Nicky Kelly

Nicky Kelly is an Irish politician from Arklow in County Wicklow. He was born Edward Noel Kelly from Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny, he joined Official Sinn Féin leaving it to join the new Irish Republican Socialist Party in 1974. ^[1]

In the 1980s he achieved fame throughout Ireland after he had been sentenced, in 1978, to 12 years in prison for his alleged part in the Sallins train robbery. The ensuing campaign to release him became a symbol of the 1980s with 'Free Nicky Kelly' graffiti posted throughout the country. The evidence of torture committed against him and his two co-accused, Osgur Breatnach and Brian McNally, galvanized a campaign for his release. There was a dedication to him in the 1983 Planxty album, Words and Music.

The future Workers' Party TD, Justice Pat McCartan acted as his solicitor at this time, despite being on opposite sides in the Official Sinn Féin/IRSP split.^[2]

In 1984 Kelly was eventually released on "humanitarian grounds". He received a presidential pardon in 1992, along with over £1 million as compensation following campaigns by Amnesty and the ICCL.

Kelly was elected to Arklow Town Council in 1991 and for Wicklow County Council in 1999.^[3] in 2001 he joined the Labour party.^[4]

In 2008 he was elected mayor of Arklow.^[5]

He stood unsuccessfully as a Labour party candidate for the Wicklow constituency in the 2002 general election where he was beaten to the final seat by Mildred Fox by 19 votes, and in the 2007 general election, where his first preference vote declined from 12% in 2002 to 6%. ^[6]In early 2011, he left the Labour Party over a dispute about candidate selection at the party's convention.^[7] Despite rumours that he was intending on joining Sinn Féin or the United Left Alliance he stood at the 2011 general election as an Independent candidate in the Wicklow constituency. He was not elected polling only 0.7% of the poll.

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