Meet Toiréasa Ferris.
As you might have guessed from the grinning out-of-focus face of Gerry Adams in the background, she is a Sinn Fein councillor.
This is why she is famous:
In February 2006, she appeared on The Late Late Show and in an interview with Pat Kenny said she could not condemn the killing of Garda Jerry McCabe in Adare in 1996. Ferris stated that “It wouldn’t be fair to condemn one individual action when over 3,000 were killed. I don’t feel I have the right, or that it would be fair to condemn one individual act,” [7] The Pat Kenny Late Late Show interview also caused comment because her “knee-length” skirt hiked up when she crossed her legs. RTÉ was sharply criticised for having their cameras pan her legs and skirt in the middle of the interview and creating a “tabloid” atmosphere and cheapening her appearance. [8]
Fine Gael councillors in Kerry County Council attempted to table a vote of no confidence. However she survived by a wide margin due to the support of Fianna Fail councillors.
How lovely.
It goes without saying that this “peace activist” is one of the members of the current Hamas support operation, Viva Palestina. This is what she was up to at the weekend:
The Irish Team gave rousing renditions of rebel rhymes, while Irish councillor Toireasa Ferris recited a heartfelt poem of solidarity.
Here she is, complaining on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Press TV about Egyptian opposition to the Viva Palestina convoy.
This isn’t the first time that the Ferris family has had trouble with blockades designed to stop terrorist groups importing weapons and murdering their neighbours.
Meet her dad – Martin Ferris, a convicted IRA terrorist:
Ferris served ten years (1984-1994) in prison for his involvement in the attempted importation of arms from the United States. In September 1984, the fishing vessel Valhalla, sailed from Boston, while the trawler Marita Ann, sailed from Fenit, County Kerry. In the mid-Atlantic, seven tons of explosives, arms and ammunition were transferred from the Valhalla to the Marita Ann. Sometime afterwards, the Irish Navy vessels LÉ Emer and LÉ Aisling along with members of the Garda Síochána detained the Marita Ann and arrested its crew. Ferris was convicted for the possession of explosive substances for unlawful purpose and for possession of firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life. He served his sentence in the maximum-security Portlaoise Prison, a prison often used to hold Irish Republican political prisoners.
So we can have a pretty good guess as to why Toiréasa Ferris feels that it is so important to open Gaza’s borders.
