From top: Fianna Fáil leader Micheá Martin; This morning’s Irish Times
This morning.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin spoke to Seán O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio One and raised articles in today’s Irish Times’ articles about the structure, wealth and property portfolio of Sinn Féin.
The articles, by Colm Keena, can be read here, here and here (behind paywall).
One of the reports states:
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin is correct when he says that Sinn Féin is “not a normal, democratic party”, Sinn Féin’s director of finance has told The Irish Times.
Martin has said that Sinn Féin’s elected representatives are not in control of the party, and that decisions are made by “shadowy figures” and “unelected officials”.
However, what Micheál Martin sees as a problem, the party’s long-term director of finance, Des Mackin, sees as an advantage. Sinn Féin does not want its elected representatives controlling the party, he said.
“We don’t want a parliamentary party running the organisation,” the senior party officer said. “We want to stay a party of activists. It’s a totally different model. There’s nothing mysterious about it.”
Mackin has been the party’s director of finance for years and, prior to that, was joint party treasurer with the veteran republican, the late Joe Cahill. Mackin was convicted of IRA membership in the 1970s.
Meanwhile…
From Mr Martin’s interview….
Seán O’Rourke: “Do you believe that you have persuaded Fine Gael that you are not for turning on dealing with Sinn Féin?”
Micheál Martin: “Yes.”
O’Rourke: “You believe that Fine Gael…”
Martin: “You know, I would say to people, just read The Irish Times today. There’s a very comprehensive two-page issue…”
Talk over each other
Martin: “…which by the way, Des Mackin, their director of finances said Micheaál Martin is right in what he says. We don’t want the elected representatives controlling the party, that’s black and white. So I dealt with that in the Dáil. But I would just ask people out there to…”
O’Rourke: “I just had the quickest of scans of it and I read the front page story. All it suggests to me, I think, and a lot of readers, would be they’re a very well-organised, they’re a very professional, political outfit.”
Martin: “No, but if you just read it Seán. I mean. I know you’ve acknowledged you haven’t read the full two pages internally but it’s basically saying that those elected by the people, the broad mass of the people, don’t have a direct controlling say and former public representatives, former TDs says the exactly the same.
“In other words they said that a person with a 10,000 electoral mandate has the same say as an activist who’s unelected. That’s what it says…and this isn’t Micheál Martin saying this. It’s…”
Talk over each other
O’Rourke: “I just got a summary handed to me literally as you were saying that. Mr Mackin, who was jailed for IRA membership in the early 1970s, told The Irish Times he did not necessarily disagree with the view of the Fianna Fáil leader that Sinn Féin was run by unelected officials and not its political representatives so that’s the end of that as far as you’re concerned?”
Martin: “Yeah. And if you consider, two weeks ago I was attacked personally by Sinn Féin left, right and centre, high up and low down in a very personalised manner and attacked and yet, two weeks later, their, one of their key operators says the same…”
Later
O’Rourke: “Have you decided you’re prepared to enter coalition with Fine Gael?”
Martin: “Yes. Again, depending on a Programme for Government that works…”
Listen back in full here
Martin says Fianna Fáil would go into coalition with Fine Gael (RTÉ)
Well, there you have it from the horse’s mouth – SF is controlled by unelected “activists” – many of whom, by sheer coincidence, have been convicted of membership of a paramilitary organisation.
but that’s fine because they “don’t want a parliamentary party running the organisation”.
they’ll be having ard fheis’s next
meehawl should talk about himself in the third person more often
That Streisand effect, FFG/Cian Comms et al, you’re doing it right!
Heh.
God forbid that party members have a say in the running of the party.
look what happened to FG when they took away the voice of the normal members, they got leo instead of simon.
Oh yes – they are given such a say in the running of the party, given that they were allowed to vote for one candidate in the leadership contest…
Hey Rob – have you any idea at all how your beloved FG elect their leaders? The ordinary members vote is just for show – it has no effect on what the elected buckos decide. The effect of that though – well you saw that in the election. The grassroots revolted and a lot of support, votes for one, but also in the form of canvassing, disappeared. You need to jettison Varadkar.
Oh great so are we heading for FFG again but with a switcheroo on the format? That could actually run forever if they just take turns
“The three former Sinn Féin politicians said separately that the party’s standing committee, the Coiste Seasta, is a key body in the running of the party. There are currently eight people on the committee, only one of whom is an elected representative. Five of the eight are from Belfast.”
And only one is a woman.
All decisions go through them. They control the whip essentially and cannot be removed, the generals of the junta as it were!
Bit rich for anyone in FF to be commenting on another Party’s Treasurer and Finance Dept
btw, I think its a perfectly healthy position for SF not to have its elected reps controlling their party finances,
Having their Finance Department and the Organisation’s assets managed independently and away from members subject to the wims of an election promises stability and long term strategic planning in the interest of the Organisation
although I would question the long term relationship Des Mackin has as head of Finance within the same Organisation
Only in so far as his own qualifications experience professional independence etc
Anyone in a senior finance role now in the post Enron environment, must be subject to Professional Bodies CPD programmes, AML, and the like; no matter how knowledgeable, established and familiar they are with that organisation’s affairs.
But that’s the business of their External Auditors and SIPO , and their members, not some eejit off the internet
What about the Tent at the Galway Races and Des Richardson before that any
chance Martin would do a trawl of Fianna Fails accounts given that Ray Burke and
P Flynn are still around they’d be able to assist in explaining the more obscure bits
that the all too nervous Martin might find to difficult to expose, then just don’t forget
Fianna Fails offspring party, the PD’s and their financial records that blew away
from the skip in a breeze of wind a couple of years ago.
and so is Bertie – former FF treasurer himself
and Mary Hanafin
I’d say they’d be a big help
Haha, great headline and choice / placement of photos…
At first glance I thought it was a batman joke…
GOTHAM CITY TIMES
Joker responds, “Are you f-ing kidding me?…
Nobody with half a braincell and any idea of fairness, justice and priorities cares about F-FG and their deluded, tribalised and brainwashed supporters moaning about the IRA.
The simple fact is that even if all the nonsense about SF currently being a dangerous terrorist organisation were true. Enough people still want to take a chance on it.
Anything at all, instead of the lies, treachery, averice and contempt of ordinary citezens and particularly the least fortunate by the F-F/G establishment for the elite.
Wake up to reality, eejit’s.
:-J
“Anything at all, instead of the lies, treachery, averice and contempt of ordinary citezens” yeah , murder of innocent women and children and criminality up to and including armed bank robbery?
maybe given a few more years of “policy exploration” bs FFG will manage to come up with a distraction that some voters under the age of 66 will give any actual fupp about
this is starting to look pretty pathetic to me…keep digging lads, its deafer ye’re getting!!
LOL
Watched the Tonight show on virgin media last night after The Guards, The SF representative was asked if he agreed with giving the gardai more powers to fight criminal gangs, to which he did not reply, leaving nothing but an awkward silence.
The stank of criminality around SF is strong
Shush you cannot criticise sfira on here. The fact that their current and last “director of finance” were well know IRA figures (who were not involved in bank robberies, garda murders, extortion etc) has nothing to do with anything. Jog on, no questions asked. It is all the main stream media’s fault.
what even is Charles J Haughey, what were his primary achievements as Finance Minister?
what is an O’Cuiv when it is at home?
daft pearl clutching.
CJ and the gun-running.
In the UK the Parliamentary Labour Party does not run the Labour Party which is run by members or ‘activists’ – this is the same model as SF. This is a non story. RTÉ should have picked up on this. But hey……….
mehole sez- “depending on a Programme for Government that works…”
What exactly are the policy differences between the ugly sisters that needs such discussion? Or is it more just a case of agreeing on how the pie is sliced?
it’s got nothing to do with policy anything
FFG are screwed and playing for time, no matter what move they make here it’s existential trouble for them both:
1. too scared/disadvantaged to out themselves formally and merge (despite the fact everyone knows already)
2. both as deaf as each other to the change of direction their country requested – their ideology and big business interests are all that count – certainly not disadvantaged people living in hotel rooms or those lying on trolleys, lol
3. dare not trigger another election under any circumstances as that will likely result in an even bigger defeat or even a wipeout for themselves and the business cronys
so they sit now in some sort of purgatory with the fake meeting nonsense about the policies they themselves authored anyway in a play for time hoping that something anything turns up to deal them a better hand (and do their damnest to engineer something I’d wager if it doesn’t) Brexit/Corona/Global Economic/some bad something speculative something/ whatever does it
all I know is I’m certainly waiting patiently to vote again and finish them off :) :)