The Minority Parties

Paddy Agnew profiles Sinn Fein the Workers Party, Bernadette McAliskey, and Sinn Fein

SFWP

Sinn Fein The Workers Party are fielding 15 candidates, of whom one, Joe Sherlock, (Cork East) is an outgoing TD. SFWP obviously expect that Sherlock will be able to hang on to the seat which he won last June, although the fact that he took the final seat with a margin of 714 votes is an indication of how difficult it may be for him. '

In Waterford, Alderman Paddy Gallagher may run Willie Kenneally (FF) very close for the fourth seat. This is because, unlike last June, there is no H Block candidate standing in Waterford. Despite the profound diffference between SFWP and the H Block movement, Paddy Gallagher got 36.6% of H Block candidate, Kevin Lynch's transfers. Last June, Lynch received 3337 first preferences, whilst Paddy Gallagher received 3463.

The bulk of the SFWP manifesto is concerned with the economy and contains a series of proposed Budget amendments, which although SFWP admits they are no more than tinkerring with the superficial details of the present capitalist economy, form the SFWP response to the econo mic crisis.

Measures which it is claimed would save money include an ending of the bailing out of farmers in loan difficullties, an end to stock relief for corrporations, an end to further cattle stocking relief to farmers. Additional taxation measures proposed by SFWP include a wealth tax on property other than buildings and land, a land and reezoning tax, re-introduction of estate duties, a Capital Gains Tax on profits from development property transfers, a tax on derelict sites in urban areas, re-introduction of rates payments by farmers, a property tax on "second" houses and the removal of indexation against inflation of capital gains. SFWP claims that these tax measures would, raise £ 190 million.

SFWP candidates:

Cllr. Tomas MacGiolla (Dublin West); Andy Smith (Dublin South East); Michael White ( Dublin Central); Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central); Pat McCartan (Dublin North East); Proinsias De Rossa (Dublin North West); Joe Sherlock TD (Cork East); Cllr, Ted Tynan (Cork North Central); Cllr. John McManus (Wicklow); Jimmy Brick (Galway West); Cllr,' Donnchadha Mac Raghnaill (Louth); Cllr. Sean Walsh (Carlow-Kilkenny); Alderman Paddy Gallagher (Waterford); Francis O'Donoghue (Cavan-Monaghan): Seaamus Rodgers (Donegal South West).

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Bernadette McAliskey

The retirement from politics of Dr. Noel Browne has given Bernadette McAliskey a realistic possibility of winning a seat in Mr. Haughey's con~ stituency of Dublin North Central. She will obviously be hoping to attract votes both from Dr. Browne's pre-vious supp.orters (5031 first prefer" ences in 1981) and from the support which was given to the H Block canndidate, Vincent Doherty (1481). With the seats of Haughey and Vincent Brady of Fianna Fail and George Berrmingharnof Fine Gael all looking safe, Mrs. McAliskey would appear to be fighting for the fourth seat in direct opposition to the Fine Gael candidate, Richard Bruton, brother of the Minisster for Finance, John Bruton.

Bernadette McAliskey , who is stannding as a People's Democracy sponnsored candidate, has based her election programme on three main issues - The North, Control of the Nation's Wealth and CiviliRights. On the North, she calls for a complete British withdrawal and an end to collaboration with the British Government.

While she does not support the armed struggle in Northern Ireland, she does support the right of the nattionalist people of the North to use violence-in self-defence in a situation where the security forces and a large percentage of the Protestant communnity are heavily armed. She has, howwever, always argued that real and last" ing change will only come from a broad based mass movement and not from the actions of a small group.

Although she claims that hers is not a single issue campaign, she admits that the question of the North must dominate her programme since "parrtition distorts every aspect of life in this country."

On the economic question, Mrs'. McAliskey claims that the "real cullprits" are the 5% of the population who possess 75% of the nation's wealth. She rejects completely the economic proposals of both the Coalition and of Fianna Fail, since she claims they are both aimed at running the country for the profit of the 5% and do not take into account, the needs of the working' class.

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Sinn Fein

Sinn Fein are fielding seven abstenntionist candidates of whom perrhaps two have a small chance of being elected - Fra Browne in Louth and Seamus McElwain in Cavan-Monaghan. It is very clearly Sinn Fein's intention to build upon the momentum of the successes of H Block candidates, both in last June's Irish General Election and in the two Fermanagh South Tyrone By-elections.

In Louth Fra Browne would hope to pick up many of the 8368 first preferences received by Paddy Agnew, whilst in Cavan-Monaghan the prisoner candidate, Seamus McElwain, could gain from the support which gave prisoner Kevin Docherty a massive 9121 first preferences last June. The chances of John Joe McGirl in SligooLeitrim seem slight, despite the fact that he was elected for this constiituency in 1957 with 7007 first preeferences.

Although their candidates are abbstentionist, Sinn Fein have gone to great lengths to point out that, short of attending Leinster House, their candidates would, if elected, do all the work expected of an elected represenntative.

Sinn Fein claims, not unexpectedly, that its main priority is a complete withdrawal by British forces from Norrthern Ireland. Asked if this priority meant that Sinn Fein supported the armed struggle in the North, Sinn Fein President Ruairi O'Bradaigh stated that Sinn Fein supports the right of the nationalist people of the North to take up arms.

However, Sinn Fein Director of Elections, Daithi O'Conaill, went on record to say that if a Sinn Fein canndidate does get elected, that this will not be interpreted as an endorsement of the armed struggle.

Sinn Fein's candidates are:

Cllr. John Joe McGirl (Sligo-Leitrim); Cllr. Sean Lynch (Longfordmeath); Seamus McElwain, prisoner at Crumlin Road Jail (Cavan-Monaghan); cu-. Sean Doyle (Wexford); cn-. Fra Browne (Louth); Christy Burke (Dubblin Central); Joe O'Connell, prisoner at Parkhurst Prison (Clare). •

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Restaurants: Coffers

Coffers is a new "wine and steak bar" located directly behind the Central Bank in Dame Street (hence the name). It's a smallish place, with a nice atmosphere and a good view of the goings-on in the kitchen.

The menu is limited, (obviously mainly steaks), but within that limiitation the choice is more adventurous than most Dublin restaurant fare. As well as the usual starters of chicken .liver pate (£1.65)~ soup (95p), prawn cocktail (£2.95), there were mushhrooms and anchovies (95p), smoked mackerel pate (£1.45), and avocado vinaigrette (95p). We had the smoked mackerel, for two, and avocado for one. The smoked mackerel was nice if unexciting, and was served with fingers of toast and garnished with a generous salad. The avocado vinaigrette was simply a half avocado doused with a vinaigrette dressing. Again, nice but unexciting.

The main courses were all priced from £5.85 and £6.95. We had fillet steak poivre, fillet steak provencale and pork steak with pernod. The pork steak was the best choice - two succculent pieces of pork steak with a rich, cream sauce heavily laced with pernod. The steak poivre was huge, tender, medium rare as ordered, and the creamy pepper sauce was delicious. Innexplicably and most unfairly, the steak provencale was about half the size. The sauce - a tomato and garlic mixxture - was served in a separate dish and was accompanied by fried onions which in this instance were unordered and unwelcome.

All main courses come with either baked potato or chips. On this occassion the chips were a better deal as the baked potatoes were fairly puny looking. Inexplicably, one of us got one small potato and the other got two. (The small portion of one potato went to the diner with the small steak.)

One of us ordered a portion of mushrooms which looked terrific but didn't taste as nice. We think they were deep fried rather than sauted as the menu claimed.

With all this, we had a bottle of Cotes du Rhone at £4.95. It wasn't the smoothest bottle of Cotes du Rhone we'd ever tasted, but we're not experts. The house wine was also £4.95 and there was a smallish selection 'of other more expensive wines.

Desserts were £1.05 a go. Two of us had pavlova and one had chocolate gateaux. The gateaux was pleasant, lighter than what's normally available. The pavlova really was pavlova and not meringue which was a nice surprise, and although the desserts were definiitely an exercise in overeating, we elIIjoyed ourselves.

With coffees all round, the bill for three with a bottle of wine came to £36.79 (12Yz%service charge included).

Coffers is a pleasant, quiet, low keyed place to eat. The waitress was an affable woman who introduced herrself as Annie and, refreshingly enough, served the wine to the person who orrdered it - despite the tact that this person is a female and the other two diners male. Unfortunately the decor includes a series of sexually suggestive photographs of parts of women's bodies and food. This they could do without. The restaurant is on the ground floor which makes for easy wheelchair access, but the loos are downstairs in the basement. •