Sinn Fein

Tony O'Doherty

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R
Focus Area(s)
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3
Critical Tasks
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Michael Scharff
Name
Tony O'Doherty
Interviewee's Position
Community Activist and Founder
Interviewee's Organization
Central Drive Community Center
Language
English
Place (Building/Street)
Central Drive Community Center
Town/City
Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
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

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.     

Full Audio File Size
48MB
Full Audio Title
Tony O'Doherty Interview

Barney O'Hagan

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R
Focus Area(s)
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3
Critical Tasks
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Michael Scharff
Name
Barney O'Hagan
Interviewee's Position
Former Councillor
Interviewee's Organization
Derry City Council
Language
English
Town/City
Derry City, Northern Ireland
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

Barney O’Hagan discusses his role as a politician and community leader in Derry, Northern Ireland, in particular his involvement in and reflections about the first peaceful elections witnessed in Derry in memory. He describes the idea of removing police presence from the polling stations as integral to ending election-related violence. O'Hagan highlights the role of Sinn Fein, the political party with which he is affiliated, but he also describes encouraging local, a-political leaders to to promote the removal of police personnel from polling stations in order to give the proposal greater legitimacy. O'Hagan's account of the history of The Troubles in Northern Ireland and the evolution of the situation in Derry, particularly following the Good Friday Peace Agreement, provides context within which dampening election violence can be studied.

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

Profile

Barney O’Hagan is a former councillor from Derry, Ireland with the Sinn Fein political party.  O'Hagan was first elected in 1998, soon after his release from prison.  His release was prompted by the signing of the Good Friday Peace Agreement.

Full Audio File Size
103 MB
Full Audio Title
Barney O'Hagan Interview