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4:46 AM (21 hours ago)
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>>>>>> Sinn Fein singing as it elects fourth MEP
Sinn Fein's Matt Carthy has just become the party's fourth MEP after
being elected after seven counts in a marathon count in Castlebar,
County Mayo.
As the announcement of the new totals were announced, finally confirming
he had passed the quote, supporters cheered and held his hands aloft and
as the presiding officer deemed him elected, he was hoisted up on
shoulders and lusty singing broke out among his Monaghan-based team.
In advance of his election as member of the European Parliament for the
Midlands-North-West constituency, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams hailed
the election of the party's first male male MEP. "Quite an
achievement," he tweeted.
Mr Carthy's surplus will now decide the recipient of the fourth and
final seat in the constituency, which is likely to go to Sligo-based
independent incumbent Marian Harkin. That result could incredibly see
the three establishment parties deprived of three out of the four seats
in Ireland's largest Euro constituency.
O RIADA MUSIC
On Monday night, Sinn Fein's Liadh Ni Riada was elected as MEP for
Ireland South. She was elected on the fourth round of counting that
only concluded this evening, two days after counting began.
The returning officer had barely announced the result when Sinn Fein and
the O Riada clan, one of the most acclaimed traditional music families
in the country, starting singing in close harmony.
Brother Peadar produced an accordion and members of a traditional choir
gathered round and performed a rendition of 'Mo Gille Mear', a song with
deep personal connections to the O Riada family.
"That was originally a recruiting song in the Gaelic nation 300 years
ago," Peadar said. "And when my father Sean died, I started using it as
an anthem to try and draw us together as a community."
Corkwoman Ms Ni Riada was elected on the fourth count with 132,590
votes, nearly nine hours after Fianna Fail poll topper Brian Crowley.
The former Irish television producer was virtually unknown outside arts
and culture circles up until a few months ago.
She thanked "every single person" who voted for her and said that her
election was a victory for the ordinary people of Ireland.
Speaking from the count centre, she said there was a "better, fairer
alternative" to the politics of austerity and cuts.
"My election is a victory for ordinary people who have suffered so much
under the regressive policies pushed by the European Commission and
implemented with such relish by successive governments here at home,"
she said.
Diarmuid O'Flynn of Ballyhea protest group narrowly failed to secure
election in the face of careful vote management by Fine Gael, which
secured two seats in the South constituency. O'Flynn led a campaign
which marched weekly against the 28 billion euro 'bondholder bailout' of
international investors and speculators who held stakes in Irish banks.
Ms Ni Riada said the Dublin government and MEPs had failed to lift the
"toxic banking debt" off the shoulders of the Irish people.
"This is an injustice and it must be addressed and addressed genuinely -
not just kicking the debt down the road to be endured by future
generations," she said. "It is not our debt and it is not the debt of
our children and grandchildren."
TUV TURN THEIR BACKS
In the North, all three outgoing European MPs were re-elected for
another term after another lengthy count in Belfast, and almost five
days after polling took place.
On Monday evening, Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson was declared elected
after she topped the poll and reached the quota. Giving her acceptance
speech this evening, a day after she was elected, Ms Anderson noted that
Sinn Fein was on its way to taking four seats across the island of
Ireland and hailed the party's success.
"The voice of the voters have been heard throughout Ireland, they have
endorsed the Sinn Fein message that there is a fair way," she said. "The
Sinn Fein result is part of a national story reflecting the growth of
support for Sinn Fein's strategy for change. There will be a national
Sinn Fein team of MEPs going to Europe who will put Ireland first -
north, south, east and west."
Welcoming the re-election of his party's candidate Diane Dodds, DUP
leader Peter Robinson described the number of different unionist
candidates as a "dangerous phenomenon".
"It's one that will lose us seats in a Westminster election and
critically could do so in an assembly election as well," he told
journalists. "The unionist community is going to have to face those
issues, simply because we have a difference on an issue doesn't mean you
start up a new party. When someone does, we can see what the
consequences have been."
The UUP's Jim Nicholson, who was the last to be re-elected, said he was
delighted to again represent the region in Europe.
He also commented on his party's success on the back of his win and
gains in the local government election. "The party's health is the best
it's been for many a long day," he added.
Members of the hardline unionist TUV turned their back on Ms Anderson, a
former political prisoner, as she gave her speech. TUV leader Jim
Allister, who was beaten to the third seat by incumbent Jim Nicholson of
the DUP, later denounced Anderson as a "victim maker".
In his speech, he said his candidacy had succeeded in increasing the
overall unionist vote, rather than fracture it as his unionist rivals
had warned.
"My hand has been greatly strengthened", he said, and every vote he
received represented those "who haven't bowed the knee" to Sinn Fein or
to Sinn Fein/DUP "misrule". At the conclusion of his speech, his
supporters followed the Paisleyite tradition by delivering a sombre
rendition of the British national anthem.
A full results round-up in our weekly issue.
RESULTS - EURO ELECTION TOTALS (13 out of 14 seats filled)
Sinn Fein 4
Fine Gael 4
Other 2
Fianna Fail 1
Democratic Unionist Party 1
Ulster Unionist Party 1
Labour 0
SDLP 0
RESULTS - LOCAL ELECTIONS TOTAL (1405 out of 1411 seats filled)
Fianna Fail 266
Sinn Fein 262
Fine Gael 232
Democratic Unionist Party 130
Ulster Unionist Party 88
SDLP 66
Labour 51
Other 278
MIDLANDS-NORTH-WEST - RESULT (Count 7)
Luke 'Ming' Flanagan (Ind.) 124063 - Elected (Count 2)
Matt Carthy 17.7% (SF) 114727 - Elected (Count 7)
Mairead McGuinness (FG) 92080 - Elected (Count 5)
Marian Harkin (Ind.) 68986
Pat The Cope Gallagher (FF) 59562
Thomas Byrne (FF) 55384 - Eliminated (Count 6)
Jim Higgins (FG) 39908 - Eliminated (Count 4)
Ronan Mullen (Ind.) 36326 - Eliminated (Count 3)
Lorraine Higgins (Lab) 31951 - Eliminated (Count 2)
SOUTH - RESULT (Concluded)
Brian Crowley (FF) 180329 - Elected (Count 1)
Liadh Ni Riada (SF) 125309 - Elected (Count 4)
Sean Kelly (FG) 83520 - Elected (Count 12)
Deirdre Clune 47453 (FG) - Elected (Count 12)
Simon Harris 51483 (FG)
Kieran Hartley 29987 (FF) - Eliminated (Count 11)
Diarmuid O'Flynn 30323 (Ind.) - Eliminated (Count 10)
Phil Prendergast 30317 (Lab) - Eliminated (Count 9)
Grace O'sullivan 27860 (Green) - Eliminated (Count 8)
SIX COUNTIES - RESULT (Concluded)
Martina Anderson (SF) 159813 - Elected (Count 1)
Diane Dodds (DUP) 131163 - Elected (Count 6)
Jim Nicholson (UUP) 83438 - Elected (Count 8)
Alex Attwood (SDLP) 81594
Jim Allister (TUV) 75806 - Eliminated (Count 7)
Anna Lo (Alliance) 44,432 - Eliminated (Count 6)
Henry Reilly (UKIP) 24584 - Eliminated (Count 5)
Sinn Fein's Matt Carthy has just become the party's fourth MEP after
being elected after seven counts in a marathon count in Castlebar,
County Mayo.
As the announcement of the new totals were announced, finally confirming
he had passed the quote, supporters cheered and held his hands aloft and
as the presiding officer deemed him elected, he was hoisted up on
shoulders and lusty singing broke out among his Monaghan-based team.
In advance of his election as member of the European Parliament for the
Midlands-North-West constituency, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams hailed
the election of the party's first male male MEP. "Quite an
achievement," he tweeted.
Mr Carthy's surplus will now decide the recipient of the fourth and
final seat in the constituency, which is likely to go to Sligo-based
independent incumbent Marian Harkin. That result could incredibly see
the three establishment parties deprived of three out of the four seats
in Ireland's largest Euro constituency.
O RIADA MUSIC
On Monday night, Sinn Fein's Liadh Ni Riada was elected as MEP for
Ireland South. She was elected on the fourth round of counting that
only concluded this evening, two days after counting began.
The returning officer had barely announced the result when Sinn Fein and
the O Riada clan, one of the most acclaimed traditional music families
in the country, starting singing in close harmony.
Brother Peadar produced an accordion and members of a traditional choir
gathered round and performed a rendition of 'Mo Gille Mear', a song with
deep personal connections to the O Riada family.
"That was originally a recruiting song in the Gaelic nation 300 years
ago," Peadar said. "And when my father Sean died, I started using it as
an anthem to try and draw us together as a community."
Corkwoman Ms Ni Riada was elected on the fourth count with 132,590
votes, nearly nine hours after Fianna Fail poll topper Brian Crowley.
The former Irish television producer was virtually unknown outside arts
and culture circles up until a few months ago.
She thanked "every single person" who voted for her and said that her
election was a victory for the ordinary people of Ireland.
Speaking from the count centre, she said there was a "better, fairer
alternative" to the politics of austerity and cuts.
"My election is a victory for ordinary people who have suffered so much
under the regressive policies pushed by the European Commission and
implemented with such relish by successive governments here at home,"
she said.
Diarmuid O'Flynn of Ballyhea protest group narrowly failed to secure
election in the face of careful vote management by Fine Gael, which
secured two seats in the South constituency. O'Flynn led a campaign
which marched weekly against the 28 billion euro 'bondholder bailout' of
international investors and speculators who held stakes in Irish banks.
Ms Ni Riada said the Dublin government and MEPs had failed to lift the
"toxic banking debt" off the shoulders of the Irish people.
"This is an injustice and it must be addressed and addressed genuinely -
not just kicking the debt down the road to be endured by future
generations," she said. "It is not our debt and it is not the debt of
our children and grandchildren."
TUV TURN THEIR BACKS
In the North, all three outgoing European MPs were re-elected for
another term after another lengthy count in Belfast, and almost five
days after polling took place.
On Monday evening, Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson was declared elected
after she topped the poll and reached the quota. Giving her acceptance
speech this evening, a day after she was elected, Ms Anderson noted that
Sinn Fein was on its way to taking four seats across the island of
Ireland and hailed the party's success.
"The voice of the voters have been heard throughout Ireland, they have
endorsed the Sinn Fein message that there is a fair way," she said. "The
Sinn Fein result is part of a national story reflecting the growth of
support for Sinn Fein's strategy for change. There will be a national
Sinn Fein team of MEPs going to Europe who will put Ireland first -
north, south, east and west."
Welcoming the re-election of his party's candidate Diane Dodds, DUP
leader Peter Robinson described the number of different unionist
candidates as a "dangerous phenomenon".
"It's one that will lose us seats in a Westminster election and
critically could do so in an assembly election as well," he told
journalists. "The unionist community is going to have to face those
issues, simply because we have a difference on an issue doesn't mean you
start up a new party. When someone does, we can see what the
consequences have been."
The UUP's Jim Nicholson, who was the last to be re-elected, said he was
delighted to again represent the region in Europe.
He also commented on his party's success on the back of his win and
gains in the local government election. "The party's health is the best
it's been for many a long day," he added.
Members of the hardline unionist TUV turned their back on Ms Anderson, a
former political prisoner, as she gave her speech. TUV leader Jim
Allister, who was beaten to the third seat by incumbent Jim Nicholson of
the DUP, later denounced Anderson as a "victim maker".
In his speech, he said his candidacy had succeeded in increasing the
overall unionist vote, rather than fracture it as his unionist rivals
had warned.
"My hand has been greatly strengthened", he said, and every vote he
received represented those "who haven't bowed the knee" to Sinn Fein or
to Sinn Fein/DUP "misrule". At the conclusion of his speech, his
supporters followed the Paisleyite tradition by delivering a sombre
rendition of the British national anthem.
A full results round-up in our weekly issue.
RESULTS - EURO ELECTION TOTALS (13 out of 14 seats filled)
Sinn Fein 4
Fine Gael 4
Other 2
Fianna Fail 1
Democratic Unionist Party 1
Ulster Unionist Party 1
Labour 0
SDLP 0
RESULTS - LOCAL ELECTIONS TOTAL (1405 out of 1411 seats filled)
Fianna Fail 266
Sinn Fein 262
Fine Gael 232
Democratic Unionist Party 130
Ulster Unionist Party 88
SDLP 66
Labour 51
Other 278
MIDLANDS-NORTH-WEST - RESULT (Count 7)
Luke 'Ming' Flanagan (Ind.) 124063 - Elected (Count 2)
Matt Carthy 17.7% (SF) 114727 - Elected (Count 7)
Mairead McGuinness (FG) 92080 - Elected (Count 5)
Marian Harkin (Ind.) 68986
Pat The Cope Gallagher (FF) 59562
Thomas Byrne (FF) 55384 - Eliminated (Count 6)
Jim Higgins (FG) 39908 - Eliminated (Count 4)
Ronan Mullen (Ind.) 36326 - Eliminated (Count 3)
Lorraine Higgins (Lab) 31951 - Eliminated (Count 2)
SOUTH - RESULT (Concluded)
Brian Crowley (FF) 180329 - Elected (Count 1)
Liadh Ni Riada (SF) 125309 - Elected (Count 4)
Sean Kelly (FG) 83520 - Elected (Count 12)
Deirdre Clune 47453 (FG) - Elected (Count 12)
Simon Harris 51483 (FG)
Kieran Hartley 29987 (FF) - Eliminated (Count 11)
Diarmuid O'Flynn 30323 (Ind.) - Eliminated (Count 10)
Phil Prendergast 30317 (Lab) - Eliminated (Count 9)
Grace O'sullivan 27860 (Green) - Eliminated (Count 8)
SIX COUNTIES - RESULT (Concluded)
Martina Anderson (SF) 159813 - Elected (Count 1)
Diane Dodds (DUP) 131163 - Elected (Count 6)
Jim Nicholson (UUP) 83438 - Elected (Count 8)
Alex Attwood (SDLP) 81594
Jim Allister (TUV) 75806 - Eliminated (Count 7)
Anna Lo (Alliance) 44,432 - Eliminated (Count 6)
Henry Reilly (UKIP) 24584 - Eliminated (Count 5)
Sinn Féin will follow Labour’s footsteps into government – and compromise
Opinion: Labour claims it had ‘no alternative’ to cuts to most disadvantaged
The issue is: has anything really changed? It hardly matters whether Labour is finished if Sinn Féin fills the vacuum and does the same – ie collaborates with Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil, or does it on its own, in retaining or perhaps consolidating a society of a wealthy elite, a compliant middle class and a sea of misery, humiliation and stress for the rest.
The Sinn Féin rhetoric over the weekend was unsettling: we will not go into government for the sake of office; only if we agree the right terms. Why not: we will not go into government ever with Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael. or any party of similar vein?
Sinn Féin has an impulse for government even over and above that of the Labour Party: the symbolic impact of being “in power” (as they see it) in both parts of Ireland at the same time. That will propel it maybe into even greater compromise than Labour has made, under the guise of social democracy and, of course, the “imperative” of electoral arithmetic.
Proinsias De Rossa spoke 23 years ago, on his behalf and on behalf of his then colleagues, including Eamon Gilmore and Pat Rabbitte, about the perils of social democracy. At the inauguration of Democratic Left, he said social democracy had “degenerated into mere electoralism, [had] lost any resolve to be part of a wider strategy for the transformation of society and has settled for dull marginalism”.
‘Dynamic alternative’ He argued: “There is urgent need for an active democratic socialist party with a strong presence in parliament . . . We must seek to provide the alternative of a dynamic and vibrant left , which would connect into the concerns of people about the need for reform of politics, accountability of politicians, environment, peace, jobs, education . . . Ours will be a politics of empowerment, participation, analysis, and not just an electoral machine.”
The bit about “empowerment, participation, analysis, and not just an electoral machine” was perhaps a clue to what would transpire. Note how it left out “a wider strategy for the transformation of society”. Democratic Left quickly surrendered any strategy for the transformation of society by joining in the “Rainbow government” of Fine Gael, Labour and itself and later merging with Labour.
Inequality in mortality The most eloquent commentary on the legacy of that Rainbow government came in the report Inequalities in Mortality 1989- 1998, by the Institute of Public Health, which showed over 5,000 people died prematurely every year because of the scale of inequality here. In both jurisdictions in Ireland, the annual directly standardised mortality rate in the lowest occupational class was 130 per cent higher than in the highest occupational class. From infectious and parasitic diseases it was five time higher; from tuberculosis, four times higher; from mental and behavioural disorders, nearly five times higher; from drug dependence nearly seven times higher.
As to the rodents, when there is no cake, let them eat sweet bread?
fruit cake has more flavour
Unsettling and pragmatic. But just realpolitik. What party would close the door that leads to power.
Fianna Fáil are Clann Na Poblachta Éadrom.
Once you get into bed with the deVils, the only way you'll come out is as a political corpse.
*delete as appropriate
Stick to whinging - you're good at that.
I refer to Magill...when did it (first) cease to exist?
Before the GFA.
First, the budget deficit in 2010 was nearly 12% of GDP i.e. the Government was spending nearly €19 billion it did not have. Even after all the austerity of recent years, the deficit will be about 4.8% of GDP in 2014 as the "wicked, brutal" Government spends roughly another €7 billion it doesn't have. You know Vincent, €19 billion here and €7 billion there and soon you're talking big money! Instead of your incessant... » more
Well said Con.
There are lots of "proper" leftist parties; the problem is that very few people will vote for them.
Recognising what the problem is, is a necessary prerequisite to fixing it; though I doubt the "problem" of minimal votes for the Socialist Party and PBP can be fixed.