The Labour Party received £40,000 from the Spanish Socialist Workers Party in 1986 to help its pro-divorce campaign in the referendum on the dissolution of marriage, the 10th amendment to the Constitution, in June of that year. The socialist, Felipe Gonzβlez, was in power in Spain; and Labour, under Dick Spring, was in coalition, with Fine Gael's Garret FitzGerald as taoiseach. The referendum to introduce divorce was defeated by 63.5 per cent to 36.5 per cent.
This revelation of foreign aid comes in a book by Ray Kavanagh, general secretary of the Labout Party for 13 years, until 1999. Spring, Summer and Fall, the Rise and Fall of the Labour Party 1986-99, which will be published by Blackwater Press on Monday, covers events from inside the party during a period of great internal and external drama. As Quidnunc wrote in July, many are awaiting Kavanagh's book with trepidation. The position he held means he knows where the bodies are buried. In the chapter "Plugging the Dyke", under the sub-heading Spanish Ale, Kavanagh writes: "The campaign had to be financed. The Labour Party was just pulling itself out of the large debts it had incurred during the three general elections of 1981 and 1982 and had no money to expend. But help was at hand. Through the good offices of Ruair∅ Quinn, £40,000 was received from the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE). Spain was a recent recruit to the European Union and had a friend in Ireland. The closeness was helped by the fact that both Labour and the PSOE were in Government. This was a very substantial contribution at the time and the irony of Spanish aid reaching Ireland did not escape us, but this time it was hardly for a crusade against Elizabethan England, more of a practical expression of Socialist solidarity."
Towards the end of his career with the party, Kavanagh, who is now teaching, did not always see eye to eye with the leadership. He left around the time of the merger with Democratic Left and would definitely be viewed as Old Labour as opposed to New Labour. The latter are very apprehensive about his book. It will be launched by Senator Joe Costello.
Change of plan
The President, Mrs McAleese has postponed her visit to Chicago and New York, due to start on October 5th, in consideration of the ongoing recovery and security operations at the site of the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. The President felt it would be inappropriate at this time, as her visit would involve about 100 secret service and security personnel, whose presence could be better used elsewhere. She may now travel to the two cities around St Patrick's Day, the first time she would be out of the country on the national day.
Mrs McAleese had a number of engagements in both cities, including the Irish Fellowship Society, addressing a foreign relations group, a Co-operation Ireland dinner and an America Ireland Chamber of Commerce function. Her 12-day trip to Uganda and Kenya, to visit Irish religious orders who have spent many years in education, health and community assistance work, goes ahead as planned on October 21st.
Auction for charity
Energy Action, the charity which helps to provide home insulation for the elderly and underprivileged are hoping for a donation of £1 million from Charlie McCreevy for its auction at the Berkeley Court, Dublin, next Friday.
The money, unfortunately, has been shredded. It was presented as a tight bundle to the Minister for Finance by the Central Bank when he visited during the summer to view the ongoing operation of destroying our Irish banknotes in order to replace them with Euro notes.
Among the paintings and football jerseys for auction there is a donation from Bill Clinton - a signed invitation to his inauguration in 1993 with a guest identity ribbon.
Green musical chairs
The idea that Green MEP Patricia McKenna and councillor Ciaran Cuffe may swap places is gaining ground. Quidnunc understands that nothing has been decided, but the possibility exists. It works like this: McKenna has represented Ireland in Europe since 1994, and it is known she is finding the travelling increasingly arduous. She told Quidnunc in March that she would love to run in the general election in Dublin, but it appeared she had left her quest too late and winnable constituencies had already selected candidates.
Cuffe won the Green nomination in D·n Laoghaire a year ago, and has been campaigning there since. He is, however, the first substitute for McKenna should she leave her European seat. So, in a swap, he would vacate D·n Laoghaire and go to Europe for the remaining two and half years of the current parliament; and McKenna would have her chance to stand in a winnable Dublin constituency at next year's election. McKenna, of course, may want to hold her Europe seat until she wins a Dβil seat, but would Cuffe agree to this arrangement?
Cuffe, who is an architect and planner, told Quidnunc that, with many environmental, planning and transport issues decided in Brussels, he has always had an interest there. But after 10 years as a councillor, he dearly wishes to represent the people of D·n Laoghaire - he was born and bred in the constituency - in the Dβil.
The Greens hope the matter will be resolved in time for the annual conference in Kilkenny on October 6th.
Into Africa
Liz O'Donnell has succeeded at last in getting Charlie McCreevy to Africa to view the Irish Aid projects which his department funds.
The two leave on October 5th for three days in Tanzania. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Finance arrive in Dar es Salaam on the Friday evening, where they attend an informal reception at our embassy residence for the Irish community, diplomats and donors. On Saturday, they fly to Tanga on the north coast to view projects in Muheza, Mhinduro, Magila and Tongwe. On Sunday they visit Kwabota, Kilapura and Bagamoyo. On Monday the Irish party visits Ireland Aid Offices in Dar es Salaam and makes a courtesy call on a government minister before embarking on the 12-hour flight to Dublin.
O'Donnell, who has responsibility for overseas development, has long been trying to get McCreevy to Africa. She's not looking for extra money - that has been agreed at £260m for this year. "It's really a thank-you and fact-finding trip so he can see where the money goes. It is only when you see the life-altering effects on the ground for these poor people that you realise how a little goes a long way," she says.
Keena on Haughey
Colm Keena's Haughey's Millions is published by Gill and Macmillan on October 15th. A financial journalist with The Irish Times, Keena has covered the McCracken Tribunal and every single hearing of the Moriarty Tribunal - to date. His book is mostly the evidence from the tribunals stitched into Charlie Haughey's private and public life over the years.
Keena got no reply when he requested an interview, but some of Haughey's friends did speak to him, anonymously, and were very supportive. They argue that he was streets ahead of his contemporaries and that his achievements far outweighed his faults, which were mainly financial (i.e. receiving money from other people). They also say he is great craic.
Keena says that when Haughey was elected party leader and taoiseach in 1979, he was asked where he got his money from. He replied that the question presumed he was rich and that might not be the case - perhaps the questioner could ask his bank manager.
It is a pity no one did, says Keena, because they would have discovered that Haughey was more than £1 million in debt and that he was driving his bank manager demented.
Joe Taylor and Malcolm Douglas, stars of the nightly RT╔ extracts from the tribunals, will read from the book at the launch.
Cowen At The Helm
Because of the atrocities in the US, Minister for Foreign Affairs Brian Cowen has cleared most of his diary for October, so he can preside personally when necessary during the one month Ireland holds the chairmanship of the UN security council. Originally, it had been intended that Cowen would be there at the beginning and at the end, and in between his place would be taken by our ambassador to the UN, Richard Ryan.
Now things are vastly changed. Nobody knows what situation the world will be facing on October 1st, but war hasn't been ruled out. In the ordinary run of things, the job of chairing the security council is enormous, much of it routine paperwork and most of it boring, and extra diplomats are drafted in to cope.
Next month, however, the security council could play a vital role in world events and our Minister will be in the hot seat trying to keep warring factions apart. There are also expected to be many changes to the agenda, involving a tightening-up of laws against terrorism in the financial, security and diplomatic fields. Cowen will be there for briefings with the five permanent SECCO members on October 1st and for much of the month thereafter.
Now that next week's annual UN general assembly has been postponed, our Minister is going to Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday for talks at the State Department and Capitol Hill on the security council and the North. He will be in New York on Thursday, visiting our consulate and thanking them for their work during the recent catastrophe.
Satellite above?
At the beginning of this month, Anthony Coughlan, of The National Platform, warned of a new danger. The New York Times of August 28th had reported, he said, that a stationary, US-financed, TV satellite over Ireland was to be used to subvert the Iraqi regime. Should we be more worried now after last week's events?
Quidnunc is rholohan@irish-times.ie
The Quidnunc column is also available on The Irish Times website at www.ireland.com