O’Dowd to take on O’Neill for top Sinn Fein post
÷Upper Bann MLA to challenge for vice-presidency at ard fheis
And party won’t have to pay tax on £1.5m donation from benefactor
SINN Fein’s John O’Dowd is aiming to oust Michelle O’Neill as the party’s vice-president after confirming he will put his name forward for the role.
The Upper Bann MLA confirmed to the Belfast Telegraph his intentions and is hoping to secure enough nominations before the vote takes place at November’s ard fheis in Londonderry. Meanwhile, the party will not have to pay any inheritance tax on a £1.5m gift from an English mechanic who bequeathed the money in his will.
SINN Fein’s John O’Dowd is aiming to oust Michelle O’Neill as the party’s vice-president after confirming he will put his name forward for the role.
The Upper Bann MLA is hoping to secure enough nominations before the vote takes place at November’s ard fheis in Londonderry.
If the former Education Minister is successful in his bid, he will automatically become the nominee for the Deputy First Minister position if Stormont reconvenes.
However, a Sinn Fein insider believes that while Mr O’Dowd may pick up votes from some left-leaning delegates in the Republic, he realistically stands no chance against Mrs O’Neill.
When asked about his plans to enter the running for the deputy leader position, Mr O’Dowd told the Belfast Telegraph: “I can confirm that I am going forward (for the position) and right now I am speaking to fellow party members to secure nominations.
“I would prefer to talk to more party members first but I will release a more detailed statement at a later date.”
The Lurgan man has been an MLA since 2003 and was the Education Minister from 2011 to 2016.
He briefly took on the duties as Deputy First Minister in 2011, while the late Martin McGuinness ran in that year’s
Irish Presidential election.
Meanwhile, Mrs O’Neill succeeded Mr McGuinness as the leader of Sinn Fein for Northern Ireland in January 2017 and was first elected to the Assembly for the Mid-Ulster constituency in 2007.
Before becoming Sinn Fein’s deputy leader under Mary Lou McDonald (left) in February of last year, the Coalisland woman was the Health Minister from 2016 to 2017 and the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development for five years from 2011. In May, Sinn Fein suffered a disastrous result in the Republic’s local government elections as their vote fell from 15.2% to 9.6% — dropping from 159 council seats to 81.
The result was a major setback for Ms McDonald, who had succeeded Gerry Adams just 15 months before in the hope that a younger leader would broaden the party’s appeal.
Leo Varadkar’s Fine Gael saw their vote rise from 24% to 24.9%, while Fianna Fail’s vote jumped from 25.5% to 26.9%.
The Green Party were the biggest winners as their vote increased four-fold to 5.7%.
Meanwhile, the party suffered an equally devastating European election after losing two of its MEPs.
Dublin and Ireland South MEPs Lynn Boylan and Liadh Ni Riada lost out in tight contests, while Midlands North West MEP Matt Carthy kept his seat but saw his percentage of the vote fall.
Speaking at the time, Martina Anderson MEP said that despite the result she was “absolutely committed” to the party’s leadership.
“The turnout across the board shows that all the political parties need to re-engage more,” she said.
“I am absolutely committed to the leadership we have.”
❝ I’d prefer to talk to more members first but I’ll release a more detailed statement at a later date