YESTERDAY was a day when the West Belfast MP, Dr Joe Hendron, saw political advantage gained being quickly nullified. He got Kevin McNamara but Gerry Adams got Albert Reynolds, much to the sitting SDLP politician's fury.
The former Labour Party shadow Northern Secretary, Mr Kevin McNamara, was visiting Dr Hendron's offices in the Falls Road to urge voters in West Belfast to support him in the forthcoming British general election.
In an implicit reference to Mr Gerry Adams, he said voters should not support a candidate who would "hurl from the ditch". Beefing up his criticism he said that West Belfast was left in a "political wilderness" during Mr Adams's 10-year tenure as MP.
However, Dr Hendron's Sinn Fein opponent, Mr Adams, managed to pull off his own electoral coup when he appeared side by side with the former Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, less than a mile away in the Falls Road at about the same time.
The Sinn Fein president and the former Taoiseach were appearing together just before noon at the official opening by Mr Adams of the new offices of Feile an Phobail, the West Belfast Community Festival.
It was a community rather than an overtly political occasion, and Mr Reynolds pointedly refused to advise nationalists on how they might vote on May 1st.
Nonetheless the photographs and camera footage of the ex Taoiseach standing shoulder to shoulder with Mr Adams at such a sensitive pre-election time - not to mention their subsequent joint press conference - won't have done the Sinn Fein president's chances any harm.
Certainly that was the view of Dr Hendron, who felt annoyed and snubbed. "As the sitting MP I feel I deserve the respect of a former Taoiseach," he complained. "I am disappointed that he was unable to find time to meet with me during his visit to West Belfast. I am also concerned that I was not informed of his intention to visit my constituency."
In a joint press conference given after the opening of Fein's offices, Mr Reynolds appealed for an IRA ceasefire and for the British government to guarantee Sinn Fein entry to talks.
"I would say to John Major, `Act before it's too late', and I would say to the seven people in the IRA army council, `Stop your violence and get us back to where we were in August 1994'," he said.
He suggested the British might issue a guarantee before the IRA declared a ceasefire. "There is nothing wrong with saying the door is opened on June 3rd. If the things that all of us want to see are not in place, the door can be closed again.
Language can be used and found to bridge that gap if the necessary courage and conviction are present to bring things forward," Mr Reynolds said.
Mr Reynolds said he had no comment to make about the attempted escape of IRA prisoners from the Maze. That was a matter for the security forces. Equally, it was not his business to suggest how nationalists should vote in the election.
Meanwhile, down the Falls Road, Mr McNamara appeared with Dr Hendron to urge nationalists to support the SDLP MP in the election. In a reference to Sinn Fein's abstentionist policy, he said the electorate must have an MP who would represent them in Westminster.
"It is in the House of Commons that the crucial decisions affecting this constituency will be made. There is only one candidate in this race who is willing to go there and save the Royal Maternity Hospital. The rest will stay behind and hurl from the ditch," he added.
"I have been visiting this constituency for many years. The changes which have taken place since the SDLP took the West Belfast seat are spectacular. The people of West Belfast were left in a political wilderness for the 10 years that Sinn Fein held this seat. They are now enjoying the benefits of being truly represented," Mr McNamara said.
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