Tag Archives: Sinn Féin

The gloves have finally come off ahead of the June 7 local election with a high-profile Fianna Fáil member yesterday accusing Sinn Féin of putting forward candidates who don’t have a “serious chance” just to have a candidate running in every area. Fianna Fáil director of elections for Clare, Gerry Reidy, said that while Tommy Guilfoyle (SF) and Donna McGettigan (SF) were strong candidates, he “wouldn’t be threatened” by the other candidates put forward by Sinn Féin. Responding to this suggestion, Sinn Féin’s director of elections for Clare, Finbarr MacGabhann, said that the party didn’t field candidates “for the craic”. He also said that it was Mr Reidy’s job to “come up with stories” about rival parties. Speaking to The Clare Champion yesterday, Mr Reidy said that Sinn Féin were fielding candidates just for the optics of it. “They have some good candidates in Clare and I think that they will make some gains, particularly in Ennis, but I’m not …

An unannounced inspection of University Hospital Limerick has found the hospital “non-compliant” with three of the four national standards assessed in the inspection and “substantially compliant” with the forth standard. The inspection, which was conducted by HIQA on November 21 last, found that since the previous inspection, the hospital had made improvements in resourcing, supports and alternate pathways. It had established an Urgent and Emergency Care Directorate to coordinate the strategic and operational function of the emergency and urgent care services across the six hospital sites of the UL Hospitals Group. The report, which was published earlier today, found that the ongoing mismatch between the number of people attending the Emergency Department (ED) and the hospital’s capacity resulted in an overcrowded ED, with patients admitted to the hospital continuing to be accommodated in the ED. At 10am on the day of inspection, 32 of the 82 patients in the ED were admitted and awaiting an inpatient bed. This overcrowding, albeit …

Sinn Féin have announced they are fielding a West Clare candidate to contest the local election for the Kilrush local electoral area with the party revealing Dawn Bennett from Kilkee as their chosen candidate. Ms Bennett, who owns CocoLemon hairdressers in Kilrush, becomes the fifth Sinn Féin candidate in the county for the upcoming June elections. She said she first became interested in politics from listening to what party leader, Mary Lou McDonald had to say. “She was offering common sense solutions and was so down to earth. Mary Lou and Sinn Féin are for the people and I love to help people whenever I can, so it was the right party for me. I’m a carer myself so I know how difficult it is to get access to the services people need,” she explained. Originally from Limerick, Ms Bennett moved to West Clare five years ago where she has made home. “It’s a beautiful place to raise a family, …

Sinn Féin’s chances of winning a seat in the Killaloe Electoral Area have been boosted by the entry of Dr Martina Cleary to the Local Elections race. The chairperson of the Clare Pyrite Action Group Dr Martina Cleary has been announced as Sinn Féin’s candidate in the East Clare constituency. Dr Cleary is the founder and chair of the group since 2020 and successfully lobbied for a Defective Concrete Block Scheme for Clare homeowners affected by the pyrite issue. This included the securing of half a billion euros in funding for Clare and Limerick families. In a statement issued to The Clare Champion, Sinn Féin stated the Crusheen resident will continue her campaigning work but hopes to also tackle many other issues when elected. Dr Cleary is a Teachers Union of Ireland rep at the Technological University of the Shannon, where she is a lecturer. When asked why she became involved in politics, Martina said she has always been unofficially …

WITH the row over the naming of the Ennis Sinn Féin cumann continuing, over 100 relatives of Peadar Clancy have signed a petition requesting that his name not be linked to any political party. The Ennis cumann is named after Peadar Clancy (the Cranny man killed while in custody at Dublin Castle during the War of Independence) and Mairead Farrell (the Provisional IRA member shot dead by British soldiers at Gibraltar in 1988). This week Michael Neylon, a grand nephew of Clancy’s said that many of the family are opposed to his name being used by a political party. “One hundred and six people have signed, that’s between grand nieces, grand nephews, great grand nieces and great grand nephews. That’s what makes up that number.” He said that many of those who have signed are from Clare, where nine families have links to Clancy. Mr Neylon said that those who signed were very happy to do so. “They had no …

CHAIRMAN/PRO of the Ennis Sinn Féin cumann Tommy Guilfoyle has defended its being named after Peadar Clancy and Mairead Farrell, following criticism from Clare TD Cathal Crowe. Deputy Crowe had claimed that relatives of Clancy were opposed to his name being adopted by the Cumann, but Mr Guilfoyle said that some people connected to him are proud of the association. In a statement to the Champion, Mr Guilfoyle said, “Ennis Sinn Féin is proudly named the ‘Peadar Clancy Mairéad Farrell Cumann’. We have held this Cumann name for over a decade and we honour both Republicans by remembering them in our Cumann name with fraternal pride and the utmost respect. “Our members and their families have attended the Cranny Community ‘Peadar Clancy Festival’ and we would like to congratulate the community on a fantastic festival and on the very fitting memorial monument to Peadar in the heart of the community. “Our Cumann Officers have attended the ‘1916-1921 Committee’ commemoration to …

DEPUTY Cathal Crowe has said he intends to raise a Clare family’s objection to the naming of the Ennis Sinn Féin Cumann in the Dáil. The cumann is named after Peadar Clancy (the Cranny native who fought in 1916 and was killed during the War of Independence) and Mairead Farrell (a Provisional IRA volunteer, shot dead in disputed circumstances at Gibraltar in 1988). Deputy Crowe has recently re-engaged in an online spat with local Sinn Féin members, for the second time in the past two months, and he told the Clare Champion that surviving relatives of Peadar Clancy are unhappy about his name being linked with the party. “Michael Neylon is a grandnephew of Peadar Clancy, who didn’t have his own children, so Michael and other grandnephews and grandnieces are the closest surviving relatives. “Michael has contacted most if not all of them, and everyone he has contacted has the same view, that they do not want Peadar Clancy’s name …

CLARE TD Cathal Crowe has publicly rowed with Ennis Sinn Féin in recent days, over the naming of the Peadar Clancy Mairead Farrell Cumann. Originally from Cranny, Peadar Clancy was killed on Bloody Sunday, in November 1920 and Deputy Crowe was involved in a Facebook spat this week with the Ennis Sinn Fein Cumann over the use of his name. “I think it’s disrespectful and insensitive to the surviving members of Peadar Clancy’s family. They’ve made it clear that they don’t consent to his name being used, they’ve written to Sinn Féin headquarters and their complaints have been ignored. “Normally I would confine my political debating with Sinn Féin to the Dáil chamber but I do place a high value on history and historic accuracy. I don’t see how the Sinn Féin cumann in Ennis can in any way claim lineage or connection to Peadar Clancy and I think it’s disrespectful that they continue to do so with his family …