Slugger may have been represented at Friday’s game at the Stade de France but we weren’t the only ones. While it’s, possibly, not a surprise that the Sports Minister, the DUP’s Edwin Poots, was there another member of the Northern Ireland Executive was also present, as noted in the comments zone by an eagle-eyed observer. NI Regional Development Minister, Sinn Féin’s Conor Murphy, was there too – accompanied, apparently, by Seanna Walsh who in July 2005, as mentioned here, became the public face of the Provisional IRA’s P O’Neill. And, according to one report they weren’t there solely for the rugby, but were the guests of honour of Saint-Denis’s communist mayor, Didier Paillard, at a small gathering [100 people] on Paris’ Bobby Sands Street.From the Irish Tmes report
Conor Murphy, the Minister for Regional Development in the Northern Ireland Executive, and Séanna Murphy[sic?], the former IRA man who spent 21 years in British prisons and who now works with the cultural department of Sinn Féin, were the guests of honour of Saint-Denis’s communist mayor, Didier Paillard.
When Bobby Sands died in May 1981, 100,000 French people marched to the British embassy “to tell Margaret Thatcher how angry we were, and our admiration and support for this young hero and his comrades”, Mr Paillard recalled. Mr Murphy said the international response to Sands’s death “gave us a lift”.
Of course if Mr Murphy [or Mr Poots? – Ed] was there due his position in the Executive, or as an MLA, then there should probably be an amendment to the Register..
Discover more from Slugger O'Toole
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
