Author Archives: Bodger

Gardaí have removed four housing activists who were occupying the council chamber at Cork City Hall.

The group who began their occupation at 11am this morning are calling on Cork City Council to declare a National Emergency on housing and homelessness and also to write to the Government requesting that a National Emergency Committee be established to deal with it.

A public protest will take place outside City Hall this evening at 5pm.

Update: Gardaí remove four housing activists occupying Cork City Hall (irish Examiner)

Presidential hopeful Peter Casey

At a special meeting last month, Fine Gael councillor Michael Sheahan seconded Mr Casey’s nomination after being proposed by Fianna Fail’s member in Newcastle West Michael Collins.

Asked if he would have seconded him had he known Mr Casey’s views on Irish Travellers, Cllr Sheahan said: “No, simple as that”.

…Solidarity councillor Cian Prendiville, who did not nominate a candidate and abstained in the vote, said:

“I think all those councillors, particularly those in Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil need to come out and nail their colours to the mast and say this is not acceptable. What he is trying to do is whip up hatred, fear and prejudice.”

Calls for Limerick councillors to explain Peter Casey nomination after ‘racist’ comments (Nick Rabbitte, Limerick Leader)

Earlier: A Limerick A Day

Rollingnews

From top: Taoiseach leo Varadkar and Minister for Children Katherine Zappone; The site of the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway

This evening.

At 7.30pm.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the Minister for Children Katherine Zappone will meet with a representative of the Tuam Home Survivors’ Network in Government Buildings.

Ahead of this meeting, the network writes:

Birth and death certificates for the former Tuam Home number 1,101 births, within the home, and 796 deaths, within the home. Of those recorded as dying within the home, slightly in excess of 79% failed to reach the age of one year.

The graveyard records of Galway County Council disclose burial places for just two of those children. Despite the previous knowledge of both Galway County Council and the Bon Secours Order, the presence of large numbers of infant remains was finally confirmed by an exploratory dig at the Tuam site in October 2016.

It further confirmed that the resting place of those remains had, for some decades, served as repository for sewerage.

That partial excavation confirmed what was already reasonably believed – that a large number at least of the children who had died as inmates of the home, for whom no burial records exist, lie with the remains of that sewerage system.

In a functioning civil society, the local coroner would have convened an inquest without delay into such a mass grave of children who had been jointly in the care of the State and the Bon Secours Order.

Two years after the discovery of those remains, the local Coroner has failed in his statutory duty and two Attorneys General have failed to nominate a replacement coroner, which in all the circumstances, they are clearly obliged to do under section 24 of the Coroners Act.

Instead the children of Tuam and their families have been subjected to another two years of obfuscation and deceit.

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs continues to hold the position that Government has the power to decide the future of the Tuam site.

If either she or Government has, at any time, received advice from the office of the Attorney General that Government has such powers, they should publish that advice now.

The Tuam Home Survivors Network does not believe that any such advice exists, but if it does, it is clearly very bad advice.

The only acceptable outcome in the matter of the Tuam mass grave is the immediate convening of an inquest into the deaths of all the children recorded as dying within it, for whom no burial record exists.

This requires a complete forensic exhumation, together with use of all resources required, to complete the most extensive DNA database possible and post-mortems to determine, wherever possible, the cause of each death.

The removal of the children of Tuam from one mass grave to a different mass grave is unacceptable and any attempt to impose anything so disrespectful will be resisted by all lawful means.

The Position of the Tuam Home Survivors Network in agreeing to meet Government members on Monday 22nd October 2018 (Tuam Home Survivors Network)

Thanks Kevin Higgins

Rollingnews

Miggeldy’s latest promo video.

He fixed the road saved the world.

FIGHT!

Previously: ‘I’m Not Entitled To Have An Opinion As President’

Meanwhile…

Gulp.

Fergus Keane, of FRO Films, writes:

“The dull presidential campaign has been electrified with the launch of a new candidate last weekend, keen to unseat the incumbent and start a new truly national conversation. Vote O’Reilly this Friday.”

Previously: The Break-Up

David McCourt, left, and Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection Pat Breen

Yesterday.

In the Sunday Business Post.

Hugh O’Connell reported:

Fine Gael junior minister Pat Breen held a number of previously unreported meetings with David McCourt who is heading up the last remaining bid for the National Broadband Plan (NBP), The Sunday Business Post can disclose.

Breen met McCourt on three occasions in 2016 including at a breakfast meeting in the Merrion Hotel.

The Minister of State with responsibility for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection has also visited McCourt at his home in Co Clare on several occasions “in a private capacity” over the last two years.

Meanwhile…

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy

This morning…

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy lodged an official complaint with the Ceann Comhairle’s office, claiming Mr Breen refused to answer, within the specified timeframe, a parliamentary question she had asked regarding his engagements with David McCourt and bidders in the National Broadband Plan process.

Ms Murphy claims her question should have been replied to by Thursday evening last (October 18) but it wasn’t, while he separately provided answers to a journalist.

Ms Murphy said:

“The parliamentary questions process is a vitally important one and that it might be circumvented in any way is a cause of grave concern.

“It is exceptionally unusual for a PQ not to be replied to within the specified timeframe and for me to then see that the same Minister has spoken with a journalist on the topic whilst neglecting his duties under the parliamentary questions process is hugely frustrating.

“I have lodged a formal complaint with the Ceann Comhairle regarding Minister Breen and his Department’s actions in this regard and I await a reply. It is vital that the PQ process is respected by all Ministers and Departments no matter how unsavoury the answer they have to give might be for them personally.”

Breen had three more meetings with final broadband bidder McCourt (Hugh O’Connell, Sunday Business Post)

Previously: Courting David

Evamore (featuring Sinéad O’Connor) – One More Yard

Emma Harney writes:

On November 2, the ‘One More Yard’ EP will be released on Evamore Records, as part of the Evamore project, which chronicles the sacrifice of young World War One soldiers and also aims to raise awareness of today’s war on cancer.

‘One More Yard’ is inspired by the letters home from a young Irish soldier killed at Flanders. The track’s lead vocals come courtesy of Sinéad O’Connor with supporting vocals by Imelda May. Ronnie Wood plays guitar on the track, with Nick Mason on drums.

The full ‘Evamore’ EP, includes a prologue section featuring haunting instrumentation from the iconic producer Brian Eno, with spoken word from acclaimed actor Cillian Murphy as he reads extracts of letters written by Lieutenant Michael Thomas Wall from the Royal Irish Regiment, to his mother in Dublin.

In his letters, Michael wrote: “Nothing was spared, nothing – and when done there was not one more yard left”.

One More Yard (Evamore)

This morning.

Townsend Street, Dublin 1.

The launch of Dublin Fire Brigade’s Halloween Fire Safety Campaign in Dublin Fire Brigade HQ involving a disfigured clown mannequin and some intensely loud banger and firework action.

Top, from left: Nial Ring, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Amy Bayley and Hugo Mc Glynn –  6th class students from Holy Family School in Swords –  and Fireman Tom Keegan.

Rollingnews

Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison

“To the children we failed, sorry.

To the parents whose trust was betrayed and who have struggled to pick up the pieces, sorry.

To the whistleblowers, who we did not listen to, sorry.

To the spouses, partners, wives, husbands, children, who have dealt with the consequences of the abuse, cover-ups and obstruction, sorry.

To generations past and present, sorry,

We are sorry. Sorry you are not protected,. Sorry you are not listened to.

We are sorry for refusing to trust the words of children, for not believing you.

As we say sorry, we also say we believe you.”

Australia’s prime Minister Scott Morrison, (top) delivered to a gathering of victims in Canberra, the nation’s capital.

‘We Say Sorry’: Australia Formally Apologizes to Victims of Child Sexual Abuse (New York Times)

‘A sorry that dare not ask for forgiveness’: Scott Morrison delivers apology to survivors of sexual abuse (Sydney Morning Herald)

Pic: Reuters

From left: Conor Brady; Judge Peter Charleton

During the Disclosures Tribunal, Judge Peter Charleton repeatedly called out for any journalists, or anyone else, with any knowledge of any smear campaign against Sgt Maurice McCabe to come forward and make it known to the tribunal.

The judge made a specific appeal after editor of The Irish Mirror John Kierans gave evidence, and told how it was his understanding that former Garda Press Officer Supt Dave Taylor had “peddled” the story about Sgt McCabe and Ms D to various newsrooms in Dublin in early 2014.

Judge Charleton said:

“I would be grateful if the message would go forth through whatever media are present in the room, there is actually a duty on people who actually know something about this to come forward.

“I made that plea back in February 2017, and here is yet another variation of people not coming forward, perhaps, perhaps suppressing matters, here is a view being expressed in relation to a situation where an individual has completely waived their privilege.

“If people say they have a privilege but they know something, I would much rather know that, than for them to simply, if it is the case, sit in their office blocks and not come to the Tribunal and not communicate. There is a website. You can communicate. There is a phone line. It is manned. It will be manned indeed all day on Saturday.

“This matter is coming close to an end. And I regard it as not a legal obligation, but much, much more serious than that: a patriotic obligation of people who know something to come forward so that the people of Ireland aren’t left in the daft situation that people who know things in the journalistic profession have not come forward to speak, but, nonetheless, will be able to write articles about what happened to them in the aftermath of the Tribunal report appearing.

“Now, in the event that that happens, the people of Ireland will no doubt take their own view as to the credibility of the persons who do that and that may indeed cause damage to the media outlets who may be involved in this, and I don’t know if they are or not, much worse than any libel action on earth; in other words, people simply stop trusting journalists.

“And it is important that they do, because journalists fulfil an extremely important function within our society and one which personally I value very highly.”

Meanwhile…

In yesterday’s The Sunday Times…

Former Garda Ombudsman Conor Brady, in an opinion piece about An Garda Síochána, wrote:

Many gardai passed on the word to whoever would listen that McCabe was a “bad one”. A businessman friend of mine was told this by a superintendent on the golf course.

One senior official solemnly assured me, in the company of others, that there was a “whole other side” to McCabe.

Mr Brady did not appear as a witness at the Disclosures Tribunal.

Conor Brady: The Maurice McCabe saga goes beyond a morality tale (The Sunday Times)

Earlier: Bryan Wall: Vinidcation At The Expense Of Justice