I listened with interest to the lead topic on BBC Radio Ulster programme ‘Talkback’ on Friday afternoon. The programme was presented by Enda McClafferty standing in for William Crawley. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p053dy2w
The guests were introduced as PR Consultant Tom Kelly, who we were told is also a former GAA Club Chairman. Next, former Sinn Feín Assembly member Daithi McKay, now political commentator and finally South Down former Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader John McAllister.
The issue of contention was the story that former Down All-Ireland winning manager and current Fermanagh manager had posted a short Facebook message endorsing Chris Hazzard of Sinn Féin as his preferred candidates to take the Westminster Parliamentary seat for South Down. The programme played the audio from the video where Peter McGrath gave his reasons for supporting Hazzard including Chris Hazzard’s own GAA credentials in South Down.
For those not familiar with the South Down constituency, it is solidly Nationalist and the current incumbent is Margaret Richie of the SDLP. Sinn Féin has been closing the gap in recent elections so the competition in this general election is essentially one between Margaret Richie of the SDLP and Sinn Feín represented by Chris Hazzard.
As I listened to the programme I knew Daithi McKay’s background because he had previously been in the news himself regarding events in Stormont and his subsequent departure from Sinn Féin. He is now a regular commentator on TV and radio programmes (usually giving a republican perspective on events). I was aware also of John McAllister who is a regular contributor on politics programmes and gives a unionist perspective.
I was not aware of the identity of the PR consultant and former GAA club chairman – Tom Kelly. I was aware that there was a columnist from the Irish News called Tom Kelly but I thought it must not be him since such a highly prominent role would surely have been mentioned at the introduction of the programme.
The typical format of these types of programmes (from my understanding) is that there is normally an independent expert who gives an opinion based on their experience and the facts then we have 2 opposing political opinions, in this case unionist and Republican.
Enda McClafferty opened the program with a recorded interview with former GAA President and current Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly. Sean Kelly gave his opinion that Peter McGrath had not broken any rules of the Association as he was not a paid official of the GAA and had acted in an individual capacity as he believed he was entitled to do.
The programme then moved to the studio based guests. Tom Kelly disputed Sean Kelly’s approach, saying it certainly was a “bigger deal than he was making out”. He went on to give what I felt was a damning appraisal of Pete McGrath’s actions as having damaged the hard work which “We are very precious about” which has been undertaken by the GAA. I was certainly left with the impression that Mr Kelly was some kind of independent expert on the GAA in the Ulster Council.
Most people in any form of discussion should declare an interest if it is relevant to the item at hand which in this case this was. It was about the rights and wrongs of an action which was likely to have a direct effect on the outcome of an election battle between the SDLP and Sinn Féin in South Down.
Did Mr Kelly (Order of the British Empire) as former vice chairman of the SDLP and former assistant to Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon have any axe to grind with Sinn Féin who had after all unseated Seamus Mallon as deputy first minister and who had relegated the SDLP into being bit players in the peace process? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Kelly_(Ireland)
Would Mr Kelly also have a special interest with Peter McGrath and his endorsement of Chris Hazzard, which was possibly going to help unseat the candidate from Mr Kelly’s former SDLP party, by his actions?
Should Tom Kelly’s possible conflict of interest not have been explained to the listeners? Should he not have been introduced to the listeners as former vice-chairman of the SDLP, newspaper columnist and former GAA club chairman?
Would this not have been a fairer description?
I believe the BBC were remiss not to have done this. By not explaining the credentials of Tom Kelly, license fee payers have been left with the false impression that Peter McGrath was being slated by an impartial expert of the GAA in the North.
For some this may appear trivial but as Mr Kelly who has been described as a PR guru kept telling the listeners throughout the programme “It is all about perception”!
Any individual has the right to endorse any political representative or party no matter what sport/hobby they take part in in their spare time. They, like anyone else, can hold political views.
The problem I have, as an active GAA member, is if they do that on GAA premises or wearing the GAA logo. That should not happen and the GAA need to take a stronger stance on it.
Dia duit ar maidin Brendan, I myself did not hear this article but thank you for drawing it to attention.
I am not sure your gripe should be with Tom Kelly, he is a businessman and was paid, from the obligatory tax we have to pay, by the BBC for his appearance. Rather, why did the BBC, a body which is required to be impartial, link can be found here http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/pdfs/Section_01_Values.pdf
take a clearly partial approach, with our money?
Dia is Murie Duit Mark,
My gripe is not with Tom Kelly whom I would expect to defend the party with which he had such a long standing and deep involvement. My issue is that I feel the producers of BBC Radio Ulster programme ‘Talkback’ should have been more honest about the partiality of its guests in this instance.
It would seem clear as they would say that Tom Kelly “had a dog in the fight” and I think that License payers should have been made aware of his political baggage so that he would not be portrayed as an impartial expert lending his PR experience and GAA background which is the perception that one could have been left with after listening to the programme.
I rang Talkback and asked for them to read out my comment that Kelly had a strong SDLP background.They did’nt do it.
Michael, it is breathtaking that the BBC were alerted to concerns of listeners that Mr Kelly had held senior positions in the SDLP and therefore had an interest and therefore was not impartial and failed to act on that. The BBC should have been made those concerns clear to the listeners. As Mark has kindly pointed out the BBC has a responsibility to be impartial in it’s reporting and has in my view not done so.
Precisely, now, does this breach of their own guidelines/policy, raise any question vis renewal of their charter?
It happens around every election, I was in London last week and the same partial reporting regarding candidates is occurring there, if their funder’s, that’s us, do not call them on it, they shall continue their malign influence.
The treatment of Corbyn and McDonnell in England is absolutely atrocious and it would seem the charter is not enforceable unless it is used in support of the Conservatives. It doesn’t auger well for getting a complaint dealt with in an equitable fashion.
Cheesh. My gob is smacked, michael c…
Is this the first time a sports person has spoken in support of any political candidate in our wee province?
Surely some footballer, cricketer or hockey player in the past has done exactly the same on behalf of a friend or acquaintance.
But it only becomes newsworthy when its a GAA person supporting a Sinn Fein candidate!
And the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation claim to be impartial, so they enlist the help of a so-called nationalist Tom Kelly to support their clear unionist bias.
How low can the SDLP sink? Vote Colum – get Arlene!
Davy Tweed played rugby for Ballymena, Ulster and Ireland and was a DUP councillor!
Peter McGrath is being ridiculed by some unionist politicians because he is a high profile personality who has come out to show his support for Chris Hazzard of Sinn Féin and they don’t like the GAA or Sinn Féin so I suppose that is understandable given that they don’t seem to understand hypocrisy.
He is being ridiculed by supporters of the SDLP because he may have damaged their traditional support base in South Down perhaps enough to see Chris Hazzard elected. The SDLP will now be even more reliant on unionist voters in order to retain this seat.
Sherdy ,Trevor Ringland is a prime example ..ex rugby player ,ex member of the OUP , now a member of the N.I conservative party…..never done endorsing their warped policies through letter writing to various newspapers. BBC will be receiving a letter from me this week….perhaps other people should take a similar course of action.
Excellent suggestion Eolach.
I think Rory Best, Ireland/Ulster rugby player, strongly endorsed staying with Europe in the Brexit election campaign
Many othe posters here seem to have a touching concern that Tom Kellys former association with the S D L P was not disclosed in this discussion.By the same token,given Jude’s obvious sympathies and association with Sinn Fein,should he not be introduced (on his frequent appearances on Nolan and Talkback)as the “Sinn Fein commentator,Jude Collins”?!
A man who has been the vice chair of the SDLP and been the assistant to Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon and has been responsible for conducting SDLP publicity initiatives is allowed to be a guest speaker on a programme regarding an issue where the general public would perceive that he would have a vested interest and that his background is withheld from the licence paying listenership of the programme.
It is a sure sign of the validity for a complaint when those who share some type of affinity with the SDLP can only come up with such a weak and facile reposte.
My immediate reaction to Tom Kelly, OBE commenting upon the GAA was one of embarrassment. Tom, I’m afraid is a good old boy, indeed an ‘Uncle Tom’. His knee has been so bent to all things unionism/British that he could barely arise if he tried to.
Justin McNulty, the SDLP candidate for Newry and Armagh was a former player for Armagh. A fact he regularly brings up in his party literature as a way to try to appeal to Armagh GAA supporters I would imagine. Funny how Tom Kelly has no problems with that.
What I suspect has irked Tom Kelly and probably the SDLP campaign in South Down is that although roughly two thirds of nationalists now vote for Sinn Fein over the SDLP, the SDLP has to some extent been able to slow that demise in places like South Down because few personalities in the past have openly shown their support for Sinn Fein.
The “movers and shakers” in the nationalist community had historically all been involved with the SDLP which was seen very much to be the preserve of the academic and business classes. This is changing and with the waning influence of the Catholic Clergy so to its political shadow the SDLP. I think the SDLP’s last remaining strongholds are as the salesperson would say “going fast”.