Culture
07 Jun 18

Ex-Sinn Féin TD Thomas Pringle Reveals He Held Secret Talks With Fine Gael To Prop Up Government….

Hot on the heels of Minister Jim Daly landing himself in hot water after being lambasted by his Fine Gael colleagues for publicly stating in his recent Hot Press Interview that he has “no ideological objection” to going into coalition with Sinn Féin, now Thomas Pringle – who describes himself as a “Republican” independent – has stepped forward to reveal that Tánaiste Simon Coveney held two secret meetings with him in order to canvass him for his support prior to Fine Gael going into government in 2016.

“Fine Gael will go into coalition with whoever will keep them in power!” says Thomas Pringle.

In this exclusive Hot Press Interview, the Donegal TD – whose father was a former IRA member who was once on death row for the murder of two Guards back in 1980 – also maintains that it’s only a matter of time before Fine Gael do a deal with Sinn Féin.... despite the ongoing promises from Leo & Co that they won’t do business with Mary Lou’s party.

Thomas Pringle also tells Hot Press’ senior editor Jason O’Toole that he finds it ridiculous that Gerry Adams still maintains that he wasn’t a member of the IRA.

In this outspoken interview, Thomas Pringle also discusses his recent stroke and reveals the reasons why he believes his constituency was the only one on the entire island to reject the 8thAmendment referendum.

On the 8th Amendment, he openly criticizes other Donegal TDs and the government chef whip for not suppporting the Yes side enough.

On his secret talks with Fine Gael, Thomas Pringle tells Hot Press, “I met Simon Coveney on two occasions in the run-up to the formation of government! And when I just heard the bullshit they were telling me, I said, ‘I’m not going to have anything to do with this.”

He adds, “He (Simon Coveney) came up from Dublin to talk to me about coming on board – and probably, if I had come onboard with them, it would’ve given them a strong sense that they were doing something right. But there was obviously no way that I could have accepted what they were proposing. To have to go along with what the government was doing just to get stuff for your own constituency, that’s not something I could live with myself on.”

On the possibility of Fine Geal eventually going into government with Sinn Féin, Thomas Pringle has this to say, “Fine Gael will go into coalition with whoever will keep them in power! Like Fianna Fáil. The thing over the next while is whether Sinn Féin will sell themselves out for power. The jury’s still out on that. And that’s the reality of the situation. So, I don’t care what Sinn Féin are going to do.”

On Gerry Adams denying any involvement with the IRA, Thomas Pringle says: “It is farcical. But it is probably understandable too.”

On Donegal rejecting the 8th Amendment Referendum, Thomas Pringle says: “There were a number of reasons for it. Donegal has been left behind. When I ask questions about Donegal in the Dáil, the government says Donegal is doing well because unemployment figures have dropped – it’s emigration that has dropped the unemployment figures. So, a kind of protest vote is a factor. Another factor is that other politicians who were supposed to be supporting the referendum didn’t actually put the work in!”

Thomas Pringle also lashed out at other politicians for not doing enough to support the Yes said. He claims: “Pearse Doherty, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Joe McHugh were the national politicians who were supposed to be supporting the referendum. While a lot of Sinn Féin membership did support it, I don’t think it got full support from Pearse Doherty and Pádraig Mac Lochlainn. And it got no support from Joe McHugh, the government representative.”

On suffering a stroke last year, Thomas Pringle says: “It was a milder stroke and it had very little physical impact. I was kind of surprised that it happened at my age (laughs), but I’m getting older than I think I am! Actually, over 30 percent of stroke victims are younger than me, which I was really surprised at.”

Speaking about his father being handed down a death sentence for murder, which was eventually reduced to 4 years before he was then found innocent after serving 15 years behind bars,Thomas says: “It was a long sentence. It would’ve been all his life in prison. But my father always maintained his innocence and set out to prove it.”

He adds, “You didn’t expect that they were going to carry out the death penalty, because they hadn’t carried out any death penalties since 1954. But, apparently, there was a debate at Cabinet about whether they should go ahead with it or not. My mother would’ve always said that they wouldn’t do it, that it would be commuted. So, we never really thought it was going to happen.”

Read the full interview in the new Hot Press. Out now.