The Race for the Áras (9 page)
Read The Race for the Áras Online
Authors: Tom Reddy
Politically active, he established the Irish-Americans for Clinton campaign in 1991 and led an Irish-American delegation to Northern Ireland after Clinton was elected. He was also an intermediary between Sinn Féin and the White House during the peace process and helped secure an American visa for the party president, Gerry Adams, in 1994.
O'Dowd has consistently worked on behalf of Irish emigrants to the United States and created the
US
-Ireland Forum, a forerunner of the Diaspora Forum hosted by the Irish Government, in 2009. He remains close to the Clintons and served on Hillary Clinton's Finance Committee for her 2008 presidential campaign.
In April 2011, at the inaugural Irish American Hall of Fame luncheon in New York, the former president Bill Clinton said his involvement in the Northern Ireland issue was on the initiative of O'Dowd.
O'Dowd declared his interest in the post while he was in the United States after he was approached by a number of people during the visit to Ireland by President Obama, who felt O'Dowd could be an independent candidate who would work with the Irish diaspora. He would refuse to identify the people who urged him to go forward, only saying that he had not approached the Clintons at any time for their support as he considered his potential bid.
O'Dowd's decision to seek support for a run sparked an article from Walter Ellis, a former diplomatic correspondent and correspondent in Brussels and Belfast for the
Irish Times
, who lives in both France and the United States, questioning his credentials. It also referred to O'Dowd taking the American oath of allegiance. Ellis wrote combatively that O'Dowd
must be the first aspirant to Ãras an Uachtaráin who sees Ireland and the Irish as a brand, not a nation ⦠According to an article published on Irish Central [an Irish-interest portal established by O'Dowd] this week, he would, as president, call on the power of the Irish diaspora and bring it to bear on the country's crippled economy. He would rally the world's wealthiest Irish people and encourage them to invest in Ireland, North and South, believing that, âall things being equal', heritage clinches the deal.
Like most Irish-Americans, O'Dowd has an atavistic disdain for Britain and its royal family. Of Queen Elizabeth's State visit he wrote in March: âMyself, I wouldn't cross the road to see her, but I think on balance it is a good thing ⦠hopefully.'
Prince William, he wrote in November, was âa member of the lucky sperm club'.
Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, was âa good stud mare', who would be judged by whether or not she produced âyoung colts' to secure the bloodline.
The recent royal wedding was âa fitting circus for a fading empire'. Perhaps as well then that he was not in the Ãras when Her Majesty came to call.
A veteran supporter of the peace process, O'Dowd is rightly credited with helping obtain
US
visas for former leaders of the
IRA
and for pricking the interest of President Clinton in a cause whose time had come. For he remains at heart an old-time republican.
According to O'Dowd, âthe reality is you gotta fish where the fish are, and the only votes for me are with Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin.' He initially met the general secretary of Fianna Fáil, Seán Dorgan, and also Mary Lou McDonald and Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin. He ruled out the possibility of getting a nomination from county councils: that was not possible for him due to time constraints, as he had to tend his business interests. He said he would announce the success of his talks. âI'm not going to spend a whole lot of time dilly-dallying over this decision. I will make my decision in a week or two as to whether or not I will go forward with this effort.'
O'Dowd blogged on his
Irishcentral.com
site saying he never thought taking the oath of allegiance when he became an American citizen would be thrown at him as something negative. There would be criticisms in the coming days about where his allegiance would or should lie after taking the oath, while the debate forgot that a previous President, Ãamon de Valera, had been an American citizen by birth. O'Dowd wrote that
the presenter on Newstalk radio zeroes right in on it after a British writer for the
Irish Times
raised the issue. It seems a spurious argument, given that I have worked on Irish issues and have always been entirely comfortable with my allegiance to both countries. I will yield to no one my right to be Irish ⦠Overall, it has been a fascinating experience.
He then recounted how he dealt with the Ellis article as put to him by Pat Kenny.
In the event the interview is fair but tough. The
Irish Times
screed by London
Times
obituary writer Walter Ellis accused me of being anti-British Royal family and too extreme gets an airing but I am comfortable answering the questions.
If the worst my opponents can throw at me is that I question the magnificence of the British Royal family to an audience in the Irish Republic I am on pretty safe grounds â¦
The major declared candidates for this job are running on lifelong resumes as politicians, several from the now discredited European Parliament. The last thing Irish people want to hear right now are politicians given the mess the country is in. There is also a dearth of ideas among those candidates, with mostly touchy feely yak yak about national conversations and kumbaya sentiments.
I take the tack that I can help with jobs, tourism and education.
In setting out his stall he said he would be a âtravelling salesman' for Ireland and that the role could drive more American investment in Ireland.
I don't accept for a minute that the job is meaningless. I think it's a powerfully uplifting office at a time when Ireland's image abroad needs every bit of help it can get.
Ten days after he arrived in Ireland, O'Dowd had blitzed radio programmes and met representatives of Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil. After some reflection he told the media he was not going to run for the Park, saying he had stopped believing he could win. Without saying it, clearly the support was not forthcoming.
I have been given a fair hearing and am content that the issue of how the next president, with the help of the Diaspora, can help secure jobs and stop the involuntary emigration of Ireland's young people has been raised. I want to thank those who had promised support and to give an undertaking that I will continue to work on behalf of Irish and emigrant issues in my current capacity.
O'Dowd also said he could not compete financially with the political parties.
The race costs about â¬480,000 to run a proper national campaign. The main political parties can easily raise that.
The logistical challenges of running for an office as an independent against established political parties is incredible. It is a complicated system which overwhelmingly favours the big guns in the main political parties such as Fine Gael and Labour. Bottom line: unless they are completely terrible candidates either the Labour or Fine Gael contender will win the race. Quite simply, I believe the race is not winnable for an independent, any independent, no matter what the current polls say.
Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin would later confirm that he had advised O'Dowd to pull out of the contest.
I strongly advised O'Dowd not to stand, because he is a friend of mine. He didn't really know what he was letting himself in for, and, as an independent, it is difficult. It is a very undemocratic system.
Ten days later O'Dowd would write for
www.thejournal.ie
saying that the power elites in Ireland don't want to acknowledge the great contribution made by Irish emigrants to their native land, because to do so would be to admit that the state has failed them.
I think we Irish abroad threaten the status quo in a way that is quite surprising even to me. The
Irish Times
did their readers the single courtesy of printing, unbidden, the pledge each person takes on taking American citizenship. Even though the Irish state recognises dual citizenship, the august
Irish Times
clearly does not.
He added that since 1840 more than half the people born in Ireland had emigrated. Their descendants make up the 70-million-strong diaspora around the world.
O'Dowd went on to quote a letter about Irish economic emigrants that Paul Hill, one of the Guildford Four, had written to him when he announced that he was not going to contest the race.
I worked with these men on the buildings of London, many lived in bedsits which were no more than hovels, yet every week the first port of call for these men was the post office, Ireland was never forgotten. Those pointing the finger today never give those men a thought as they passed away penniless on the streets of London.
O'Dowd concluded:
There is no emigrant senator, no minister for immigrant affairs, quite the contrary, a determination to block any voting rights or any real participation in the dialogue. I quickly realised the race was not winnable, running against the vastly superior firepower of the major parties who set all the rules. Like a lot of things in Ireland, I discovered the cards are held where only the insiders can deal them.
He would later endorse the Sinn Féin candidate as one of the great arbiters of the Irish peace process.
On Thursday 7 July, Phil Hogan, the Fine Gael strategist and Minister for the Environment, âbumped into' Pat Cox in Dublin and posed for photographs with him for the lucky photographers who âhappened' to be nearby. It was seen as a set-up, despite protestations to the contrary and a clear endorsement from Mount Street for Cox's campaign. Party sources denied that he was being shown favouritism. âIt was a chance encounter, which should not be interpreted as support for Mr Cox's campaign.'
Meanwhile, Avril Doyle announced that she was pulling out of the contest, saying she was âunlikely to secure the nomination, notwithstanding the fact that I retain the support of a sizeable number of the parliamentary party.' She said she was acting in the best interests of the party, and that she would not be endorsing any candidate before the convention.
The
Irish Independent
reported that senior Fine Gael figures were contacting undecided members of the parliamentary party in the run-up to the convention. They said that head office had carried out an opinion poll and that it showed Cox and McGuinness securing 22 per cent of the vote each, with Mitchell trailing at 14 per cent. One
TD
said that head office was âterrified' of the prospect of Mitchell winning the nomination, and that they preferred Cox but would settle for McGuinness instead of Mitchell.
Fine Gael never released the market research. However, the reported figures are believed to have shown Norris leading the field, with all three Fine Gael candidates trailing.
Twenty-one years earlier Fine Gael head office had commissioned the Market Research Bureau of Ireland to conduct an opinion poll to assess the likely candidates, including Brian Lenihan (senior) and Mary Robinson, and the potential Fine Gael candidates, Peter Barry, Avril Doyle and, its eventual candidate, Austin Currie. Any rating below 3.5 would translate into certain defeat at the polls. Lenihan topped the poll with 3.91, Robinson scored 3.7, Barry and John Wilson 2.94, Doyle 2.86 and Currie, trailing last, 2.74. Despite scoring the lowest, Currie was selected as its officialâand, as it turned out, unsuccessfulâcandidate.
Convinced that he was being undermined with an opinion poll and a phone campaign, Mitchell fired off an angry letter to head office complaining about party bias and favouritism.
On Saturday 9 July, Fine Gael's electoral college, with 650 delegates, gathered in the Regency Hotel in Whitehall, Dublin. Frances Fitzgerald, Minister for Children and a Dublin North-West
TD
, proposed Mitchell, saying that Fine Gael had never won the Presidency but that it could do so now. John Bruton, who had earlier withdrawn from the party's nomination process, had signed Mitchell's nomination papers. Mitchell told delegates that he would campaign on the four pillars of his political philosophyâârights, responsibilities, enterprise and social justice'âand added that âwe need to return to a less harsh and more merciful society.'
Party delegates were still buoyed up by the result of the general election and by continuing support in the opinion polls for the party. Enda Kenny spoke to the crowded room as votes were being counted. âFine Gael doesn't have any right to this Presidency ⦠it's something we have to win.' Then he momentarily forgot his own caution: âAs we speak, the future of Ãras an Uachtaráinâpotentiallyâis being counted in the next room.'
Brian Murphy, chairperson of the Executive Council of Fine Gael, announced the elimination of Cox after he received less than 25 per cent of the first vote. By 5 p.m. he was able to announce Mitchell as the Fine Gael presidential candidate, as he had taken 55 per cent of the vote, to McGuinness's 45 per cent.
Kenny's face fell as the result was announced and, according to reporters, he could barely disguise his disappointment. At a press conference after the vote Mitchell revealed that he was going to take a week's holiday before throwing himself into the campaign. Publicly rebuking him, Kenny said: âTake your holiday and enjoy it, because, believe you me, when you come back you better be ready for one hell of a campaign.'
Mitchell said he would attend the Patrick MacGill Summer School in the Glenties, Co. Donegal, before taking off to the Mediterranean for a week on a holiday that was already booked.
Mitchell's strong canvassing skills and his service to the party had won him the nomination, and he wasn't going to let the party forget how Cox had been favoured over his candidacy.
We are the hierarchy, the parliamentary party. The executive council made a very firm point. They re-established themselves and made a very firm point as to who makes the decisions.