I'm pleased to say we can add to the controversy over the
Progressive Democrats financial affairs. The Sunday Business Post
carried details last weekend of donors to the party, including
thousands of pounds from beef baron Larry Goodman and similar
donations from Toyota Cars, Tara Mines and other business
interests towards election expenses.
The documentation was found in a skip outside the PD's offices in
Dublin and passed to the Sunday Business Post. Well, I can reveal
that one of our intrepid snoopers was passing the same offices a
few days earlier and came across another bunch of interesting
documentation from the PDs. An interesting way of dealing with
the media, but there you are.
The documents we have deal not with donations, but with how the
PDs spend their funds.
For example, their 1995 conference in the Corrib Great Southern
Hotel in Galway ran up a bill on food and drink of a hefty
£7,500.
These right wing parties certainly know how to throw a party.
Imagine if Joe Cahill, Sinn Féin's famous treasurer, was asked to
pay for food and drink at a SF Ard Fheis?
Of course, there is no implication that a party in government
would show any favouritism whatsoever towards any particular
business interest which might have contributed towards election
expenses or helped fund their annual conference. This is a
democracy, after all, and such things just don't happen.
Among the guests at the conference was Brid Rodgers, John
Alderdice and our old friend Ken Maginnis. Major Ken, canny man
that he is, signed his address as simply `Dungannon'.
Ken was in the news this week when he angrily told the British
House of Commons that Mo Mowlam was planning to write an article
for An Phoblacht. We are, according to Ken, ``the IRA's magazine''
and if Mo wrote an article for us it would have a terrible effect
in the Unionist community.
Mowlam has written for us before, when she was in opposition, but
I knew nothing about another article being planned. You'd think I
might have known about it. I rang the NIO press office and after
two days I got an answer, of sorts. ``There is no article
planned,'' I was told. ``Yes, but was one planned?''
After much huffing and puffing that was as far as they would go.
``There is no article planned.'' Draw from that what you can. But
one newspaper said that the An Phoblacht article was to be part
of a campaign to counter ``Sinn Féin propaganda'' about the slow
movement in demilitarisation.
It's not very nice using An Phoblacht in a campaign like that but
still, as part of the process, we are quite prepared to let Mo
Mowlam put her case. In fact, if Major Ken wants to write a wee
article, we'll publish that too.
One ex-PD and ex-TD Michael McDowell is finding it hard to come
to terms with new political realities, as can be seen from the
writing on his constituency office.
other fascinating little document also fell into our hands this
week. It is the list of prisoners from H-Block 8 who had visits
last Saturday. And there, in the top left corner,
the screws have reminded themselves that one prisoner, Liam
Averill, was not available for a visit. Liam, of course, is on an
extended visit after slipping out last Wednesday, allegedly
dressed as a woman.
Liam's Mrs Doubtfire escape has certainly brought a touch of
humour to a lot of people's Christmas (as you can see from our
Christmas notices
Does Ed Moloney exist? Or is he just the ultimate conspiracy
theory?
Ed, the feisty Northern Editor of the Sunday Tribune, last
weekend wrote a piece about an article which appeared in these
pages last week. It was written by Marcas Mac Ruairi and was
critical of a series of conflicting statements from Fianna Fáil's
Bertie Ahern and David Andrews.
Ed wrote: ``Sinn Féin was unable to say whether Marca (sic) Mac
Ruairi actually exists or whether he/she is a nom de plume for a
Sinn Féin leader.'' He then used this to play up the significance
of the article.
Well, Ed, Marcas does exist, and to prove it, he's sitting across
from me right now. Hi Marcas!
Better to ring An Phoblacht to find out who works here.
In an accompanying article Ed profiled the Sinn Féin delegation
to Downing Street. When writing about Gerry Adams he picked up on
media comparisons with Michael Collins, the last republican
leader to meet a British Prime Minister at Downing Street.
With the perfect hindsight of a dedicated historian, Ed wrote,
``For the Cork man it was a simple choice which all of his IRA
colleagues easily understood: to reject or accept the Treaty.
Adams's enterprise, on the other hand, is characterised by its
complicated ambiguity.''
It was always so. Some things are more complicated than they
seem. Others are simpler than they seem. The trick is to know
which is which.
The Dublin Government's ambassador to the United States, Seán O
hUigeann must have taken a sharp intake of breath when he
received a letter from Friends of Sinn Féin in Washington. They
addressed it to Kevin O Higgins, who, you may remember, was a
minister in the first Free State government. He was executed by
the IRA 70 years ago.
Someone in Scotland came across an Apprentice Boys sash (don't
tell me how, I don't want to know) and sent it to us. It is
a very fine sash. A little badge on it proclaims its
proud owner's support for the UVF.
We don't really want it so if its owner (A. Walker, or is that `a
walker') would like it back he can send money to cover its post
and packaging along with his address and we'll be glad to let him
have it.
James Joyce has come out in support of republican prisoners. He
can be seen in Dublin's North Earl Street sporting a fine green
ribbon. He put it on at the start of prisoners month and there it
has remained.
d now, as is traditional, a Christmas joke to finish. Dustin
and the Teletubbies have brought out a Christmas CD to raise
money for the POWs. It's called Turkey Ar Laa Laa.
Oh, dear. Happy Christmas.
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)