Tag Archives: Sinn Féin

TRIBUTES have been paid to Mike McKee following his death earlier today. Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald said, “I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mike McKee who passed away earlier today at University Hospital Limerick following a short illness. “I send, in particular, my deepest sympathy to Mike’s wife Eileen, his son David and his daughter Janette, as well as two grandchildren. “Mike was a true Irish Republican and a great champion of the people of Shannon, which was reflected in his continued election to Shannon Town Council and Clare County Council over many years. “He represented the people with great pride for over three decades and anyone who ever met Mike knew of his sincerity and decency. “I know that this is a very sad time for party members in Clare and the wider Mid-West region and I extend to them my solidarity at this very sad time. Ar dheis Dé …

THE death of County Councillor Mike McKee has been announced today. Councillor McKee won a seat on Clare County Council for Sinn Féin in each of the last two local elections. He was also a fixture on Shannon Town Council and previously the Shannon Town Commissioners for many years. Councillor McKee was set to stand for Sinn Féin in the next general election, but had withdrawn from the race after becoming unwell. Despite being noticeably ill he still made the effort to attend the recent opening of the redeveloped Shannon Town Park and even managed to go to a Municipal District meeting the same day. In his early life Councillor McKee’s family left Belfast under threat from loyalists, relocating to Omagh and then coming to Shannon, in the 19770s. He is survived by his wife Eileen, son David, daughter Janet and two granchildren. Funeral arrangements have yet to be confirmed.

NOELEEN Moran, who polled more than 4,000 first preference votes as a Sinn Féin candidate in the last general election, will be aiming to win a seat on Clare County Council in next year’s local elections. At a recent election convention in Lisdoonvarna, Ms Moran was selected to run in the new North Clare Constituency. Noeleen, from Ballyvaughan, narrowly missed out on a seat in the West Clare area in the 2014 local elections. She also ran for Sinn Féin in the 2016 general election and the strong showing copper-fastened her position as one of the party’s key figures in the county. “There are a number of important issues that need to be addressed for the people in North Clare, among them housing, health, decline of rural services; we face big challenges in terms of investing in upgrading our public infrastructure, as well as addressing environmental and traffic management issues,” she said Ms Moran said it is important to address …

SINN Féín’s sole Clare County Councillor Mike McKee is to run in the next general election. He will be joined on the party’s ticket in Clare by Noeleen Moran, who ran in 2016. The party is clearly hoping that a two-candidate strategy, which has not been attempted here by them in any recent election, can deliver a seat. Sinn Féin are to hold their selection convention on this Thursday night but, with only two candidates nominated, this is a formality. While they have not won a seat in Clare for generations, nor even come close since the party’s revival after the Good Friday Agreement, it is far from impossible that they will do so next time out, with the party polling between 14% and 18% nationally. In addition, they are set to go into the next election without Gerry Adams as leader. While Adams is Sinn Féin royalty, a sizeable cohort of voters in the South have never warmed to …

RESEARCH relating to the County Nursery in Kilrush has found that 261 children, under the age of nine, died there between 1922 and 1932. Historian Paddy Waldron told The Clare Champion that married mothers with children also lived at the home, which predominantly housed unmarried mothers and their children. “It was set up as one of the first things that the Sinn Féin authorities did before the Treaty and as soon as they closed the workhouses down. We have 266 recorded deaths, of which five were mothers and 261 were children under the age of nine. “The information came from the civil records of deaths, which were put online, free of charge, last September. “I had been planning to go through them but I got a volunteer in Australia, who was doing his own family research. He went through all of the Kilrush deaths of children under the age of 10,” Mr Waldron explained, adding that these figures have not …

SINN Féin continued its campaign for an Irish National Health Service with a series of engagements today (Tuesday) in County Clare, concluding with a public meeting ‘Save our Health Service’ at the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis. The party’s health spokesperson Deputy Louise O’Reilly said, “For the last number of weeks, we have taken our campaign for an Irish National Health Service on the road and have already visited Donegal, Mayo, Sligo, Westmeath, Cork and Limerick.” She said they had a series of meetings in Ennis, including with the INMO, Clare Crusaders, Shandoc campaigners, SIPTU disability workers and other individuals. “Sinn Féin is campaigning for an Irish National Health Service and an end to the chaos in our hospitals. We want to hear from as broad a range of voices as possible,” she concluded

APPROXIMATELY 150-200 people attended a protest outside Shannon Airport last night, against the implementation of a ban on immigration to the US from seven Muslim majority countries and the use of Shannon by the US military. While the protest was peaceful, a minority of protestors did engage in verbal abuse of Gardai particularly after the demonstrators were prevented from entering the airport. This was by far the largest demonstration at the airport in recent years, the turnout more striking when one takes into account the wintry conditions. A small number of Syrians were among the protestors, refugees who have been resettled in Newcastle West, Co Limerick. The demonstrators began assembling beside the roundabout closest to the airport before 6pm, with a noticeable police presence there also. The crowds were then addressed by a number of speakers, all of whom were critical of Trump and the restriction on US immigration. Some also hit out at the continued use of the airport …

CURRENTLY in seventh position, Noeleen Moran is reluctant to concede defeat. Speaking to the Champion she said the party is increasing in popularity. “We certainly grew our vote in this election, we hope we’re still in with a fighting chance, it’s far-out chance, but we’re hanging in there.” She said there was a good reception from the Clare public in recent weeks, for a party that is only starting to make the kind of gains here that have been seen in other areas. “We had a brilliant team, we were out in the worst of weather, we got a lot of positive responses, no hostility anywhere. There was an appetite for change. We can see that things have gone towards the independents and the government have been punished for their broken promises.”