Posted by Jim on March 3, 2017
Sinn Fein has attained its highest ever share of the vote in the North
of Ireland and came within touching distance of outpolling all of the
other parties as votes were tallied today.
But the headline story of the election may be the resignation of Mike
Nesbitt, the leader of the Ulster Unionist party, who quit this evening
despite marginally increasing his party’s vote share. He stepped down
as their unionist rivals in the DUP maintained their top spot amid
public outrage over corruption and bigotry scandals.
In a news conference this evening, Mr Nesbitt said he had been
reflecting on the results and said the “buck stops here.”
For the past three months, he said, he had been criticising another
party leader for not taking responsibility. He said it would be the
“height of hypocrisy” if he did not take full responsibility for his
party’s poor election performance.
Mr Nesbitt said: “I led into this election. I was the one who argued it
should be a referendum on RHI and on ten years of the DUP and Sinn Fein
leading our Executive government.
“I am the one who suggested in a normal society people would vote on
performance and that the DUP and Sinn Fein did not earn another
mandate. And I’m the one who said this should be Northern Ireland’s
first post-sectarian election based on the economy and education,
health and housing, and that I had a different vision.”
He added: “But the electorate disagreed. They certainly did not give me
a mandate big enough for me to feel justified in continuing in this
position, so I shall not continue in this position.”
After adding the results of first preferences, the DUP won 28.9%, down
1.1% — only marginally above Sinn Fein’s historic 27.9%, an increase
of 3.9%. The UUP reached 12.9% votes, up 0.3%, while the nationalist
SDLP won 11.9% votes, down 0.1%.
As the results came in, both DUP leader Arlene Foster and Sinn Fein
president called for respect for the mandates their parties had been
given by the electorate.
Arriving at the Belfast count centre, Mr Adams said: “It is a vote and
mandate that will have to be respected by the two governments [British
and Irish], by all the other parties… for an end to the old status
quo, for a new beginning as to how we do our business here.”
He also said the results were a vote of confidence in Irish unification
and his party’s position on Brexit.
Sinn Fein has called for a vote on reunification and, in the interim,
for the Six Counties of Ireland under British rule to receive a special
designated status within the EU after Britain’s exit from the bloc.
He said: “It is a vote for Irish unity, a vote for us together as a
people. As Ian Paisley famously told Martin McGuinness, we don’t need
Englishmen to govern us.”
Mr Adams also criticised the DUP’s behaviour in the last government.
“They lost the run of themselves.. They got themselves in a little
bubble. That bubble has been punctured by Martin McGuinness and by
others.”
He also suggested that the DUP nominate someone other than Ms Foster to
act as the unionist leader in the next Executive.
However, Foster was typically uncompromising. Speaking following her
election at the Omagh count centre, Ms Foster said Sinn Fein must
respect the mandate “that has been given to me”.
“I think it’s very clear that [the election] was absolutely not about
the RHI [corruption scandal], it may have been the excuse but it
certainly wasn’t the cause of the election.
“The cause of the election was Sinn Fein and republicanism wanting to
rerun [last year’s] election… they have mobilised their vote in a
very effective way.”
Ms Foster said she was pleased that the DUP vote was still the largest
party in terms of votes cast.
“It is very clear in terms of unionism that it is the DUP that speaks
for unionism.”
But there have been key setbacks for the DUP and it still remains
unclear if the party will retain the key threshold of thirty seats in
order to retain their veto over political change. In one setback, the
notoriously bigoted Nelson McCausland failed to hold his seat in north
Belfast as the constituency looked that it might return a historic
majority of three nationalist seats out of five.
Meanwhile, the vote share of the cross-community Alliance Party rose
significantly, while People before Profit, despite fielding more
candidates, saw their share fall, losing the seat of party leader,
veteran Derry socialist Eamonn McCann, after less than a year.
The SDLP’s Justin McNulty attributed the strong Sinn Fein vote to the
bigotry and sectarianism of Arlene Foster. “Her dismissive remarks had
people out in droves,” he said. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood admitted
Sinn Fein were the “net beneficiaries” of public outrage at the actions
of the Stormont government.
“The Sinn Fein vote has gone up very highly, which is a result of the
overall context of this election, which has been pitched as a battle
between the DUP and Sinn Fein,” he said. “Those of us in the middle
have been clearly squeezed.”
Another historic success for Sinn Fein announced this evening was the
success of Philip McGuigan in topping the poll in the unionist
heartland of North Antrim, synonymous with the name of unionist
firebrand Ian Paisley.
There was also a shock Sinn Fein success in South Down, a traditional
bastion of the SDLP, where the party topped the poll as the SF vote
climbed above that of the SDLP. There were also prospects of unexpected
gains in East Derry and Fermanagh-South Tyrone.
Following this election, Sinn Fein and the DUP will have three weeks to
resolve a wide gulf of differences and form a new administration.
Otherwise, the London government has threatened to reimpose full,
direct British rule.
With 53 of the 90 seats filled as the examination of the voters’ lower
order preferences continues, the current tally of the parties is:
Sinn Fein 27.9% (+3.9%) 22 seats DUP 28.1% (-1.1%) 14 seats UUP 12.9%
(+0.3%) 7 seats Alliance 9.1% (+2.1%) 5 seats SDLP 11.9% (-0.1%) 4
seats People Before Profit 1.8% (-0.2%) 1 seat TUV 2.6% (-0.9%) 0 seats
Green 2.3% (-0.4%) 0 seats
Some of the 18 constituency counts are set to extend into Saturday. An
update on the results will be included in the weekly publication of
Irish Republican News to be published tomorrow.
Posted by Jim on
BROTHER IN NEED
18-year Veteran Firefighter Paul Fazio Ladder 127
Needs a kidney transplant
Potential Donors should be in good physical condition and should not have High Blood Pressure or Diabetes.
Anyone who’s interested to see if they are a match for Paul should contact: Steve Knapik, the living donor coordinator at Stony Brook Hospital, 631-444-6944.
Please pass the information around to friends & family.
Posted by Jim on
The snap 2017 Assembly election has been a good one for Sinn Fein, with
the party so far holding on to its seats in all constituencies and
showing particular strength in the traditional republican heartlands.
The largest unionist party, the DUP, has avoided suffering serious
damage despite being hit by repeated corruption scandals, and could hold
above the 30 seat mark required to hold on to its veto in the Stormont
Assembly. The future of party leader Arlene Foster is, however,
increasingly in doubt amid rumours of a potential heave.
But as one in six seats were eliminated from the Assembly this year, a
decimation of the weakest candidates has hit across the board with the
nationalist SDLP, unionist UUP and DUP and socialist PBP all lined up to
book losses amid an overall turnout of 65%, a sharp increase on last
year.
In contrast, Sinn Fein looks like it could hold on to virtually all of
their seats. Party campaigners said they believed that voters who have
fallen away from the organisation in recent years had returned due to
the party’s more hardline statements against the DUP and the ‘status
quo’.
The party’s female candidates put in a particularly strong performance,
with new party leader in the North, Michelle O’Neill, topping the poll
in Mid-Ulster by more than 10,000 votes, and with all three SF
candidates are set to be elected comfortably.
A new Sinn Fein candidate, Orlaithi Flynn, topped the poll in Belfast
West where all four SF candidates are also set to be elected amid the
demise of high profile SDLP candidate, Alex Attwood. Another female SF
candidate, Caoimhe Archibald, has topped the poll in East Derry, the
first time the party has done so.
Despite a 9% swing to Sinn Fein from the socialist People before Profit
in west Belfast, their candidate, Gerry Carroll, looks to have held on
to his seat. In Foyle, however, the People before Profit candidate Eamon
McCann looks set to lose out as both the Sinn Fein and SDLP have put in
a strong performance there.
In South Down, Sinn Fein overtook the SDLP for the first time on the
back of a 7% increase in votes. Sinn Fein’s Northern Chairman Declan
Kearney saw a surge in his vote tally to allow him to top the poll in
South Antrim, the first time the party has done so since Mitchel
McLaughlin in 2007.
On the unionist side, the DUP could be facing losses in both south
Belfast and north Belfast as a result of a fall-off in loyalist votes,
with high profile candidate Emma Little Pengelly set to lose her seat in
the south of the city. The UUP is struggling to hold seats west of the
river Bann, where the overall nationalist vote appears to be
significantly up, and it is in a battle to hold seats against the DUP in
the unionist heartlands east of the Bann.
In contrast, Alliance leader Naomi Long topped the poll and was elected
on the first count in east Belfast. The moderate unionist party was
optimistic it would hold its seats and possibly make a gain.
The following is the current seat tally after 15 of 90 seats declared:
SF 7, DUP 5, Alliance 2, UUP 1. Further updates will be published here
as they become available.
Posted by Jim on
IRISH-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 2017
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Irish Americans have made an indelible mark on the United States. From Dublin, California, to Limerick, Maine, from Emerald Isle, North Carolina, to Shamrock, Texas, we are reminded of the more than 35 million Americans of Irish descent who contribute every day to all facets of life in the United States. Over generations, millions of Irish have crossed the ocean in search of the American Dream, and their contributions continue to enrich our country today.
From our four Irish-born Founding Fathers to Thomas Francis Meagher, the Irish revolutionary who became an American hero after leading the Irish Brigade during the Civil War, Irish immigrants have shaped our history in enduring ways. Throughout the centuries, hard-working Irish Americans have contributed to America’s innovation and prosperity — tilling the farms of Appalachia, working the looms of New England textile mills, and building transcontinental railroads — often overcoming poverty and discrimination and inspiring Americans from all walks of life with their indomitable and entrepreneurial spirit in the process. From these early beginnings rose generations of Irish Americans who continue to lead our cities, drive our economy, and protect and defend the land they embrace as their own.
American culture carries an unmistakably Irish-American imprint. Our literature, cinema, music, dance, sports, and visual arts are filled with the names and influence of great Irish Americans.
Irish Americans should be proud of the deep cultural, historical, and familial ties that have contributed to the strength of our vibrant transatlantic relationship with Ireland. As we honor the past during Irish-American Heritage Month, we also celebrate a bright future of friendship and cooperation for generations to come.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2017 as Irish-American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Irish Americans to our Nation with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-first.
Posted by Jim on
The polls have closed in the Six County Assembly election with voter
participation reported to have substantially recovered from the record
low voter turnout in last year’s Assembly election.
The first seats are due to be declared on Friday afternoon, with some
counts expected to extend into Saturday.
The poll to the Stormont Assembly is the second in 10 months. It was
called after Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness quit the position of Deputy
First Minister in protest at the failure of DUP leader Arlene Foster to
step aside ahead of an inquiry into alleged corruption.
There were dozens of reports of polling stations with substantially
higher voter numbers than last year. While some appeared to have been
influenced by the controversial culling of the voter register by the
electoral authorities earlier this year, the general trend was up.
Turnout is understood to have ranged from over 80% in parts of Tyrone
and Fermanagh, where voter participation is traditionally high, to below
50% in parts of Belfast, where bouts of heavy rain appear to have taken
their toll.
Commentators have predicted overall turnout should reach 60%, a 6%
increase on last year’s election and could reach up to the 63% reached
in last year’s European referendum. The official turnout will not be
known until the counting process gets under way on Friday.
Five Assembly seats are up for grabs in 18 constituencies, with the
overall number returned falling from 108 to 90 as a consequence of the
implementation of previously agreed reform measures.
Most interest in this election is focussed on the key level of 30
assembly members which the DUP must retain in order to hold on to their
veto over political change under the 2006 St Andrews Agreement.
The Ulster Unionists and nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party
(SDLP), have presented themselves as an alternative cross-community
partnership to the outgoing SF/DUP coalition. However, they did not
field enough candidates to replace them.
Three weeks of talks have been set aside to allow attempts to restore
power-sharing between Sinn Fein and the DUP. If the three-week
post-election deadline passes, British Direct Ruler James Brokenshire is
legally obliged to call yet another election.
However, in similar situations in the past, the British government has
opted to unilaterally suspend the Assembly and reimpose full Direct Rule
from London while negotiations continued.
One issue in the forthcoming talks is likely to be Sinn Fein’s call for
the introduction of an Irish Language Act, which the DUP has vetoed and
vowed to oppose.
While this can be resolved by the British government introducing an
Act at Westminster during a period of Direct Rule, the biggest sticking
point in the talks is still likely to be the position of Arlene Foster,
who has vowed to return to office as First Minister regardless of Sinn
Fein’s insistence that she appoint a replacement during the corruption
inquiry, a process which could take up to a year.
Sinn Fein’s northern leader Michelle O’Neill, who has taken over the
position vacated by Martin McGuinness, was upbeat as she filled out her
ballot paper in her home village of Clonoe, County Tyrone.
“It’s great that so many people are coming out to vote,” she said. She
thanked everyone who voted for Sinn Fein. “What Sinn Fein wins in this
election will be a win for all and we will carry our mandate through to
the post election negotiations,” she added.