Republican News · Thursday 30 November 2001

Sinn Féin councillors charged

CHARGES of IRA membership brought against two Sinn Féin local councillors in the Special Court in Dublin last Saturday, 28 November, have coincided with questions put down in Leinster House to Coalition Minister for Transport and Communications, Patrick Cooney, about the continuing ban on Sinn Féin local representatives appearing on RTÉ.

The two councillors, John Joe McGirl, aged 60 of Leitrim County Council and 26-year-old Jim Lynagh, who is a member of Monaghan UDC, were arrested with another Monaghan man, Patrick Arthur, aged 26, on Thursday night, one week ago, at Killeshandra, County Cavan.

The Leinster House questions were answered on Tuesday 1 December, when in reply to Independent Donegal Deputy Neil Blaney, Cooney said that he would not consider revoking Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act which imposes the ban against all republicans appearing on Free State television.

Former Communications Minister Albert Reynolds, of Fianna Fáil, asked if Sinn Féin representatives on local authorities could be interviewed on RTÉ on local authority matters. Coonet replied that "some of the local representatives hold a ballot paper in one hand and an Armalite rifle in the other".

When Reyolds repeated the view (hypocritically, given his own record in office) that interviews on local matters should be allowed, Cooney once again repeated that "some of the local representatives hold a ballot paper in one hand and an Armalite in the other".

John Joe McGirl is currently a member of the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle. In 1957, he was elected as an abstentionist TD for Sligo/Leitrim in the General Election, and was first elected to Leitrim County Council in 1961 and served until 1967. He was voted back onto the council in June 1974 and, at that time, was interned, in Long Kesh, having been arrested on his way to give the oration at the Easter Commemoration in Belfast, earlier in the year.

He was re-elected to Leitrim County Council in June 1980 and the following year was unamously elected chairman of the council with the full support of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Independent.

Jim Lynagh has been a member of Monaghan UDC since June 1979. His election came a few months after his return home after spending five years as republican prisoner in Long Kesh.

In the last two years he has been a constant target of Gardaí in Monaghan and has been arrested on literally dozens of occasions.

Phoblacht, Thursday 3 December 1981