Pat Bradley to launch new memoir on Tuesday at Derry’s Playhouse

‘Ballots, Bombs and Bullets’ is the memoir of former NI Chief Electoral Officer Pat Bradley and it is published by Colmcille Press.

It tells the story of how someone with no background and very little training in electoral law and process found himself in charge of NI’s elections at its most challenging time.

Within weeks of starting the job of ‘Deputy Electoral Officer’ – and still without any training, backup or even proper office accommodation/facilities - Pat was thrown in at the deep-end by the sudden announcement of a 1974 UK-wide General Election.

It was to be the first of many elections Pat organised in challenging circumstances over the next 26 years – initially in a Northern Ireland close to civil war and, then, in various trouble hotspots around the world.

After six years in the Deputy role, Pat was appointed Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland in 1980. A series of key elections affecting NI’s future took place during his time in office – from the election of hunger striker Bobby Sands, in 1981, to the Forum elections, in 1996, and the Good Friday Agreement referendum of 1998. Pat was broadcast around the world as he announced the “71.12%” result of the referendum in footage that is still regularly screened to this day.

He was awarded an MBE in 1986 and a CBE in 1999, both for ‘Service to the Electoral Process’.

Pats’s book also describes how the knowledge and expertise he gained in Northern Ireland was highly sought after by international organisations like the United Nations and European Union in their attempts to introduce or enhance democracy in areas of conflict. Both before and after he retired as Chief Electoral Officer in 2000, Pat Bradley spent a number of years as senior advisor on elections in more than 30 countries around the world – from Russia to Sierra Leone and Saudi Arabia to Hong Kong.

Tuesday’s book launch runs from 12.30pm-2pm, and includes a Q&A session with Pat Bradley about his work and experiences – chaired by former BBC journalist Paul McFadden.

Signed copies of the book will be available to buy at the event for £15.

‘Ballots, Bombs and Bullets’ can also be bought online at www.etsy.com (search ‘Ballots book’) and in Derry from Little Acorns Bookstore (Foyle Street) and Foyle Books (Craft Village).