Ken O Connell

6 results

Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
Love is not in the air for Fianna Fáil over confidence-and-supply deal

Good morning, and happy Valentine’s Day — the day the price of a bunch of roses rises by national children’s hospital proportions. Matters in Fianna (...)

Mary Lou McDonald on the screen during the Sinn Féin special ardfheis held in the RDS. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
McDonald’s tricky first year underlines Sinn Féin’s central problem

For some members, it was as simple as a change in colour. Purple was just too much. After the presidential election, a low point of Mary Lou McDonald(...)

Gerry Adams and Mary Lou McDonald: “Mary Lou has been part of the leadership for a long time. It’s not like she has landed down from Mars.” File photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
Hello Mary Lou, goodbye Gerry: how Sinn Féin grassroots view the leadership change

Fiachra McGuinness, son of Martin McGuinness, posted a poignant tweet recently. It showed two photographs, both featuring his late father alongside th(...)

Labour leader Brendan Howlin has secured a commitment from his seven TDs that they will all stand again. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins
How the political parties are preparing for an early election

For the past few weeks, Ken O’Connell, Sinn Féin’s political director, has been travelling the country ensuring his party is election-ready, from chec(...)

Mary Lou McDonald has defended her party’s review into its policy of paying representatives the average industrial wage. Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters
McDonald defends review of Sinn Féin’s ‘industrial wage’ policy

Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald has defended her party’s review into its policy of paying representatives the average industrial wage. The(...)

General election: Backroom staff driving the party machines

Fine Gael Mark Kennelly: Kenny’s chief of staff in Government. He is the Taoiseach’s voice in many meetings, largely spending the campaign on the ro(...)