Phil Clarke - An Appreciation
Fermanagh Herald, Wednesday, August 23, 1995
Forty years ago, a young Dubliner was selected as the sole anti-Unionist candidate for Fermanagh-South Tyrone. Like his colleague in Mid-Ulster, Tom Mitchell, Phil Clarke was tolerating Her Majesty's hospitality in Crumlin Road prison' having been convicted for his part in the raid on the armaments depot in Omagh. With staunch support from Fermanagh's best known clergyman of the time, Canon Tom Maguire of Newtownbutler, Clarke was elected to represent the constuency of Churchill's dreary steeples in the "Mother of Parliaments".
Not for the first time, nor, as it transpired the last, the mandate of the Fermanagh-Tyrone electorate was ignored by a Tory government and Clarke, like Mitchell, was disqualified; eventually the constituency fell to a Unionist who held it for a long time.
Four decades is a long time- long enough for memories to fade. Last week, Phil Clarke passed unexpectedly to his eternal reward without even a whimper of acknowledgement from his erstwhile constituents. Phil packed more into his sixty-one years than most. An international cyclist prior to his incarceration and a member of the only Irish cycling team to defeat England in a full international, he represented Ireland at a time when Ireland's international representation was adversely affected by Britain's refusal to acknowledge the N.A.C.A.'s right to nominate an International team for the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games. His interest in cycling never waned; few Irishmen saw more stages of the Tour de France over the years; every year his continental holiday coincided with a major cycling event; and right up to his untimely death, he continued his Sunday morning stint on the bicycle as his gesture to fitness.
A civil servant before his imprisonment, Clarke returned to the public sector on his release from Crumlin Road. Having secured a primary degree before being head-hunted by the Irish Management Institute where his innovative and imaginative approach to management development led to his appointment as Executive Director responsible for In-Company Development. While employed there he was awarded a Master's Degree by Trinity College for a thesis on management development and action-learning which was, then, a relatively new concept.
Never one to suffer fools gladly, Clarke made no secret of his views when the I.M.I.’ s proposed policy indicated a change of direction which he felt was not in the best interests of the Irish economy. After a period of considerable confusion and some personal criticism, Phil left the I.M.I- with a not inconsiderable cash "gratuity" and set up a new consulting company with two of his former I.M.I colleagues. As a consultant he made a huge reputation for himself in the areas of industrial relations and wage payment systems. Regularly, articles by him appeared in management publications and contribution to the Journal of Industrial Relations on Gain-Sharing indicated a novel way of allowing workers to participate in the benefits from improved efficiency; it was a model which subsequently found favour in several of the country's leading companies and, indeed, in National Wage bargaining.
Many, including his former colleague, Noel Mulcahy, now a Professor and Dean of Research at the University of Limerick, had often suggested to Phil that he should chronicle his involvement in political affairs, for he had a strong philosophical bent when discussing such matters. He always resisted. Then earlier this year, he produced a novel entitled "True Blue" (as befitted a died-in-the-wool Dubliner). He vehemently denied any autographical dimension to the book, but his trenchant criticism of politics and of politicians suggested to those who knew him well that part of it, at least, came from his own experiences and all of it came from his heart.
Two weeks ago, he produced a first draft of a second novel to get the reactions of some of his closest friends. No doubt it too will be published even if it may need some re-drafting for its predecessor was rewritten at least three times before it was acceptable to a publisher. But Phil had enough friends to guarantee that his labour will not have been in vain.
Seven years in Crumlin Road have their effects; Phil could survive well in his own company, but for those who made the effort to get to know him the reward was worthwhile; he was loyal to a fault; he had an outstanding intellect; despite his involvement with multinationals and big business, his political philosophy remained "left of centre"; he was a great communicator and an outstanding teacher — I know, for most of what I learned Phil Clarke taught me and I am eternally grateful.
He will be missed by many; by Maeve, his wife his six daughters, Mary, Emer, Nuala, Philomena, Niamh and Ruth, by Adam, his son and fellow Dublin supporter, by his business partner and soulmate, Aileen, and by his brothers and sisters.
Forty years ago Phil was deprived of electoral success; last week he lost an even bigger battle. Those of us who knew him, who considered ourselves his friends, also lost. Ar dheis Dhe go raibh se.
P. O'C July 1995
