The trial of Solidarity TD Paul Murphy and six other men continues in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today.
They deny falsely imprisoning Labour TD, and then Tánaiste, Joan Burton during a water charge protest in Jobstown, Tallaght, Dublin, in November 2014.
Earlier this week, a video clip was shown in the court of footage from the Garda helicopter on that day.
Yesterday, the Irish Examiner reported:
The trial was shown video footage from Garda Air Support at about 2.53pm that day during which a dispatcher could be heard saying the crowd was dispersing.
The dispatcher said they were making good progress and Ms Burton’s car should reach the Tallaght by-pass within 20-30 minutes. There’s no hassle really, said the dispatcher, adding that there had been a bit of pushing when the Garda Public Order Unit arrived.
The video footage, with a timestamp of 15.21, can be watched above.
Readers will note a Garda can be heard saying:
“It’s fairly dispersed. She’s making a good bit of progress. She’s only, only another 100 metres, not even 50 metres, from the Tallaght Bypass. There’s no pushing or shoving or anything. The Public Order Unit moved in there for a minute and there was a bit and they seem to have left them march ahead of their banner like.”
“The Jeep could have went backwards ages ago but [inaudible] did not want to do that. …There’s no hassle really.”
Later
“No, no, [she’s] still not out. Could be another 20 minutes or half an hour anyway.”
Meanwhile…
From this morning’s proceedings…
Via Niamh McDonald
UPDATE:
Vivienne Traynor, of RTÉ, reported on the News At One:
Joan Burton’s being questioned again about an instruction given to her assistant Karen O’Connell while they were allegedly trapped in a Garda car at a water charges protest.
In an audio recording, Ms Burton can be heard telling her assistant she should go on social media and say it was shameful that children in the area were roaming free adn unsupervised.
Defence counsel Michael O’Higgins suggested it was a direction to an employee to use social media to smear the demonstrators, painting them as uncaring and it was a strategic move.
Ms Burton denied it was an instruction and said it was just conversation. She said her assistant was more familiar with social media than she was. She accepted that she was angry with the protesters but said she was not at her most thoughtful or strategic best.
It was put to her that all politicians knew the power of social media to get a story out. Ms Burton said she had reduced her use of it because of the vile comments directed towards female politicians in particular. She said her social media accounts now had to be read and cleaned by people before she reads them.
Listen back in full here
Burton questioned on Garda statement (Isabel Hayes, Irish Examiner)
Previously: Meanwhile, At The Jobstown Trial
