Cllr Martin to address Summer School

Cllr Keith Martin has been asked to address this year's Tom Johnson Summer School in June. Cllr Keith Martin will be joining speakers such as Vincent Browne, Michael D Higgins and Siptu President Jack O'Connor as part of the line up of the three-day event, which will be held in Galway. Cllr Martin will be addressing the school on the topic of the Local Elections of 2009.

Thomas Johnson (1872-1963) was an Irish nationalist and Labour Party leader. He led the Irish Labour Party in the United Kingdom Parliament. Later, after Irish independence, he was elected a TD for Dublin County to the first Dáil Éireann in the 1922 general election and was the leader of the Labour Party until 1927.

As such, he was Leader of the Opposition in the Dáil of the Irish Free State, as Sinn Féin refused to recognize the Dáil as constituted. He is the only Leader of the Opposition from the Labour Party, or indeed from any party other than Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. He lost his Dáil seat at the September 1927 general election, and the following year he was elected to Seanad Éireann, where he served until the Seanad's abolition in 1936.

Each Summer, the Labour Party holds the "Tom Johnson Summer School" to discuss various issues and campaigns. This year's summer school is taking place from June 27 to 29 in the Menlo Park Hotel in Galway.