21 . 12 . 14 / 17

Aworking-class herowith a lot onhismind

PROF I LE DAM IEN DEMPSEY

A singer-songwriterwhouses his gritty Dublin

roots and chequeredlife to embracewidersocial themes and

injustices theworld over

If the Stormont talks required onlyagreement between the fiveexecutive parties theywould havebeen sorted out long before lastFriday, or at least Sinn Fein and theDUPwould have sorted out the

budget, with everything else kickedneatly into the long grass. The threesmaller executive parties would havebeen bought off, brought in, sidelined orjust ignored— as they have been beforewhen a deal between the big twowas theprize.The problem is that the talks now

require a deal between Sinn Fein and theBritish government, specifically theConservative party. This has disruptedthe usual pattern of talks in NorthernIreland, and exposed its brokenmodel forpolitical relationships.One aspect of the system that still

works strikinglywell is the ability ofSinn Fein and the DUP to agree onspendingmoney. In October, whenfinancial incontinence finally caught upwith them, both parties took just three

weeks to arrange a £100m (€127m)emergency loan, a £10bn draft budgetand a £70m contingency for a deal onwelfare reform. A larger loan request andwelfare contingency is all that was agreedat the talks two days ago.All the DUPwants is a workable

budget in the north.When PeterRobinson put welfare reform on the talksagenda, his party proposed new Stormontborrowing powers to get Sinn Fein overthe line.When Sinn Fein demanded cashinstead, the DUP concurred.When DavidCameron flew in on December 11 bearingno cash, the DUP agreedwith Sinn Feinthat this was an outrage.Cameron’s brusque departure the

followingmorningmade Sinn Fein-DUPconcurrence redundant. The primeminister left much earlier than necessarytomake his wife’s celebrity-strewnbirthday party, as though to ensure hiscontemptwould not bemisinterpreted.Cameron’s visit had been taken toindicate that Sinn Fein and the DUPhad cooked up enough of a deal on the

budget to be presented as a talks success.Why summon the primeminister,accompanied by taoiseach Enda Kenny,to preside over failure?Sowhat wentwrong? Theresa Villiers,

the secretary of state, has insistedCameronwas kept well briefed about theeight weeks of talks before his arrival. Itis implausible that the primeminister didnot know the Stormont parties hadbarely shifted on their non-financialdisagreements. Hemay not haveappreciated that the DUP-Sinn Feinagreementwasmerely to ask him for ahuge but undecided sum ofmoney.However, hemust have known that wasa possibility and in any case it should nothave prompted his dismissivewalkout,an obedient Kenny in tow.The remaining explanation is that

Cameron turned upwith an agenda of hisown.Writing Stormont another cheque— especially to coverwelfare reform -—could have given ammunition to Labour,the SNP, Ukip and Tory backbenchers justfivemonths before an election. Northern

Irelandmeans nothing to Cameroncomparedwith those prospects, sonothing is what was offered.Sinn Fein responded by digging in its

own heels onwelfare reform, demandingfully funded total exemption plus afurther anti-austerity “uplift”. In time-honoured Northern Ireland fashion, bothsides are now as bad as each other.What has really gonewrong is the

Good Friday agreement’s three-strandedmodel of unionist-nationalist, north-south and east-west relationships. SinnFein and the Tories are notmeant to bethe opposite ends of one strand, which iswhy a routine Stormont talks fiasco—against a street-politics background lesstense than a year ago— feels sodestabilising. Sinn Fein’s rise in the southand the new devolutionary politics of theUK have created a new reality withwhicheveryone is struggling to come to terms.In an editorial last Monday that

undoubtedly reflectedmuch unionistopinion, the Belfast Telegraph fulminatedagainst Sinn Fein’s “disgraceful

duplicity” for governing Northern Irelandas “only part of its overall policy andinterest”. But why is this disgraceful?Sinn Fein is elected on both sides ofthe border, nothing in any peaceprocess law confines it to the north, andit is hardly duplicitous about its all-Ireland goals.The Irish government now sees

Sinn Fein as a rival, while Kenny’s jointwalkout with Cameron suggests thetwo governments regard Sinn Fein as acommon enemy. Condescendingministerial and House of Commonsstatements from the Tories, plusadolescent ranting from Sinn Fein aboutTory “millionaires”, show both partiesare slightly incredulous at having to dealwith each other directly.It remains likely Cameronwill be back

to compromise on the budget. Nobodywants Stormont to collapse, and abreakdown of the benefits system isunthinkable. The long-term question iswhat to do about the broken down“three-strand” system.

NEWTONEMERSON

Cameron walks the walk as Sinn Fein and DUP talk and talk

Sewage plantrow continuesto bog downIrish Water

Last month Irish Water announced it will be2019 before it can build a waste watertreatment centre for the town of Arklow,which has a population of 13,000. Until then,30 pipes carrying raw sewage will continue tospill into the Avoca river.

As far back as 1993 there has been a plan to locate atreatment centre at Seabank, north of Arklow, with anoutfall pipe dumping treated sewage out to sea. The sitechosenbyArklowurbandistrict council, as itwasknownthen, was beside a caravan park owned by ArklowHolidays Ltd, whose directors are Brendan and JeremyHynes, and who have had a site with 290 mobile homesand up to 1,600 annual visitors there since 1964. Theoutfall pipe would pass through the dunes and beachused by the holidaymakers.Brendan Hynes had some form in the courts. He was

appointed chief executive of Tara Mines in 1974. In the1980s it became involved in Bula v TaraMines, a case thatran for 277 days in the High Court.In 1999,Arklowcouncilwas grantedplanningpermis-

sion byWicklowcounty council for the treatment centre;Arklow Holidays Ltd challenged this in the courts. Afterfour years of litigation, including a 41-day hearing, thematter was concluded in favour of Wicklow countycouncil. Costs estimated at €1 were awarded againstArklowHoliday Homes.In January 2005, following a five-dayhearing,AnBord

Pleanala upheld Wicklow’s 1999 decision. Arklow Holi-days challenged this in the courts, but ultimately lost in2006. Again, hefty costs were awarded against it. Onappeal to the Supreme Court in 2011, it was held thatArklow Holidays’s second set of proceedings were anabuse of process —many of the grounds it raised againstthe finding of An Bord Pleanala in 2005 could have beenraised in the first set of proceedings in 1999.A compulsory purchase order had been suspended

during the 12 years of litigation. When the councilattempted to act on it in 2012, however, Jeremy Hynesallegedly parked a JCB across the gate of the lands. ThecouncilsoughtaninjunctionrestrainingtheHynesesfromgoing onto the lands.The parties were back in the High Court, and the

Hyneses had further points to raise, such as that thepermission granted by An Bord Pleanala in 2005 was forfive years only. The president of the High Court foundagainst them on that point. The Hyneses appealed thatdecision, which is scheduled for hearing on January 15in the Supreme Court. Their challenge to the CPO isalso ongoing.Back in 2007, Jeremy Hynes said the court battle was

about “saving his business”. He agreed that the localcouncil had offered an alternative water supply — thetreatment plant was to be located on top of the holidaysite’s water source — but said it wouldn’t be sufficient atpeak times. He said that a survey of suitable sites for thetreatment centre placed the Seabank site eighth.Perhaps the Hyneses had a valid case against the

authorities, butwhile thecourtshaveentertained thematlength — and at a staggering administrative cost to thestate — they have lost on every point. It is a mysterywhytheHyneses feel it justifiable to spendmillions on saving asmall seasonal business.It’s also impossible to know how the local authorities

acted throughout the litigation, since there is notransparency in relation to any settlement talks betweenthe parties. We will never know why a decision wasnot taken to abandon the Seabank plan and startafresh elsewhere.Brendan Hynes’s combative style must have been

knownto the local authorities.Hisbusiness temperamentcameunderscrutinyin1992,whenhewasappointedchiefexecutive of Telecom Eireann. Six months later his boardreported to the communicationsminister at the time thatthey had passed a vote of no confidence in Hynes, due tohis operating style and hismanner of dealingwith seniormanagers. Hewas replaced.For now the state has failed the people of Arklow. The

courts had to give the Hyneses due process — as long astheir case wasn’t entirely unmeritorious — and thegovernment couldn’t intervene while the matter wasbefore the courts. Has IrishWater the capacity to solve allthis? Embroiled in its own Greek drama, it hardly seemslikely. Asked to comment last week, Brendan Hynes saidthat as issues in relation to the proposed project are stillbefore the courts, Arklow Holidays Ltd cannot makeany statement.

Kate Butler is a barristerand a freelance journalist. Her father Pat Butler SC has

been acting for Arklow Town Council.

Arklow’swait forwastewatertreatment is a long-runningsaga, reportsKate Butler

HE WENT OFF THERAILS. A SHORTDALLIANCE WITHECSTASY LEFT HIMFEELING SO DEEPLYDEPRESSED THATHE COULDBARELY MOVE

When he has time off from the touringcircuit, Damien Dempsey some-times travels to Howth where heclimbs the 30ft rocks at Balscaddenand jumps into the icywatersbelow.“There’s no bungee rope,” he once

toldRTE’sMiriamO’Callaghan.“It’stheclosestthingtobeing a bird.” Dempsey hits the water so hard that ittakes 10 seconds to come back to the surface. He seesparallelswith his task as a stage performer. A shyman,he has to take a leap of faith every time he performsbefore an audience.The challenges keep coming. Last June, the singer-

songwriter was arriving at a venue in Enniscorthy, CoWexford, when he saw two men in the river Slaney.“One of themwas bobbing up and down and trying tocome up for air,” he later recalled. “He was obviouslystruggling to keep afloat and his friend couldn’t keephim up for long.”Knowingthat ifhedived into thewater,he toomight

bedraggedunder,Dempseythrewasheet totheflailingswimmer, saving theman’s life.Dempsey,apassionateopenwater swimmer, was not interested in accolades,according toabystander.“I shouted ‘welldone’,buthedidn’t answer me. He had no interest in any praisewhatsoever,” saidMark Ronan.Lastweek, it emerged thatDempseywas involved in

anotheractofheroismearlier thisyear.BeauticianJoanMoorewas in a restaurant in Dublin’s Fairviewwhen amansnatchedherhandbagandshewasknocked to theground. Dempsey and John Connors, the actor whoplayedtravellerPatrickinLove/Hate,werediningintherestaurant at the time. The pair chased the thief downthe street.Paddy Dunning, owner of a recording studio, said

such heroic behaviour is in Dempsey’s nature: “Whenhe sees something that’s wrong, he’ll try to right it.If he sees a woman fall on the ground, he’ll pick herup. So many people will walk past these days. IfDamien sees something that is wrong, a cause, hechampions it.”At 6ft 2 in, the Irish Lion, as he is known, is not to be

trifled with. In his youth he trained as a boxer, and hestill enjoys sparring sessions. But while he has thephysique of a champion, in person he is softly spoken,shy and socially awkward. Dempsey only turned upat the National Marine Gallantry and MeritoriousService Awards 2014 to please his mother. In fact,he was embarrassed at the attention over hisgallantry in saving theman’s life.“That’s him,” says his friend Philip Cribbin, from

children’scharityPredaFoundation.“He’dcrawlundera rock rather than seekpublicity.Whetherhe likes it ornot,hehastoreacttothestory,butit’snotsomethinghetries to promote.”Singer Glen Hansard once compared Dempsey to

Atlas, carrying the woes of Ireland on his shoulders.When he first emerged on the Irish music scene in the1990s,with socially driven songs informed asmuch byhip-hop as by Irish folk, somepeople consideredhimanovelty act. Others felt alienated by his insistence onsinginginathickDublinbrogue.Dempseywasunapol-ogetic, attributing the criticism to class snobbery: “Itwasmoreadefencemechanismthananythingelse.Themore people toldme I couldn’t sing like that, themoreI laid it on.”Dempsey has always presented himself as a man of

principle. In 2006,while playing at Oxygenmusic fes-tivalat theheightof theCeltic tigerera,hedeclaredthatPádraig Pearse would be “turning in his grave” at thestate of modern Ireland. Over the years he has spokenout about such diverse subjects as bullying, the neces-sityofkeepinghistoryasacompulsoryJuniorCertsub-ject, and the wisdom of adding fluoride to the Irishwater supply.Hehassupportedboycottsof Israelovertheblockade

of Gaza, and campaigns to promote the production ofuilleann pipes in Ireland. Earlier this month, he per-formed at themass protests against the introduction ofwater charges.His most recent single, a cover of John Lennon’s

HappyXmas (War is Over), is in aid of Aware, a charityfor people withmental health issues.According toCribbin: “You see plenty of peoplewho

may use charities for self-promotion. That’s not thecasewith Damien.”As part of his workwith the PredaFoundation,whichwasestablishedtoprotect therightsof women and children in the Philippines, Dempseyvisited a prison outside Manila. “Damien is a sensitiveand aware person, and it moved himwhenwe saw theconditions in the detention centres,” Cribben said.“On the flipside, we saw the kids who were releasedfrom custody and given structure, family life,rehabilitation.”The musician gave an impromptu performance for

about 50 prisoners, singing his own songs as well as afew by BobMarley. “One guy cried in the cell when heheard him,” said Cribbin. “It’s his raw passion andcommitment. Whether he’s singing about patience ornegativevibes,positivementalityorbeingtruetoyour-self, they’re universal themes.”In recent times, Dempsey has aspired to writing

songs on global themes, although a working-class,Dublin sensibility informs everything he does. He hasworked as a builder’s labourer, and changed kegs atRocky Sullivan’s, a New York bar, in the mid-1990s.Many of his songs, such as Almighty Love, speak of alonging for community, whether at home or overseas.Dempsey’s personality has evolved over time, says

Dunning. “He’s come from a hard place, but he chan-nelled those problems into songwriting.”Hewasborn inDonaghamedeonDublin’snorthside

in1975.Theyoungestofthreebrothers,hewasraisedona diet of traditional Irish music, sean nos, Marley andElvis. “When I was growing up in the 1980s in Dublin,reggae and ska were absolutely huge,” he has said. “Itwas the main music people were listening to, ratherthan rock or trad. It was always reggae on the ghettoblasters in the parks, in the fields.”At the ageof 14hewrotehis first song, about air pol-

lution inDublin.This creative streak led toclasheswithotheradolescentsintheneighbourhood.Boxinglessonsgave the bullies pause for thought.Whenhewas 15, his

parents separated. Dempsey lived with his father, apanelbeater,andbyhisownadmissionwentofftherails“drinking, fightinganddoingdrugs”.Ashortdalliancewith ecstasy left him “so deeply depressed” that hecould barelymove.Musicwas his saviour. Dempsey entered a 2FM song

contest and came second. He studied at BallyfermotRock School (at Ballyfermot College of Further Educa-tion), and played at Dave Murphy’s singer-songwriternight at Dublin’s International Bar alongside Mundy,Paddy Casey, Declan O’Rourke, and others.In 1997,he releasedhis first single,DublinTown,but

was uncomfortable with the song’s pop-style produc-tion. “It pickedup a lot of radio play, and a lot of peopleliked it, butmanythought itwasabitof agimmick,”hesaid.Twoyearslater,hewasplayingtoursupportfortheHothouse Flowers when he met producer JohnReynolds at aparty inLondon.Reynoldshelped topro-duce his first album, They Don’t Teach This Shit inSchool (2000).Ever since, Dempsey has picked up the folk mantle

from artists such as Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew. Hecovered traditional standards on The Rocky Road(2008), and tackled issues such as suicide (Chris &Stevie)anddrugs (GhostsofOverdoses).ChristyMoorewas an early champion, andMorrissey once signed theDubliner to his label. He jammed with Bruce Spring-steen at a party after playing support at a stadiumcon-cert.EvenMichaelJacksonwassaidtobeafan.Dunningclaims he played some Dempsey tracks for the latesinger at Grouse Lodge studio in Westmeath in 2006.“Michaellovedthestorytellingandthereggaeinfluencemixed inwith the Irish,” said Dunning.Dempsey branched out into acting in the film

Between The Canals (2011) alongside Peter Coonan.Despite his musical success and assumed role asa spokesman for the mistreated and maligned,Dempsey has said he lives on the breadline. “Ihaven’t made a fortune, but I consider myself lucky tobe making a living doing something I love, writingsongs and playing shows,”he said. And saving the odddrowningman and rescuing damsels in distress.