By Joan Bolger

SINN Fein will make a strong case for being allowed total access to fundraise in the U.S. after the St. Andrews Agreement last week, party officials say.

Sinn Fein’s U.S. representative Rita O’Hare is here this week briefing on the St. Andrews Agreement and meeting with officials in Washington.

For the past year Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has been barred from fundraising because of his party’s refusal to back the PSNI, the Northern Ireland police force.

However, the deal reached between the parties in Scotland last week, known as the St. Andrews Agreement, should be enough to restore full fundraising Sinn Fein believe.

Adams is expected in New York in early November for the major Sinn Fein fundraising dinner of the year at the Sheraton Hotel on Thursday, November 9.

Currently he would be unable to attend, though he is not barred from the United States. However, party officials expect that by the time of the deadline he will be able to address the party faithful.

U.S. Special Envoy Mitchell Reiss has made no public comment to date on whether the St. Andrews Agreement will result in the fundraising ban being lifted. However, Sinn Fein say they will be in immediate contact with him to find out what the administration decides to do.

“We are strongly of the belief that fundraising should be restored,” said a party official from Ireland this week. “We see no reason why Gerry Adams should not be able to come and attend the New York dinner in November.”

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein MP Conor Murphy and Councilor Barry McElduff were refused entry to the U.S. on Tuesday, October 17 to attend an event commemorating the 1981 Republican Hunger Strike in which 10 H-Block prisoners died.

The two had planned to attend a photography exhibition in Boston this weekend as part of a program of events held in conjunction with the Ulster championship hurling final between New York and Antrim.

Gerry O’Reilly coordinating the event said that he was very disappointed with the decision. “This isn’t a fundraising matter, nor is it politically motivated. It is a cultural event, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the hunger strikes by the IRA,” he said.

“Conor Murphy was given personal assurances by the State Department that he would receive a visa. Now they are saying that there wasn’t enough time to process the application even though he applied nine weeks ago,” said O’Reilly, adding that the decision had apparently been made on the basis that the two had “so-called history with the IRA.”