A’social occasion’… FF in the North July 28, 2010
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Irish Politics, Northern Ireland.trackback
I missed this, but MS didn’t – for which many thanks. A Brian Cowen incursion into the North, which took him to Crossmaglen last week. To open an FF office (natch!). Well, well, well. How interesting.
It’s all show, with little substance, albeit read the list of attendees and while it doesn’t quite put an NSMC meeting to shame there’s some strength in numbers there.
But read the throwaway comment about being the first Taoiseach to go to Crossmaglen… and what about the other where they say ‘there is no question of us contesting elections in the immediate future’.
Great stuff, no doubt. But what on earth do they think is the medium to long term plan?
My understanding of events on the ground there, was that the shift to FF, was one of the results of the murder of Oisin Quinn by PIRA. Martin Mc Allister appears to be the main figurehead and would have been seem as a militant and senior provisional, having if memory serves me correctly served 6 years folling an attack of Crown forces which left him seriously injured sustaining a number of gunshot wounds.
He is of course a brother of Jim, who was a PSF cll. who left them and was the mainspokesman for the Quinn family following the murder, he is also a brother of Bobby an active republican Socialist who died recently, Bobby was married to Maire F___,
So indeed a whole range of connections.
thanks for the interesting background Ghandi
“Great stuff, no doubt. But what on earth do they think is the medium to long term plan?”
I would suggest that the medium term plan will be to stand and have a number of councillors elected, spin that up to potential MLA’s and eat into the soft PSF base. PSF are dropping support in the working class areas but have held onto the SDLP vote, those voters if living south of the border would most likely be FF voters.
As we progress through the next few years and PSF remain in power in the North the inherant contradictions between their demands in the South and their implimation of policies in the North become clearer.
PSF have effectively become the FF of the North,
Longer term the natural projection will be to merge both parties, both nationalist, right wing parties. FF will having created them see them as coming home, and all to be done by 2016. The Republic achieved!!
FF-SF unity? Can’t see it. The SF base in the south particularly would vomit at the thought.
“FF will having created them see them as coming home” Surely it would be the other way round? FF was a splinter group of Sinn Fein. Personally I don’t see Sinn Fein ever merging with FF. Its fate in the south will most probably be very similar to Clann Na Poblachta and to a lesser extent the Worker’s Party; peaking at 10% of FPVs enjoying a brief stint in government in which it finally loses all credibility to its core voters who then switch to a more radical party (ie. Eirigi) by which time it loses all relevence.
Cowen’s vist reminds be of Secretary of State for NI Owen Patterson’s trip to South Armagh after which he remarked that “the best bread is in Crossmaglen”. In escence their jsut trying to ram down our throats the idea its no longer a dangerous place therefore republicans can trust guys like them
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Unfortunately with the desperate Newspapers they have in the North Irish News & News Letter, the people are not too familar with everything that is rotten in FF. SF going the way of Workers party.I don’t think so. The Workers Party were so full of their own importance, they could have been something, but as usual they like so many before them got carried away with a pontential for Power.
When I was growing in the North they were a desperate bunch
It’s a tangled history and no mistake.