Phil Flynn

Who is Phil Flynn?

Philip "Phil" Flynn is an Irish businessman. He was previously a vice-president of Sinn Féin, a trade unionist, an industrial relations consultant, a government advisor and a financier. He was the eldest of five children of a nationalist mother and Fine Gael father.

He joined Sinn Féin at the age of 14 and lent support to some of those involved in the IRA Border campaign of the 1950s. He was taken in for police questioning on a number of occasions owing to his political activities. In 1974, he was tried with IRA membership, but acquitted, by the Special Criminal Court. During the trial, the state alleged that he was IRA Director of Finance. In Liverpool, he was arrested and held for three days under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. In 1975, he came to public prominence when he acted as a mediator in the Tiede Herrema kidnap siege.

In 1984, he was elected general secretary of the Local Government and Public Services Union. His election caused problems for the Fine Gael-Labour administration as Flynn was also vice-president of Sinn Féin and as such, government officials and ministers refused to talk to him. Shortly after, he was elected to the executive of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. In the same year, he stepped down as Sinn Féin vice-president, telling the party's Ard fheis that his experience and support would always be available to the movement.