Tony O'Doherty

Community Activist and Founder
Central Drive Community Center
Focus Area(s)
Elections
Critical Tasks
Election security
Interviewers
Michael Scharff
Country of Reform
Northern Ireland
Town/City
Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Place (Building/Street)
Central Drive Community Center
Date of Interview
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Abstract

Tony O’Doherty discusses his role in helping forge a solution to persistent electoral violence in Northern Ireland’s second-largest city, Derry/Londonderry.  He paints a vivid picture of what violence once looked like on Election Day, when Catholic nationalists unleashed a wave of gasoline bombs and threw stones at the predominately Protestant-linked police who were stationed at polling places to provide security and transport ballot boxes.  O’Doherty talks about how a locally sourced solution that involved private dialogues between the nationalist political party, Sinn Féin, and the police force, all but eliminated violence in subsequent elections.     

Case Study:  Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Elections in Northern Ireland, 2005

Full Interview

48MB
Tony O'Doherty Interview
Profile

At the time of the interview, Tony O’Doherty was a community activist in Londonderry/Derry, Northern Ireland.  For years, he played a key role in helping limit clashes between Catholic nationalists and the Protestant-linked police on Election Day.  He was one of the founders of the Central Drive Community Center, which provides social services to residents of the impoverished Creggan Estate housing project.  Before becoming involved in community activism, O’Doherty was a professional soccer player with various clubs in Northern Ireland and at the international level.     

Keywords
Sinn Fein
Protestant
Catholic
election security
Election Violence
Londonderry
Derry
Northern Ireland
Not specified