JOURNALIST Frank Connolly has been appointed as new head of communications for Siptu, the country’s largest trade union.
Connolly, who currently works for the Mail group of newspapers, is expected to commence his new job in July.
An investigative reporter, who “broke” a number of stories about former taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s personal finances and Garda corruption in Donegal, Connolly was also an executive director of the Centre for Public Inquiry, the organisation funded by American billionaire Chuck Feeney to investigate breaches of ethics in Irish business and public life.
However in 2006 the centre closed down after a decision by Mr Feeney to withdraw funding.
This followed allegations by then minister for justice Michael McDowell in the Dáil that Connolly had travelled to Colombia in 2001 under a false passport with an IRA leader. Connolly has consistently denied the claim.
Connolly was interviewed by gardaí in 2002 who asked him about the alleged trip to Colombia. In 2003, the Director of Public Prosecutions decided not to bring any charges against him.