Séighin Ó Ceallaigh

Sinn Féin Dublin City Councillors have described the demolition at dawn this morning of the O’Rahilly home, 40 Herbert Park, as an act of corporate vandalism and against the law.  In a joint statement Councillor Daniel Céitinn and Councillor Mícheál Mac Donncha, deputy leader of the Sinn Féin group and Chair of the Council’s Commemoration Committee, said:  “The historic home of 1916 leader The O’Rahilly, 40 Herbert Park, was demolished at dawn this morning. This is a shameful act of corporate vandalism against our history and heritage.  “It is also against the law. At its September monthly meeting Dublin City Council voted unanimously to add the house to the list of protected structures. The process under planning legislation has already begun and Dublin City Council Chief Executive Owen Keegan has confirmed to us that he had written to the developers McSharry-Kennedy to inform them. Despite this the developers have now gone ahead and destroyed this most histo...

Joe Biden has come out with an unsurprising attack on Donald Trump for paying just $750 in Federal Income Tax, with reports that Trump paid virtually no FIT for the 10-15 years prior, due to bad business affairs. And while it is an unfair system that sees Trump and other millionaires pay so little tax, it must be pointed out that in 2016 Joe Biden was the Vice President of the USA. He has been the VP since 2008, which is possibly the last time Trump paid FIT, though more details will surely come out over the coming weeks. Joe Biden has spent 8 years as VP, and decades as a Senator, overseeing the various tax loopholes that allow millionaires and billionaires to get away without paying their fair share of taxes. Yet here he is today saying that millionaires and billionaires need to pay their fair share of taxes. Joe has had ample time to ensure that the super-wealthy pay "their fair share", but has decided to wait until little over a month before the Pr...

The Green Party Candidate for the 2020 US Presidential Election, Howie Hawkins, has proposed some radical reforms for the US electoral system. Hawkins' proposals could help to build support for parties other than the Democrats and Republicans, though it is hard to see these proposals come to life anytime soon, if at all. The Presidential candidate has said on Twitter that he wants to see an end to the Electoral College, a system which sees the winner of each state take all of that state's votes, with the exception of Maine and Nebraska. By abolishing the EC it can be assumed that he supports the President being elected by popular vote across the entire USA, something which would have seen Hillary Clinton elected instead of Donald Trump. It would also have resulted in Al Gore being elected president in 2000, instead of Texas Governor George W. Bush. The Green Party can expect most of its support from safe Blue States, such as New York and California, while in vlose s...

Republicans haven't paused to mourn the loss of the most iconic figure in the US judicial system, and appear to be gearing up to fill the seat of Ruth Bader Ginsburg before November's election. Come November we may see Democrats take control of all three pillars of American Democracy, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency. And while the presidency lasts four years, there is no term limit for members of the US Supreme Court, with a vacancy only arising from a retirement or a death in office. So whoever is selected to replace RBG on the Supreme Court is likely to serve fifteen to twenty years on the role. In order to be selected to sit on the SC, a person has to be nominated by the President and approved by the Senate, both of which are currently held by Republicans. But that may not be the case after November, with there being a fair chance of Dems winning both races.  Justice Ginsburg's passing has changed the dynamic of the SC, with it no...

With Brexit negotiations heating up, and Britain threatening to disregard their agreement with the EU, the Democrats have seized an opportunity to win over Irish American voters in the USA. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became a household name in Ireland overnight, when she said that there would be no trade deal between Britain and the USA, if Britain threatened the Good Friday Agrrement. And it's no wonder that this International peace treaty between Ireland and Britain is so important to Americans, afterall it was Democrat President Bill Clinton who oversaw much of the process. Bill Clinton pictured with political leaders (L-R) Gerry Adams (Sinn Féin), John Hume (Social Democratic and Labour Party), David Trimble (Ulster Unionist Party). Irish Americans care much for their ancestral homeland, and many stay somewhat up to date on Irish affairs. Following on from the positive reception that Pelosi's speech received, Joe Biden has now decided to capitalise o...

Democratic Party Presidential Candidate Joe Biden, has this week echoed previous calls made by him during the Democratic Primary Elections, that he intends to ban assault weapons if he is elected to the Oval Office this November. In Donald Trump style, he announced his commitment to the banning of assault rifles on Twitter. And while many will support this generic statement, there will be many who see this as an infringement on their second amendment rights. That's the danger with sending out a generic tweet, rather than a detailed, comprehensive policy document. What defines an assault weapon, and what defines a high-capacity magazine? An assault weapon could be defined as a semi-automatic rifle, high capacity could be interpreted as anything over ten round, yet the former Vice President has not clarified what his own definition of these terms are. In theory every weapon can be an assault weapon depending on the circumstance, or equally not an assualt weapo...

Yes some of you may be thinking to yourself "But Nancy Pelosi isn't running for President", and you would be correct. But that doesn't mean that there isn't a very slim possibility that she will become the first female President of the United States of America. There are several things that have to happen for this to occur, but with the standard majority rule being in place for every scenario, this year could be the first time ever that a President isn't elected from the Electoral College. Firstly, a candidate has to receive 270 EC votes to become president, a majority of the 538 EC votes in total. That not only leaves room for a 269-269 tie between Trump and Biden, but if it's close by let's say two or three EC votes, then rogue or faithless EC voters could mean that no majority is reached. This happened in 2016 when several representatives voted for neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump. However that didn't matter because of the ga...

It's no secret that Joe Biden has been slipping every so slightly in the polls in the past few weeks, particularly after the RNC. But Biden's weakening in the polls could present itself as an opportunity for the city of Omaha, Nebraska, to really make a name for itself. As it stands Biden hold a narrow lead over Trump in the city that sits on the Missouri River, which divides Nebraska and Iowa, but over the next few weeks eyes may begin to focus here. Nebraska is one of only two US States which allocates its Electoral College votes on a district basis (Maine being the other), and this gives the city of Omaha 1 EC vote out of 538. Doesn't seem like much right? But as Biden has begin to drop in the polls, pundits have began to talk about the phenomenon that is a Presidential tie, 269-269. And unless Biden turns up the heat over the course of the debates (if they do go ahead) , this possibility becomes to look more like a probability. Sure this is all depending on ...

Home States can often favour the candidate that comes from there, but what happens when your home state is already a safe state? This is the case with both Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who as you may have guessed from the headline, are battling it out for their 'kinda' home state. Both of these candidates are from safe Blue States (Democrats), and because of this they have both decided to adopt a different home state for the purpose of the Presidential Election. Last year Donald Trump, a lifelong New Yorker, moved his official primary address to Florida, a notorious swing state that he needs to win in order to retain the presidency. Joe Biden is slightly different however, as the home state that he has adopted, is actually his home state. Biden was born and raised in Pennsylvania, but later went to college in Delaware, where he remained and represented as a Senator for over forty years. New York and Delaware have consistently voted for the Democratic Party's cand...