I have been blogging…off and on….for about five years. My constant inability to remember passwords has meant that I have moved sites a few times. But for the record this is the only “political” Blog, I have in Europe. I contribute to an American Blog. As many observant readers will note, the language I use in THIS Blog…..is often “American” or contains explanatory clauses which would be unnecessary for for a Norn Iron readership.

I have nearly always blogged under the name “FitzjamesHorse” or similar. Part of the fun has always been the way in which other commenters have assumed things about me. For example on the Slugger O’Toole-Stratagem blog around early 2010, a pro-Alliance commenter referred to me as a “failed SDLP politician from North Belfast”.

At that time I assumed he meant Martin Morgan. Now I must emphasise this does not mean that I believe Martin to be a failure. It was just my assumption that is who he meant. Later he mentioned that he had grown up reading my columns in “The Irish News”. Ah…..Brian Feeney. And the notion that I might be “Brian Feeney” became implanted in Alliance commenters minds. I suppose an ethical person would have denied it all. But it became more fun when the most pompous commenter on Slugger addressed me as “Brian”. And even more amusing when I started getting mis-directed emails “who is this bast***?”  And of course another dimension was not exactly denying anything made people assume ever more unlikely scenarios.

Meanwhile SDLP members were apparently finger-pointing and searching out a “mole”. They believed I was a SDLP person. I only discovered this a few weeks back when a SDLP person approached me and said that everyone assumed him/her  to be “Fitzjames Horse”. Meanwhile on a “myspace” blog, I got a lot of fun out of an assumption that I am a Catholic priest. And….maybe I am.

I first revealed my identity after a fringe meeting at the 2010 SDLP Conference. Basically I had stated I was a blogger and afterwards a SDLP member asked if I would tell him if he had ever heard of me. His reaction was quite positive.

Since then….it has not been an issue. Attendance at NVCA seminar, conflict resolution seminars, PlatformforChange meetings, Assembly Election Hustings and a few “Long Gallery” functions and for nine months membership of SDLP and attendance at Leadership Hustings, local and general meetings, Conference 2011 means that a lot of people know my identity. “Fitzjames Horse” exists only for “continuity” and consistency.

Yet I think the dynamic towards me has changed over the past two years or so. Indeed it is still changing. Clearly at almost 60 years of age, I am not interested in a political career or even one in a very limited local public or back room way. Whatever my ability with political theory or analysis or statistics……I am simply not a “people person”. I wont be knocking your door and asking you to vote for your SDLP candidate. And certainly not for myself. And I wont be in the position of asking anyone else to do that.

But I seriously wonder if being “outside” the SDLP is more helpful to that Party than being “inside” the SDLP. Certainly the SDLP ticks the boxes of being “nationalist”, “republican”, “socialist”. But I have made the point before that the SDLP has a tendency to listen more to people who are not actually members. Perhaps the surest way to influence SDLP thinking is to be “outside” it.

Certainly in early 2011, SDLP members were anxious to have me “on board”. Yet the only material difference is that it costs me £10 to be a member of SDLP. Obviously it has “cost” me more in terms of fundraising events such as “quiz nights”, “nights at the races”. But I get some access. The irony of course is that understandably I cant actually use a lot of that in blogging. And I dont like to be seen as a mere “spinner”.

In fairness, I have encountered very little opposition to the fact that I blog. Indeed I can only think of about three people who have had anything negative to say about it. Most people …to their credit…….have no idea what blogging is. It has always been my contention that bloggers think far too highly of themselves. And the rest are entirely supportive.