Power Addresses Ogra Fianna Fail AGM

The Annual General Meeting of North Tipperary Ogra Fianna Fail was

Senator Averil Power with some of the large attendance at the Ogra Fianna Fail AGM Photo Catherine Maher.

held in the Arch Bar, Thurles recently and was addressed by Fianna Fail Seanad Spokesperson on Education and Skills Senator Averil Power. She complimented the great team in North Tipperary Ogra on how strong the organisation is in the constituency and that Ogra is the central part of that strength. She congratulated members on winning the Gobnait O’Connell award for Ogra of the Year at the last Ogra
conference and spoke of her time in Ogra and paid tribute to the work Gobnait did for the organisation. Senator Power said that the community work Ogra does would have most impressed Gobnait and praised
that all activities respect the party’s tradition and strong
republican ethos. She spoke of the importance of Ogra and how members
are more involved in the party than ever before. The energy of members
was fantastic she argued, and that it was important to be forthright.

Speaking about the renewal of Fianna Fail she said that the party will
be returning to the traditional community aspect of the party, with
members all across the country involved in societies, charities and
groups in their community. She said that Fianna Fail is about
positivity, constructive opposition, protecting the working class and
helping people to improve their personal situations. She said that the
future for Ireland was in local jobs and that we must make it a
priority to build up the small business network and that the
infrastructural improvements were central to that.

She stressed that the differences Fianna Fail have made in local
communities and in education were incredible and will be the lasting
legacy of the last government. She said it is a huge privilege to be
part of Fianna Fail and represent members at a high level and that the
history of the party is something that we should all be proud of.

Regarding her portfolio of education and skills she criticised Labour
Minister Ruairi Quinn on his u-turns and cynical commitments. She
stressed that everyone deserves and education. She concluded that
Fianna Fail are listening to people and providing the effective
opposition and sensible leadership that the country needs.

The election of officers was as follows: Honorary President Cllr.
Seamus Hanafin MCC, Cathaoirleach Arthur Griffin, Honorary Secretary
Gerard Fogarty, Leas-Cathaoirleach Silvianne Strapp, Honorary
Treasurer 1 Marian Lee, Honorary Treasurer 2 and Assistant Secretary
Ciara Fanning, PRO Greg Moroney, Policy and Campaigns Officer Cian
Grogan, Events Officer Brian Madden, Membership Development Officer
Simone Strapp and Constituency Youth Organiser Tim Maher. Delegates to
the CDC are Gerard Fogarty, Silvianne Strapp and Greg Moroney.

Incoming Chairman Arthur Griffin thanked the outgoing committee for
their hard work and wished his colleagues the best for the year. He
criticised Fine Gael and Labour for not holding their promises to the
electorate who put a lot of faith in their promise of change. He said
it was important that we maintain the message of what Fianna Fail
stands for, a united Ireland, equality, republicanism, community
development and a strong Ireland in a strong Europe.

Cllr. Seamus Hanafin said that the Government might be enjoying a
honeymoon period but their councillors are not. He criticised the
cynical commitments and promises their parties made saying there was
no need for them as it was clear there would be a change of
government. He said that a more responsible society is needed and that
it needs to be built into the long-term vision for the party.

Cllr. Jim Casey and President of North Tipperary Fianna Fail Sean
Costello both heavily criticised the use of the word “toxic” by the
media in describing Fianna Fail in that it insults tens of thousands
of members across the country who are involved in their local
community organisations, fighting for their local communities and are
involved in Fianna Fail to make a difference to people’s lives.

A motion of thanks was passed to the Hayes family and the Arch Bar for
the use of their facilities and their constant support and to Youth
Organiser Tim Maher for his constant commitment to Ogra. The meeting
closed with hustings for the Ogra Central Officer Board elections with
candidates from across the country speaking. Gerard Fogarty launched
his campaign for Ogra National Policy and Campaigns Director.

Members are reminded that the Ogra National Youth Conference is on in
the Silver Springs Hotel in Cork on the 4th to 6th of November. For
more information or to join North Tipperary Ógra please
emailnorthtippogra@gmail.com or add us on www.facebook.com/ntoff.