Independent County Derry candidate wants to give 'decent representation'

A Dungiven man who this week has confirmed his intention to stand as an independent candidate for East Derry in the upcoming assembly elections says he wants to provide people with 'decent representation'.

Despite not having any political background, Niall Murphy, who previously worked in community development, says he 'understands local issues' and hopes people will vote for him on May 5.

Niall, who also ran Dungiven youth organisation The Warehouse and worked on mental health project L.A.T.C.H (Listening And Talking Can Help), now works in media and runs his own podcast.

The 46 year-old hopes to use 'The MANic Podcast' as a platform to reach out to local people and make his views known in the run-up to the election.

Speaking to the County Derry Post from his Dungiven studio, Niall said he has always been interested in politics and feels now is the 'right time' to put his name forward.

“Politics has always been something I've been interested in. I go back to my late teens and early twenties, it's always something that I talked about,” he said.

Recalling how his late father Andy Murphy, who passed away in 2016, often suggested that he consider going into politics, Niall admits that he did consider running in the last assembly election.

“I was thinking about running in 2017 but I couldn't find a party that I could align to. This is why I'm running as an independent.

Niall is from Dungiven.

"I believe that parties kind of constrict your opinion and they force you into a box. One of the things I want to be able to do is be honest and authentic. I want to be able to talk to people honestly. I want to be myself,” he said.

“It's the right time for me. I have something to say, I am well connected and well rooted locally in the community. I have done a lot of work at community level over the years and I feel I'm intelligent enough.

"Why can an ordinary person who hasn't come up through a party system not run for public office? Not having a background in politics, I don't think that's a disadvantage, I think that's an advantage.

"I think more people who don't have a background in politics should come into politics because that would mean people would say what they think, they'd be authentic.

"I want to get elected and the more independent voices that there are, then the better representation the people are going to get.”

Referring to the current political situation in the North, Mr Murphy says he believes the Northern Ireland Protocol 'can work for us in so many different ways'.

First Minister Paul Givan resigned in February as part of the DUP's protests against the protocol which allows lorries to deliver goods without having paperwork and goods checked when they cross the border from the North into the Republic of Ireland.

“This is one of the best opportunities we have ever had in this country,” said Niall.

“We have an economic legacy from the Troubles, effectively our economy only started 25 years ago in terms of inward investment.

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"We have a structural legacy built into the economy as a result of the Troubles. We need jobs. We need to create and build up industry.

"We need people coming here and saying 'I'm going to invest in here. I'm going to move my supply chain and my factory here and I'm going to create jobs'.

"That's what Northern Ireland needs to overcome - that economic legacy from the Troubles and that's exactly what the Northern Ireland Protocol can offer us. It puts us in this unique position in Europe.

“It doesn't matter what anybody says, there is not going to be a border on the island of Ireland – who is going to put it there?

"The Irish government isn't going to put it there and the UK government isn't going to put it there, never mind the fact there is an international treaty called the Good Friday Agreement which says it cannot go there. Even if the Good Friday Agreement didn't exist, it still cannot go there.”

Niall continued: “The DUP have such a narrow, idealogical view of the Northern Ireland Protocol, they can't see past their own bigotry and realise that if they made the best of this it would copper-fasten the border and there would never be a united Ireland.

"If they wanted to copper-fasten the border then they would put everything they had into the Northern Ireland Protocol. Just as the DUP don't realise that, Sinn Féin do realise that. They are out talking about a United Ireland.”

Niall says he believes there needs to be 'a dramatic realignment of politics in Northern Ireland'.

“I believe that our current political system in Northern Ireland doesn't work for people. It worked at a time but we need to move on. We need to be honest here and say the Troubles are over,” he said.

“I do not believe that Northern Ireland is divided any longer by Catholic and Protestant. I believe it is divided be people that want to move forward and make a future for themselves and those of us that want to stay in the past.

“I'm old enough to remember the Troubles. Nobody is going back to that. As far as I'm concerned out here the peace is like granite, it's not fragile in the slightest.

"We need to deal with reality as it is, not some alternate reality that this small group that want to keep us in the past see it. I understand the allure of it and the comfort of it but the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland want the future.”

Speaking about his plans for his election campaign, Niall says he won't do things the conventional way.

“This is going to be a hybrid campaign,” he revealed.

“There is going to be a lot of talking in here in the studio and reaching out on social media. We are going to be out on the streets as well.

"I'm going to use this vehicle (podcast) to communicate with people but to let people communicate with me also. There will be an opportunity for ordinary people to come in here to the studio and have discussions.

“I have my opinions and I think they align with most people. I'm not an outlier. I don't have super radical views on a lot of things. I have a fairly balanced perspective and I'm a fairly knowledgeable person.

"I believe in self-reliance, I believe in people making the best of the opportunities that they have. There are things that the government can do for people and I want to have that conversation about what it can do and what it reasonably cannot and should not be doing.

“I'll be using this Podcast and bringing in ordinary men and women and we'll have those conversations. I want people to follow me on the channel and on my Twitter @niallmurphy007.

"We will be doing stuff out on the streets, talking to different people and then at a certain point we will be out around the doors.”

He continued: “What is different is that people are going to be able to see a lot of me if they want to see a lot of me and understand exactly what I think and exactly what I say.

"This is the thing that is unconventional for somebody that is running for political office. I'm going to tell you exactly who I am. I want your vote, I want all the first preference votes.

"If you can't give me your first preference, give me your second preference. I'm not going to compromise what I think and what I believe to tell you what you want to hear.” added.

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