The SDLP

Seán Farren was a member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) for most of the period from 1970 to 2000; he was party chair for a time, and participated in negotiations during the peace process. He also has an academic background: he was Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Ulster, author of The Politics of Irish Education, 1920–1965 (1995) and, with political scientist Robert Mulvihill, co-author of Paths to a Settlement in Northern Ireland (2000). Unlike former party colleagues Austin Currie and Paddy Devlin, who published memoirs, Farren does not seek to tell his personal story; when he appears at all as one of the dramatis personae, he is mentioned in the third person. Nevertheless, Farren’s admiration for his colleagues’ dedication to the quest for a political solution based on democratic principles, partnership and respect for human rights shines through. He presents the Good Friday Agreement (1998) as the logical outcome of policies consistently promoted since the formation of the party in 1970

Admiration · Democracy · General partnership · Irish · Memoir · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · Settlement (finance · Sociology · Irish and British Studies · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology