Meanwhile, In Limerick

at

ulul2

This morning.

University of Limerick.

Investigative journalist Gemma O’Doherty (top) and Bryan Dobson (above) address the Journalism In Crisis conference.

More as we get it.

Some contributions:

 “The water charges have been mentioned on a regular basis – everyone thinks the media is out to get them. Everyone thinks that particularly in a campaign that the media are not on their side, they’re on the other side. And what I would say is, I don’t accept the characterisation of RTÉ as RTÊ bias, number one, and secondly, if you’re acting as a lobbyist for a cause that I believe in on the left, that’s no more valid, as a journalist, than acting for a cause on the right. Journalists’ challenge is, yes, to comfort the afflicted, but to do that as a journalist.”

Seamus Dooley, National Union of Journalists

“It’s a very dangerous time to be a whistleblower, you do take serious risks… I had to laugh recently at these claims that were made by certain journalists that their lives were at risk. I mean that story, after the shootings at the Airpot hotel in Santry. You know the spin put on that was just so ridiculous, it was laughable. Journalists who work for the guards, their lives are not at danger, journalists who are exposing corruption within the gardaí are putting their lives in danger, and that might sound truly shocking and neurotic to most people here but, believe me, walk in my shoes – that is the truth and we have no support.”

Gemma O’Doherty

More as we get it.

Pics: Olga

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31 thoughts on “Meanwhile, In Limerick

      1. Marian

        Looks like a bishops conference circa 1993.

        What the entitled postgrad journo graduates are really whining about is that there’s no jobs left and no businesses willing to invest in the dinosaur media model (surprise, surprise). There are much more efficient ways of getting through to consumers.

        Plenty of opportunities out there for new ideas, change, leaders and new ways of doing things. The trouble with that moany lot down in Limerick is that they want things to stay the same. They lament the good old days when RTE/Indo/Irish Times had 99% control of the narrative.

        Even the bishops have evolved – they now export wealth and run on-the-ground operations locally. The days of mega-church mono-religion are gone. Though they do still maintain their parishes, daily Masses , hospitals, schools and minister to the faithful. That is their first priority. Even though the church’s mission is the same, the dioceses have cleansed and reshaped themselves. I would say they will come out of the process even stronger than when JPII visited in 1979. There was something unhealthy and almost cult-like about those days. That today’s Celtic Cubs are so dependent on The State and have turned out so bad is not unrelated.

          1. Marian

            Is under 40 still classified as “young” by today’s standards? 1979 was 37 years ago. Put the hipster bicycle away and grow up.

          2. rory

            How do you know he’s a hipster with a bicycle?

            And also, in your larger comment; what details make you think your assumptions are true?

          3. Kieran NYC

            rory – she believes in a god. self-doubt and rationality was murdered a long time ago

          4. My Meaty Member

            Try to understand your own pure hatred and rationalise it rather than delivering boring irrelevant sermons displaying your peasant pig farming mentality. Thanks

  1. Pardon

    “journalists who are exposing corruption within the gardai are putting their lives in danger and that might sounds truly shocking and neurotic to most people here but believe me walk in my shoes that is the truth and we have no support.”
    Neurotic and untrue BUT the self promotion will guarantee publicity for you .

  2. phil

    I think I know what Gemma is talking about , who really decided that Veronica Guerin must die and why?
    One of the major stories she was working on was not ruffling the feathers the Gilligan gang, it was in regard to people who are far more ‘important’ than him ….

    1. rotide

      Anything to back that up at all?

      Or is it just more conspiracy theory nonsense like your mate M below

  3. M

    I agree Phil..

    I think that there is a far more sinister dimension to her murder than people would realise..

      1. M

        Remember when there was that massive drugs bust in Belgium with the cargo destined for Westin aerodrome in Dublin.. then it transpired that there had been about 600 flights into that airport in the previous few years – all of which were illegal as the airport dd not have clearance for international flights… the owner of the airport was a significant figure in/supporter of Fianna Fail… there is much more to the drug business in Ireland than people – who think it is just ‘scumbags’ involved – would think…

        As for the Guerin murder – check out the following:

        Veronica’s known killer never charged

        Charles Bowden was involved in Veronica Guerin’s murder but was never charged.
        By Frank Connolly

        “One of the killers of Veronica Guerin was given immunity from a murder prosecution by the State, even though he had made admissions to the Garda which would have secured his conviction. The man admitted to supplying and priming the gun used in the killing, knowing it would be used for that purpose. He also admitted to seeing the murder weapon after the murder.

        There is evidence that this person, Charles Bowden, actually perpetrated the killing – firing several shots into the head and body of Veronica Guerin as she sat in her car at traffic lights at Newlands Cross outside Dublin on 26 June 1996 just before 1pm.”

        http://saoirse32.dreamwidth.org/2510335.html

        Also here for Fine Gael links to organised crime and the murder..
        http://www.esatclear.ie/~drugsense/news/veronica.html

        1. rory

          Did you look up these links yourself or was the theory on the internet already? (If it’s the latter I’d be interested to know the website.)

          1. M

            The first time I was ever alerted to a ‘different story’ re the Guerin murder was reading an article in the Phoenix magazine about it in 2005/6.

            I couldn’t find the article as the Pheonix archives are not online but when I read that article I knew that there was something very fishy about the case..

            And, low and behold, the person who most likely pulled the trigger became the first ever person in Ireland to go into witness protection… and all the prosecutions against the others fell apart…

            I also thought it was very significant when Dutchy Holland and John Gilligan both offered to take lie detector tests (live on TV) to prove their innocence but were never taken up on it…

            The case stinks of Garda corruption.

  4. Verbatim

    We have a lot to thank journalists for. Look at the Panama Papers scandal that has just come out, 350 journalists knew about this and kept it under wraps until the time was right.

  5. Walter-Ego

    Bryan Dobson runs a course for Government TDs about handling media questions and then interviews the same TDs for the RTE News. You couldn’t make it up.

    1. rory

      That’s interesting. Any more details on the course would be appreciated. (e.g Name, location, cost, content.)

    2. rotide

      Bill O’Herilhy also did this as do a lot of other tv types. It’s called Media Training and isn’t new or exclusive to this country

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