A Battle of Ballynahinch school project sparked my interest in politics

14 June 2017

CHRIS Hazzard’s interest in politics began over 20 years ago while working on a cross-community school project on the historic 1798 Battle of Ballynahinch.

Pupils from St Patrick’s and Ballynahinch primary schools joined forces for the project which saw them visit a number of local sites including the old Magheradroll church at the Crabtree Road.

The project was organised by St Patrick’s teacher Gerard Sloan, who is also a local historian, and timed to coincide with the lead-up to the bicentenary celebrations of the 1798 rebellion, a period in history which captured the new MP’s imagination.

Now 32 and having made history himself when he was elected South Down’s first Republican MP last week, Mr Hazzard looks back to his primary school days and has no doubt working on that history project sparked his interest in politics.

He joined Sinn Fein as a 16 year-old and five years ago, while studying for a PhD in Politics and International Relations at Queen’s University, was co-opted to replace Willie Clarke at the Assembly.

A proud Drumaness man, he is a member of the local GAA club and is a goalkeeper with the club’s seconds team, but he fears he will have to retire given the demands that will now be placed upon his time as a Member of Parliament.

Married to Lisa, the couple’s daughter Eva celebrates her second birthday in August, and the new MP is aiming to ensure he spends as much time with his family as possible while recognising that his world has changed forever as a result of his new role. But it is one he is “proud and honoured” to undertake.

“Looking back to that school project I think this sparked my interest in politics,” explained the new MP. “When it came to politics, I always chose modules which focused on the 1798 rebellion and also took a keen interest in American and French revolutions. I have also had an interest in the Presbyterian radicalism of the United Irishmen and would like to believe this is the basis of my politics. I don’t like the term Irish nationalism and do not see myself as a nationalist. I see myself as an Irish Republican.”

In his first major interview since he was elected during the early hours of last Friday, Mr Hazzard said he wants to be the “MP for everyone in South Down,” emphasising the importance of this to him.

He believes the sands are shifting in the constituency, explaining people from a unionist background were

engaging positively with him and Sinn Fein canvassers on the doorstep.

“There is now real engagement with people and I was talking to one man who told me he was a DUP voter, but asked me to come in and have a chat. He said we are on the path to a different Ireland and talked about his concerns and how he felt his culture in South Down was not being cherished. For me this was a window and of all the doors I knocked, this particular one has stuck in my mind going forward.

“Within hours of being elected I was contacted for help by two councillors from two different parties to my own and this demonstrates to me that when you are the MP, you need to be the MP for everyone. The fact they asked me for help immediately highlighted the different role of an MP as opposed to an MLA.”

Mr Hazzard said he is acutely aware that public service brings huge responsibility with it, explaining he sees MPs as having an ambassadorial role and working on behalf of everyone in their constituency.

Moving forward, he said key issues for him are service provision at the Downe Hospital, securing jobs and investment, explaining he plans to meet some of his colleagues from the Northern Health Trust area who have taken what he described as “pathfinder journey” in relation to their local hospital, pulling a range of people together who are interested in saving services and strategically plotting a course forward.

“I think we could do something similar in relation to the Downe. As the MP, it is is incumbent upon me to show leadership around this issue so we are going to be looking at that. New investment is another key issue and I will be working very hard on this. I want to be able to say at some point in the future that I have secured investment and helped upgrade the area’s infrastructure, conscious that as an MP you stand on your record,” said Mr Hazzard.

The new MP said it was clear from the huge number of votes he received that “abstentionism” was not a major issue for many people in South Down, admitting it was raised on the door by a number of people.

“Politics is about delivery and if the Westminster debating chamber was vitally important the attendance

and voting rates of all MPs would be immaculate. As the DUP will no doubt soon find out in its discussions with the Tories, the real influence and power is sitting across the table doing deals,” continued Mr Hazzard.

Admitting the fact he is now an MP is slowly starting to sink in, the Sinn Fein politician said it hit home last weekend when he changed the bio on his Twitter account from MLA to MP.

“It was a rather surreal moment and the symbolism of being elected a Sinn Fein MP at what was the former Maze prison also struck me during the early hours of last Friday especially as I was standing beside former MLA Mick Murphy who was an ex-prisoner,” he continued.

“My election in South Down shows how far Sinn Fein has travelled during the political process and I do have the sense that we are into an entirely different political era. It is a great honour for me as a young Republican to stand at the Maze site and be elected MP for this area. A generation ago, a young Republican was being incarcerated there.”

With plans to recruit staff and open a new constituency office, Mr Hazzard has no doubt he will have a far more varied inbox of invitations for events to attend and will be delighted to do so.

“I am acutely aware of the size of the constituency and it is an advantage to be based somewhere geographically central. We already have MLA offices across the county but I am conscious that a constituent in Annaclone is as important as one in Downpatrick or anywhere else.”

The new MP is confident Sinn Fein will increase its mandate in South Down and win additional seats at the new council elections in 2015, explaining work is already underway to draw up a list of candidates as the party believes local government is where improvements can be made in people’s lives.

“We now have a really strong Sinn Fein team in South Down and a tremendous young vote and support behind us. The number of young people at a celebration event last Friday night for me was terrific and we have many more joining the party, including those from different professional backgrounds,” he said.

On Monday, Mr Hazzard was at Stormont Castle for talks aimed at restoring the political institutions and was in London yesterday and today for a series of meetings with various political parties. Tomorrow he will be Dublin meeting EU officials as life as an MP really kicks in. He added: “This is really hitting the ground running and I am relishing the challenges ahead, representing the people of South Down.”

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