[Sinn Fein]

17 January 2000

Gerry Adams will not be Sinn Fein's candidate for Dáil seat in Louth

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has emphatically rejected speculation in a Dundalk newspaper (The Argus) last week that he is to contest a Dáil seat in Louth in the next general election. The West Belfast MP said that Sinn Fein aims to win a seat in the constituency with a vigorous campaign on a ``republican labour'' platform led by a strong local candidate.

Speaking today (Monday), after his return from the United States where he had talks with President Clinton, Mr Adams said:

``Louth already has very able and effective Sinn Fein representation in local people such as County Councillor Arthur Morgan, a long-standing colleague of mine and a tireless worker who has given tremendous service to the people of Louth.

``Sinn Fein has a strong chance of winning a seat in Louth if we can motivate people to use their vote for real change. Sinn Fein will be mounting a strong challenge to the failed Esablishment parties, offering a radical republican labour alternative to the stale politics of the past.''

Louth County Councillor Arthur Morgan added that the fact that the story that Gerry Adams would be contesting Louth first surfaced in The Sunday Times and had no actual evidence on which to substantiate its claim underlined its unreliability.

``The Sunday Times's sensationalism seeks to hide the growth of Sinn Fein throughout the country and the very real alternative we are offering to people. Voters who are tired of rural and urban neglect in a time of exchequer surplus, the Budget failure to seriously help young people and families with children, and the scandal of mismanagement, corruption and bribery that taints all the Establishment parties who have been in government have the chance to break with the failures of the past by supporting Sinn Fein.''

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