Fianna Fáil youth wing targets university in the North
The youth wing of Fianna Fáil is to have its own society at a Northern Ireland university.
Just one week after the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and his party set up a committee to examine how it should get involved in politics north of the border, Ogra Fianna Fáil recruited 41 new members at a freshers’ event today in the Derry campus of the University of Ulster.
Ogra Fianna Fáil activist Emmet Doyle from the city was delighted with the response of students at the university’s Magee campus to the youth wing’s first ever recruitment drive there.
“There was a lot of interest,” he said.
“Even though Sinn Féin has been operating in the north for some time, we were considerably outstripping them.
“The interest we were getting was not just from Co Donegal. We were getting interest from people north and south. There was a lot of interest especially from students from Derry.
“Under university regulations we needed 20 people to form a society. We will be doing that within the next two weeks.”
Eight days ago, Mr Ahern announced at Fianna Fáil’s think-in that following the momentous political changes that had occurred at Stormont the party was looking at getting involved for the first time in its 81-year history in the North.
There have been suggestions Fianna Fáil may link up with Mark Durkan’s nationalist SDLP.
However while a section of the SDLP would be favourable towards Fianna Fail, it is believed another faction would be more inclined towards the Irish Labour Party and not keen on a merger with Bertie Ahern’s party.
The Irish Labour Party currently has a Northern Ireland group which can participate in the party’s decision making bodies and is facing calls to stand candidates in the local government elections north of the border.
Neither Mr Durkan nor his deputy leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell have ruled out a merger with Fianna Fáil.
With Ogra Fianna Fáil also expected to recruit new members at tomorrow’s freshers’ event in Queen’s University Belfast, Mr Doyle would not be drawn on the implications of today’s drive for the senior party.
“The party has set up a committee chaired by Dermot Ahern to look into the issue of its involvement in politics in the north,” he acknowledged.
“It is a matter for them where that goes.
“But I have no doubt that Dermot Ahern will be very interested and encouraged by the level of interest at the Magee campus today.”
