My public appeal for your vote today

Here is the letter I had printed in yesterday's Kilkenny People newspaper. Please read it and pass it on if you think it can help others to see that Michael D. deserves your vote today. There's still almost five hours left to cast your vote.


A chara,
I have never before in twenty five years of political activism considered writing a public appeal on behalf of any candidate standing for election. I do so now however because I believe that we as citizens have an opportunity this Thursday to elect as Uachtarán na hÉireann the man who more than any other has inspired me and my generation and who can lift the spirit of our broken country. Never have we needed it more.

In 1987 Michael D. Higgins asked me as a young student leader to join the Labour Party in order to help change my community and play a part in changing our country. Since then I have been proud to stand alongside him in many battles which have made that change. Like he did with me, Michael D brought thousands of people into giving our time and energy to make Ireland a better place. It is the reason that every young person I know who meets him is inspired by him.

Let us also remember the real, concrete actions he took as our first Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht which have had such a profound impact on Kilkenny. He established the Heritage Council which now has its headquarters in this city, he established the National Film board and put in place an incentive scheme which has led to the creation of thousands of Irish jobs, including those in companies like our own Cartoon Saloon. And let us never forget TG4. Is Michael D an chéad aire a chuir stop leis an 'caint san aeir' faoin nGaeilge agus a thug stádas lárnach, nua-aimsirthe di, ag seasamh le Ghaelscoileanna agus ag labhairt an teanga go hoscailte agus go líofa. He also established the ACCESS arts grant scheme which led to the upgrading of our Watergate theatre and the building of the George Bernard Shaw facility in Carlow.

Michael D. has always had justice and equality at the heart of his writings, thoughts and actions. Anybody who attended the protests against the Iraq war will remember his passion, his independence and his focus. He has always defended the poor and the oppressed throughout Ireland and the world and is therefore in a unique position to represent us at home and abroad.

Finally Michael D. Higgins stood clearly against the values of greed and mé féinism which destroyed this country in the past fourteen years. He will be a clear voice for the return to our best values of community, solidarity and positivity as our head of state. More than any other person he would with conviction read the section of our proclamation committing us to finally cherish all the children of the nation equally on Easter Sunday 2016. I urge every Kilkenny citizen to consider these issues before making this crucial national decision.
Is mise le meas,
Cllr. Seán Ó hArgáin
Greenshill
Kilkenny.

Secret of Kells-Téigh agus féach air

Tonight was one of those great mixtures of supporting a great local business success, the arts, a great cause and finally having a family night out in great company. It was the Kilkenny launch of The Secret of Kells, a truly ambitious project by an equally ambitious bunch of young men and women who make up Cartoon Saloon, an animation company quickly garnering a huge international reputation for itself.
The night was also a fundraiser for the company that in many ways spawned Cartoon Saloon, the wonderful Young Irish Film Makers, founded by local man, Mike Kelly in the early nineties. It is a film school, teaching young people a phenomenal range of skills which they would find impossible to access in most other towns or indeed in major cities. The lads in the Saloon started their careers with YIFM, and are now on the verge of major stardom. They were effusive in their praise of Mike tonight though and well deserved too.

To all those involved, Paul Young, Ross Stewart, Ross Murray and Tomm Moore, best of luck at the box office this weekend. This magical movie of a story based on the wrting of the Book of Kells shouldn't be missed by anybody, young or old. Each scene looks like a Ross Stewart painting, full of magical Celtic imagery, and the action is rollercoaster as well as beautiful.

Ag an deireadh mile maith agat do Tomm, a bhean iontach Liselott agus a mhac briomhar, Ben, as ucht a dtacaiocht i nGaelscoil Osrai thar na blianta. Táimid an-bhródúil as ucht an méid atá bainte amach agaibh go dti seo, agus go n-eiri libh as seo amach.

Nationalising the banks comrades- Sure tis a great thing altogether now!

In the bad old days the biggest insult you could throw at the Labour Party was that they wanted to 'Nationalise the Banks'. The implication was that the horrible old socialists would rob all your money and take it out of your life savings account and throw it all away on nasty things like school classrooms and hospital beds.

Now take a look at the smiling man here and reflect! The face of 'Ireland Inc.', the epitome of all that was great in Irish life in the Celtic Tiger period was Mr. Fitzpatrick, when all of us who warned that our ten-year party was based on what David McWilliams called the greatest pyramid selling scheme in the history of capitalism were dismissed as pessimists who were 'talking down the economy'. And what was he up to all along-why feathering his own nest of course, along with a whole lot of other chancers. And what must we do now? Well Cowen and Lenihan first ask us to shell out a fortune to bail out the nice lads at Anglo, and then, sure we might as well buy it altogether sure!

Ten years ago you'd have been sent off to the Celtic Tiger gulag for unsound and unpatriotic people for suggesting nationalising anything-'give it to Michael O' leary-he'll show you how to do it' was the refrain. Remember now when Labour opposed the sell-off of Trustee Savings Bank from the state: 'Sure what would the state be doing running a bank?!!', the sneering fatcats chortled. Well how's about to put manners on a few people and to have a bit of financial ethics around the place as an answer?

Now is the time for this Government to get off its complacent backside and to engage in a real public debate about where we go next. I believe that what my party is proposing is the way to go. Let's stimulate the economy just as Obama and Brown are doing. Let's get building and creating, and if we have to borrow to give people hope and dignity back, let's do so. Staying stuck in the same old Thatcherite slash and burn policies of the 80's will plunge us deeper into darkness and will set our recovery back year.

Who do you trust more on this choice- Obama, Brown and Gilmore or Cowen, Lenihan and indeed Kenny?

Is Féidir Linn

Sin na focail a d'úsáid ceannaire mo pháirtí, Eamon Gilmore ag deireadh a aitheasc i gCill Chainnigh an Satharn seo chaite. Las sé tine faoi bhaill an pháirtí agus más aon comhartha an méid atáim ag clos ó cháirde agus an pobal, faoin dtír ar fad chomh maith.

We've just finished the historic first ever national conference of the Labour Party in Kilkenny and whar a weekend it was. For me, the most memorable conference speech was that of our last hugely successful leader Dick Spring at the famour 'Bread and Roses' caonference in Tralee in 1989. That was pure theatre with its opera and poetry and its sheer novelty. Saturday's sppech was all about content however, right from the start. The first sentence was 'I want to talk to you about solutions', and that was what he did. You can watch the speech below or read it here.

For my own part, I got to speak in the live RTÉ television debate on Saturday morning and you can see the speech here from the party's very forward looking presence on UStream. I also made the main RTÉ news for my comments regarding Fine Gael's attacks on the public service, and was also delighted to make it onto Saturday View, my favourite RTÉ radio programme, and had the privilege of being interviewed by John Bowman. The soundbite was small for all of us but we were there regardless. The coverage continued today as my comments were covered in two pieces in the Irish Times, one on FG and one on class sizes. and the Irish Daily Mail. More importantly of course on a local level I got to do a good piece with Tom Dowling on the afternoon news show on KCLR FM, our local radio station.

Two highlights of the weekend were the long service awards to Carlow/Kilkenny party members. Two of my favourite Labour women got recognition they deserved. Sadie Kelly was my predecessor on the party's National Executive and played a major part in bringing this conference to Kilkenny, work which I was delighted to continue, while the ever youthful Peggy Kerwick was unfortunately absent but her award was collected by my neighbour and great community activist, Seán. The others were Graiguenamanagh man John Bolger, Borris man Willie Hayes, and the unbelieveably fresh looking Paddy Dowd of Coon in North Kilkenny a 93 year old lifelong activist. All got their awards from one of my heroes, party President Michael D. Higgins TD.

He had previously presented the Jim Larkin justice award to Conor MacLiam, husband of the late Susie Long who inspired us so much in her life and her passing. Conor reminded us that Susie was a great socialist and a huge admirer of Larkin, and of course challenged us to keep alive the issues which tragically led to her death.