The Battle for Fermanagh and South Tyrone

[Ulick]

What is Gildernew able to offer as an MP that she can t deliver as an MLA?
2 jobs to do the one job?
And spare me the Sinn Fein 'We only get paid the industrial wage' crap
Never believed it for a second
How can Gerry afford a holiday home then?

He has published quite a lot of books so thats how he can afford a holiday home. Whats wrong with him owning a holiday home anyway i'm sure lots of politicians have holiday homes.

Perhaps, not many would have 3 or 4 'holiday homes' though like Adams does.  This 'industrial wage' they keep going on about, does anyone know what they mean?  What's the figure?

£356 per week.

Not bad for doing fcuk all

Ulick, stop talking shite for a change and put up or shut up.  I know for a fact Adams has homes in Donegal, Monaghan and Kerry.  That's only the ones I am sure of

Alright then, prove it. Hint: a good place to start might be the 'Register of Members Interests'.

That means nothing, Adams is a proven liar

He either owns three houses or he doesn't. The register says he doesn't and you say he does. Now in the absence of any other evidence, it looks like the only liar here is you.

[Ulick]

A fella round my way that is heavily involved with the Shinners and had never worked (but drives a nice BMW) has no means of income that I have seen has just opened a cafe/restaurant. Fair play to him.

Really, what's his name?

[longrunsthefox]

A fella round my way that is heavily involved with the Shinners and had never worked (but drives a nice BMW) has no means of income that I have seen has just opened a cafe/restaurant. Fair play to him.

Is nothing to gloat about with a lot of people struggling to get by. Fair play to him if your into the gap between the rich and poor getting wider. As the man in multi cultural New York said to me as he waved a 100 dollar bill and said,'that is everyone's flag here.'

[Minder]

A fella round my way that is heavily involved with the Shinners and had never worked (but drives a nice BMW) has no means of income that I have seen has just opened a cafe/restaurant. Fair play to him.

Fair play to him?

I was being sarcastic.

[Ulick]

A fella round my way that is heavily involved with the Shinners and had never worked (but drives a nice BMW) has no means of income that I have seen has just opened a cafe/restaurant. Fair play to him.

Fair play to him?

I was being sarcastic.

No name? Maybe he hangs around with the SDLP fella Dominic Marsella, who was running all those brothels in North Belfast.

[Minder]

A fella round my way that is heavily involved with the Shinners and had never worked (but drives a nice BMW) has no means of income that I have seen has just opened a cafe/restaurant. Fair play to him.

Fair play to him?

I was being sarcastic.

No name? Maybe he hangs around with the SDLP fella Dominic Marsella, who was running all those brothels in North Belfast.

He has a name.

[ardmhachaabu]

What is Gildernew able to offer as an MP that she can t deliver as an MLA?
2 jobs to do the one job?
And spare me the Sinn Fein 'We only get paid the industrial wage' crap
Never believed it for a second
How can Gerry afford a holiday home then?

He has published quite a lot of books so thats how he can afford a holiday home. Whats wrong with him owning a holiday home anyway i'm sure lots of politicians have holiday homes.

Perhaps, not many would have 3 or 4 'holiday homes' though like Adams does.  This 'industrial wage' they keep going on about, does anyone know what they mean?  What's the figure?

£356 per week.

Not bad for doing fcuk all

Ulick, stop talking shite for a change and put up or shut up.  I know for a fact Adams has homes in Donegal, Monaghan and Kerry.  That's only the ones I am sure of

Alright then, prove it. Hint: a good place to start might be the 'Register of Members Interests'.

That means nothing, Adams is a proven liar

He either owns three houses or he doesn't. The register says he doesn't and you say he does. Now in the absence of any other evidence, it looks like the only liar here is you.

You really do have your head up his ass for someone who doesn't support them.  Adams is a proven liar on so many things, why would he not lie even more about what he owns? 

[ardmhachaabu]

A fella round my way that is heavily involved with the Shinners and had never worked (but drives a nice BMW) has no means of income that I have seen has just opened a cafe/restaurant. Fair play to him.

Fair play to him?

I was being sarcastic.

Sorry, should have known your form by now 

[Ulick]

He either owns three houses or he doesn't. The register says he doesn't and you say he does. Now in the absence of any other evidence, it looks like the only liar here is you.

You really do have your head up his ass for someone who doesn't support them.  Adams is a proven liar on so many things, why would he not lie even more about what he owns? 

I'm not saying he isn't a liar or doesn't own three houses. He may do, but it's most improbable given that they aren't declared anywhere and he's probably the most scrutinized man in Ireland.

What I am saying is that you are a liar because you said you know for a "fact" that he owns three houses. So time to put up...

[Ulick]

A fella round my way that is heavily involved with the Shinners and had never worked (but drives a nice BMW) has no means of income that I have seen has just opened a cafe/restaurant. Fair play to him.

Fair play to him?

I was being sarcastic.

No name? Maybe he hangs around with the SDLP fella Dominic Marsella, who was running all those brothels in North Belfast.

He has a name.

So why not tell us?

[ardmhachaabu]

Ulick, it seems to me you spend your life clutching at straws on here.  Why don't you grow up?

[Ulick]

Ulick, it seems to me you spend your life clutching at straws on here.  Why don't you grow up?

Clutching at straws in what way? You are the man who has been caught out spoofing again. Not very becoming behaviour for such a self-proclaimed religious fella like yourself. Maybe you would be better off brushing up on the seven virtues in your catechism.

[ardmhachaabu]

Ulick, it seems to me you spend your life clutching at straws on here.  Why don't you grow up?

Clutching at straws in what way? You are the man who has been caught out spoofing again. Not very becoming behaviour for such a self-proclaimed religious fella like yourself. Maybe you would be better off brushing up on the seven virtues in your catechism.

This post makes it seem to me that you are a total asshole 

How would you suggest I prove conversations with shinners who were boasting what he has? 

[Ulick]

EXCLUSIVE Behind The Scenes in Fermanagh/South Tyrone
Author: The Rebels Yell! | Posted at: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 | Filed Under: NI Elections 2010,

  In a recent BBC's Hearts n' Minds episode dealing with the forthcoming May 6th Westminster Elections, Mark Davenport and Noel Thompson, drew attention to the migration of a few high profile media personnel to the political cauldron of Norn Iron politics. However, the following snippet from this conversation between the two journalists concerning the SDLP/Ulster Unionist candidates, Fearghal McKinney and Rodney Connor, may be of special interest to the electorate of Fermanagh/South Tyrone;

    'And McKinney who most recently worked for Fermanagh TV will be battling the unionist unity candidate Rodney Connor who had been a client of his on the station.'

Whilst at face value this relationship in itself may seem quite cordial the Rebels Yell can EXCLUSIVELY reveal that the connection between both men regarding media production in Fermanagh dates right back to the very inception of Fermanagh.tv which was the flagship product of a company which employed Fearghal McKinney as Sole Director.

Fermanagh.tv: The Prologue

Back in 2007, this company, County Link Media Ltd with Fearghal at the helm, succeeded in obtaining a combined £90,000 contract for Fermanagh.tv offered by Fermanagh District Council as overseen by its then Chief Executive, Rodney Connor. The Fermanagh District Council minutes are as follows:

    D82/07 FERMANAGH.TV
    The Director of Finance/IT reported on correspondence received from County Link Media Ltd. The company was proposing to launch Fermanagh.tv, a digital television website which could be viewed via the Internet. In addition to promoting Fermanagh worldwide, the platform would also have a home element, in that it would inform the increasing number of local people of all ages using the Internet of events in their own County. A wide range of content was planned; news, sports, local entertainment, schools and colleges activities, Fermanagh District Council news, tourism and much more. Initially, Fermanagh.tv would create four jobs in 2008, County Link Media Ltd would directly create and fund three of the posts, with a fourth in conjunction with Fermanagh College. County Link Media Ltd requested that the Council enter into a three-year arrangement to buy nine packages, three per year, at a cost of £10,000 per package. All of the Council footage made for Fermanagh.tv would be available on DVD to Fermanagh District Council to use as promotional material.

    RECOMMENDED: That Fermanagh District Council proceed with a three-year arrangement to buy nine packages at a maximum cost of £10,000 per package subject to:

    a) Annual Review, and
    b) Further clarification on particular details.

The normal protocol for a contract of this value would be for it to be offered on tender in an open and public process to ensure that the ratepayer is assured of best value. But strangely, in this case, someone within Fermanagh District Council decided to break it up into nine separate contracts for £10,000 each. Moreover, this was not a case of funding a private company (which would be inappropriate) but, rather, as Mr Connor is on record as stating, the council 'would purchase services as required' from the company.

As these small contracts fell below the threshold for such open, competitive tendering (at 10k) the deal was concluded with County Link without any other bids being considered (as noted in the council's development committee minutes of April 2007). By May 2009, the company was formally launched and the contracts were renewed through agreement at the Development Committee meeting of that date.

Fearghal's company's success in winning such a tender (no doubt bolstering the sales ledger of his company's outstanding contracts to the local council) was swiftly followed up by the company being snapped up by Bob Geldof's Ten Alps PLC in February 2009. The business was bought for an undisclosed sum although a similar operation, 'Below the Radar Ltd', is known to have been purchased by Ten Alps for just under £800k. Subsequently, Fearghal McKinney was employed by the Belfast-based 'Below the Radar Ltd' as an investigative journalist.
As stated previously, in May 2009 Fermanagh TV was launched as a partnership between the Impartial Reporter and the production company 'Below the Radar Ltd'. The following minutes from Fermanagh District Council were recorded:

    D45/09 Fermanagh.tv
    The Chief Executive informed the Committee that Fermanagh.tv was holding a Launch in the Clinton Centre on Friday, 22 May 2009. All Councillors would receive an invitation. The Chief Executive reported that Fermanagh District Council was not funding the Fermanagh.tv project but would purchase services as required and as previously agreed by the Committee.

Fermanagh.tv was developed with the involvement of iGeneration (iGen) which was "tasked with designing, developing and marketing the online media platform". By a strange coincidence, that company, iGen also found itself tied to Ten Alps Vision in December 2009 and its owner was made a director of Geldof's growing media business. In another tie back to Fermanagh, iGen's website indicates that it too was also a beneficiary of a contract awarded by Fermanagh District Council for its 'digitalisation campaign'.

Local on-demand TV: The Big Picture

Rodney Connor is expected to take the Conservative whip and it's party leader, David Cameron, has as part of his manifesto, pledged to scrap local and regional media ownership rules and allow struggling newspaper groups to merge with rival companies and operate across print, TV, radio and online. Cameron intends to;

    "sweep away the bureaucratic rules that mean that a rigid law decides who owns what bits of the media in local communities"

Despite the Office of Fair Trading currently reviewing media ownership rules following the interim Digital Britain interim report by Lord Carter, the Conservatives believe their review to be;

    "too narrowly focused on the merger regime between print media companies and fails to examine the media ownership rules with regards to different media outlets".

The Conservative approach is that the relaxation of the current rules will entice UK newspaper groups (currently suffering from massive reductions in advertising revenues due to the recession and increased competition from the internet etc) to diversify into ultra-local television services.


In the summer of 2009 the BBC's proposals to invest £68m in providing local on-demand video news throughout the UK by 2013 (two of which were proposed for Northern Ireland) on a network of 65 websites. However, their plans were thwarted by the BBC Trust and were met by strong disapproval from the Newspaper Society who described the proposals as "very damaging" and would directly impact upon the viability of over 100 regional press titles.  The shadow culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said that:

    "The current rules were established in a pre-digital era...It is now time to allow new industry models to emerge that will encourage investment not just in local papers but local online services and new local TV companies."

Responding to the Conservative plans the NUJ general secretary said:

    "These plans fail to deal with the problems facing local journalists. Consolidation of media ownership has meant office and title closures, it has meant journalists taken out of their communities, fundamentally undermining their ability to do their jobs well. The Conservative response to these problems seems to be more of the same, which will do nothing to help quality journalism...The Conservatives might see media regulation as burdensome red tape but it is what ensures people have access to varied media and different voices. To throw that protection away in response to business demands without any plans to secure improvement in journalism is foolhardy and an insult to our local communities."

As part of the News 3 consortium, which also includes Trinity Mirror and the Press Association, they have just been awarded the contract to provide commercial news bulletins in the Borders and Tyne Tees Region. Also Bob Geldof's business partner, Alex Connock, called on the BBC to open up a minimum of 25% of its' £135m-a-year internet content budget to outside producers in a similar fashion to how the BBC already commissions TV programmes to independent production companies.

A Touch of Tory/Unionist/Orange Air Brushing Perhaps?

As regards Ten Alps, through their acquisitions of County Media Links Ltd, Beyond The Radar Ltd and IGeneration and their affiliation with 'The Impartial Reporter', definitely fit Jeremy Hunt's idea of 'a new business model'. Consequently, they are perfectly poised to enter the market in Northern Ireland if the fore mentioned proposals outlined by David Cameron lead Tories come to fruition post May 6th.

Ironically, the election of Ulster unionist 'unity' candidate, Rodney Connor, would also be sympathetic to lobbying on behalf of Fermanagh TV given that he has declared that he will take the conservative whip on issues pertinent to Northern Ireland. Furthermore, he is in a unique position to fully comprehend the implications of this issue given his first hand dealings with Fermanagh TV as Chief Executive of Fermanagh District Council.

A Suspicious Minds rather than Hearts 'n' Minds Finale?

As for the SDLP's Fearghal McKinney, he is still listed on 'Below the Radar's' website as an investigative journalist for the company. Whilst, currently devoting his time to running in this election campaign, one assumes he will be either returning to his former employer or gainfully seeking employment elsewhere post May 6th since he is tipped at 25-1 by William Hill to win!

More importantly, one would assume that he has made clear to the new SDLP Leader, Margaret Ritchie, that he had no short/long term vested interest in the outcome of this Fermanagh/South Tyrone Election. However, the ramifications of any unseemly innuendos being exposed in the future, would undoubtedly have a tsunami effect on the SDLP's credibility throughout Northern Ireland for an eternity. One can only deduce that Margaret Ritchie has instilled her 'moving on' approach through out the SDLP especially since she was the architect of an internal SDLP document entitled "Transparency in Politics"!

I will leave you to ponder upon a quote by US diplomat/politician, John Adams (1st vice-president of US 1789-1797; 2nd president of US 1797-1801) to help you draw your own conclusions:

    "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."

[Ulick]

This post makes it seem to me that you are a total asshole 

How would you suggest I prove conversations with shinners who were boasting what he has?

You said you knew for a fact that Adams owned  three houses. That was a lie was it not?