Nicky Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Wicklow County Councillor | |
| In office 1999–2014 | |
| Constituency | Arklow |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1951-01-09)9 January 1951 (age 75) |
| Party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations |
|
Edward Noel Kelly (born 9 January 1951), known asNicky Kelly, is an Irish politician fromArklow inCounty Wicklow. He was born inGraiguenamanagh,County Kilkenny. A member ofOfficial Sinn Féin, later on he left it to join the newIrish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) in 1974.[1]
 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Nicky Kelly" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In 1978, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his alleged part in theSallins 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, galvanised a campaign for his release.[citation needed] There was a dedication to him in the 1983Planxty album,Words & Music.[citation needed]
Pat McCartan, who later became aTD for theWorkers' Party, acted as his solicitor at this time, despite being on the opposing side in the SFWP–IRSP split.[2]
In 1984, Kelly was released on humanitarian grounds. He received a presidential pardon in 1992, along with overIR£1 million as compensation following campaigns byAmnesty International and theIrish Council for Civil Liberties.[citation needed]
The events of Kelly's arrest and trial(s) were the subject of an edition of theRTÉ Television documentary seriesScannal, broadcast on 22 September 2014.[3]
Kelly was elected toArklow Town Council in 1991 and toWicklow County Council in 1999.[4] In 2001 he joined theLabour Party.[5]
In 2008, he was elected mayor of Arklow.[citation needed]
He stood unsuccessfully as a Labour party candidate for theWicklow constituency at the2002 general election where he was beaten to the final seat byMildred 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 after a dispute about candidate selection at the party's convention.[7] Despite rumours that he intended to joinSinn Féin or theUnited Left Alliance he stood at the2011 general election as an independent candidate in the Wicklow constituency. He was not elected, receiving only 0.7% of the first-preference vote.[citation needed]
He lost his seat at the 2014 local elections.[citation needed]