum. MEPs from Holland and France will outline why the people in those countries also rejected the virtually identical European Constitution in 2005.

Cllr Mac Lochlainn said:

"Last week in his Budget speech Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan had the audacity to cite the Lisbon Treaty as a contributing factor to our current economic difficulties. The Minister was attempting to conceal his own government's role in bringing about the crisis in the public finances and escalating job losses while at the same time shamefully hoping to play on the insecurities of voters ahead of a re-run of the referendum.

"The truth is that the very ideology and ideas that form the basis of the Lisbon Treaty are part of the problem. The culture of vested interest and big business lobbyists in the corridors of Brussels need to be confronted. It is the interests of these lobbyists that insured a privatisation and anti-workers rights agenda was at the heart of the Lisbon Treaty.

"Their fingerprints were all over the EU Constitution rejected by people on the ground and those fingerprints remained firmly on the Lisbon Treaty, a slightly amended version of the Constitution. The very people, who have led our world economy into global recession through, unbridled greed and reckless speculation, inspired the Lisbon Treaty.

"Sinn Féin wants to work with progressive political parties and others across Europe to bring to fruition for our vision of a better Europe- one based on solidarity and fairness. The first step in that campaign is to get a new treaty.

"The Irish Government were given a decisive mandate to return to their European partners and negotiate a better deal for the people of Ireland, Europe, and the wider world. They have not honoured that mandate.

"The "deal" outlined by the Government in Brussels does not address the substantive concerns raised by the electorate. The broader issue of the EU's democratic deficit, its erosion of workers' rights and public services, its emerging foreign and defence policy agendas, and its promotion of free trade over fair trade will not be addressed.

"The people of Ireland and Europe deserve better than the Lisbon Treaty. We need a new treaty for new times."

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Sinn Féin

The Week in Review

10-17 April 2009

 

 

Easter Commemoration message:

Organise for Freedom – Adams

 

Easter weekend saw commemoration take place across Ireland. On 13 April Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams gave the Easter Rising Commemoration oration at the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery.

Mr Adams said that while it may take some unionists time to realise that the situation had changed `their leaders know that there is no going back to the old days of sectarian domination and two-tier citizenship.’

He said `the relationship between the North of Ireland and Britain has also been fundamentally altered and an increasingly confident republican community is taking co-ownership, as is our right, of every sphere of public, political and institutional life here’, adding `and importantly a peaceful and democratic path to a united Ireland has been opened up.’

However, he said that did not mean `that we republicans can sit back and wait for the British government to do the right thing for Ireland. We need to organise for freedom.’

Commenting on the so-called republican dissidents, the Sinn Féin leader said:

`I uphold the right of everyone to dissent from Sinn Féin’s point of view. But no one is entitled to hijack our proud republican history and our republican future and abuse it for narrow selfish interests or self gain. Sinn Féin, standing firmly on a republican platform, sets ourselves firmly against those elements who do this.’

Speaking about the current economic crisis Mr. Adams said: `The dire economic situation is the number one issue for many people today. Predictions of half a million citizens on the dole by Christmas give some sense of the difficulties facing working people across this island. I note assertions by DUP ministers after the layoffs at Bombardier, FG Wilson and Visteon that there is little that a devolved administration can do in the face of a global crisis. I disagree. We can always do more. We can be imaginative and innovative. And if we have not enough powers, as the DUP appears to suggest, then it makes economic sense as well as political sense, that we should take whatever powers we need to do the job we are elected to do.’

He said Sinn Féin was `working to build an economy which serves the needs of Irish society and not the other way around. While working to improve the quality of life in the here and now, we see a united Irish economy as the best option…’

He said there was `little difference’ between the social and economic policies of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, adding `both pay lip service to republican principles and to the Proclamation. Both govern in the interests of elites and against the interests of citizens’ Sinn Féin was, he said `ready to join with other political parties, trade unions, community and voluntary organisations to forge a new political alliance for change in Ireland.

Such an alternative would seek to combine economic success with social responsibility. It would foster prosperity and equality.’

He concluded: `Republicans must ensure that the Irish Government does not renege on its obligations to the political institutions and all-Ireland integration.

For our part Sinn Féin will continue to push for Northern representation in the Oireachtas. We will continue to work for an Acht na Gaeilge here in the north.’

The full text of his speech can be found at: www.ardfheis.com/?p=1282

 

Elsewhere, in Lurgan, Sinn Féin Assembly member Gerry Kelly addressed the Easter Commemoration. In the course of his speech he addressed the small number of militarist factions, who have recently engaged in armed actions.
Mr Kelly said: `There are turning points in a nation’s history that change the course of that nation’s people.  The 1916 rising was such an event as was the events surrounding 1969 and of course the hunger strike of 1981.  The IRA statement of July 28th, 2005 stating that the War is over, is another such event.  The IRA provided a golden opportunity to advance a new era in our long struggle.  The agreement between Sinn Féin and the DUP, leading to the setting up of the power sharing executive and the all-Ireland institutions on May 8th 2007 is another crucial event in driving our struggle forward.’
He added, `However in the midst of this great journey of ours with all its twists and turns and difficulties I have a message not just for bigots but for those so called “dissidents” whose only tactic is to undermine and wreck the peace process and the Republican Political Strategy.  You will not, you can not stop us.  You will not, you can not turn the clock back.’
He said: `There are some young people amongst them who are sincere; there are those you believe in purely physical force republicanism.  I can only say that you’re on the wrong road in 2009.  I want to appeal to you to study the last 40 years and come and debate it with us.  There are also some in it for personal gain; some involved in drugs. These are the users and abusers of the community who hide behind a façade of political dissent.   Add to the mix that sprinkling of agent provocateurs who are still fighting the war for the securocrats in the British and Unionist system.  They will be used, abused and thrown to the wolves by their handlers when it suits them.’
He went on to say: `Whatever the reason for joining these groups, the one thing that is certain is that they have no viable strategy to advance the cause of Irish Freedom.
If they really want to do that then join with the rest of us.  We haven’t achieved our primary goal yet but we’re closer now than we have ever been in Irish History.’

 

 

Make Fianna Fail pay at the ballot box

 

Speaking at the annual Easter commemoration in Leitrim Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD accused the Fianna Fáil/Green Party Government of once again coming to the rescue of the developers and bankers with the establishment of the National Assets Management Agency.

Deputy Ó Caoláin also used the occasion to make a rallying call to the people of the North West to get behind Sinn Féin’s European election candidate Councillor Padraig MacLochlainn.

The full text of his speech can be found at the Sinn Fein website www.sinnfein.ie

 

 

Transforming policing `has never been about individuals’

 

On 16 April Sinn Féin MLA and Policing Board member Alex Maskey commented on the news that PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde is to take up post as President of the association of Chief Police Officers.
Mr Maskey said that transforming policing had `never been about individuals’, but added, `Hugh Orde without doubt has made a significant contribution to many of the policing changes we have been part of in recent years.’
However, Mr Maskey said `his time has not been without problems. Under his leadership the PSNI have consistently withheld information from inquests and blocked families in their pursuit of the truth and responses to ordinary criminal matters particularly in working class areas has been disappointing. We have also recently put on the record our dissatisfaction at the use of extended periods of detention.’
He said Hugh Orde’s departure along with other senior officers who have indicated they are intending to move on, `provides an opportunity for the Policing Board, under its new leadership, to put in place a new and dynamic group of officers at the top of the PSNI to manage the next stages of policing transformation which will occur with the transfer of powers. That work needs now to be our priority.’

 

 

London special screening of `Hunger’ announced

 

Details of a special screening of Steve McQueen’s award winning film `Hunger’ have been announced this week. The screening will be followed by a discussion with speaker Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane, leader of republican political prisoners in Long Kesh prison during the 1981 hunger strikes. Taking place at 2pm on Sunday 17 May at the Phoenix Cinema, 52 High Road, East Finchley N2 9PJ, tickets are now available from: https://phoenixsales.clients.newmanonline.org.uk/book/

 

 

 

Sinn Fein support teacher’s call for a political alliance of the left

 

On 14 April Sinn Féin spokesperson on Education, Donegal Senator Pearse Doherty, welcomed  calls from Declan Kelleher of the Irish National Teacher’s Organisation (INTO) for teachers to actively engage in bringing about a government of the left. Sinn Féin President had Gerry Adams called for a progressive alliance of the left at the party’s Ard Fhéis earlier this year.

Speaking from the INTO National Conference Senator Doherty said `the politics of tweedle dumb and tweedle dee (Fianna Fail and Fine Gael) are flawed and anti public sector.’

He added that cuts over the past six months had `ravaged the education sector in this state and left it battered and bruised at the hands of the Fianna Fáil/Green Party government.’

Sinn Féin would continue to support the INTO in their fight against cutbacks, he said, adding `we believe in education as a fundamental right’. He concluded: `This government must go.’

 

 

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Féin MPs.

Telephone 0207 219 8162. Email fisherj@parliament.uk or visit www.sinnfein.ie

 

 

Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
3-9 April 2009

Sinn Fein leadership’s Easter statement

On 9 April, the Sinn Fein leadership gave the following statement, which we reproduce in full below.

`On this the 93rd anniversary of the 1916 Rising the leadership of Sinn Féin extends its solidarity to the families of all our patriot dead.

`We remember with pride those comrades from every generation who gave their lives for the cause of Irish freedom.
We extend solidarity to those Irish republicans in prison.
We are immensely proud of our patriot dead and of their families.

`Last year in the course of a series of meetings across the country the Sinn Féin leadership engaged with the families of our patriot dead. These engagements were very informative and helpful.
As a result Coiste Náisiúnta an Tírghrá (Patriot Dead National Committee) was established.
Anyone wishing to assist in this programme of work should make contact locally.

`The ideals and principles of the Proclamation are as relevant today as they have ever been.
The realisation of those ideals and principles is among the many tasks that we must complete in the time ahead.
In the coming months our party will contest elections North and South and there will be a new referendum on the Lisbon Treaty later in the year.
Everyone has a role to play in the forthcoming elections. Get involved now.

`The current economic crisis affects us all. While this is a global crisis it is has been exacerbated by flawed Irish government policies and mismanagement.
We must reach out to and join with those political parties, voluntary and community organisations and trade unions that want to see real political change across the island of Ireland .

`Irish unity remains Sinn Féin’s primary objective. We have a strategy to achieve that objective. Others disagree. But they offer no alternative.
We are right to resist those who have attacked the Peace Process.
This includes those in the British establishment who would seek to use recent events as an excuse to rush back to the days of militarisation and the abuses that flow from that.
In Ireland today there is an alternative to armed struggle.
A small number of militarist factions oppose Sinn Féin’s peace strategy.
Many are involved in criminal actions. Moreover they have no political programmes or strategies.
There is no feasible alternative to Sinn Féin’s strategy for a United Ireland.

`Our objective now must be to consolidate the Peace Process and maximize popular support for national and democratic objectives.
Our greatest challenge in the time ahead is advancing our republican goal of a free, independent United Ireland.

`We need to build Sinn Féin everywhere. We need to make political alliances and to campaign on social and economic issues. We also need to build support internationally.

`We need to build the politics of republicanism and to unite Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter.
We believe that Irish unity can deliver social, economic and cultural equality for all of our people.

`As we celebrate the lives of our comrades and commemorate the sacrifices of our patriot dead let us re-commit ourselves to the achievement of our republican objectives.

 
Sinn Féin has also released details of it commemorations to mark the 1916 Easter Rising. Party President Gerry Adams will address the main commemoration in Belfast on Easter Sunday assembling at Beechmount Avenue at 1pm while Vice-President Mary Lou McDonald will address the main Dublin commemoration on Easter Sunday assembling at the Garden of Remembrance at 1:30pm.

A full list of commemorations taking place throughout the country  can be found on the Sinn Fein website www.sinnfein.ie

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams’ visit to the Middle East
 
On 6 April, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams travelled to the Middle East for a series of meetings. On 9 April he was in Gaza where, among other meetings, he met Ismail Haniya, the Prime Minister of Gaza.

 
Speaking after a day-long series of meetings with a wide section of the Gaza civic, political and business communities and an hour long meeting with Mr. Ismail Haniya, Gerry Adams said: `I welcome the opportunity to engage with so many people here today. I was pleased to speak directly with Mr. Haniya. I outlined to him Sinn Féin’s view that there should be a complete cessation of all hostilities and armed actions by all sides.’

He added `I emphasised our opinion that dialogue, including substantive and inclusive negotiations, and a genuine peace process, is the only way forward for Palestinians and Israeli’s.’

`The fact is that the people of Palestine and the people of Israel are destined to live side by side. I believe that most people want a peaceful accommodation.’

He went on to say `Following my meeting with Mr. Haniya I believe that progress is possible. Mr. Haniya told me that Hamas wants a peace agreement.

`As I have said consistently there needs to be a dialogue between the people of Palestine and their leadership and the people of Israel and their leadership.  

That is what worked in Ireland.
`I believe that there is a duty on the international community to recognise the democratic outcome of the elections in Palestinian Territories.

`I believe that the people of Palestine and the people of Israel have the right to live free from the fear of threats, with human rights and in dignity and as equals.

`The citizens of Gaza are living in an open air prison. They are being denied their human and national rights. This has to be rectified’.

Mr. Adams continued his visit to Gaza with more political meetings planned for 10 April and a tour of the area devastated by the Israeli air and ground assault.

The visit to the area was part of a wider visit to Israel and the west Bank. Earlier in the week Mr. Adams spent his first day in the region visiting Sderot and Kfar Aza – a town and Kibbutz – in southern Israel that have been the targets for rocket attacks from Gaza.
Speaking first in Irish to a packed press conference in Gaza on 8 April, amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during the recent assault on Gaza by Israel Mr. Adams said: `The last time I visited this region was two and a half years ago. The conflict has been unrelenting since then. My purpose in travelling to this region is to meet as wide a range of Israeli and Palestinian opinion as practicable; to listen to what they have to say; to learn more about the situation and to answer any questions they may have about the Irish peace process.’
He said  `The vast majority of Irish citizens who watched the Israeli assault unfold on Gaza before and after Christmas were shocked by what they saw. They believe that what happened was wrong.
`I too watched those scenes on TV but nothing prepares you for the reality of the destruction and the enormous impact this has had on people, on families and on children. Sinn Fein and the majority of citizens in Ireland want all of this to end.
`I believe there should be a complete cessation of all hostilities and freedom of movement for everyone.
 `There needs to be a dialogue between the people of Palestine and their leadership; and the people of Israel and their leadership; leading to a peace settlement which must be urgently built.
`We believe that the people of Palestine and the people of Israel have the right to live free from the fear of threats, with human rights and in dignity and as equals. And in as much as Sinn Fein can help we will.’
He concluded: `The international community has a huge responsibility to use its influence to support a meaningful peace process that can deliver real change and hope for the people of Gaza. I am convinced following my conversations and from my knowledge of this situation that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians and Israelis want peace and stability and a better future.’

Martin McGuinness responds on expenses issue

On 8 April Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness commented on the issue of MPs expenses. He said `The British Government does not give us one halfpenny of
our salaries. In fact, if the truth be told, the British government owes Sinn Fein millions of pounds.’
`We have had not one red cent from the British Government as a salary over the course of the last 10 years and I think that those people who argue that Sinn Fein is not entitled to this money the same as all the other parties need to catch themselves on.’
He said the party was elected in constituencies across the six counties and people supported their stance. He added: `The citizens who vote for Sinn Fein are as entitled to get a first class service as the service provided by any other MP.  That is exactly what we are doing. That money does not go into our pockets. It employs people. It rents buildings. It buys computers. It does all sorts of things in the
interests of the citizens.’

Latest News - 25 March, 2009

• Court frees then police re-arrest murder suspect
• Sinn Féin launch Job Retention and Creation Strategy
• 'The most rewarding work I have done' - Martin Ferris on farm report

Court frees then police re-arrest murder suspect

A man has been re-arrested by police in connection with the murder of two British soldiers in County Antrim.

Colin Duffy and five others won a legal challenge ealier today to their detention in connection with the murder of the soldiers and a police officer.

Mr Duffy was freed, then re-arrested at Antrim police station, his lawyer said.

The other five people have been released, the firm of solicitors representing them said.

Mr Duffy's solicitor, Pat Vernon, said his client was taken back into custody under anti-terrorism legislation.

Sinn Féin's Alex Maskey said that Mr Duffy should be released or charged.

"This afternoon's re-arrest is a clear abuse of the court's judgement. Sinn Fein has made our position in relation to all of this very clear, human rights best practice must be stringently adhered to at all times with people being either charged or released.

The PSNI must be seen to operate to the highest standards of human rights compliance in order to ensure public confidence in due process."

Chief Justice Sir Brian Kerr said a judge who granted an extension to the detention at the weekend should have examined the original arrests.

He did not question the lawfulness of those arrests but said the judge who granted the extension should have examined the issue.

"No consideration was given to the lawfulness of the original arrest," he said.

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Sinn Féin launch Job Retention and Creation Strategy

Sinn Féin launch Job Retention and Creation Strategy yesterday. You can download a PDF of it at http://www.ardfheis.com/?p=862.

Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald MEP, Economic Spokesperson Arthur Morgan TD and Cllr. Pádraig Mac Lochlainn who is a board member of InterTradeIreland since 2007 Monday launched the party's job retention and creation strategy document entitled 'Getting Ireland back to work'. The document contains more than 80 proposals, which Sinn Féin believes are urgently required to retain existing jobs and create new ones, progress all-Ireland economic development, stimulate consumer spending, and maximize the benefits of education and training.

Sinn Féin will be presenting this document to the government and meeting with employers, workers, enterprise boards and groups across the country in the coming weeks to discuss the recommendations in the report. The party will also be publishing a public finance document outlining where we believe revenue can be raised and savings made and what is required in the longer term in relation to how the state raises finance. In addition, we will publish a separate Oireachtas report on the future of farming and fisheries, and we intend to develop a separate set of proposals on the tourism sector, which directly and indirectly employs so many people in this state and last year was responsible for over €6 billion of GDP.

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'The most rewarding work I have done' - Martin Ferris on farm report

In early April, Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris will present the first comprehensive report on the future of farming and fishing in the west of Ireland to the Oireachtas All-Party Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Ferris told An Phoblacht the project has been "the most rewarding work I have done in the Dáil" and an antidote to the "talking shop" that Leinster House is too often for the reserved Kerry man.

The 108-page report, The Future of Farming and Fishing in the West, unwraps a comprehensive overview of the agricultural economy of the west and includes a unique survey of farmers' opinions, interwoven with a summary of the submissions received from 28 of the key interest groups in the sector.

Crucially, there are 36 key recommendations which, if acted upon, Ferris believes could start a process of transforming rural Ireland.

An Phoblacht asked Ferris about the process of the survey and the consultations begun last summer, asking what new knowledge had been gleaned from piecing together this comprehensive study.

"I knew it was bad," said Ferris, who described the consultations and surveys as "an educational process" but he was particularly shocked as to "how dire it is in coastal communities".

The report is, he says, "a true reflection of the state of farming and fishing in the west from the bottom up".

When the Sinn Féin team travelled to farmers' marts to conduct their surveys last summer many farmers were initially suspicious or sceptical of the survey but "were always very co-operative when we explained our purpose in conducting it".

"Some farmers are barely existing," said Ferris who in particular highlighted the plight of those working in fishing, beef and dairy sectors.

The way the milk system operates means that dairy farmers "need 50,000 gallon quotas or more to survive", said Ferris, while beef farmers are "vulnerable to cartels who can bring down prices", slashing farmer income.

Touching on the potential of farmers' markets, Ferris said:

"They offer a chance for local producers to develop, and by packaging and marketing their produce properly it gives a great opportunity to make money."

For this to work, and for farmers to diversify more into new products, specialist breeding and organic foods, farmers needed "information with the right support and the right encouragement".

The North Kerry TD is determined that this report won't be ignored. He wants the agriculture, fisheries and food committee to debate and discuss the findings and for it to become part of an agreed policy going forward.

Ferris hopes the Oireachtas committee will be "inviting all the stakeholders, to get a first-hand view on what they think of the report's recommendations".

He will keep raising it at committee level and will question the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Brendan Smith, when he appears before them on a timetable for an implementation plan on the report's recommendations.

For Ferris, the key issue is the goal of keeping as many people as possible on the land. He highlighted the case uncovered in the report of one farmer who in 2007 received over €500,000 through the single farm payment scheme while in the rest of Ireland the average payment was €9,871.

Completing this report is a substantial piece of work, but talking to Martin Ferris this week it is clear that the full effort is yet to come and the Sinn Féin Agriculture and Fisheries spokesperson is like fellow west coast Oireachtas member, Senator Pearse Doherty, only warming up for the next round of making government matter on the ground, as he says himself, "from the bottom up".

FARM AID: Martin Ferris, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin and Pearse Doherty pushing the Oireachtas for change in agriculture and fishing

The Future of Farming and Fishing in the West

BELOW, An Phoblacht carries selected highlights of the Martin Ferris report on The Future of Farming and Fishing in the West. The report is a substantial piece of work so here are edited segments of three key sections of the report.

They are an overview of farming in the West, the state of the fishing industry and the survey on farmers' outlook for the future.

Farming in the West of Ireland

Kerry, west Limerick, west Cork, Donegal, Clare, Galway, Roscommon, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim make up the geographical context of this report. Between 1996 and 2006, the numbers working in farming and fishing fell by 39 per cent with a total of 18,511 people leaving the land and the sea.

One of the main motivations for this report is that, despite the claims of official policy and despite the creation of the CLAR programme, the relative decline of the west has continued.

There is also the perception that overall agricultural policy does not take account of regional disparities at an economic level. The Agri Vision 2015 Report does not refer to the relative disadvantage of the West in any of its 53 detailed recommendations.

The Single Farm Payment

As part of CAP reform, previous price supports were replaced with what is now called a Single Farm Payment (SFP). The Ferris report highlights serious inequalities in how this money is distributed.

The total of SFP paid to Irish farmers in 2007 was €1,229m, an average payment of €9,871 per farmer. 68 per cent of farmers got less than €10,000 which accounted for 28 per cent of the total.

On average, the bottom 68 per cent received a SFP of €4,057 compared to an average of €22,170 for the top 32 per cent of recipients. Indeed, the disparity in payments is even starker when one takes into account that 55,312 farmers, representing over 44 per cent of all recipients, received less than €5,000 in SFP.

Their payments accounted for just 10.5 per cent of the total. In contrast, the 2,092 (or 1.7 per cent) of farmers who received more than €50,000, accounted for €154m, an average payment of €73,500 and 12.6 per cent of the total fund.

The highest single payment received by one applicant in 2007 was €506,203!

Farming demographics

The overall number of farms in the state has fallen from 228,000 in 1975 to 128,000 in 2006. While the number of farms under 50 hectares has fallen by over 45,000 since 1990, there are now almost 23,000 farms of 50 hectares and more compared to 18,600 in 1990.

This trend of a decrease in small farms but an increase in larger ones raises the question as to whether it is possible to retain a significant number of smaller-scale family farms.

Although the BMW region contains almost 53 per cent of all farms in the state, those farms only have 36.7 per cent of farm machines. Farmers in the West tend to be older, with 24.4 per cent aged 44, and younger in the BMW region in 2005 compared to 30 per cent for the rest of the country.

Overall employment in the agri-food sector was 171,400 in 2007 with 109,700 directly employed in agriculture. The proportion of people in the West employed in farming and fishing still remains much higher than the national average at over 7 per cent compared to 4.6 per cent for the state as a whole. Roscommon, at 10.1 per cent, had the highest proportion in this sector.

It has been forecast that farm numbers will fall to 105,000 in 2015 with just 33 per cent of them viable and approximately 22,000 farmers will cease production.

Western farmers have the poorest employment prospects due to educational attainment and skill levels. Fifty-six per cent of farmers in Galway, Roscommon and Mayo had only primary education. In Roscommon, the average for farmers of 52 per cent was far higher than 31 per cent for the population of the county as a whole. The long-term prospects, even with eventual economic recovery are for a marked decrease in the type of jobs most common to farmers in off farm employment.

Agricultural trends and opportunities

Dairying in the Western counties is in clear long-term decline with the value of output continuing to fall. Milk production in the BMW region fell from 24 per cent in 2004 to 22.4 per cent in 2006. For example, it is estimated that of the approximately 2,000 dairy farmers in Kerry at the present time that only around a half will be viable in the long-term.

The production of energy crops is a key area in which farmers are being encouraged to participate. Only 200 or less than 0.1 per cent of farmers were engaged in the production of alternative energy in 2005. That compared to an EU average of 0.4 per cent of farms engaged in energy crop production.

However, the area of willow and miscanthus grown in Ireland has increased in the last two years, from 300 hectares in 2006, to 1,100 hectares in 2007. The area under oilseed rape, used to produce liquid biofuel, increased from 4000 hectares to 6000 hectares in 2007.

Under its Wood Energy Strategy and Action Plan, the Western Development Commission forecasts a 300 per cent growth in the wood energy sector over the next ten years which would add €15m annually to the region's income and create up to 900 full-time jobs as well as saving 620,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year. When fully operative it would have a demand from local farmers for 472,000 tonnes of thinnings worth €1.7m annually.

Local production and farmers' markets

Locally-produced and marketed food is an area that has been growing as farmers attempt to increase margins by selling directly to the consumer. It reflects dissatisfaction with the falling share of the retail price accruing to producers. On the consumer side, it reflects a growing interest in healthier food.

There are 147 farmers' markets throughout the 32 Counties with the exception of Fermanagh. Thirty-seven of the markets are in the Western counties, which is a clear indication of strong interest and potential there.

Organic produce

In 2005, just 0.8 per cent of agricultural land in Ireland was farmed organically, compared to an EU average of 4.3 per cent. That increased slightly in 2006 with 1,260 registered operators in Ireland of whom 1,104 were farmers/growers farming 39,665 hectares, which represents approximately 0.9 per cent of agricultural land.

The National Steering Group for the Organic Sector has set a target of 3 per cent of UAA to be either fully organic or in conversion by 2010.

Fishing in the West

The Irish fishing fleet consisted of 1,935 vessels at the end of 2007 with a total tonnage of 64,489 tonnes. Just 2,400 people were directly employed in fishing in 2007, though Bord Iascaigh Mhara estimates that over 11,000 are employed directly and indirectly, including processing and ancillary services. Processing accounted for 2,867 jobs in 2005/2006 with 77 per cent of the jobs being full-time.

In 2007, seafood exports were 158,000 tonnes valued at €360m. That represented an increase in value of 31 per cent since 1995. While seemingly impressive, that must be compared to an increase of 138 per cent in exports from Spain, 76 per cent for France, 94 per cent for Portugal and 60 per cent for Britain and the North.

The relatively poor performance of the Irish export sector is even more pronounced when it is taken into account that countries like Portugal, Greece, and Sweden have overtaken this country and that Italy, which had almost identical exports in 1995, now exports €562m annually.

Total domestic seafood sales in 2007 were €394m, meaning that 43 per cent of this was accounted for by imports. Given that a high proportion of those imports consist of products based on fish which can be caught in Irish waters, there is obviously scope for import substitution. That, however, would require a radical change in the management and structure of the Irish fisheries as it relates to quota.

Since 1993, the Irish fleet has been reduced by over a third and the intention is clearly to accelerate the rate of decommissioning. The clear intent, and one that is accepted by Irish officials, is to reduce the fleet to one operating from two or three large ports.

Aquaculture here has grown from an output of 27,000 tonnes in 1990, which was just 2.8 per cent of EU output, to 60,000 in 2005 which amounted to 4.7 per cent of output for all EU member states. That fell to 56,000 tonnes with a value of €124.6m in 2006. There are currently approximately 2,000 people employed in the sector and aquaculture accounts for around 30 per cent of the total output value of Irish seafood.

The farmers' survey

Almost 200 farmers were interviewed in west Cork, Kerry, Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal attending marts during summer and autumn 2008. Six out of ten (59 per cent) felt that their situation had worsened since the introduction of the Single Farm Payment. More than eight out of ten (82.4 per cent) of sheep farmers felt their situation was worse. A similar number (84.3 per cent) felt they were at a disadvantage compared to farmers in other regions. 37.9 per cent didn't think they would be involved in farming within ten years.

Input costs, output prices red tape and regulations were the biggest challenges facing farmers. Jobs, decline of community and depopulation were the three biggest challenges facing rural Ireland, according to the survey asking the people to whom it matters -- farming and fishing families.

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Latest News - 20 March, 2009

• Obama backs Peace Process
• Micro groups' attacks delay a united Ireland, says Jim Gibney
• Rally against attacks on Peace Process

Obama backs Peace Process

The North's First and deputy First Ministers Peter Robinson of the DUP and Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin met with US President Barack Obama in the White House on St Patrick's Day where they discussed a range of issues including the economic downturn and political developments in the North.

Following the traditional presentation of a bowl of shamrock from Taoiseach Brian Cowen at the St Patrick's Day White House event, President Obama commented on the Irish Peace Process and the recent attacks by so-called dissident groups, saying that people in the North had responded "heroically" to the latest incidents. He added that watching former political adversaries unite in the face of the attack on the Peace Process, he had never been so confident that peace would prevail. He said that his administration would always stand with those working for peace in the North.

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams attended the Speakers' lunch as part of the St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Washington. In conversation with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden the Sinn Féin leader presented the US President Obama with a booklet of his election campaign and of his family especially made by children and young people in west Belfast.

Later in the evening, Adams attended the St Patrick's Day Reception in the White House.

St Patrick's Day also provided the backdrop for a meeting between Gerry Adams and the party's US representative, Rita O'Hare, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg at the US State Department in Washington DC.

The Sinn Féin leader then met with the Congressional Friends of Ireland Committee in the Capitol Building that was attended by 16 members of Congress.

Both meetings provided Gerry Adams with an opportunity to brief the administration and legislative leaders on the progress that has been made in recent years in the Peace Process and in the political institutions in the North.

Adams said that the discussions centred on the implementation of the outstanding issues of the Good Friday Agreement, including an Acht na Gaeilge and the transfer of powers on policing and justice and other matters.

"I also raised the issue of the undocumented Irish in the USA," Gerry Adams said.

$30M INVESTMENT

The recent attacks by self-styled republican groups were also addressed by the Sinn Féin president.

"I made our opposition to these actions clear, as well as our determination not to allow these groups to set the political agenda or turn the clock back to conflict.

"I outlined Sinn Féin's positive agenda for change, our efforts to secure investment -- including the announcement on Monday of $30m from the New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli -- and our two conferences planned for the east and west coasts of the USA in June on the theme of 'A United Ireland'."

On Tuesday, Gerry Adams addressed the National Press Club in Washington DC and held a series of meetings with senior trade union leaders, US Special Envoy to the Middle East Senator George Mitchell, and Senator Chris Dodd.

The Sinn Féin leader will also be addressing students at Harvard University.

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Micro groups' attacks delay a united Ireland, says Jim Gibney

A seasoned republican commentator, a former internee and republican prisoner who was an adviser to the Sinn Féin team negotiating the Good Friday Agreement, says that the political landscape in which the IRA fought its campaign has totally changed. The actions of the so-called 'Continuity IRA' and 'Real IRA' have no place in Ireland today and will only hinder the campaign for a united Ireland and an end to rule from Westminster.

Writing in his weekly Irish News column last Thursday (12 March), Jim Gibney says unequivocally "I am not a pacifist" but describes the killing of two British soldiers and a PSNI officer as "wrong, morally unjustifiable and indefensible" in the changed political circumstances.

"The nationalist community lives in real time. A time of peace, not conflict, where there has been real change," Jim Gibney says.

"The partition of this island and the presence of some British garrisons are unacceptable to me.

"I am not a pacifist. I supported the IRA at a time when the nationalist community was really oppressed. I have supported other armed struggles in Vietnam and South Africa, to name but a few. Armed struggle can only be legitimate when measured against the real level of oppression and suffering and must enjoy real support."

But, Gibney argues, the North today is not the same as the one he grew up in. The North was a one-party, sectarian state. It was one where unionists dominated and discrimination, censorship, bans, curfews, internment, and murderous attacks by state forces on protesters was the order of the day. It was a place where nationalist voters and their families and aspirations did not count. It was, Jim Gibney recalls:

"A society in the grip of a powerful system of armed forces backed by repressive laws, where nationalists had no place in their own country, a society where our cultural identity, our language, was criminalised. A society where our choices were limited to sitting at the back of the bus and voting for constitutional nationalist parties that sat at the back of the benches, or fighting for our civil and national rights.

"The Peace Process and republicans changed all of that.

"Today, nationalists and republicans have significant political power and influence."

In the first Executive, he says, Martin McGuinness and Bairbre de Brún between them controlled 70 per cent of the budget. Today Martin McGuinness is joint First Minister with the DUP's Peter Robinson and nationalists and republicans are in other ministerial positions.

"Real change is represented by the all-Ireland Ministerial Council, by nationalist MLAs in the Assembly and various committees and in the strength and growth of the Irish language across the North.

"It is represented in the absence of British soldiers on our streets, in the absence of British fortresses, in the absence of a loyalist militia like the UDR or RIR, and in the dismantling of repressive laws.

"It is represented in the existence of the human rights and equality commissions, in the presence of republicans and nationalists on the Policing Board and in the new police service, the PSNI."

The actions of armed micro groups who have usurped the name of the IRA have caused "widespread shock, anger and demoralisation among nationalists and republicans in whose name these Unreal IRAs claim to be acting", including those who fought the war.

The leaderships of the 'Real IRA' and 'Continuity IRA' are "contemptuous of the opinion of the vast majority of republicans, men and women who really risked their lives, who sacrificed the best years of their lives in prison for freedom and who, in their collective wisdom, believe in the Peace Process.

"Does all that really count for nothing in their minds?" the former internee asks.

Oppression cannot be contrived or manufactured, Jim Gibney says.

"It cannot be conjured up out of history books or carried forward from a deep hurt, personal or political. It cannot be a figment of one's imagination nor can it be made real through political doggerel.

"Oppression is felt as a result of actions by state forces, as a result of unjust laws, as a result of people being deliberately forced to the margins of society.

"That form of oppression no longer exists in the Six Counties."

Jim Gibney acknowledges there still is "a legacy of wrongs to be rectified as a result of partition and conflict" but, he adds, Sinn Féin and others are overcoming that legacy by using their political power and influence.

"The people of this island are in a new place and there is no space in that place for those who use violence in the perverse claim that by taking lives they can add to our lives.

"They will not.

"Armed struggle or armed actions have no part to play in bringing about a united Ireland. In fact, in today's Ireland, they will delay and hinder that very objective."

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Rally against attacks on Peace Process

5,000 people joined a Belfast rally in defence of the Peace Process organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions last Wednesday, 11 March.

ICTU Assistant General Secretary Peter Bunting said this was an opportunity for "all workers and their families to express their abhorrence at these murders and the direct threat to the Peace Process".

Other rallies took place on the same day in Derry, Newry, Lisburn and Downpatrick.

Speaking at the rally outside Belfast City Hall, which was attended by Belfast Mayor Tom Hartley, Bunting said the killings of a PSNI officer and two British soldiers were "an assault on every citizen who supports peace".

He added that the "show of strength from civil society" would send a clear message to those who carried out the attacks of "our determination that not a further single worker will be injured, intimidated or murdered by those who seek to derail the Peace Process".

ICTU President Patricia McKeown said unions stand "united with our political leaders to say to those who would derail a process that we have fought so hard for, and sacrificed so long for, that there is no space in this society for you".

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Latest News - 16 March, 2009

• Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP, MLA remarks at the National Press Club Washington, DC this morning March 16th 2009

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP, MLA remarks at the National Press Club Washington, DC this morning March 16th 2009

"I want to thank you all for coming this morning."

"I am here with my colleagues Rita O Hare and Richard McAuley for a number of engagements around the St Patrick's Day celebrations."

"This will include meeting Secretary of State Hilary Clinton tomorrow morning. That meeting will provide me with an opportunity to update the Secretary of State and the Administration on developments in Ireland."

"It will also allow me to speak to her about the issue of the thousands of undocumented Irish who live and work here in the USA."

"Later today I will have the opportunity to meet my old friend Senator George Mitchell and later again Senator Chris Dodd."

"During my two days in DC I will also be attending the reception in the White House, the Speakers lunch, as well as addressing the Friends of Ireland Committee and meeting with other senior legislators."

"So, it's a busy schedule during which I will be speaking to them all about Sinn Fein's plans for two major conferences in the USA this summer on the theme of a United Ireland."

"Sinn Fein is first and foremost an Irish republican party.

"Our goal is freedom and justice in Ireland, an end to British government involvement in our country and the achievement of Irish unity."

"In this spirit, I have recently called for a national conversation on how these goals can be achieved and on the type of Ireland we want."

"A very necessary part of this conversation needs to be held with the Irish diaspora. "

"There are millions of people in North America and across the world who can trace their lineage back to Ireland. "

"There is considerable good will here in the USA for a United Ireland."

"We want to mobilize and organise with all of these friends and potential allies to advance our goals."

"So, as part of this Sinn Féin will this summer host two major conferences in the USA and next year a conference in Britain."

"The New York conference will be on Saturday June 13th and the west coast conference will be on Saturday June 27th in San Francisco."

" Our intention is to engage with the Irish diaspora and to marshal its political strength in support of a United Ireland."

"Achieving Irish unity is a major challenge."

"It particularly means that Irish republicans have to reach out to the Unionists."

"We fully understand the need to persuade unionists of the desirability of a shared, united Ireland."

" Achieving this is a responsibility also of the Irish government."

" The British government too has its obligations. The democratic imperative demands that they must be based on the ending of British jurisdiction on this island."

Commenting on recent events Mr.Adams said:

"The murder of two British soldiers and a PSNI officer are very much in people's thoughts at this time.

"It is important to understand that this is a full frontal attack on the peace process. "

"These attacks reflect the success of the process."

"The vast majority of people are opposed to what happened. "

" The political institutions, the peace process and Sinn Féin are as much a target of the perpetrators of Saturday nights attack as those they killed or injured. "

"They have to be resisted. "

"Politically. Democratically. Peacefully. They want to destroy the hard won progress of recent times. They cannot be allowed to succeed. "

"There is also an onus on the British government and the PSNI to resist any temptation or any demands for a return to the bad practices of the past. "

"This would be equally wrong. It would also sideline the peace process and political leaders."

The popular will in Ireland is for peaceful and democratic change. "

"I'm sure that's shared by our neighbours in Britain and further a field."

"So everyone has a responsibility to defend the peace. There can be no turning back. Those I have met here understand this. The peace process is clearly a work in progress. It is a journey we are on and a journey we have to complete." ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS: Following his address this morning at the National Press Club Gerry Adams has a series of engagements including meetings with Senior Trade Union Leaders, a meeting with US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Senator George Mitchell and concluding with a meeting with Senator Chris Dodd.

Tomorrow Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams meet with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, he will also meet with representatives of the Friends of Ireland Committee.

Mr Adams will then attend the Speaker's Lunch where US President Barack Obama will also be in attendance. Later in the evening Mr Adams will attend the Saint Patrick's Day Reception in the White House.

On the 18th of March Mr Adams will address students at Harvard University.

 

Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
6-12 March 2009

Statement from Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams

On 8 March, 2009. Sinn Fein issued the following statement from Gerry Adams MP MLA, following the attack on a British Army Base in County Antrim, in which two British soldiers were killed and four people injured:
“Last nights attack was an attack on the peace process. It was wrong and counter productive. ”
“Those responsible have no support, no strategy to achieve a United Ireland. Their intention is to bring British soldiers back onto the streets. They want to destroy the progress of recent times and to plunge Ireland back into conflict.”

“Irish republicans and democrats have a duty to oppose this and to defend the peace process. Sinn Fein has a strategy to bring about an end to British rule in our country by peaceful and democratic means.”

“There should be an end to actions like the one in Antrim last night. The popular will is for peaceful and democratic change.”

“Sinn Fein has a responsibility to be consistent. The logic of this is that we support the police in the apprehension of those involved in last nights attack.”

“The police also have a responsibility to give leadership and to behave at all times in a transparent and accountable manner. The British Government has a duty to uphold the new political arrangement and the peace process.”

“I particularly want to appeal to republicans once again for calm, thoughtful and decisive leadership. ”
“The peace process was built against the odds and not least because of the willingness of republicans to take risks and to be strategic and long sighted.”

“There are elements within Unionism and within the British system who do not want the peace process to achieve its objectives. Our responsibility is to defend the peace process and the progress that has been made to achieving national and democratic rights. ”
“We will not be deflected from our republican and democratic objectives.” Ends

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness speaks about the attacks

On 10th March Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness discussed the attack at the British Army Base in County Antrim in which two British soldiers were killed and four people injured. The interview can be watched here at http://www.ardfheis.com/?p=647

Gerry Adams’ statement to the Assembly can also be viewed in full at this website.

`The only way to go is forward’ -- Adams

On 9 March, Gerry Adams wrote about the attack in Antrim in his blog. The site can be found at. Below Week in Review reproduces his blog entry in full:

`On Saturday night I was in County Clare. The local government elections in the south are in 12 weeks time. That’s on June 5th. The elections to the European Parliament in both parts of Ireland are on the 4th and 5th.

12 weeks isn’t a long time and I travelled to Clare from Dublin after a hectic two days, including an Ard Chomhairle meeting, in the Capital. The Ard Chomhairle was meeting for the first time since the recent Ard Fheis and it was a positive and forward looking gathering which set out a programme of work for the next 12 months. We also discussed PSNI Chief Hugh Orde’s decision to deploy undercover British Army operatives against so-called dissident elements.

Understandably Republicans and democrats, including myself, have protested against and are strongly opposed to that decision. Apart from anything else it is a harking back to the old days when such units created havoc in our society by perpetuating conflict and destabilising communities.

There was also a brief discussion about the so-called dissidents and their failure to advance any coherent strategy – in fact any strategy at all.

Hugh Orde made a mistake. But none of us should be naive about this. Huge progress has been made in developing a new political dispensation here but the British jurisdiction remains, albeit in a conditional form and that jurisdiction involves British agencies, including their spooks and spies.

Republicans and democrats are clearly opposed to this.
Anyway we had a good discussion about all of this and then off to the Banner County.
The event there took the form of a public meeting in Ennis, the County town. When it was over, somewhere around 11pm, I got news of a shooting incident in Antrim Town. The next few hours were spent trying to catch up on what had happened.

Early next morning it was clear, and since then Ireland is once again in the news big time!
So what’s it all about?
It’s an attack on the peace process, that’s what it is about.
There can be no ambiguity or ambivalence about that. Back in the north on Monday the Assembly was clear on this issue.
But what of the popular mood?
In my view the vast majority of people are opposed to what happened.
In the days when there was no peaceful or democratic way forward for those who wanted basic rights – civil rights – or for those who wanted national rights as well – Sinn Féin spokespersons, including myself, defended the IRA’s armed struggle.

We didn’t accept everything that was done and in most instances the case we made was in defense of the legitimacy of IRA actions in the context of British Army occupation.

There is no such legitimacy today.
Our political position was based also on the absence of any alternative way to bring about positive change.
Today there is an alternative. As I told the Assembly: “I stand here today as an unrepentant, unapologetic Irish republican.

I want to see an end to British rule on this island and the unity of orange and green.
This can only be achieved by peaceful and democratic means and Sinn Féin is wedded to that.”
It’s also my conviction that these objectives can be achieved. Sinn Fein has a strategy to do just that and we are building the political support and structures to advance this.

The political institutions, the peace process and Sinn Féin are as much a target of the perpetrators of Saturday nights attack as those they killed or injured.

That is why they have to be resisted. Politically. Democratically. Peacefully. They want to destroy the hard won progress of recent times. They cannot be allowed to succeed.

The gains made for and by the people of this island cannot be surrendered.
So why don’t those who have set themselves as political spokespersons for the so called dissidents come forward to explain this attack? Why don’t they outline a rationale? Why don’t they defend the legitimacy of this action? In the absence of any other explanation I can only presume it is because there is no rationale other than that they could do what they did.

And let there be no ambiguity about this. That is not good enough.
There is also an onus on the British government and the PSNI to resist any temptation or any demands for a return to the bad practices of the past. This would be equally wrong. It would also sideline the peace process and political leaders.

That would be foolhardy and play into the hands of those who were responsible for the Antrim attack.
In particular, this means that the transparent and accountability arrangements around the PSNI must be adhered to and defended.

That’s what I told British Prime Minister Gordon Brown when we met on Monday morning.
For our part genuine republicans and democrats will work with the PSNI to ensure that those involved in this attack are apprehended and subjected to due process.

The popular will in Ireland is for peaceful and democratic change. I’m sure that’s shared by our neighbours in Britain and further afield.

So everyone has a responsibility to defend the peace. There can be no going back. The only way to go is forward.’ ENDS

On 12 march a Sinn Fein delegation led by Gerry Adams, met Taoiseach Brian Cowen in Dublin, in the wake of recent killings in the north.

PSNI officer shot dead in Craigavon
 
Commenting after a PSNI officer was shot dead in the Craigavon area this evening local Sinn Féin MLA John O’Dowd said: `This is an attack on the peace process. It is wrong and it is counter productive and I would extend my condolences to the dead mans family at this time.’ He added `As with what happened in Antrim over the weekend we condemn it. Whoever carried out this shooting was not doing so to advance Irish republican or democratic goals. They have no strategy to deliver a United Ireland.’

He concluded `This is a time for strong political leadership and cool heads. It is a time for all political parties and the two governments to recommit to the principles which have underpinned the peace process and delivered the stability of recent years.’

`The process of change will continue'

On 11 March, Sinn Fein President  Gerry  Adams was speaking in County Westmeath at a number of engagements. He commented: `the recent attacks on the

peace  process  have  created  an  unprecedented degree of unity between political  parties in the north. I am confident, that without minimizing the  challenges,  that  the  popular  resolve  will prevail and that the process of change will continue.

He added: `A  similar approach is needed to tackle the economic crisis. This means that  those parties who have an alternative vision for the future should forge  an  alliance for political change based on values of fairness and decency.’

Mr Adams went on to say: `Figures  released  last  week  show  that  the  public  finances are in freefall  and  unemployment  soaring  to levels not seen in decades. The government  has  still  not  delivered  a real plan on how it intends to reverse this trend.

`We  can  get  through  the  current  crisis  but  only  if  the current government delivers a plan. But let's face facts. There  is  now  a  real  sense  that a fundamental realignment of Irish politics  is possible. People are re-appraising the kind of Ireland they want.  They  are rejecting the greed, inefficiency, waste and corruption that  has  been  witnessed in recent years. They want a society based on values of fairness and decency.

`It  is  up  to  those  parties  who believe in an alternative political future  to  improve their message, to provide credible leadership and to forge a new alliance for change.

`In  one  year  alone  unemployment  in  Westmeath  has  nearly doubled.
Unemployment  figures  for  the  county  in February 2008 were 4,574. In January  of  this  year that figure had risen to 8,042. In February that figure was 8,620. That is nearly 600 jobs lost in just one month.’

He added `We  need  to  remember that these are not just mere statistics but real people  who have families to care for and financial commitments to meet. Due  to the policies pursued by the present government these commitments often include exorbitant mortgages and astronomical childcare costs.

`Many people in towns such as Mullingar are forced to commute to work in Dublin every day. Counties like Westmeath need a government-led strategy to provide employment here in the county itself.’

He said the  Government's  budget  last  October  `did  nothing to stimulate the economy  nor  protect  and  create  jobs.  As it now stands unemployment figures  will  far  exceed the projected figure of 400,000 by the end of the year.’

`The  government's  almost  exclusive  focus  on  cuts  is fundamentally undermining  Ireland's  economy.  The  number  one  priority  should  be retaining and creating jobs.  We need a plan to hold on to or create the 1,000  jobs  a  day  that are being lost. We need to fast track business start-ups. We need to develop our indigenous export market.

He concluded: `It is time to provide hope and opportunity at this time of economic uncertainty. The government needs to act but it is failing to do so. If it cannot do the job it should step aside.’

Sinn Fein in London for St Patrick’s week of events

Sinn Fein MP Pat Doherty will be in London from 14-18 March, to attend a number of events around St Patricks Day, including events hosted by the Irish Embassy in London, the Labour Party Irish Society and the cross-party pro-peace process group Champ. Mr Doherty will also be on the London St Patricks’ Parade and festival in Trafalgar Square, and during the week he will meet a number of MPs and be available to talk to the media. For further information contact 07940 565123

Latest News - 8 March, 2009

• "Real IRA" claim responsibility for Antrim attack
• Statement from Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, MP, MLA

"Real IRA" claim responsibility for Antrim attack

The self styled "Real IRA" has allegedly claimed responsibility for the attack on a British army barracks in Co Antrim in which two soldiers were shot dead and four others injured.

Two pizza delivery men are among those seriously injured in the attack on the Massereene Barracks that left two soldiers dead.

It emerged that a Sunday Tribune journalist was contacted by someone using a recognised code word, claiming the attack had been carried out by the micro group.

The attack began shortly before 10pm as pizzas from a local business were being delivered.

During two long bursts of gunfire, the two soldiers in their 20s were shot dead and four people, including two civilians, were seriously injured.

The PSNI has confirmed that two of the men injured were the employees of a pizza delivery company.

One man has been named locally as 19-year-old Anthony Watson. His condition has been described as serious. The condition of the second man, a 32-year-old Polish national is said to be critical.

The other two injured men were British soldiers at the base.

The gunmen made off as a fleet of ambulances rushed to the scene.

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Statement from Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, MP, MLA

Commenting on last night's attack in county Antrim Mr. Adams said:

"Last nights attack was an attack on the peace process. It was wrong and counter productive. "

"Those responsible have no support, no strategy to achieve a United Ireland. Their intention is to bring British soldiers back onto the streets. They want to destroy the progress of recent times and to plunge Ireland back into conflict."

"Irish republicans and democrats have a duty to oppose this and to defend the peace process. Sinn Féin has a strategy to bring about an end to British rule in our country by peaceful and democratic means."

"There should be an end to actions like the one in Antrim last night. The popular will is for peaceful and democratic change."

"Sinn Féin has a responsibility to be consistent. The logic of this is that we support the police in the apprehension of those involved in last nights attack."

"The police also have a responsibility to give leadership and to behave at all times in a transparent and accountable manner. The British Government has a duty to uphold the new political arrangement and the peace process."

"I particularly want to appeal to republicans once again for calm, thoughtful and decisive leadership. "

"The peace process was built against the odds and not least because of the willingness of republicans to take risks and to be strategic and long sighted."

"There are elements within Unionism and within the British system who do not want the peace process to achieve its objectives. Our responsibility is to defend the peace process and the progress that has been made to achieving national and democratic rights. "

"We will not be deflected from our republican and democratic objectives."

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FROM THE HALDANE SOCIETY

*Monday 16 March*,

with Jeremy Hardy, we invite you to commemorate the
life of Rosemary Nelson, solicitor, on the tenth anniversay of her
tragic murder. Speakers will be Jeremy Hardy and solicitors Imran Khan,
Gareth Peirce and Padraigin Drinan, solicitors who knew and worked with
Rosemary. The panel will pay tribute to Rosemary's legal and campaigning
work, discuss her legacy ten years on, and consider the value of the
inquiry into her death.

The event is at Garden Court Chambers, 57 - 60 Lincoln's Inn Fields,
London WC2A 3LS, nearest tube Holborn, 6.30 - 8.30pm. Entrance is free.

Further information   http://www.haldane.org

Latest News - 5 March, 2009

• MPs approve legislation on policing and justice powers
• SF hosts International Women's Day events
• Sinn Féin on Twitter and Facebook

MPs approve legislation on policing and justice powers

MPs at Westminster have approved new legislation to give effect to the transfer of powers on policing and justice to the Six County Assembly.

The Bill is a further step along the process agreed between Sinn Fein and the DUP last November. The arrangements are designed to facilitate the transfer of powers in the near future. They cover the period from transfer up until May 2012. By then the parties are required to agree new arrangements which will take effect beyond that date.

The DUP and Sinn Fein agreed that neither of party would nominate for the position of Justice Minister during this time. They agreed that the position of Justice Minister would be filled on the basis of the cross-community support mechanism set out in the Good Friday Agreement. The new Justice Minister will require the support of a majority of unionist MLAs and a majority of nationalist MLAs.

The agreement also include the appointment of a new Attorney General.

British Secretary of State Shaun Woodward said the parties should be "bold and go forward".

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SF hosts International Women's Day events

The first event is taking place in Dublin Friday March 6th 11am-1pm Wynn's Hotel with guest Nell McCafferty and hosted by Mary Lou McDonald MEP.

The second event is taking place in Belfast Saturday March 7th 1pm-3:30pm Balmoral Hotel, Black's Road with guest Margaret Ward and hosted by Bairbre de Brún MEP.

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Sinn Féin on Twitter and Facebook

Sinn Féin is now officially on Twitter and Facebook.

Sinn Féín is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/sinnfeinireland. You can also get Sinn Féin Twitter as an RSS feed at https://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/22628924.rss.

Sinn Féín is on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55165776747&ref=mf.

Can you please forward this information to your own contact lists.

Looking forward to see you there.

Go raibh maith agat!

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Latest News - 3 March, 2009

• McGuinness and Robinson to meet Obama
• de Brún calls from Palestine on EU and US to demand an end to Gaza siege
• Younger faces take up key roles in party leadership
• A spirit that cannot be quenched

McGuinness and Robinson to meet Obama

Joint First Ministers Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness will be meeting the US President Barack Obama during St Patrick`s day celebrations at the White House later this month.

The Ministers say they are confident the Obama administration would continue to encourage US businesses to set up in the region.

Minister McGuinness said it was vital the Six County Executive made its presence felt in the US.

"The recession began in America and so will the recovery. We must now more than ever have a visible presence in the United States", Mr McGuinness said.

Ahead of their trip the Ministers are making a series of visits to a number of firms which have US parent companies. They have already visited County Antrim engineering company FG Wilson - owned by US giant Caterpillar. The firm announced 250 planned redundancies in January and shed 180 agency workers in December as a result of the downturn.

Martin McGuinness said their meeting had helped them gain a greater understanding of the impact of the economic downturn on local manufacturers.

"During our visit to the United States we will be meeting with senior executives of Caterpillar Inc, the parent company of FG Wilson, to reinforce the important contribution which the company makes to the local economy, in terms of both employment and research and development," he said.

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de Brún calls from Palestine on EU and US to demand an end to Gaza siege

In advance of yesterday's Sharm El Sheikh Conference for Gaza reconstruction and support for the Palestinian economy, Bairbre de Brun MEP has called on the EU and US to demand that the border crossings at Gaza be opened and that free movement be allowed into and out of Gaza. She stressed that without an end to the siege of Gaza reconstruction would not be possible.

Ms de Brún is in Palestine where she is part of a cross-party delegation of MEPs who are meeting political figures, community organisations, human rights organisations and international agencies. She has been Blogging from Gaza over the last number of days. You can view this at http://www.sinnfeineu.com/en/entries/15/0/campaigns.

Ms de Brun said:

"Our cross party group of MEPs has seen for ourselves the terrible destruction that has resulted from the recent Israeli assault on Gaza. Homes and businesses have been destroyed, schools, hospitals and ambulances attacked and Gaza has been left without the basic civilian infrastructure needed to sustain life. The vast majority of the population has now become dependent on food aid. Those we have met have told us how they want to get back to providing for themselves. They do not want to be forever dependent on international agencies for emergency aid.

"In order to rebuild their lives they need to be able to travel freely in and out of Gaza, to import materials needed to rebuild businesses and to export the goods they produce once they get back on their feet. None of this is possible if the present restrictions on the movement of people and goods are not lifted.

Ms de Brun also welcomed the agreement by 14 Palestinian parties to start an intensive dialogue with a view to forming a Government of Unity for Palestine. Five committees with representatives of all the 14 groups will meet from 10 March to try and agree by the end of March on steps to form a government of consensus, to have new elections, to have a unified, independent and professional Palestinian security force and to reach reconciliation to overcome bitter intra Palestinian divisions.

Ms de Brun said: "We in Ireland learned the benefit of having a broad alliance of people from a variety of political approaches in an effort to promote a viable peace process. I welcome the start of dialogue towards forming a government of consensus in Palestine. I wish the working committees that have been formed every success in their work".

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Younger faces take up key roles in party leadership

Last month's Sinn Féin Ard Fheis saw the further emergence of the new, young Sinn Féin leadership from across the island, North and South. Again and again young, highly articulate republicans - some of them already elected representatives, some not, addressed the Ard Fheis with passion on a range of issues facing the country.

If one of the surest guarantees of the success of a revolutionary struggle is that a new generation of leaders comes to the fore with the commitment and vigour shown by their predecessors, then the 2009 Ard Fheis was proof positive of that process within Irish republicanism.

That process was further confirmed on the election of the new party Officer Board with Dublin MEP Mary Lou McDonald succeeding Pat Doherty as Vice President, Declan Kearney becoming Party Chairperson, Dawn Doyle taking over as General Secretary and Maurice Quinlivan elected as one of the party's joint Treasurers.

Another positive development was that the 2009 Ard Fheis also saw the largest number of women candidates standing for election to the Ard Cómhairle in recent years. This was validation of the party's ongoing efforts to increase the presence and profile of women in leadership positions and to ensure that the party itself embodies its ideal of an Ireland of equals.

The Sinn Féin Ard Cómhairle elected by delegates at the Ard Fheis is as follows:

President: Gerry Adams

Vice President: Mary Lou McDonald

Chairperson: Declan Kearney

General Secretary: Dawn Doyle

Director of Publicity: Rosaleen Doherty

Treasurers: Rita O'Hare and Maurice Quinlivan

Bairbre de Brún

Pearse Doherty

Jimmy Fox

Mícheál Mac Donncha

Noeleen Mac Póilín

Mary McArdle

Barry McElduff

Shannonbrooke Murphy

Seán Murray

Áine Ní Gabhann

Ella O'Dwyer

Tomás Sharkey

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A spirit that cannot be quenched

300 people crowded in to the Stillorgan Park Hotel in Dublin for the annual Le Chéile dinner dance to honour republicans from the four provinces and abroad for their dedication and commitment to the republican struggle.

Those present heard Gerry Adams describe the nominees as representative of "a spirit that cannot be quenched and a struggle that cannot be defeated".

The evening opened with the playing of the national anthem. This was followed by the reading, in Irish and English, of a brief biography of each of the nominees by Six-County MEP Bairbre de Brún and Cllr Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Eddie and Rose Caughey (England), Peter John and Mary Caraher (Ulster), Tommy Devereux (Connacht), Eddie Butler (Munster) and Mick 'Avic' O'Leary (Leinster).

Each recipient was then presented with a marble and bronze sculpture by Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams and newly elected Vice-President Mary Lou McDonald.

Gerry Adams said the honourees are "ordinary decent human beings to whom we owe a huge amount".

"The richness of our struggle is, of course, not that we are honouring these individuals or couples but that we could be honouring another 200, 300 or 400 more," he said.

"They are representative of a spirit that cannot be quenched -- of a struggle that cannot be defeated -- and of an Ireland which will one day be free.

"And when it is," he said, "it will be because of our honourees."

HUMBLED

Each of the honourees was then given the opportunity to say a few words.

All of them said they were "humbled" by the occasion with several references made to the fact that they were receiving the same award as last year's recipient, the late Brian Keenan.

Peter John Caraher said:

"I dedicate this night to him and to all the brave men and women who gave their lives for our good cause." Mary Caraher joined him in accepting the award and dedicating it to a list from "the native Irish who had the land confiscated from Cromwell" through to the Famine and hunger strikes and on to "our Sinn Féin politicians who are making marvellous progress in all 32 Counties".

Eddie Caughey said he was "deeply honoured to be among his republican family" and that anything his family had done was done "out of commitment and responsibility to the Irish people and the struggle for Irish self-determination". His daughter, Sally, who attended in place of her mother, Rose, who couldn't be there because of illness, said the family was very grateful for the award because she modestly claimed the role they played in England was small.

Eddie Butler reflected on the support he received from his parents and siblings during his long years in prison in Britain, saying he is very proud of all his family. Even when his brothers and sisters emigrated to the United States and got married and started raising their own families they would still make the difficult and expensive trips to English jails to visit him. Eddie gave a special mention also to campaigners Sister Sarah Clarke, Mike Duffy in the US and Anne O'Sullivan in the Dublin POW Department for their support for prisoners through the years.

FOR MAYO

Tommy Devereux thanked his wife and family for their support and he dedicated his award to "an awful lot of people in Mayo she'll never know.

"Without them," he said, "I wouldn't be here tonight. I am very grateful and this is for them."

Mick 'Avic' O'Leary described the occasion as the "biggest night" of his life and congratulated his fellow nominees. Referring to the time of his first introduction to active republicanism, he said: "When I was 15, de Valera executed 10 republicans. Peadar O'Donnell summed it up well when he described those years as the 'age of betrayal' -- a time when good strong republicans who have fought heart in hand were seduced into an establishment and became as oppressive as the ones they had fought against."

He said the people in power today are an offshoot of those people. He said they are "masters of sleaze and slime". He said the local elections are going to be a big test for republicans. "If it doesn't happen locally, what's done nationally won't be of any use," he said. "We are going to have to give people the tools, motivation and the running orders to advance Sinn Féin's ideas of the 32-County Republic."

Mick finished with another reference to Brian Keenan -- this time using a quote of Brian's to describe how he felt at being given the award. He said: "Brian would say, 'Jaysus, lads -- I love youse to bits.'"

The craic and banter went on late in to the night.

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Sinn Fein
Week in Review
21-27 February 2009

Gerry Adams’ urges unity among progressive parties.

The Sinn Fein Ard Fheis (National Conference) took place in Dublin on 20-21 February. In his Presidential Address on 21 February, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams called for a new realignment of Irish politics and for unity among progressive parties and organisations as an alternative to the two right wing parties, in response to the economic crisis. He also underscored the necessity for an all-Ireland solution, and announced a major national and international campaign for Irish unity in the coming period. The full text of his address, and other key speeches at the Ard Fheis can be found at www.ardfheis.com

Mr Adams said the current Dublin government had `failed the people’ and `should go’.
He slammed the government’s attacks on public services while `giving billions of euros to the banks with almost no strings attached’. He said `It is spending public money… to bail out its property developer friends in Anglo-Irish Bank, despite the way Anglo Irish and Irish Life & Permanent cooked their books’.

He said, in the boom times `Sinn Féin urged for investment in public services and in policies that would build for the future. We argued and we insist that the economy should serve the public good. Sinn Féin warned of the consequences of ill conceived government policies. These policies and the economy they sustain serve private greed.’

He said `successive governments ruled in their interests and squandered the wealth created by Irish workers’.
The boom times, had he said, presented a historic opportunity `to deliver universal first class health services, to invest in new schools, social housing and public transport links, to tackle disadvantage, poverty and inequality, and to build the infrastructure required to ensure the future stability of the Irish economy’ but the government `chose to do none of these things’.

Quoting Bobby Sands’ criticism of `those who exploit and enrich themselves on the backs of citizens’, he had written in prison on the 11th day of his hunger strike: 'there is no equality in a society that stands upon the economic and political bog, where only the strongest make it good or survive.'

On the progress in the north, Mr Adams said the the DUP `is working with us’, adding `this is a party established to block civil rights reform, a party which opposed power sharing and the Good Friday Agreement. The DUP is now working all-Ireland institutions’.

However he added that working with the DUP was `difficult and challenging’, and `holding that party to its commitments and ensuring that the equality agenda of the Good Friday and St Andrews Agreements are delivered is hard work., but he added `Unionist politicians now know that if they wish to exercise political power they can only do so in partnership with the rest of us.It is a battle a day, every day, over education, the environment, Acht na Gaeilge (Irish Language Act) and much more.’

Progress had been made on the transfer of powers on policing and justice, in tackling fuel poverty; in securing additional funding for economic investment and for tackling rural poverty, and in deferring water charges.

On achieving a United Ireland, `based on citizens rights’ Mr Adams repeated calls for `political alliances’ to achieve this, and `to build support internationally’. He said: `There are tens of millions of people across the world who can trace their lineage back to Ireland. There is considerable good will in the US for a United Ireland. We have to mobilize and organise with all of these friends and potential friends to advance our goals.’ He said that the Summer would see two major conferences in the US and next year a conference in Britain, intending to `engage with the Irish diaspora and to marshal its political strength in support of a United Ireland’.

He added that Irish unity was `not just a dearly held republican and democratic aspiration - it is an economic imperative’,

Internationally he welcomed the election of Barack Obama, adding `As the first black American President he carries the dreams and hopes of many of his people and others throughout the globe’.

He said `the attack by Israeli Government on the people of Gaza in the weeks before President Obama's inauguration was a despicable act of terror’ and that it was an assault `in a community of just 1.5 million already starved of medical supplies and essential foodstuffs and effectively imprisoned in an area the size of county Louth’.

The only solution that can work in the Middle East, he added `is one based on justice, which recognizes that the Palestinian people must have a homeland that is viable and sustainable’.

Mr Adams also extended `warmest greetings to the people of Cuba and to Fidel and we wish him well’ on the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban revolution.

In the 90th Anniversary year of the first Dail, Mr Adams said the politics of the first Dail were as relevant today as they were then, adding `there can be an egalitarian alternative to the politics of greed, inefficiency, waste and corruption’.

On the need for a new political alignment, he said `the dominance in this State of two large conservative parties can be brought to an end if a new alignment in Irish politics, north and south can be created. The replacement of the current coalition at some future election by another coalition with Fine Gael as the main party would be like replacing Tweedledum with Tweedledee.’

He added `the Labour Party has a duty not to prop up either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. Instead Labour should explore with us and others the potential for co-operation in the future.

Mr Adams invited `all these potential allies to come together to forge a stronger, more united progressive and democratic movement for our country - one that aims to meet the needs of all citizens. I include parties like Labour, the Greens if they can survive the fall out from their participation in this right wing government; other smaller parties ; the trade unions; the community organisations that are on the front line in the struggle for equality; Gaelgeoiri; rural agencies and organisations, including farming bodies and fishing communities; women's groups; the students, youth organisations and those who speak for the disabled, the poor, the unemployed, the homeless and the marginalised in our society.’

He said Sinn Féin was `ready to join with all of those who want real change and who recognise that the road to real change requires unity of purpose, of ideas and of energy’.

Other speeches by Martin McGuinness MP, Mary Lou McDonald MEP, the newly elected Party Vice President and others can be found at www.ardfheis.com

 
Adams calls for a political progressive alliance for change.

On 27 February, Gerry Adams reiterated his Ard Fheis call for a political alliance for change in Ireland, arguing that the replacement of the current coalition by another coalition with Fine Gael as the main party would be `pointless’.
The Sinn Féin President said it was time for `a fundamental realignment of Irish politics, to break the grip of the two main conservative parties in Ireland — a throwback to the Civil War which does nothing to help tackle the economic crisis that the country now faces.’

Noting recent comments by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, Mr Adams said he `offers nothing new of substance to the Irish people and merely highlights the fact that the replacement of the current coalition by another coalition with Fine Gael as the main party would be pointless’.
Mr Adams said `There is nothing in the policies Fine Gael has put forward to differentiate it from Fianna Fail. Despite what Fine Gael may be saying now they did not put forward a critique of the way the Irish economy and society were developing under the current government.’
Fine Gael, he said proposed `cutting taxes when the over-reliance of the state on taxes from consumption and property was clear’, adding `It led the attacks on public sector workers while failing to explain how their proposals for cutbacks would not undermine the delivery of front line public services.’
Enda Kenny’s party was `not supportive of the social partnership process that has the ability to build a social solidarity pack to bring us through our current economic difficulties’. Fine Gael had `not demonstrated that it would work with the social partners, in particular the trade unions in getting the Irish economy back on track’, but had `supported government policies which undermined the ability of small Irish businesses to operate – moves such as the attempt to break up the ESB which has seen electricity prices soar and changes to capital gains tax which made it more profitable to speculate on property than to run a small business.’
He concluded: `What Ireland clearly needs is a united, progressive and democratic movement for change in our country — a movement that has an alternative, egalitarian vision to the prevailing politics of greed, inefficiency, waste and corruption. Sinn Féin is ready to join with those parties, community groups and the trade union organizations who seek a real political alternative.’

Sinn Fein welcome `significant step’ towards transfer of policing and justice powers.

On 25 February, Sinn Féin policing spokesperson Alex Maskey described the publication of the draft legislation to give effect to the transfer of powers on policing and justice as `another significant step towards the transfer of these powers in the near future’.
Mr. Maskey also described the DUP leader's claims that the Bill represents gains for the DUP and a rewriting of the GFA as `bogus, pathetic and electorally driven’.
Mr. Maskey said the Bill, which will progress through Westminster next week as `a further step along the process agreed in November to give effect to the transfer of policing and justice’. The draft legislation `gives expression to interim arrangements agreed between Sinn Fein and the DUP last November’ and are `designed to facilitate the transfer of powers in the near future’. He added that they cover the period from transfer up until May 2012, `by then the parties are required to agree new arrangements which will take effect beyond that date’.
He said DUP leader Peter Robinson's preoccupation with Jim Allister had become `pathetic’, adding `when the community demands positive leadership on a positive agenda, the DUP leader retreats behind the demand for unionist veto's’.
He said that `no amount of bluster about veto's, triple locks or blocks can disguise that fact that if the institutions are to work, if we are to deliver for our community, there is a need and obligation on political leaders to work in genuine partnership. The job of leaders is to make and deliver on agreements not to construct veto's’.
He said the reality was that the DUP are `in partnership government with Sinn Féin’.
He said `In agreeing the process to give effect to the transfer of powers both the DUP and Sinn Fein agreed that neither of our parties would nominate for the position of Justice Minister at this time. We agreed that the position of Justice Minister would be filled on the basis of the cross-community support mechanism set out in the Good Friday Agreement. The new Justice Minister will require the support of a majority of unionist MLAs and a majority of nationalist MLAs. However Peter Robinson may wish to present this, it adds up to a role for all the Sinn Fein Assembly members in the appointment of the Justice Minister.’
He added `Peter Robinson's claim that the OFMdFM will have no role in the judicial appointments process is also disingenuous. The draft legislation provides for the appointment of judges on the basis of recommendations of the Judicial Appointments Commission. Legislation is already in place which provides for appointments to the JAC to be made by the Ministers in OFMdFM acting jointly.’
He said `the process agreed between Peter Robinson and myself last November which included agreement on the appointment of a new Attorney General was an important first step. The subsequent work of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee on related issues and, most recently, the publication of the draft legislation to affect transfer are further significant steps.’

l Alex Maskey will be in London on 3-4 March, to meet cross-party MPs in Westminster on the issue, as the legislation proceeds through Westminster. All enquiries to: fisherj@parliament.uk or 07940 565123.

Sinn Fein MEP in Gaza delegation urges and end to the blockade

On 23 February Sinn Féin MEP Bairbre de Brún travelled to Gaza as part of a cross-party group of European MPs to see firsthand the humanitarian needs on the ground.

The delegation travelled to Israel and Palestine on 25 February to meet with Palestinian and Israeli politicians, the UN and humanitarian and human rights groups.

Ms de Brún speaking from Gaza on 26 February, said that the level of destruction was `unimaginable’ and that almost the entire economic and social infrastructure of the area had been destroyed.
Ms de Brun said `Homes and entire communities have been devastated. The social and economic infrastructure has been almost totally destroyed. Hospitals and health clinics have been attacked and badly damaged’.
She added: `In one area we visited this morning 250 homes had been turned into rubble. We also visited the Atta Abu Jubba company which is the biggest factory in Gaza and the only cement factory supplying all of Palestine and it had been destroyed meaning that the rebuilding that is needed will be much more difficult.’
She said: `Everywhere you turn there is rubble where once there had been a living community and it is clear that this has not happened by accident. People are left bereft of basic amenities and their livelihoods stripped away and they have no sense of security or safety. These are very able and capable people who could rebuild their lives if the right conditions where in place.’
She pointed to `a very deep frustration and anger on the ground at the lack of accountability, that no-one has been held to account for what has happened.’
She said it was `essential that the necessary emergency aid is delivered without delay to people but that in itself is no guarantee that the humanitarian crisis will be addressed. The key to relieving suffering is the opening of the border crossings. We need to see the free movement of people and goods into Gaza.’
She added `I know that across the world people are moved by the plight of people in Gaza but sadly this willingness to help will be undermined unless there is an end to the siege. The international community needs to ensure that the siege is lifted. People who we spoke to today in Gaza need to know that the international community is committed to a peaceful future, that the steps needed to underpin reconstruction are taken and that there will be proper mechanisms of accountability.’
Bairbre de Brun also met John Ging who is in charge of the UNRWA operation in Gaza, with members of Civil society and with families in the rubble of their homes.

British must address truth and justice in an `open and honest way’

On 25 February, reacting to the announcement on a radio show that morning by the British Secretary of State Shaun Woodward, that the British Government are to abandon the recognition payment contained the in the Eames/Bradley proposals, Sinn Féin spokesperson Francie Molloy said that when the report was published `we cautioned that the next stage would be for the British State, the chief protagonist in the conflict, to take the Report away and to cherry pick through it to arrive at a position which suits their interests’.

He said `British State interests do not match the interests of victims and survivors’.
He said this approach was exactly that taken by successive British governments to these sorts of reports in the past, `be it Patten on Policing or previous reports on Equality issues and Fair Employment in particular. Reports are written, recommendations are made and then the British government do what is in their interests.’
He said this was `always a weakness in the Eames/Bradley approach which we publicly identified’. The British government appointed them, he added `set their terms of reference, funded them and ultimately reserved the right to pick and choose from their recommendations’.

He concluded: `This is a bigger issue than the £12,000 recognition payment. This process has to be about delivering an effective, victim centred truth recovery process which is independent of the British State. The appointment by the British Government of a Legacy Commission as proposed by the Eames/Bradley report falls very short of this demand. The fact that the British government have already started to cherry pick away from Eames/Bradley will not inspire confidence that they have decided to end their policy of concealment and cover-up and begin to address the issue of truth in an open and transparent fashion.’

Sinn Fein back CPSU workers action

On 26 February, speaking from the picket line outside Leinster House today Sinn Féin Workers Rights Spokesperson Arthur Morgan TD said Sinn Féin TDs, Senator and staff are unanimously showing solidarity with CPSU workers, who are on one day strike in response to the governments pension levy, by not passing today’s picket outside Leinster House.

Deputy Morgan said Sinn Féin’s Oireachtas team was `standing in solidarity with the CPSU workers who are picketing Leinster House in protest against the grossly inequitable so-called public service pension levy’.
He said the `rushing through of this legislation in the face of such fierce opposition both in the Dáil and on the streets is completely unacceptable to Sinn Féin and we make an eleventh hour appeal to the government not to enact this legislation and to heed the call from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions for the reopening of social partnership talks’.
He concluded: `As I stated when I spoke on the Bill on Tuesday evening, we know that people in the public service are willing to make a fair contribution to help address the economic crisis but they are not willing and they will not stand for the imposition of this discriminatory tax – a tax on public service rather than a levy on public service pensions.’

 
Sinn Fein delegation to Wales Assembly focuses on language rights

On 25 February, Sinn Féin Assembly Group Leader John O'Dowd MLA led a party delegation on a visit to the Welsh Assembly; the delegation included party activists Seán Oliver and Rosie McCorley, as well as Cllr Gerry Mac Lochlainn from Derry.

While there they met with representatives from across the political parties, including Plaid Cymru, the Liberal Democrats, the Conservative Party as well as Labour.

The purpose of the visit was to focus on issues such as cultural and language rights as well as education.
Speaking from Cardiff Mr O'Dowd said the delegation had met a number of political parties, as well as the Presiding Officer of the Welsh Assembly and the Chair of the Enterprise and Learning Committee.

He said `One of our main focuses was on Language and Language rights and trying to discover how in Wales the issue of Language protection and promotion went from such a divisive issue to an issue with cross party support and endorsement.’

He added that Sinn Fein was `serious about the promotion and protection of the Irish Language and we want to learn from best practice in other Celtic Nations’, adding `as well as this our delegation discussed the issue of education and educational reform and how that transition can be made in the best possible way within the North of Ireland. Bear in mind that Wales abandoned the Eleven Plus model 40 years ago, without the world falling down around them to a current position of having an excellent education system.’

He concluded: `Today we have met a number of party leaders and discussed a wide range of issues. The Assembly in Wales, and the Scottish Parliament, are now well established and we can learn from their experiences. There is a common social agenda. We are in the early stages of our institution and we want to listen and share experiences with both Wales and Scotland to see how we can progress.’

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Email fisherj@parliament.uk or visit www.sinnfein.ie