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One year on from the restoration of the
political institutions and 10 years after
the Good Friday Agreement Sinn Féin will be
holding a series of public meetings to mark
these historic events. There will be nine
public meetings taking place across the
north involving party President Gerry Adams,
the Sinn Féin Ministerial team, and Policing
Board members, MLAs, TDs and MEPs.
Later on in the year a series of meetings
will be held in the south. On Tuesday the
22nd of April the Newry and Armagh meeting
will take place in Silverbridge Resource
Centre. It will commence at 8pm. The
meetings will provide Sinn Féin with an
opportunity to give an assessment of the
progress made and of the effectiveness of
the institutional and other changes that
have been implemented. They will also
provide the public with an opportunity to
engage directly with Sinn Féin Ministers and
other senior party figures.
 Newry
and Armagh MP Conor Murphy said that the
direct engagement with local communities was
'a crucial element of Sinn Féin's political
strategy of ensuring that people have a real
sense of ownership of the political
process." Conor said "In advance of Sinn
Féin's special Ard Fheis on policing last
year, we undertook a series of public
meetings with the wider nationalist and
republican community in order to allow the
maximum participation and debate on this
crucial issue. The meetings were well
attended; the debate was robust and
comradely, and Sinn Féin reflected carefully
on the contributions as we held our special
Ard Fheis. At that time Sinn Féin committed
to organising a similar round of meetings
one year on at which the party leadership
would report back on the progress made on
policing; as well as providing the public
the opportunity to question us on our
stewardship of the process”.
The MP said that this April also marked the
10th anniversary of the Good Friday
Agreement. “The series of meetings Sinn Fein
have announced will allow the party and the
public to assess the significant
contribution the Agreement has made to
bringing about positive change. The series
of meetings will also include an engagement
with the families of the republican patriot
dead and with victims of state murder and
collusion”.
He added "Substantial progress has been made
in the last year and especially in the last
decade on a wide range of issues, including
policing, demilitarization, human rights and
equality and more. Crucially the Good Friday
Agreement, with its inclusive process and
power sharing governmental structures, is
the framework within which the current
political institutions work. There are also
outstanding issues still unresolved and some
of these are directly affected by the
process of leadership change taking place
within the DUP; these include the transfer
of powers on policing and justice, Irish
language rights, and issues of equality and
human rights. Despite this Sinn Fein
believes that more progress will be made in
the time ahead. Sinn Fein expects the DUP
and the two governments to honour the
commitments they have entered into”.
He concluded by stating "I am looking
forward to the planned meetings. Last years
were very successful and I believe that this
round of meetings will be equally positive
and productive."
The times and venues of the meetings are:
Sun 13th April - Strabane (Fountain St
Community Centre) - 8pm
Tues 15th April - Upper Bann (Asbourne
Hotel, Lurgan) - 8pm
Wed 16th April - Derry (The Guildhall) - 8pm
Thurs 17th April - Toomebridge (The Elk) -
8pm
Fri 18th April - Fermanagh (The Slieve
Russell) - 8pm
Sun 20th April - Down (The Downshire Arms
Hotel, Hilltown) - 8pm
Tues 22nd April - Newry Armagh (Silverbridge
Resource Centre) - 8pm
Wed 23rd April - Galbally Co. Tyrone |
Commenting on the announcement by Taoiseach
Bertie Ahern to step down, Newry and Armagh
MP Conor Murphy said that it had to be
acknowledged that Bertie Ahern's
contribution to the development of the Irish
Peace Process was significant. 
