This article is from page 16 of the 2013-01-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
THE FIRST meeting of Ireland’s newest political party, the Irish Citizens Party, took place in Ennis in April.
The party, which was founded by West Clare man, Jim Connolly, has styled itself as a humanitarian party which promises a number of “radical ideas” on how to approach the future of Ireland.
Mr Connolly, who has ran both as an Independent and Labour candidate in previous elections, says he will not be putting his name forward for election again, but says that he hopes to have a number of candidates in Clare and other counties in time for the local election in 2014.
“I will extend an open invitation to everyone who wants to attend that meeting. There will be no membership fees charged, nothing like that. The meeting will be about throwing the idea of the party around and seeing what people think of it,” he said before the April meeting.
“I need people to get involved for this to progress. This is entirely people-orientated but there are a lot of radical proposals to it that people may need time to absorb.
“In my view, there is no alternative but to go back to basic humanitarian values, and a system based on rules that the people are happy to live under. I have decided to launch this party long in advance of any election. I have declared that I will not be running again for politics. I think there is need for this party, but it is the party itself that will select the candidates and I won’t be one of them.
“What I am bringing is the drive to set it up but also I have a track record for setting up organisations that work. This is not for financial gain or any other motivation like that; this is about me trying to respond to what is going on in Ireland over the next few years, however long I am alive. I want to combat what has been hap- pened and where it is going.”
Mr Connolly, who is also the founder of the Rural Resettlement Ireland and the man behind the Open Fairs – which are designed to promote new small businesses – believes that his party can spread beyond Clare before the 2014 local election. Wed02January13