Tony Gregory - One to One

[Stallit 2 de Halfo]

This is a fantastic look into the political life of Tony Gregory. There is also mention of the IRSP, which he joined briefly.

He mentions that he 'Supported Seamus Costello until the day that he died, until the day he was murdered by the Officials" and that "He worked alongside Seamus Costello with activism in Wicklow".

Tony Gregary AFAIK has been ill lately. He also talks about the drugs problem.

Watch it here: www.rte.ie/news/onetoone/

[anticapitalist]

Tried a few times to get this to play, with no joy, would like to have heard that interview, is it the same one which was posted before about the I.R.S.M or was it recent? was shocked to see him looking so thin and very old looking, on the telly last night i just got the end of it, he was talking about Haughey helping the Northern command, is this the same interview? wonder is it cancer he has? he could not be much older than 65 would he be?

[Stallit 2 de Halfo]

Yes! thats the one.

He does look very thin dosnt he, not at all how he used to look. He's only 60 too this year.

In order to see vids on the RTE website you need to download 'Real Player' - www.realplayer.com/ www.real.com/

I heard it was cancer yes. Very sad.

[Stallit 2 de Halfo]

STREET TALK .......

The name Tony Gregory was virtually unheard of outside Dublin before 1982 when he was elected to Leinster House as an independent in Dublin Central , a post he still holds . He made the headlines with the famous 'Gregory Deal' in the same year when , in return for his support , the Fianna Fail government pumped £76 million into the redevelopment of inner city housing .
By Sean Ó Donáile .
From 'USI NEWS' , February 1989.

Seamus Costello, founder of the INLA, was a major influence on Tony Gregory - " His whole involvement in the South was based on community and trade union organisations , tenant groups , social agitation etc , and a view that a military struggle against military targets was necessary in the North . "

Seamus Costello was assassinated in 1975 (by the organisation now called 'The Workers Party') and his portrait occupies pride of place in Tony Gregory's office .

Tony Gregory on drugs :
Even the most conservative estimates put the number of drug addicts in this country at 4,000 . Between Jervis Street Hospital, Beaumont Hospital, the Rutland Centre and Coolmine, there are a total of 87 beds available for the treatment of addicts here . Heroin abuse is a major problem in his constituency : " The problem with heroin is that it affects the poorest areas of inner city flats and places like Tallaght and Ballymun. The government never responds to problems that affect areas like that , in any major way......."

1169andcounting.blogspot.com/2007/08/street-talk_15.html

[anticapitalist]

Thanks for the realplayer info, you are a whiz with these yokes, i will give it ago again tmro,
just on the last post
re Tony gregory, it states Costello was shot in 75, it was 77, also it says the workers party done it, Costello canvassed for the workers party did he not? and your first post states the official I.R.A done it? not questioning your knowledge, I am just a little confused i was aware that officials might have done it, but can you fill me in on the workers party involvement.

Sorry C16 for modifying this post so late, just wanted to add, on the heroin problems in the poorer parts of the city and lack of official counter measures, i would say that this lack of responce is deliberate to keep the system turning and the civil servants busy with work in many departments, especially justice, through the problems caused by it.

[Stallit 2 de Halfo]

re Tony gregory, it states Costello was shot in 75, it was 77, also

Well spotted!!. "Sean Ó Donáile from 'USI NEWS'" wrote that in 1989 - or so it says.

also it says the workers party done it, Costello canvassed for the workers party did he not?

The workers party changed its name a few times. Started as 'Official Sinn Fein' then to 'Sinn Fein the Workers Party' and then to what its known now as 'The Workers Party'

Sometimes when people are writing about it they just stick with the one name to avoid confusion, even if its not historically accurate. For example here: theplough.proboards57.com/index.cgi?board=irishrepublicansocialist&action=display&thread=2014 at the bottom it states "(N.B. SFWP is used for convenience throughout the article which was written before the name Workers’ Party was adopted at the 1982 Ard - Fheis)"

Seamus stayed with the officials when the provo's split off, so he would have been involved with them for a time. There were ideological issues within the party as to 'the way forward' and Seamus got expelled from the party. He then went off and set up the IRSP. the Officials feared its growth, especially having seen the support gained by the provo's and attempted to wipe out the IRSP before it could get started.

seamus along with some other INLA got killed by official IRA who were the armed wing of what is now known as The Workers Party.