Citizendia

Jim Duffy (born 12 April 1966) is an Irish historian, political commentator and a policy advisor to the Irish leader of the Opposition, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny. Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Fine Gael – The United Ireland Party, shortened to Fine Gael (ˌfina gail meaning Family of the Irish or Tribe of the Irish, is the second largest For the Australian singer see Enda Kenny (singer Enda Kenny (Éanna Ó Cionnaith born 24 April 1951 an Irish politician He achieved prominence in 1990 when the contents of his on-the-record interview with then Tánaiste Brian Lenihan led to Lenihan's dismissal from government, his defeat in that year's Irish presidential election and the unexpected election of the left wing liberal Mary Robinson as President of Ireland. Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) The Tánaiste (ˈtɑːnəʃtʲə plural Tánaistí) or more formally An Tánaiste, is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. Brian Patrick Lenihan (Brian Ó Luineacháin 17 November 1930 – 1 November 1995 was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician The Irish presidential election of 1990 was held on 7 November 1990 Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (Máire Mhic Róibín born 21 May 1944 was the first female President of Ireland, serving from 1990 to 1997 and the United Nations The President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ is the Head of state of Ireland. [1] Duffy was one of six people chosen to submit international reports on heads of state to Australia's Republic Advisory Committee in 1993. The Republic Advisory Committee was a committee established by the then Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating in May 1993 He was a frequent contributor to The Irish Times and the Sunday Independent, and a columnist in Magill magazine, as well as appearing on radio and television prior to his appointment to Kenny's office, but has ceased all media work since that date. The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet news paper launched in the late 1850s. The Sunday Independent is a Broadsheet Sunday Newspaper published in the Republic of Ireland by Independent News and Media plc

Contents

Origins

Duffy was born in Drogheda in County Louth in 1966. Drogheda (ˈdrɒhədə ˈdrɔːdə ( Droichead Átha in Irish, meaning "Bridge of the Ford" is an industrial and port town in County Louth on County Louth (Contae Lú is a County on the East coast of Ireland, on the border with Northern Ireland. He was educated in Bohermeen National School and St. Patrick's Classical School in Navan, where his classmates included the journalist Simon Cumbers (who was killed by Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia in 2004). Bohermeen is a Roman Catholic Parish in the Irish Diocese of Meath. St Patrick's Classical School in Navan, County Meath is a prominent Roman Catholic Church -run school for boys in the Republic of Ireland Simon Peter Cumbers ( January 23 1968 - June 6 2004) was an Irish -born freelance journalist working for the BBC who Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida, al-Qa`ida or al-Qa`idah, ( Arabic:; ar-Latn ''al-qāʿidah'' Translation: The The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi In 1984 Duffy began to study History and Politics in University College Dublin. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) University College Dublin (UCD (An Coláiste Ollscoile Baile Átha Cliath - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland Dublin (An

The Lenihan Interview

In 1990 as part of his postgraduate thesis for his Master of Arts in Political Science Duffy interviewed senior politicians, one of whom was the then Tánaiste, Brian Lenihan. The on-the-record interview, in May 1990, formed one source for a major series of articles on the presidency of Ireland, published in The Irish Times in September 1990. The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet news paper launched in the late 1850s. In the interview Lenihan confirmed what he had previously confirmed to other writers over eight years, that on 27 January 1982 he, along with party leader Charles Haughey and a colleague, Sylvester Barrett, had repeatedly phoned Áras an Uachtaráin, the residence of the President of Ireland, to try to put pressure on the President, Patrick Hillery, to refuse a dissolution of parliament to the Taoiseach (prime minister), Dr Garret FitzGerald. Events 98 - Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Sylvester A Barrett (Salbhastar Bairéad 18 May 1926 &ndash 8 May 2002 was a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician Áras an Uachtaráin, formerly the Viceregal Lodge, is the official residence of the President of Ireland. Patrick John "Paddy" Hillery (Pádraig Seán Ó hIrighile 2 May 1923 &ndash 12 April 2008 was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and the sixth President of Ireland In Parliamentary systems a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a Legislature at the call of an Election. The Taoiseach (ˈtiːʃəx in English t̪ˠiːʃʲəx (plural Taoisigh ( or) in Irish) also referred to as An Taoiseach ( t̪ˠiːʃʲəx is the the Garret FitzGerald (Gearóid Mac Gearailt born 9 February 1926 was the seventh Taoiseach of Ireland, serving two terms in office (July 1981 to February 1982 December (FitzGerald's government had just been defeated in Dáil Éireann in a vote on the budget. ga '''Dáil Éireann''' ( English House of Representatives of Ireland) is the principal chamber of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament )

In October 1990, in the midst of the presidential election, FitzGerald was to be a guest, alongside Lenihan, on RTÉ1's Questions and Answers political debate programme. Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Questions and Answers is a topical Debate Television programme in the Republic of Ireland. He has previously issued a press release about the phone calls issue, but it had received no publicity. He decided to raise the issue of the calls again on the programme, given that in the preceding week Lenihan changed his story of eight years and had now denied twice, first in a student debate, then in an Irish Press interview with Emily O'Reilly, making any calls. The Irish Press was an Irish Newspaper published by Irish Press plc between September 5 1931, on the eve of the 1931 Kilkenny v Cork Emily O'Reilly is a former journalist and author who became Ireland 's first female Ombudsman in 2003, succeeding Kevin Murphy. When challenged on the programme Lenihan maintained that his October 1990 version was correct, denying that he had played "any hand, act of part" in attempts to pressurise President Hillery. FitzGerald had been in Áras an Uachtaráin on the night of the calls and had been told by the President's staff that Lenihan had persistently been making calls. Áras an Uachtaráin, formerly the Viceregal Lodge, is the official residence of the President of Ireland. FitzGerald aggressively challenged Lenihan, saying "I was in the Áras, Brian, and I know how many calls there were. "[2]

Aware that Lenihan had been one of Duffy's sources for the original article in September, with Duffy's permission the Irish Times ran a front page story stating that Lenihan had made the calls he was now denying. [3] In the resulting furore Lenihan's campaign manager Bertie Ahern either deliberately or accidentally revealed on a radio programme that Duffy had interviewed Lenihan. Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern ( Irish: Pádraig Parthalán Ó hEachthairn, born 12 September 1951 is an Irish politician who served [4] Duffy became the subject of mounting political and media pressure,[5] with his silence being spun by Fianna Fáil press staff as evidence that the rumours that Lenihan had confirmed to him that he had made calls were false. Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach shortened to Fianna Fáil ( is currently the largest Political party in the (Lenihan had assured his campaign team that he had said nothing in the interview that could cause problems. )[6] After three days of intense political and media pressure, Duffy released the relevant proportion of the on-the-record tape interview he had done with Lenihan. The release took place in a press conference in a Dublin hotel. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. [7]

The release of the tape threw Lenihan's campaign into meltdown. Lenihan tried in a subsequent live television interview on the Six-One News to insist that what he had said to Duffy was wrong, insisting that "on mature recollection" his October 1990 version was the correct one, and all that he had said previously over eight years was incorrect. RTÉ News Six One is Radio Telefís Éireann's early evening News programme [8] However his popularity plummeted by 18% overnight. The opposition Fine Gael party put down a Motion of No Confidence in the government. Fine Gael – The United Ireland Party, shortened to Fine Gael (ˌfina gail meaning Family of the Irish or Tribe of the Irish, is the second largest A motion of no confidence (also vote of no confidence, censure motion, no-confidence motion, or confidence motion) is a Parliamentary motion The Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, denied that Lenihan was under any pressure to resign. However when the minority party in government, the Progressive Democrats, threatened to quit government unless Lenihan resigned or was sacked, and Lenihan refused to resign, the Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, instructed President Hillery to sack him. The Progressive Democrats (An Páirtí Daonlathach lit The Democratic Party) commonly called The PDs, are a Free market liberal party in Lenihan went on to become the first candidate from his party ever to lose an Irish presidential election, with the Irish Labour Party candidate, Mary Robinson, eventually winning the office. The Labour Party (Páirtí an Lucht Oibre is a Democratic socialist and Social democratic Political party in the Republic of Ireland.

Duffy was strongly attacked by the Taoiseach and members of the government under parliamentary privilege, with claims that his research was bogus and that he had been part of a secret plot to destroy Lenihan. However his thesis on the presidency of Ireland was awarded a First Class honour by the National University of Ireland. The National University of Ireland ( NUI) (Ollscoil na hÉireann is a federal University system of constituent universities, previously called Duffy has written an account of the events of this period in the March 2006 edition of Magill magazine. Magill is an Irish Politics and current affairs magazine originally founded by Vincent Browne and others in 1977

Advising the Republic Advisory Committee

On the basis of his studies of international heads of state, Duffy was one of six people (including Sir Ellis Clarke, the former Governor-General and President of Trinidad and Tobago) commissioned in 1993 by Australia's Republic Advisory Committee to prepare reports on international republican experiences —to appear as an appendix to the committee's main report. Sir Ellis Emmanuel Innocent Clarke, TC, GCMG (born December 28, 1917) was the second and last Governor-General of Trinidad Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Republic Advisory Committee was a committee established by the then Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating in May 1993 [9] His report, along with those of five others, was submitted as part of that larger report to the then Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating. Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944 was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, from 1991 to 1996

Duffy's recommendations formed a part of the debate in Australia on the possible move from being a monarchy to become a republic. His description of heads of state as fitting three distinct categories (Chief Executive, Nominal Chief Executive and Non-Executive) was widely used in the subsequent debate, and were referred to in major speeches by all sides in the debate. [10]

During the constitutional referendum on creating a republic in 1999 Duffy in Australian media interviews was critical of the form of presidency being proposed, arguing in particular that the lack of security of tenure offered to the proposed office holder would seriously compromise the office holder's independence and ability to exercise their powers. Security of Tenure is a term used in Political science to describe a constitutional or legal guarantee that an office-holder cannot be removed from office except in exceptional [11]

The 1999 referendum on declaring an Australian republic was ultimately defeated.

Media and research work

During the 1990s and 2000s Duffy worked as a researcher and as a political commentator for most major Irish publications, including The Irish Times, the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent, the Sunday Times, the Sunday Tribune, the Sunday Business Post and the Irish Examiner. The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet news paper launched in the late 1850s. The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest selling daily newspaper The Sunday Independent is a Broadsheet Sunday Newspaper published in the Republic of Ireland by Independent News and Media plc The Sunday Times is a Sunday Broadsheet Newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The Sunday Tribune is an Irish Sunday Broadsheet Newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc The Sunday Business Post is an Irish national Sunday Newspaper published by Post Publications Limited. The Irish Examiner (Formerly Cork Examiner, The Examiner) is an Irish national daily Newspaper which primarily circulates in He also was a contributor to RTÉ radio and television, the BBC, UTV and Sky News. For other uses of the UTV acronym see UTV (disambiguation UTV (formerly Ulster Television) is a Television channel based Sky News is a rolling TV news channel providing 24 hour news coverage including the latest breaking news His contributions largely focused on politics, history, religion and current affairs.

He was a columnist with Magill magazine, Ireland'a major political and current affairs magazine, until October 2007 when he resigned to take up a research post in politics. Magill is an Irish Politics and current affairs magazine originally founded by Vincent Browne and others in 1977

In April and May 2007 he was one of the main contributors to Uachtarán, an eight part TG4 documentary on the office of President of Ireland. TG4 ( Spoken as TG Ceathair or TG a Ceathair; tiː dʒiː kʲahəɾʲ is a Television channel in Ireland, aimed The President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ is the Head of state of Ireland. [12]

Political advisor

In May 2007 the Sunday Independent reported that Duffy had been appointed a Deputy Press Officer for Fine Gael for the duration of 2007 general election. The Sunday Independent is a Broadsheet Sunday Newspaper published in the Republic of Ireland by Independent News and Media plc The Irish general election of 2007 took place on 24 May 2007 after the dissolution of the 29th Dáil by the President on 29 April 2007 at the request of [13]

In October 2007 Duffy was appointed a policy officer in his office by the leader of Fine Gael, Enda Kenny. Duffy resigned his post as columnist with Magill magazine and since that date has ceased to do media work. His new role also involves participating in the National Forum on Europe, a government-created think-tank on the relationship between the European Union and Ireland. [14]

Writings on religion and gay marriage

He is a frequent contributor to the Irish Times's Rite and Reason religious column. The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet news paper launched in the late 1850s. One article in 1998, proposing the existence of Rites of Same Sex Union (in effect gay marriages) in early Christian prayerbooks up to mediaeval times, caused a controversy. The article has been republished on gay websites and some religious websites worldwide and has been quoted in debates on gay marriage in the United States, France, the Netherlands and has also featured in parliamentary debates in Ireland, including a submission in 2005 from a gay advocacy group to the Oireachtas All-Party Committee on the Constitution, which was exploring whether to amend the Constitution of Ireland to allow gay marriage. Same-sex marriage (also referred to as gay marriage) is a term for a legally or Socially recognized Marriage between two people of the same The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The Oireachtas (ɛrʲaxt̪ˠasˠ is the "national parliament" or Legislature of Ireland, sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann. The Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hÉireann came into force on 29 December 1937 after having been passed by a national plebiscite the previous July

Footnotes

  1. ^ Fergus Finlay, Mary Robinson: President with a Purpose (O'Brien Books, 1990).
  2. ^ RTÉ Questions and Answers 22 October 1990. Events 202 BC - Hannibal Barca, leader of the Carthaginians, is defeated by the Roman legions under Scipio Africanus
  3. ^ The Irish Times, 24 October 1990. Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat
  4. ^ RTÉ Radio 1 News at 1. 30. 25 October 1990. Events 1147 - The Portuguese, under Afonso I, and Crusaders from England and Flanders conquer Lisbon after a
  5. ^ The Irish Times et al, 26 October 1990, quoting press release issued by Duffy. C D E Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death
  6. ^ James Downey, Lenihan: His Life and Loyalties (New Island Books, 1998) p. 169.
  7. ^ The Irish Times. 26 October 1990. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death
  8. ^ Brian Lenihan, For the Record (Blackwater Press, 1991) pp. 148-149.
  9. ^ The Report of the Republic Advisory Committee. An Australian Republic: Vol II: The Options — The Appendices.
  10. ^ ibid pp. Ibid ( Latin, short for ibidem, "the same place" is the term used to provide an Endnote or Footnote Citation or 109-186.
  11. ^ Australian Time (magazine), 1999.
  12. ^ Sunday Business Post review mentioning Duffy on the programme Uachtarán.
  13. ^ Sunday Independent 6 May 2007.
  14. ^ National Forum on Europe website Retrieved 30 December 2007.

Additional information

External links

On Australia
Gay marriage
Presidency of Ireland
Lenihan resignation
Events 1632 - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe France. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Events 445 BC – Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 91 NLTse Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar)
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic