Irish Presidential election – Page 2 – Slugger O'Toole

Yes, IRA violence was remorseless, but what caused it? And who brought it to an end?

Mick Fealty on October 6, 2011, 8:59 am

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Martina Devlin with a timely observation: A debate about the North has become intertwined with the presidential race — one which should have taken place at the time of the Good Friday Agreement more than 13 years ago, but was sidelined amid euphoria about peace in our time. Quite so. It is an important debate. The problem is that partition has worked to the extent that the largest body of opinion in the Republic, feels ‘the North’ is an embarrassment …

Where is the Fianna Fail vote going in #Aras11?

Mick Fealty on October 5, 2011, 10:56 pm

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This has just come up as an off topic conversation on another thread. Whilst the Red C poll gives a good idea of where the candidates where just before the campaign began, it does tell us where the core vote of each of the parties is going. Both Sinn Fein and Labour candidates were up on their parties poll showing, whilst Fine Gael was spectacularly down. But given none of the four other candidates are representatives of political parties, it …

Sinn Fein release Martin McGuinness bank statement

Turgon on October 5, 2011, 11:47 am

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The BBC are reporting that Sinn Fein have released a bank statement purporting to be Martin McGuinness’s. The statement over 6 months details his receipt from Sinn Fein of £1515 in May which rose in June to £1569 and then in August to £1605. It also details assorted withdrawals made by Mr. McGuiness: he mainly seems to shop at ASDA but has also been to TK Maxx, B&Q and Tescos. It is of course unclear how many accounts Mr. McGuinness …

Martin McGuinness: “but it bears all kinds of sinister connotations…”

Pete Baker on October 3, 2011, 10:41 pm

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There was a bizarre interruption in the Irish Times interview with the Sinn Fein candidate in the Irish Presidential race, Martin McGuinness, MP, MLA. From the Irish Times report TEN MINUTES into our interview, Martin McGuinness is beginning to set out how he’s been around a long time, when a shadow falls across the table. We turn around and a large, hirsute man looms above, shaking a camán and warning, “You’d better not ask any hard questions.” A smile as …

Davis makes financial disclosure. Will McGuinness follow?

Mick Fealty on October 3, 2011, 2:02 pm

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Mary Davis has been getting a lot of stick from the press about her various public appointments. Now, she’s published her P60 and her earnings as a director. In yesterday’s NewsTalk engagement Martin McGuinness also promised a similar disclosure… That would be a disclosure, Gerard’s been waiting for some months for… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and …

McGuinness on killing of innocents: “It’s quite legitimate for the term murder to be used…”

Mick Fealty on October 3, 2011, 11:24 am

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Hard ball interviews are vastly over rated in political journalism. A good example of the fruits of a ‘slow ball’ delivery is David McKittrick’s interview in today’s London Independent with Martin McGuinness. In particular this section: The conflict in the city was bitter, he says, with a lot of people killed on all sides. “I lost a lot of friends at the hands of the British Army,” he says. “The person who actually introduced me to my wife, Colm Keenan, …

#Aras11: McGuinness versus Mitchell on Newstalk

Mick Fealty on October 2, 2011, 9:26 pm

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This debate on the Dunphy Show this morning is well worth listening to for two reasons. One, given Mr Dunphy has said he will be voting for Martin McGuinness, we can be fairly sure the Derry man was given a fair crack of the whip. And two, it’s the first time on this campaign I’ve heard Gay Mitchell (a Queens graduate) put through his paces. Those of you who have already heard it will no doubt have your views immediately …

Martin McGuinness: “the past is a very, very dark place for everybody.”

Pete Baker on September 29, 2011, 6:17 pm

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In response to a challenge to appear in front of the Smithwick Tribunal, Sinn Féin’s candidate in the Irish Presidential election, Martin McGuinness, MP, MLA, has said that he has “no problem at all attending the tribunal”. But he added that he has “no direct knowledge of the circumstances surrounding” the murder of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan. Earlier today, Martin McGuinness said he could not recall the incident Peter Murtagh wrote about in today’s Irish Times, threatened Frank Hegarty’s family with recounting his …

Something about Mary, first Presidential candidate in Belfast (video added)

Mick Fealty on September 29, 2011, 4:09 pm

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Residents of Northern Ireland may not have vote as of right, but I suspect there are more than a few Irish denizens of Belfast who’ll be sneaking back to the Donegal ranch or running down to the ma’s in Dublin to cast their unofficial ex pat vote. Anyhoo, Mary Davis is the first candidate to platform in Belfast… She’ll be at the Crescent Arts Centre this evening between 6 and 7:30pm… Update: I hope he’ll go on serving as Deputy …

If McGuinness is right then an awful lot of people are lying about the past…

Mick Fealty on September 29, 2011, 1:45 pm

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Brian Feeney makes a strong point in yesterday’s Irish News in which he contrasts the ‘good’ IRA (the one that spawned the mainstream political parties of the Republic), and the ‘bad’, the one operated solely by their political rivals, Sinn Fein. If there is a difference in the treatment given each, then it is surely dependent on more than just an inchoate animus within the southern media towards us rough neck Nordies. Three alternative factors immediately come to mind: The ‘Free …

#Aras11: Two Fine Gael Chairs use ‘casting votes’ to block Norris

Mick Fealty on September 27, 2011, 1:28 pm

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Norris gets the vote from the Waterford City Council… So that’s Fingal, Laois and now Waterford… Interesting point to note that two of the councils (South Dublin and Carlow) who rejected him both did so on the casting vote of the Chairman… Given this is only for entry to another election, is this an indication of worries inside Fine Gael (Labour, who appear to be allowing individual discretion) the poor showing of their candidate, nominating what’s recognised as the weaker …

Martin McGuinness plans to take a new broom to ‘pacific’ Aras tradition…

Mick Fealty on September 27, 2011, 12:08 pm

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Áras an Uachtaráin - residence of the Irish President, and soon to be home to Northern Irish bees

I think this is well worth noting. Too many, it seems to me are presuming things about the Irish Presidency which rely on tradition (not least the one that says Fianna Fail’s guiding hand must be on all, but one, incumbent) but are not actually written into the Constitution. Martin McGuinness takes the trouble to point out what some of his plans are, should he be lucky enough to win the race to the Aras: “There have been some suggestions …

“Let’s raise a single eyebrow to our next president.”

Pete Baker on September 26, 2011, 12:23 pm

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In the Irish Times, Ann Marie Hourihane identifies the best candidate for the job – Sir Roger Moore. Roger Moore is handsome; he looks great in a blazer, which is not as easy as you might think. He is good humoured and has charidee experience as a Unicef goodwill ambassador, a role which he has filled for the past 20 years, and of which he is justifiably proud. He has a history of violence – The Saint, The Persuaders , a …

Democracy is also about saying ‘no’ (‘pity the councillors’)…

Mick Fealty on September 26, 2011, 12:08 pm

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Thoughful piece from Suzy on the overzealous lobbying of some Norris supporters… Most of the people involved in supporting Norris have not a clue on how the political system works or how party politics operates. Some of them have no manners either. Their views on democracy are all one way traffic too. Democracy is about also about saying no , it’s about the right to make a decision, not making a decision the way you want it made. Pity the …

Contradiction in McGuinness advice to informers between 1986 and 2011?

Mick Fealty on September 26, 2011, 9:17 am

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There was a wall of ‘criticism’ (simmering outrage might be a better description) in the southern papers… In the midst of it all buried within a suite of articles on the torture and killing of IRA informer Frank Hegarty there’s an interesting snippet worthy of further consideration. Upsetting detail aside there’s an apparent contradiction in Martin McGuinness’ own account of what happened: ‘I said to that member that if Frank Hegarty was guilty of being a British agent, then my …

Norris inching closer to Áras starting line

Pete Baker on September 25, 2011, 6:26 pm

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Independent Senator David Norris may be leading in the opinion polls, but he has not actually secured a place on the ballot paper to contest the Irish Presidential election – yet. He has now got an 18th signature, albeit from a reluctant Shane Ross, TD. Others remain undecided. And Senator Martin McAleese has repeated his refusal to support or nominate any candidate in the election. Two more Oireachtas signatures are required, by Wednesday, however reluctant they might be… RTÉ tells us that “around 12 …

Runners jostle for position in the Red C #Aras11 Poll…

Mick Fealty on September 25, 2011, 11:38 am

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It looks like Michael D Higgins has lost his clear lead; suggesting he was previously drawing on large number of weak preferences (which is not necessarily a bad thing in a stand alone STV race): Norris 21, Higgins 18 (down from 36%), McGuinness 16, Davis 13 (19%), Mitchell 13 (down from 24%), Gallagher 11 (21%), Dana 6. There’s some secondary (weaker) evidence which suggests Norris and McGuinness will both struggle to gain transfers. But, as Tommy O’Brien on Politics.ie notes, …

The Irish political journalist’s problem with partial disclosure…

Mick Fealty on September 23, 2011, 12:05 pm

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The nod and wink politics of Ireland’s last two or three decades as practised par excellence by Bertie, Albert and Charlie are ultimately what has the Republic in the stew it’s in. Don’t get me wrong, the effective monitoring of those exercising of power does not demand full disclosure of everything all the time. But the absence of meaningful disclosure comes at a high price for any developed nation. A senior English commentator I know spoke to the Fianna Fail …

Norris edges back towards Áras starting line

Pete Baker on September 22, 2011, 3:19 pm

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Having abandoned his Irish presidential bid previously, independent Senator David Norris has now secured the support of 17 TDs and Senators (including himself) in his renewed bid to get on the ballot paper. That’s still 3 short of the 20 required. His only other hope would be to get nominated by 4 county councils. Pete Baker

Bowler hats, West Brits and the advantage of keeping your past in another country

Mick Fealty on September 21, 2011, 1:34 pm

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Okay, I apologise for yet another post on the McGuinness candidacy (there’s loads of stuff out there). I am trying to do something more useful with my time, honestly. But this from Miriam Lord, is just too good to miss: That David Norris guy is different. He has been known to wear a bowler hat on Bloomsday and sounds like a West Brit. He deserves to be fully interrogated about his past – which he was recently, with disastrous consequences …