PROFILE:John O'Dowd, in Martin McGuinness's shoes as Deputy First Minister, has unionist approval
JOHN O’DOWD, who begins his third week as acting Deputy First Minister today, is viewed as one of the “coming men” in Sinn Féin, a politician who has earned even grudging respect from senior people in the DUP.
One of the reasons unionists have regard for him is because he is “not Caitríona Ruane”, the former Sinn Féin minister of education whom many unionists blame for allegedly trying to wreck the North’s grammar school system.
The fact that he does not have an “IRA war record” also helps. He was involved in supporting nationalist residents during the annual bitter, dangerous and contentious Drumcree disputes with Orangemen and loyalists in Portadown and while an assertive “republican activist” managed to avoid having the “whiff of cordite” about his person.
There was considerable surprise when on September 16th Martin McGuinness announced he was standing down for six weeks so he could run for the presidency, but there was no surprise that Mr O’Dowd would be temporarily acting up for him.
Under the legislation only one of the current Sinn Féin Ministers – O’Dowd, Michelle O’Neill, Carál ní Chuilín and junior Minister Martina Anderson – could stand in for him, and it was clear that the Upper Bann Assembly member was the leading contender.
He was born and grew up in a rural community between Lurgan and Banbridge. He was educated at Lismore Comprehensive in Craigavon before moving on to Newry Catering College, after which he pursued a successful career as a chef. He has been a member of Sinn Féin for more than 25 years, spending 14 years as a councillor on Craigavon Council. He is 44 and married with two young children.
In 2007 and in May this year he was re-elected to the Assembly, becoming the first nationalist or republican candidate to top the poll in the constituency. In May he almost brought a second Sinn Féin candidate Johnny McGibbon into Stormont with him. In the last term of the Assembly he was the leader of the Sinn Féin Assembly team and a member of the Sinn Féin ardchomhairle.
He was also spokesman on education and a member of the Stormont justice committee. He has been impressive in the Assembly chamber, one of the relatively limited number of Assembly members who is strong on his feet and doesn’t need a script to argue his points.
On several occasions as Sinn Féin education spokesman he had to bat for the former minister of education Ms Ruane who, regardless of any validity to her viewpoint, somehow raised the hackles of unionist MLAs.
“The reason we can get on with him, unlike Caitríona, is because he is not ideologically driven. He is a calm, can-do politician,” explained a senior DUP Stormont source yesterday.
He’s cut somewhat from the mould of Mr McGuinness. As he said after his appointment: “Confrontation certainly hasn’t been Martin’s style and it won’t be mine.” He’s had a busy two weeks doubling up as Minister of Education and Deputy First Minister. For instance, last Monday, just before lunch he published radical proposals to overhaul Northern Ireland’s primary and post-primary education system.
After lunch he had to face questions and supplementaries from MLAs in his role as stand-in for Mr McGuinness. He didn’t put a foot wrong.
Last Thursday, with First Minister Peter Robinson he announced the details of the investigation into church and state institutional abuse of children, and so far is double-jobbing quite efficiently.
Were Mr McGuinness to gain entry to Áras an Uachtaráin Mr O’Dowd along with former Sinn Féin ministers Conor Murphy and Michelle Gildernew would be the three front-runners to take over the Deputy First Minister post on a permanent basis. He might be the outsider of the three but could not be ruled out.
