By Lesley Walsh
A PORTAFERRY native with an enlightened view on making life better for society has come a long way from his youthful days in the town, to become a newly elected member of the Scottish Parliament.
Colm Merrick, was elected to Holyrood on May 8 after the ‘progressive’ ethos of the Scottish National Party first attracted him as it emerged as a prominent force in Scottish politics in the years leading up to the 2014 independence referendum.
A son of the first ever principal of St Columba’s College, John Merrick, 66 year-old Colm has been ensconced in Scottish life since his mid-20s. Starting out in politics as a councillor in East Renfrewshire in 2017, Colm’s dedication to the cause of Scottish independence secured him the highest vote count at this month’s election, to become the new MSP for the constituency of Anniesland in Glasgow, where his parents resided before having their family in Northern Ireland.
Politics is not something Colm had his heart set on when choosing his academic path, opting instead for maths and computing, which he graduated from in the mid-1980s from Queen’s University Belfast.
But like his ‘drift’ towards Scotland in his mid-20s, where one of his brothers had already moved, he likewise felt a draw into the political sphere when he believed he could do something in a society that needed help.
Speaking with the Chronicle this week, he reflected on the journey that led him to national politics in Scotland.
“I got my first job in Shorts and as the old saying goes ‘yes, my legs were cold working in Shorts’, and I know that’s not even funny,” he quipped. “I stayed there for a couple of years but l had a brother already living in greater Glasgow and for no particular reason I drifted to Scotland.
“I did well; there was plenty of work for someone with a degree in maths and computing and I settled and met and married a woman from the Outer Hebrides, Catriona and we had three children Sean, Robert and Anna in that order.”
The nature of his work gave him the chance to work across the UK and further afield, and he said he began to see ‘issues in society’ that needed to be fixed, and felt a growing sense that he could play a part as one of the fixers.
“Society in Scotland had de- industrialised quite a bit; a lot of people in work suddenly found themselves not in work and it was quite a sudden thing,” he said.
“There was all sorts of change that started to come into society, and for me it seemed just natural to join the SNP; they were gaining momentum and were progressive, so for example if you want to get out of child poverty you have to invest in it.”
It was the outcome of the 2014 independence referendum that sparked many to join the SNP, and marked his entry into politics, joining the local council, East Renfrewshire, in outer Glasgow.
He reflected that his experience growing up in Northern Ireland had provided him with a positive outlook on what could be achieved through politics.
“I think there were seemingly intractable situations in my part of the world but if people put their mind to it, things can change. There’s no magic want but it’s about people having the willingness to move forward,” he said.
“People would not be surprised that I wouldn’t fall out with people I disagree with, and I hope that they are understanding of the fact that people can have different points of view without having to fall out with each other,” he added.
“I will do my best to make people’s lives better,” he said.
Colm’s future life in Scotland is firmly embedded by family, having two grown up sons and a daughter and ‘having the next generation’, with one grandchild thus far. But he still gets home now and then to see the family that remains here, through a number of cousins in the Strangford area.
“I get home as often as I can but not as much as I used to, but Portaferry was such a lovely place to grow up in, in the days when people really looked after each other.
