Yesterday’s Sunday Independent

Grace Dyas insisted that Mr Colgan had been made aware of his behaviour. “I believe that he was made aware by several people in his own organisation,” she told Sarah McInerney’s Sunday Show on TV3. “I myself told him that it was inappropriate . . . in the Oak Bar. He was aware, at least on one occasion that I witnessed.

“It’s interesting to use something like political correctness to downplay his behaviour. It was more than politically incorrect. I think it was abusive.”

…Ivana Bacik, the barrister and Labour senator, said she was not satisfied with Mr Colgan’s apology. “There is a great deal of equivocation in the article where he undermines his initial expression of regret by saying his behaviour should not be equated with sexual crimes,” she said on The Week in Politics on RTÉ. “It’s a very grudging and half-hearted apology.”

Colgan was warned his behaviour was inappropriate, director insists (The Timees Ireland edition)

I failed to see – and should have respected – the difference between friends and employees (Michael Colgan, Sunday Independent)

Previously: “I knew It Was Likely I Would Never Work In The Gate Again”

Barbarian At The Gate

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43 thoughts on “Misjudged

        1. The Ghost of Starina

          was wondering when his name would crop up. He seems to prefer his women to be less than half his age, which is no crime in itself but always makes me question a man’s power issues.

        2. Zoella

          Ah I see. I wondered if maybe he too left the Gate because of difficulties with Michael Colgan. Not that I imagine either one of them was slapping the other’s corduroy-clad bum.

    1. rotide

      Are you actually going to advise him if something out are you going to keep on insinuating things on every post today?

  1. Uh huh

    Or all watch the clip of the Late Late show when Sinead O’Connor calls Gaybo out for groping her backstage.

  2. push the button

    This is the worst apology I’ve ever seen

    It wasn’t me – it was them

    look over there

    I thought I was their mate

    FFS

    Thanks though bs for posting the sindo article so that I didn’t have to go looking for it, uggh

    1. Nigel

      You can’t surely be saying that a woman who complains about inappropriate behaviour from a senior male colleague is just looking for attention – as opposed to drawing attention to something – because that’s a pretty atrocious thing to say, and has often been said to shut women up or dismiss them or minimise their complaints.

      1. rotide

        The issue has well and truly been drawn attention to. The Gate have changed their HR procedures. The issue is all over the media.

        Colgan has issued an apology. Obviously saying sorry, understanding the offence he caused and accepting responsibility for it isn’t enough. He doesn’t work there anymore, he’s retired so what exactly is with the continued witch hunt? Again, this is a workplace issue not a criminal issue. If Dyas’ future employment opportunities were in jeopardy maybe it would make sense but that isn’t and has never been the case.

        One of the women involved took and won a suit against the Gate which is the system we have in place to deal with stuff like this. One of the women tried to bring up the issue with management at the Gate and they failed her badly, hopefully this has now been addressed. Dyas was belittled by Colgan publicly in what seems to be the very least of his infractions. She really has the least to worried about of all the people we’ve heard about.

        1. Nigel

          The apology only came out yesterday and the quotes are from discussion of the apology over yesterday and today, why oh why hasn’t this story been snuffed out the instant the man nobly made his half-hearted self-serving non-apology, let’s focus on how one of his victims is getting more attention than she could need or deserve. It’s not a witch hunt. He hasn’t been lain on the ground and a board placed across him and stones heaped on the board until the life was crushed from him. But other than that hasn’t he suffered enough?

        2. IonaLotOfProblems

          It’s the damn womens fault…. I tells ya… and my blood’s fault for evacuating to my nether regions… its everyones fault but ME!

  3. anne

    A what’s a little slap on the ar se here & there & a bit of public humiliation.. we’re all gone a bit PC mad all right.

    Go fupp yourself Colgan you fupping dinosaur. Your apology is a disgrace and you should have been done for assault. You lay a hand on anyone in a sexual manner, without consent, you’re a predator. If you don’t think that makes you a sexual predator and abusive you’re sadly mistaken. What a joker. Disgusting behaviour. Disgusting apology.

      1. push the button

        It is a distressingly bad apology rotide

        what DID you find to commend in it as a matter of interest?

    1. push the button

      I look for those words in Anne’s post above rotide but don’t see them

      Have you access to some secret exclusive content on broadsheet?

  4. LW

    Why are you feeling the need to say things nobody else has to defend your point? You’re going a bit Jimmy Russell now.

    Do you think Dyas has a legitimate grievance with Colgan?

    1. rotide

      The entire thing was started by someone who directly reference the #metoo campaign. Commenters regularly call him a sexual predator which he clearly isn’t and worse.

      People say these things regularly.

      Do I think Grace Dyas personally has a grievance? Yes.
      Do I think her personal grievance is a serious grievance that needs constant social media and blog posts? No.

      1. Nigel

        The metoo campaign has always been about everything from casual everyday harassment and bullying all the way up to rape and perhaps the fact that women see this as all part of the same phenomenon should count for something.

        Since the Colgan story is about years of bullying behaviour with multiple victims it’s about more than one person’s grievance, and since Dyas effectively brought it out into the open she can talk about it as much as she goddamn wants.

      2. LW

        I hadn’t realised the #metoo campaign had such strict terms of reference that it referred solely to rape, I thought it was in reference to sexual harassment.

        You may recall Dyas’ original post referenced Colgan saying “You’ve lost so much weight, I’d almost have sex with you”

        You can look up the relevant act for yourself on irishstatutebook.ie, but I’ll transcribe it here for your convenience:
        Sexual harassment is defined in section 14A(7) of the Employment Equality Act as any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbally or physical conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the person.

        I think it’s fair to say that Dyas has a reasonable grievance under this definition.

        As to your earlier criticism, that “she has the least to be worried about”, what would you suggest? Everyone get together, compile their experiences, rank them in order, and only the most extreme case be aired?

        Just because you’re not personally affected by this story, doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of attention. And of course, you’re under no obligation to read these social media and blog posts, so maybe take your own advice, and stop constantly posting about it

          1. LW

            He was director of the Gate Theatre at the time, she works in theatre. You’re right that she wasn’t employed by him, it is still sexual harassment though. You don’t have to be employing someone to sexually harass them.

            So again, perfectly valid in the context of #metoo, and anyway. Also her raising this originally started the ball rolling which has led to this change in the Gate’s policy, and him making his apology. So I’d argue it’s a good thing she did it at all.

            You don’t think it’s sexual harassment, and that’s your opinion, but your opinion is wrong, that’s simple legal fact.

            I know it’s putting you out that this is getting all this attention, but to paraphrase yourself you’ve the least to be worried about of all the people we’ve heard about

      3. Yep

        She was the first to raise the issue to the public. She will be the go to for comments as it develops.

        Not sure why your playing this rotide. It’s really very simple but you clearly have a grievance about it.

        1. rotide

          I guess it’s annoying me because his apology was pretty unequivocal. He explained the reasons behind his behaviour but didn’t excuse it. He apologised unreservedly and said he’d do it differently if he could. At no point did he blame anyone else but himself.

          As far as I’m concerned people have either not read the apology or are just outrage junkies not willing to let go of the rollercoaster.

          1. Nigel

            Isn’t it funny how you can bully and harass people for years an then you get caught and an apology doesn’t quite seem sufficent set against all the misery and damage he’s caused? Poor guy. There’s a consistent moral calculus at work here where the people who think this is wrong are in the wrong.

  5. nellyb

    Someone here called molestation at work a work issue. Some downgrade of assault. Not every assault leaves skin bruises. I thought it was an axiom everyone knows.

  6. nellyb

    WWN, bless them, sharp as ever:
    http://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2017/11/13/new-template-apology-issued-for-men-accused-of-sexual-harassment/
    “New Template ‘Apology’ Issued For Men Accused Of Sexual Harassment
    “…“This template has been chosen with the aim of stopping someone from creating a statement which is essentially ‘shit, I’m so sorry I was caught, but at the same time, I don’t remember doing any of these things’,” explained someone with a functioning brain, alluding to several statements previously made by celebrities in which they admit that the allegations are true without actually admitting it.
    In place of vague sentences, which stop short of admitting any direct responsibility for anything ranging from lewd comments, groping to the attempted rape of a child, comes simple and brief passages that communicate the acceptance of full responsibility and make no mention of empty talk of ‘seeking help’ or having been ‘going through something’….”

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