Author Archives: Bodger

Last night.

Prime Time on RTÉ One.

Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond (top) and conservative commentator John McGuirk, editor of Gript, discuss last Saturday’s anti-lockdown protest in Dublin city centre.

Meanwhile…

Meanwhile…

Alyssa Dooley at Mo’s Irish Pub in Houston, Texas yesterday

Hic.

Last night/this morning.

Via AP:

Texas became the biggest state to lift its mask rule, joining a rapidly growing movement by governors and other leaders across the U.S. to loosen COVID-19 restrictions despite pleas from health officials not to let their guard down yet.

The Lone Star State will also do away with limits on the number of diners who can be served indoors, said Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

The governors of Michigan, Mississippi and Louisiana likewise eased up on bars, restaurants and other businesses Tuesday, as did the mayor of San Francisco.

Texas and other states ease COVID-19 rules despite warnings (AP)

Mo’s Irish Pub?

Pic: AP

The President’s son: Holles Street Gynaecologist Professor Eamonn De Valera Jnr (left) arranged illegal adoptions

Staying in tonight?

RTÉ Investigates examines the story of Ireland’s illegal adoptions and some of the powerful individuals who facilitated trafficking.

Laura Fitzgerald writes:

RTÉ Investigates has uncovered new evidence of the involvement of some of Ireland’s most elite and powerful individuals in repeatedly arranging the illegal adoption of babies.

Among them was the son of a President of Ireland, Professor Eamonn de Valera Junior – a Consultant Gynaecologist at Holles St National Maternity Hospital.

[The Mail on Sunday first broke details of De Valera Jnr’s involvement in 2013]

De Valera Junior arranged antenatal appointments for a woman who was not pregnant in order to facilitate an illegal adoption. This was almost a decade after the Adoption Act 1952 came into force.

Brenda and Brian Lynch were two of four children illegally adopted into the one house over the space of five and a half years. The four adoptions were facilitated by Eamonn de Valera Jr. Their adoptions were concealed as fake pregnancies.

Brian’s adoptive mother went to St Brendan’s Nursing Home on Dublin’s Percy Place on her pretend due date, only to emerge with Brian, the child of an unmarried mother.

Fearing her children would face the stigma of adoption, their adoptive mother never told them the truth. Brenda Lynch:

“No one is above the law, who does this person think that he is? That he can just decide that oh yeah here is a baby, we will take her from her and give her to a good family, middle class. It is incredible.”

The Lynch family were not the only people for whom Prof Eamonn de Valera Junior facilitated illegal adoptions.

Mary Flanagan was born in March 1961 – she never knew she had been adopted. She was told a story as a child about her much-wanted miraculous arrival. In October 2019, Mary’s life was thrown into upheaval when she and her sister Anne were told by TUSLA they and their late brother Seamus were not the biological children of the people they’d always believed to be their parents.

“Prof de Valera was mum’s gynae and he was her gynae for years because of the fact she had so many problems and she went to see him privately, it must have cost her a fortune you know and like we weren’t a wealthy family by any means.”

RTÉ Investigates: Ireland’s Illegal Adoptions at 9.35pm on RTÉ One.

Previously: The Ireland That We Dreamed Of

Pic: UCD

Last night.

After a third woman came forward to accuse his brother, New York governor Andrew Cuomo, of inappropriate sexual behavior, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo the host of “Cuomo Prime Time” and known as Fredo after the doomed brother in The Godfather, told his viewers:

“Obviously I am aware of what’s going on with my brother, and obviously I cannot cover it, because he is my brother.”

“Now, of course CNN has to cover it. They have covered it extensively and they will continue to do so.”

“I have always cared very deeply about these issues and profoundly so. There’s a lot of news going on that matters also, so let’s get after that.”

Chris Cuomo blasted by journalists for refusing to cover brother’s scandals (New York Post)

What allegations does Andrew Cuomo face and could they bring him down? (The Guardian)

Meanwhile…

…New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration hired a defense attorney to represent the governor and his closest aides in an investigation probing COVID-19 nursing home deaths during the pandemic.

Defense attorney Elkan Abramowitz, a former federal prosecutor, confirmed to The Hill on Monday that he was representing the “Executive Chamber” as the state endures three probes into how it handled reporting coronavirus deaths in nursing homes.

….New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) published a report determining the state should not have excluded the number of residents who died after being taken to hospitals from the nursing home death toll. The change in classification put the number of nursing home deaths at 15,000 from 8,500 as recently as late January.

Cuomo administration hires defense attorney for nursing home probe (The Hill)

From top: Belvedere College, Dublin 1; Clongowes Wood College

This afternoon.

A priest who abused students at Belvedere College has been publicly named by the Jesuit order as Fr Joseph Marmion.

The order has also revealed in a statement that Marmion, who also taught at Clongows Wood College, was moved on to head up chaplaincy at St Vincent’s Private Hospital after allegations of sexual abuse against him first surfaced…

…In 1977 the Jesuits received information from parents alleging sexual abuse at Belvedere College. “In consequence, a decision was taken that Joseph Marmion be removed from the staff in Belvedere with effect from the end of the academic year 1977/1978,” they said.

Fr Marmion “then spent a year on sabbatical in Paris with the Jesuit Community Saint François Xavier. He was then assigned to the Gardiner Street Jesuit Community. In 1990 he was appointed Chaplain to St. Vincent’s Private Hospital. We recognise that these subsequent appointments should not have been made.”

The statement continued that “while this particular communication relates to abuse that occurred in Belvedere College, Joseph Marmion also taught in Crescent College Limerick and Clongowes Wood College. Every effort will be made to communicate this information to former students in all schools”.

Priest ‘sexually and physically’ abused boys at Belvedere College in 1970s (Irish Times)

Priest who abused pupils at Belvedere College is named by Jesuit order as Fr Joseph Marmion (Independent.ie)

Pic: Wikipedia

1. What studies have been completed showing the effectiveness of face coverings on young children against the spread of SARS-CoV-2?

2. What studies have been completed showing the long-term mental and physical health impacts on young children after prolonged face covering usage?

3. What medical assessments will be completed of each child to rule out any undiagnosed medical, heart or respiratory conditions prior to a face covering mandate?

4. What medical-grade face coverings would be supplied by the government that are regulated for use on young children (CE marked, certificate of sterility, material certification and equivalency of use when compared to cited studies on effectiveness and prolonged health impacts)?

5. What supplier controls would be in-place (validations, risk assessments, audits, testing and approvals) to ensure consistency in face covering performance and safety?

6. What training and instruction will be provided to teachers so that they can monitor face covering usage and ensure its inline with the recommended usage per the cited studies on effectiveness and prolonged health impacts?

7. What risk assessments have been completed to assess the specific risks associated with young children wearing face masks in school environments?

8. What are the risks identified and what control measures are in-place to reduce these risks to an acceptable level?

9. Who is liable for any damages as a result of a child wearing a face covering?

Unless satisfactory answers are provided for each of these questions Nphet and the government have no right to suggest face coverings for children.

All of the above should also be applied to secondary school children. As parents it is our duty to ensure their safety and protection.

Even if answers are provided every parent and child should have the right to say no based on medical, religious or other reasons….

Anyone?/FIGHT!

Nphet to consider wearing of masks for primary school children (Independent.ie)

RollingNews

Meanwhile…

Damn you, Big Mask.

 

Gemma O’Doherty and John Waters at the Four Courts last month

This afternoon.

An appeal by Gemma O’Doherty and John Waters to allow them to challenge the constitutionality of laws introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been dismissed by a three-judge Court of Appeal, comprised of the President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham, Ms Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Caroline Costello.

Gemma O’Doherty and John Waters lose appeal over Covid-19 restrictions (Irish Examiner)

RollingNews

The Central Bank has announced it has fined J&E Davy over €4 million for regulatory breaches arising from personal account dealing

Via RTÉ:

The Central Bank has fined stockbroker Davy €4.13m, the biggest fine of its kind in Ireland. for breaching market rules…

Via RTÉ:

What the Central Bank calls a “consortium” of 16 Davy employees, including a group of senior executives, bought bonds from a client at an agreed price.

But the client was not made aware that the consortium was made up of Davy employees.

This, the Central Bank says, created a “conflict of interest”.

The Central Bank said that in permitting the transaction to go ahead, Davy had acted “in a reckless manner”.

Central Bank fines Davy €4.1m for breaching market rules (RTÉ)

RollingNews