Has the Irish Presidential election been decided by a lie and the media’s unquestioning belief of it? Why did the Sunday Independent wait until after the election – when the media darling was safely ensconced in the Aras – before revealing what they knew?

What the Sunday Independent now calls SF’s “dirty tricks campaign” may yet end up backfiring on the party in the courts. Under “The Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923″:

Every person who, before or during any election and for the purpose of affecting the return of any candidate at that election, makes or publishes any false statement of fact in relation to the personal character or conduct of such candidate, and the directors of any body or association corporate which before or during any election and for the purpose aforesaid makes or publishes any such false statement as aforesaid, shall be guilty of an illegal practice.”

SINN Fein Presidential candidate Martin McGuinness is the main suspect in the brutal murder of two policemen, the Herald can reveal.

Sergeant Peter Gilgunn (26) and Constable David Montgomery (20), were gunned down in an IRA ambush as they travelled in an RUC patrol car in Derry.

They were the first police officers to lose their lives in a terrorist incident in the city for 50 years.

The ambush 40 years ago came just three days before Bloody Sunday sent shockwaves right across the Province.
….

The claims further calls SF’s credibility into question hours before the polls open in the Presidential Election. The revelation comes after McGuiness altered his account of Sean Gallagher’s alleged contacts with businessman and former convicted fuel-smuggler and former tax-evader Hugh Morgan.

Sinn Fein’s allegations linking Gallagher to a cheque for €5,000 for FF have been undermined following the revelations that the accuser has convictions for cross-border fuel-smuggling and tax-evasion and leased his General Election HQ to Gerry Adams. On Tonight with Vincent Brown it was reported that SF has now revealed his identity as Hugh Morgan. In February 2011, the Irish Mail on Sunday reported that Morgan plead guilty to fuel smuggling and tax-evasion in 1998, receiving an 18-month suspended sentence, and being required to pay €500,000 in excise duties and €25,000 in Prosecution costs.

SINN Féin president Gerry Adams is renting his election campaign HQ from the family firm of a convicted crossborder fuel smuggler, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Festooned with posters of the Dáil hopeful, and flying the tricolour from the second storey, the office – above Gormley’s Pub in Park Street, Dundalk – is in a building belonging to Morgan Fuels Ireland Limited, owned by Hugh Morgan.

Newry businessman Morgan pleaded guilty to fuel smuggling and tax evasion at Belfast Crown Court in June 1998. He received a suspended 18-month jail sentence. He paid £500,000 in excise duties and VAT and was ordered to pay £25,000 prosecution costs.

But when Mr Adams was asked about Mr Morgan’s criminal convictions, he laughed them off, saying: ‘You’re great, great craic.’ He then claimed he didn’t know who Sinn Féin was renting the office space from and said he didn’t know Mr Morgan personally.

He said the lease was ‘a totally bona fide legal contract between Sinn Féin and the owner of the building… sin é, that’s it’.

When asked if Mr Morgan was any relation to departing Louth TD Arthur Morgan, Mr Adams said: ‘I wouldn’t say so,’ and joked: ‘But there’s Morgan’s rum now. It’s spice rum – especially, it’s very nice with Coca-Cola and a twist of lemon.’ Speaking during a canvass in mid-Louth, he then turned to his three aides and asked them: ‘Is Morgan’s Fuel any connection to wee Arthur?’

The revelations threaten to backfire on the McGuinness campaign just as false allegations against Mary Harney in relation to the Flood Tribunal did on Magill Magazine in 2002.

Look at 1985.   This is when all the Unionist MPs resigned — as it was then freely described in the media — to protest against the Anglo-Irish Agreement (an outrage that they shared, although not for the same reason, with Fianna Fail).   Led by James Molyneaux — now a real Baron, unlike Gerry Adams — and Ian Paisley (Baron Bannside), they resigned to … to run again for their old seats in by-elections!  So if we’re having a laugh at the need to take these procedures seriously, note that the title would have been held for just a few minutes by each of the Unionist MPs to process their resignations, whereupon they set about disregarding their office of profit under the Crown.  Hopefully the subjects of the stewardships were not insulted by the revolving door nature of their 1985 overlords.

Final footnote: Jim Nicholson, who resigned as MP, lost his seat to Seamus Mallon when he ran again.  But there’s no indication that the title curses subsequent election prospects.

As the Deputy who made the approach to the Taoiseach that day [July 28, 2008] – I have already acknowledged his willingness and response – I have to put the question. We have been told the Taoiseach was in the company of Mr. Seán FitzPatrick and his acknowledged long-time friend, Mr. Fintan Drury. However, thinking back to two and a half years ago when I walked into that bar, I have no information nor can I offer any factual further comments—–

An Ceann Comhairle:   Can we expect a question soon, please Deputy?

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin:  I am asking questions and with the same fairness, I would hope. Was there anyone else in the company? It is now some time later but my recall, from trying to work my way back through that two and a half years, is that it was apparent to me—–

Deputy Billy Kelleher:  Would the Deputy go back a bit further?

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin:   —–there were a number of people in the wider company and more than two. I was not introduced to them, I did not know them personally, I had never met Seán FitzPatrick before or since. Those are the facts.

It is important that the House knows the full truth of the matter. For instance, was any other official of the Taoiseach’s Department or any other Department or of a State agency or anybody else involved in the course of that day’s engagement, either peripheral to the golf outing or the meal or in any casual way over the course of the day, which would be relevant to this House to know and to have an understanding of what was taking place?

The Taoiseach:   In reply to the Deputy’s first point about credibility, in doing one’s work one meets people from all walks of life. In July 2008 I attended a golf outing with Mr. Drury. Mr. FitzPatrick was also there and I played a game of golf. It is true that when we moved indoors Deputy Ó Caoláin came over to speak to me. That was a social outing. We were joined that evening by Alan Gray, an economic consultant, Gary McGann, the chief executive of Smurfit Kappa, and my Garda driver, who also attended the lunch. These individuals came for dinner but only three of us were on the golf course. When Deputy Ó Caoláin came over, I went to the wedding breakfast as he suggested. The reason I said that was not to muddy the waters. There was no suggestion of meeting surreptitiously in a corner or a room. As the Deputy can attest, we were in the open part of the area where one is served a meal after a golf outing. Those individuals joined us and we spent the evening there. That was it.

In regard to the second point raised by the Deputy—–

Deputy Pat Rabbitte:   How many were at the wedding?

Deputy Dermot Ahern:  Deputy Rabbitte put his finger on it. It is that ludicrous.

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin:   The Taoiseach has not shed a scintilla of light on what he discussed over the course of that afternoon and evening. His denial of any mention of Anglo Irish Bank is not being bought.

An Ceann Comhairle:   Deputy, allow the Taoiseach to respond.

The Taoiseach:   I do not know if the Deputy knows the song “Suspicious Minds” but I cannot help him if he believes that one starts to discuss these issues when one plays a game of golf. It was the first day off after that Dáil session. The last Cabinet meeting took place on 23 July and we probably quit on the Friday. We met on the Monday of the following week. I assure the Deputy it was a relaxing day and my purpose was to play a game of golf and—–

Deputy Seán Barrett:   Shoot the breeze.

The Taoiseach:   —–shoot the breeze or talk in a social way with people with whom I was acquainted. While it might help the Deputy to believe me if I said I discussed a lot of things relating to Anglo Irish Bank, that did not happen. I will not say it happened just because it might make me more plausible to him. I have to explain it to him the way it was and that is it. I do not want to over egg the issue but these are the facts.

….

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin:   In regard to the additional people who the Taoiseach acknowledged were in attendance for the evening meal, were they invited by the Taoiseach, Mr. Fitzpatrick or Mr. Drury? Can he indicate the raison d’être for the selection of the particular group of individuals who were not part of the golfing outing? Is that the normal group of people with whom the Taoiseach spends social evenings? He has to acknowledge the considerable question mark that exists in the public mind. In July 2008, Anglo Irish Bank put together a list of ten names in an attempt to boost its collapsing share price. Seán Fitzpatrick has denied that he was ever exposed to the details of that list or the names involved but his successor, David Drumm, has contradicted him by stating clearly that he was fully informed about the names and the intent and purpose of the list.

An Ceann Comhairle:  The Deputy should ask a brief question.

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: We have a situation whereby the outgoing chief executive and his smiled upon successor are at loggerheads. Both of them cannot be telling the truth. Clearly there is a major issue.

I recognise that innocent situations can present in all our lives but it is stretching credibility to claim that the Taoiseach was involved in a social engagement with a key player who has been accused by his successor of not telling the truth. We are to believe that, in the context—–

An Ceann Comhairle: The Deputy has addressed that point.

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin:   —–of all that was unfolding in Anglo Irish Bank—–

An Ceann Comhairle:  He should not further elaborate.

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin:  —–at no point in the course of a long afternoon and evening spent together did these matters arise.

This leads me to September 2008 and the evening when the Minister for Finance, Deputy Lenihan—–

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin:  Will the Taoiseach elaborate on the other invitees to his party?

The Taoiseach:   That would have been organised by Fintan Drury who organised the golf outing. It was about being able to sit down with people at the end of the day and having a chat about the economy. The Deputy will recall we had a mini-budget and saw recession on the horizon and a big slowdown in our economy. As Taoiseach, I was there chatting to see if there were ideas and to find out other people’s views of things and to see if things could be done which might be helpful. As the Deputy will know, those people would have some views on that. That was basically the total sum of it.

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin:  Banking never came up at all.

The Taoiseach:  No. I will not say anything about where banking might have come up but it did not arise when I was present.

Sinn Fein.

Look who SF takes votes from.

Pearse Doherty (SF) 40%
Brian O’Domhnaill (FF) 19%
Barry O’Neill (FG) 15%
Frank McBrearty (Lab) 14%

As a result, Paddy Power have shortened the odds on Doherty taking the seat from 1/5 to 1/8.

More findings:

-Brian O’Domhnaill fares poorly from Sinn Féin transfers.

-Barry O’Neill, Fine Gael and Frank McBrearty Junior, Labour; both secure a similar share of first preference vote in the constituency at 15% and 14% respectively, but initial analysis of transfers puts McBrearty ahead.

- Asked for General Election voting-intentions, Sinn Féin take 31% of the first preference vote – 10 points ahead of their impressive performance just over 3 years ago.

-The Labour vote in Donegal SW has risen by 15 percentage-points to 18% in GE voting intentions relative to 2007.

- 46% in the constituency prefer Eamon Gilmore as Taoiseach, compared to 18% for Enda Kenny, 13% for Brian Cowen, with 13% favouring none of these and 10% undecided.

- Fianna Fáil score just 19% in General Election voting-intentions.

Asked for General Election voting-intentions, Sinn Féin take 31% of the first preference vote – 10 points ahead of their impressive performance just over 3 years ago. The Labour vote in Donegal SW has risen by 15 percentage-points to 18%. 46% in the constituency prefer Eamon Gilmore as Taoiseach, compared to 18% for Enda Kenny, 13% for Brian Cowen, with 13% favouring none of these and 10% undecided. Fianna Fáil score just 19% in General Election voting-intentions.

FG 31 (-2)
FF24,(nc)
LAB 23 (-4)
SF 10 (+2)
GR 3 (+1)
Oths 9 (+3)

Underlines volatility of Labour vote. Also public satisfaction with Brian Cowen is 19% to 64% dissatisfied and 17% undecided. 29% are more likekly to vote vote FF with Cowen replaced, including 21% of FG and Labour voters. Will FF be forced to turn to SF and Independents to retain power?

But leave that aside. 

The theme of the speech was that we in Ireland now have the “space” to take a comprehensive view of the events of one hundred years ago and that this will make the commemorations a more worthy enterprise than they otherwise would have been –

In fact, there is so much to look forward to if we are prepared to seize the future.  We can banish that “giant albatross” of history from around our necks and replace it with a garland of hope for our better future. I am greatly encouraged by the conversation that has already begun – across the entire island of Ireland. It is a conversation which can deepen the process of reconciliation and help us to write another proud chapter in our history.

One thing is missing.  The Irish Civil War.  You can read that speech 10 times and see perhaps one oblique reference to it.  Yet to try and tell a history of Ireland  for this period without discussing this war would be nonsensical.    But the official position seems to be that our vaunted “space” and “conversation” about early 20th century Irish history still has its limits.

One was that O’Dea’s role as a minister was irrelevant to the case.  This is just factually wrong.  The source of the row was Maurice Quinlivan’s original claim that O’Dea is using 6 civil  servants that he gets as a minister for constituency work, including for matters that are the domain of local government.   And of course, as the Opposition pointed out, this all took place in the context of a race for elected office where council is the stepping stone to the Dail.

Second, Cowen (presumably correctly) pointed to the fact that Ireland has no perjury law.  It is only governed by common law.  So in the past year, not to mention the past 5 years, Dermot Ahern has found time to pass a blasphemy law and get working on one for begging, but not formalise the law governing sworn statements to a court.   Even the Tribunals of Inquiry have somehow found a mechanism to penalize untruthful testimony, although some bright spark might now be wondering whether there is scope for a legal challenge to those findings. 

Incidentally, the Taoiseach today announced that Catherine McGuinness will spend another year as President of the Law Reform Commission.  Maybe suggesting a perjury law should the first item on her extended agenda.