I have been active in politics for over 20-years and in that time I have been invited to join a variety of political parties; Sinn Féin, Fine Gael, The Green Party and most recently the Anti-Austerity Alliance.
The offers made to me by each of these parties varied in intensity and
generosity, I'll begin with the first offer I was made.
Sinn Féin:
In 2000 I was Vice-Chair and PRO of the Irish National Congress (INC),
a constitutional lobby group promoting the ideals of “freedom, unity and
peace”. Mary Lou McDonald (then a member of Fianna Fáil) was the INC’s Chairperson.
Mary Lou and I were invited to attend a
meeting with Party Officials to try and dissuade the INC from holding a protest
against the civic endorsement of Orange Order sectarianism by Dublin City
Council. It was after this meeting that Mary
Lou and I were contacted separately and invited to join Sinn Féin. I was offered £35,000 (we still had the punt)
per annum to become a Sinn Féin activist and organiser in Limerick City.
Fine Gael:
I was a candidate in the 2007 General Elections. At the count centre in Limerick Race track I
was approached by three Fine Gael City Councillors and asked if I would like to
be on the Council now rather than having to take my chances in the 2009 Local
Elections. I was informed that one of their party members on the Council was
running for the Senate and that if successful would have to vacate their seat
on the Council and that I would be co-opted on to the Council if I joined Fine
Gael within the week.
The Green Party:
After the 2007 General Elections I was contacted by the Green Party candidate
and asked to meet up for a chat. I invited him and his fiancée to dinner at my
house; the Green Party were poised to form a coalition government with Fianna
Fáil and I was hoping to make new connections and be in a position to lobby on
behalf of my community regarding “regeneration” and the developers-led agenda
that was emerging. I was asked to join the Green Party and be their candidate
in the Limerick City South electoral area in the 2009 Local Elections. It was
also inferred that my estate could be a pilot area for a home insulation scheme
that would be introduced by the Green Party when in government.
Anti- Austerity Alliance:
On 25th of April 2014 I was contacted by a prominent member
of the Ant-Austerity Alliance (AAA) and the Socialist Party. I was asked if I
was running in the local elections and would I consider being a candidate for
the AAA (the other AAA candidate for Limerick City West had dropped out for
some reason) and if not would I help them canvass. I explained that I believed
that Local Elections should be focused on local issues and while I was actively
opposed to water charges and the property tax there was practically nothing that
could be done on the Council about these issues.
Party politics has corrupted our democracy and this election seems to
be driven more by personalities than it is by policies with the “opposition” parties
seeking to exploit the people’s anger for their own gain. I believe that the
people should determine policy, not the parties. I do not serve a political
party and I never will. I have signed The Peoples Contract and if elected by
the people I will serve the people.
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