Who’s A Decent Garda?

at

decentgarda

He’s seen it all.

Niamh O’Brien, of Fís Nua, engages in gentle but firm constitutional banter with a measured Sergeant Joe Fallon of the Clare Garda Division “and a representative of Irish Water who chose not to identify himself”.

Old school.

Irish Water standoff in Scarriff (Mark Dunphy, Clare Herald)

Previously: Decent Garda Watch

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39 thoughts on “Who’s A Decent Garda?

  1. gallantman

    Top-tip: Win arguments by attaching the phrase “under the constitution” to every bit of nonsense that comes out of your mouth.

    1. delacaravanio

      Don’t forget bodily integrity.

      All she was missing was maritime law and asking the guard if he was on his oath and we would have hit a ten in the Freeman’s guide to bollocks.

      1. Jock

        Ha I’ve noticed that. Water protestors aways reach for the vulgar when something a bit more restraned might help their cause.

  2. ljr

    does anyone know what she is talking about? is this Freeman of the land stuff? Surely Clare County Council is in charge of public spaces in the area so are within their rights to put in water meters if they want to. and surely she is obstructing the people authorised by the council. I’m not trying to pick a fight, just looking for clarification.

    1. ReproBertie

      She’s talking nonsense. The meters are not illegal. Clare Co Council voting to “abolish Irish Water” has no impact whatsoever. “Bodily integrity” is not mentioned in the constitution. I do not know of any requirement under law to identify onself when using public property.

      Basically she’s a barrack-room lawyer.

      1. Nicolas Roche

        Agree with all of the above, but there is a constitutional right to bodily integrity: while not written in the Constitution, it is an ‘unenumerated right’, the existence of which was inferred from Art.40.3 of the Constitution by Mr. Justice O’Dalaigh in Ryan v AG (1965) during a brief period of judicial activism at that time. The right arose in the context of a case on water fluoridation. Ms Ryan claimed that fluoridation breached her right to bodily integrity. The Judge agreed that such a right existed, but that water fluoridation did not breach it.

        1. delacaravanio

          If Irish Water were spiking the meters with LSD she’d have a point, but they aren’t, so she doesn’t.

      2. Dash Rickwood

        I thought the county council voted to suspend the current water charges in place and not Irish Water. Could be wrong, but I don’t see how some councillors get to undo it all without Kenny and Kelly and the like noticing.

  3. I, Diddley

    Niamh, you are an absolute pain in the hole. Everybody around you knows it but you. That Guard was a nice fella so stop trying to put him down.

  4. Paps

    What is this vigilante crap. Its a public road , they are allowed access as much as any other car / vehicle. These people can’t just police the roads , allowing only people they like to pass , what a Joke.

      1. Paps

        Care to expand?
        You think its ok for citizens to blockade parts of the public road network , defining who gets access?

  5. Joe Joe

    Jaysus, that wan LOVES the sound of her own voice. Have to say fair play to yer man overseeing the works for not loosing it with her – I know I#d have told her what to do.

  6. Atlas

    Can I get a tl;dw on this? I don’t want to waste precious minutes of my life as I did watching the idiots in yesterday’s ‘Decent Garda’ video.

    1. delacaravanio

      No fight, just a load of Freeman of the land bullsh1t. A good indicator as to whether these videos are worth watching is whether they’re shooting video in portrait or landscape mode. If they’re so thick as to not know the correct way to hold a video camera they give their IQs away up front.

  7. DOF

    I’ve never commented on the Irish Water issue and I’m not here to say whether i’m pro or anti Irish Water or pro or anti protest (or even indifferent). I just want to ask what people expect the Gardai to do? Would the protesters like individual Garda to cross over the picket line so to speak or to tell Irish Water to leave the area? I’m living outside of Ireland now but I just text my brother (a Garda) to see if he’s been out to protests with work and to get his personal view on the whole thing. As a guy with a wife, a heavy mortgage and consistent cuts to his pay I’m pretty certain that he isn’t too pleased about a water charge. However, I’m pretty sure he also needs his job and has to do what he is commanded to do. Some of the abuse directed to Gardai in some of the videos posted on BS is shocking (btw I’m not rejecting the fact that some individual Gardai may have to answer questions about heavy handiness). I would just like to know how people view the Gardai in this situation, especially people who have protested personally. Thanks.

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