Irish government acted as junior partner in negotiation
Sinn Féin’s objectives throughout the recent negotiations, which led to the Stormont House Agreement were very clear. These were to agree a comprehensive deal to protect the most vulnerable in society,...
View ArticleTaoiseach sees north as foreign country
The Stormont House Agreement was for Sinn Féin a defensive negotiation. It was about defending what had been gained previously and was being diluted as a result of the ongoing process. In large measure...
View ArticleAsylum seekers treated shamefully
The United Nations estimates that there are currently over 50 million people around the world who are displaced persons. In 2013 there were 16.7 million refugees worldwide. 50% of refugees are under 18...
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Reclaiming the Vision of 1916: Sinn Féin's Programme for 2016
Bobby Ballagh and mise Wynn’s Hotel in Lower Abbey Street in the centre of Dublin played a pivotal role in the formation of two of the key groups that shaped the 1916 Easter Rising; Oglaigh na...
View ArticleIrish government fails to break the connection between sport and alcohol...
Two weeks ago the Fine Gael and Labour government published a new bill to regulate the marketing and advertising of alcohol. The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill was also supposed to tackle the important...
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The Ard Fheis and Derry; and opposing welfare cuts
Preparing to give Ard Fheis SpeechThe streets of Derry were alive with different accents from all parts of the island of Ireland last weekend. There were the Derry wans, the Belfast ones, Kerry, Cork,...
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St. Paddy’s Day in Washington
John Fitzpatrick; Hillary Clinton; mise and Niall O DowdIt’s hard to imagine but my first St. Patrick’s Day Speakers lunch in Washington DC was exactly 20 years ago. It was also my first meeting with...
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The People’s Pact
Last Monday was the day 34 years ago when nominations closed for the historic Fermanagh South Tyrone by-election. Bobby Sands was at that point 30 days on hunger strike. He had been joined by...
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St. Colmcilles – A Remarkable GAA Club
Eimear Ferguson is a Sinn Féin Councillor on Meath County Council. She represents East Meath which is part of the Louth constituency. Her father, Dessie, is a former inter county Gaelic footballer with...
View ArticleIrish Times: Anti-Sinn Féin Polemics
April 9th 2015:Below is the text of a letter which I have been trying to get the Irish Times to carry for the last two weeks. It has refused. A chara,The Irish Times has set out its clear opposition to...
View Article2016 – A time for Renewal
There are countless dates in Ireland’s long struggle for freedom that deserve commemoration and celebration but none resonate more deeply in the Irish psyche than the Easter Rising of 1916. One reason...
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Vote Yes for Marriage Equality
Dublin Launch of Referendums CampaignTwo years ago this week the 100 members of the Constitutional Convention, meeting in the Grand Hotel in Malahide in north Dublin, delivered a decisive vote of 79%...
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Rambling On Rathlin
A view from Rathlin Rathlin Island, off the coast of County Antrim, is our most northern off shore island. I was there at the weekend. The journey over in the ferry from Ballycastle was sublime. It...
View ArticleA scandal at the heart of government
Following the economic crash eight years ago two toxic banks in the 26 counties – Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide - were amalgamated into the state owned Irish Bank Resolution Company set up for...
View ArticleBricfeasta na hAoine - my own 'grá' for our native language
Inné bhí mé ag caint ag Bricfeasta na hAoine, ócáid eagrithe ag Glór na nGael. Bhí slua maith de Ghaeilgeoirí ann. Daoine le Gaeilge ag teacht le chéile ar son phroinn na maidine san ArdChathair. At...
View ArticleManaging change will define us
Well the Westminster election is over and the shape of the next British government is now known. We also know the strengths of the parties in the north. For the political anorak it’s an early...
View ArticleJames Connolly Commemoration: Government being dishonest on economic choices
The life and death of James Connolly is a story of heroism in the struggle against injustice and inequality. Connolly was born in 1868 into a poor family in an Irish ghetto in Edinburgh. He was a...
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The next battlefield
There are lots of lessons to be learned from the Westminster election by all of the parties. The party number crunchers, as well as the political pundits, a host of academics and media columnists,...
View ArticleTiochfaidh ár ngrá - Vótáil Tá
There are no certainties in politics or when it comes to ‘the vote.’ Constitutional decisions are not taken on the basis of opinion polls. The only poll that counts is the one in which citizens...
View ArticleReaching Out
A few years ago I visited NUI Galway to address the students on the peace process. The hall was packed and for reasons I still don’t quite understand there were very few chairs put out for the hundreds...
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