Tag Archives: Anthony Flynn

From top: Anthony Flynn; Oonagh Smyth and ‘John’

Last night.

On RTÉ One’s Prime Time.

John, not his real name, told reporter Oonagh Smyth (top) that he was raped by the late CEO of Inner City Helping Homeless Anthony Flynn.

John’s identity was protected and his words were spoken by an actor. Before John told his story, Ms Smyth explained that many people across Dublin don’t believe him or the three other people who have claimed they were assaulted by Mr Flynn.

She reported that the situation has led to negative commentary towards the survivors and, in one case, one man had to be moved from their homeless accommodation.

John told the programme that he first approached Mr Flynn when he was facing eviction. At the time he had just lost his job, before the pandemic, and was in significant arrears.

He told Prime Time:

“I was in a bad way when I met Anthony. I was in a bad state after losing my job. I was on antidepressants. I was vulnerable. I wasn’t myself at the time. When I contacted him, I thought he was a saviour. I thought he was a person who was going to help me out, like. I actually sent him a message on Facebook messenger and explained my situation at the time. He told me, ‘I’ll meet ya’.

“So I asked him, like, ‘can I come to your office?’. He said, ‘no, no, no, I’ll send you a message after work’. Yeah, that’s when he sent me a message and told me I should go to his house and that he was going to send me a taxi from my home to his place which he did send me a taxi that night.

“And I went straight to his house. And then he offered me a drink. And then, I just don’t know what happened after the drink. I woke up in the middle of the night as well and he came over and yeah, he did what he did when I was there, still when I was alert, it just happened all night.

“That first night, he sexually molested me.”

Ms Smyth told the programme:

“John says he was held against his will at Anthony’s home over two nights. He says he felt the effect of a drug and was out of it. On the second night, he alleges he and another man were assaulted.”

John continued:

“He just raped me that night again, with the young guy as well who was there and we were locked there again, me and that young guy. He did hit me and I remember he did hit me. In the end I just became submissive and did whatever he wanted me to do.”

Ms Smyth reported that John returned to Mr Flynn’s home two more times – once when he was sexually assaulted again and another time when Mr Flynn took his phone from him.

She added:

“Asked what made him return, John says it was a combination of desperation and fear. Yet the effects of the assaults were profound.”

John said:

“Since then I ended up in a bad situation myself. My mental health, I just had a mental breakdown. I remember I stayed in my house for nearly three months and I never came out. I just stayed in the dark, switched off the lights, pulled down the blinds. It’s something I’m still struggling with you know.”

Ms Smyth reported that John said Mr Flynn told him he knew “numerous” gardai and felt that if he reported what happened, he would not be believed.

But John reported what happened weeks after Mr Flynn’s death by suicide in August.

John said:

“It’s a fear of people knowing it’s me; that was the biggest fear until now. Even when I went to do the statement, that time with the guards, it took me a lot of courage, a lot of courage to go there. I remember when I walked out of Store Street Garda Station, I looked around me, to see if anyone had seen me going in there.”

John has tried to take his life twice. He told the programme:

“I just crashed, I swear to God. Yeah, it’s just the fear. I don’t know what is going to happen, like.”

“My motive [to speaking out now] is kind of hoping to help other victims out there get the courage and also it’s about creating awareness about what happened. The biggest thing for myself is getting the support from it all as well because my mental health is not that great. It crashes on a daily basis, that’s the main thing.”

In regards to negative comments about John and the other three people who have come forward, John said:

“There is no understanding because they knew Anthony in a different way. I don’t blame them because that’s not what they knew. Anthony portrayed himself as a saviour or a fighter for the deprived in this society, I saw the dark side.”

Watch back in full here.

Previously: Dissolution

RollingNews

Meanwhile…

The Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) has called for the dissolution of the Inner City Helping Homeless charity following allegations of sexual abuse against its late founder Anthony Flynn (above)

This afternoon.

Via RTÉ News:

In a statement, the DRHE called for more vetting for those working unofficially with the homeless.

“The DRHE is strongly of the view that greater regulation, vetting, and scrutiny is required for organisations/charities that set themselves up as service providers for homeless persons, including the provision of on-street food services.

“Several such organisations not funded by the DRHE have come into existence in recent years and the DRHE and our partner agencies will be endeavouring in the coming months to bring the necessary expanded scrutiny and regulation to all such organisations.”

The statement added that the Inner City Helping Homeless charity was not funded by the DRHE.

Inner City Helping Homeless gave two weeks’ notice on Monday to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement and the Charities Regulator that it intended to ask the High Court to appoint an inspector.

It is understood that there is at least €750,000 in bank accounts connected to the charity.

Homeless authority calls for charity to be wound up (RTÉ)

Yesterday: Winding Up

Rollingnews

Last night.

Prime Time on RTÉ One.

Details were revealed of a document sent to members of Inner City Helping Homeless (ICCH) which details four serious allegations of abuse made against the former CEO and Dublin City Councillor, Anthony Flynn (above), who died in August.

Via RTÉ:

Written by David Hall, the former chairman of the charity, the document outlines a series of allegations of sexual abuse that were being investigated by Gardaí earlier this year.

The first two incidents occurred in May.

“One involved a 21-year-old male (classified by Gardai as extremely vulnerable) in May 2021 being brought by taxi at 2.30am to the CEO’s home where [he] stayed the night,” the report says.

“[He] presented to an adult emergency department the following day and was transferred to the sexual assault unit. [He] made an allegation to the Gardai when [he] arrived at the Sexual Assault Unit. The Gardaí believed the ICHH taxi account was used.”

Less than two weeks later, a separate alleged incident of a similar nature involving a different man was also reported to Gardaí.

“13 days later a party related to an ICHH Client was collected by taxi and brought to the CEO’s home. That night or the next morning an allegation was made to Gardai of sexual assault.”

A third alleged victim reported to the charity on August 26th that he had been sexually assaulted by Mr Flynn, though a date for the alleged attack is not given.

The man, who was homeless, had been “accommodated by the CEO in accommodation provided by ICHH,” the report states.

“While being accommodated by ICHH the CEO sent texts asking this person for sex. It was alleged the CEO sexually assaulted this person,” the report states. It was also alleged Mr Flynn “transferred a specific amount of money to this person to buy cocaine,” it said.

The document, which was obtained by Prime Time, also states that Gardaí told Mr Hall that its investigation went further again.

“Gardai indicated they had met with some men, who were known to Gardai, where taxis had collected them and Gardai were working through 97 taxi journeys. These journeys had been paid for by the charity.”

A total of four alleged survivors are referenced in the report.

Watch back here

Allegations made against former CEO of homeless charity (RTÉ)

Late charity chief allegedly assaulted men for whom he secured housing, report says (Irish Times)

Meanwhile…

Rollingnews

Meanwhile…

Anthony Flynn in 2017

Last night.

Anthony Flynn, who was under suspension from the homeless charity he co-founded, was found dead at his home in Dublin’s East Wall yesterday.

Mr Flynn, 35, helped set up Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH) in 2013, becoming its chief executive in 2019, and was a serving independent councillor on Dublin City Council.

He was suspended by the charity following allegations of sexual misconduct, although, gardai say, he was not arrested or formally questioned.

Founder of homeless charity dies in tragic circumstances (Irish Examiner)

Councillor Anthony Flynn who died in suspected suicide was facing probe into alleged sex assault (Independent.ie)

RollingNews

This afternoon.

Dublin City Councillor and CEO of Inner City Helping Homeless Anthony Flynn tweetz:

“Society is failing our elderly!!!!

This morning we have been called to a lady who slept in the rain last night. The lady was soaked to the bone, is in her late 60s, suffering with dementia. She has been transported to hospital.

Thanks to the gardai and ambulance services.”

Meanwhile…

Met Éireann have forecast that temperatures could drop to -4C tomorrow night and Saturday night.

Earlier: Sad Café

“The Woman’s Body Was Found In Her Room”

This morning.

Outside Custom House.

Where an “emergency housing summit” is taking place in which the Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy will meet CEOs of the local authorities across Ireland and their housing personnel.

And further to the Department of Housing releasing figures yesterday which show 8,160 homeless people – more than a third of whom are children – were living in emergency accommodation in the last week of July.

Anthony Flynn, of Inner City Helping Homeless, a voluntary group which has been helping homeless people in Dublin for the past four years, confronted Mr Murphy.

From their exchange:

Anthony Flynn: “We’ve looked for several meetings with you.”

Eoghan Murphy: “We have a huge amount of people…”

Talk over each other

Flynn: “We understand that. But ou’re bringing the CEOs in here today. The people who are actually on the ground, doing the work on a nightly basis, that are looking at these people that are dying on our streets. We’ve had five deaths in less than a week and your office has failed to communicate to us, with regard to…hang on, let me finish.”

Murphy: “Yeah, sorry.”

Flynn: “Not only the work that we’re doing for the last four years on the streets but the My Name Is campaign has travelled this country in regards to child homelessness and the unprecedented levels of child homelessness that are happening at the moment. And yet we haven’t had the respect of a reply from your office.”

“Your predecessor Simon Coveney would meet me in the Gresham Hotel on a weekly basis to discuss issues in regards to homelessness, yet your office couldn’t do that.”

“Now we’re here today, you’re calling in the CEOs of the local council. We’ve heard from the Housing SPC chair that the council haven’t got the money to build, that your department is not releasing that money to build housing, ok.”

“Now social housing can’t be built because the CEOs haven’t got a mandate because they haven’t got money.”

“So if they haven’t got the money, how are they expected to build. This meeting today could be a waste of time in our opinion if the CEOs are not being given the money from your department.”

“Your department have consistently relied on the voluntary housing bodies, the voluntary housing bodies to build and look for money from Europe to build because your department doesn’t want to have to take that money.”

“Or Paschal Donoghue doesn’t want to have to take that money down because it affects your GDP and it affects the market.”

Murphy: “Can I respond? There’s not a problem with funding at all. This year we’re going to build four times as many social houses that we built in 2015 and we have more money to re-prioritise that into social housing as well.

“The local authorities have to work with the housing bodies to actually build new houses and that’s what we want to do. Hold on, I’m here talking to you now and I’ll talk to anyone about the issue but I’m working on this every day.”

“It’s a top priority for the Government and you need to understand that.”

“The reason the local authority chiefs are coming in today is because I’m funding them directly and they’re directly responsible to me. We’re building social housing and dealing with this crisis and that’s what we’re talking about today.”

Previously: How Many?

Via Sean Defoe

UPDATE:

How many is that exactly?

Oh.

Via NAMAwinelake

Meanwhile…

Inside the summit…

And outside…

Sean Defoe tweetz:

And the award for best prop at a photocall goes to Paul Murphy and Solidarity’s elephant in the room about homelessness.

Pics via Sean Defoe

Last night.

Eight homeless adults and seven homeless children slept at Lynam’s Hotel on O’Connell Street, Dublin.

The building is currently being turned into a so-called family hub.

Yesterday, Anthony Flynn, of Inner City Helping Homlessness, wrote:

Spent the day at Lynam’s whilst in and out of scheduled meetings, [today] will engage with the HSA and Tulsa, alongside Dublin Fire Brigade, in order continue to make sure that this site is not used for family or any other type of habitation.

The pictures tell a story look at the fire panel, would you let your children sleep here? Locks on fire doors, this is a total disgrace. My question is, who authorised its use?

Meanwhile…

Anyone?

Homeless Families Housed In Building ‘Without Fire Cert’ (98FM)

Why do so many homeless hostels only open at night? (Laoise Neylon, Dublin Inquirer)

 

Anthony Flynn, of Inner City Helping Homeless, and new figures from the Department of Housing

Last night.

Just before the Fine Gael leadership debate in the Red Cow Inn, Dublin.

During which contender and Minister for Housing Simon Coveney said the party needs to represent both “the man in a sleeping bag on Grafton Street tonight as well as the man creating 1,000 jobs”.

The latest homelessness report, for the week April 24-April 30, 2017 from the Department of Housing was released, showing that the number of people who are homeless has reached a new record high of 7,680 – 4972 adults and 2,708 children.

The figure surpassed 7,000 for the first time ever in December 2016.

Further to this…

Last night.

Anthony Flynn, of Inner City Helping Homeless, wrote:

The last number of days have been fairly chaotic when it comes to homelessness. Tuesday in particular, we saw the highest ever recorded number of rough sleepers and a drastic situation of no hotel/B&B accommodation for 12 families.

This led to a frenzy of supports required to be put in place and services increased to cope with demand. A number of families were referred to Garda stations as there was nowhere else to go. One such family had to be accommodated within our offices until supports could be put in place Wednesday morning. Some of those that were affected slept in tents others in cars.

How did we come to this situation?

A lack of short to medium-term planning is the best answer I can give. A complete lack of inter-agency communication and a lack of will from the powers-that-be. The eye has been taken off the ball in regard to homelessness and the long-term planning aspect has left short-term problems. Homelessness has become a crisis right across the State but hasn’t been treated as such. Our volunteers deal with thousands of individuals weekly, many of whom have become lost in a system of ‘no hope’.

I have spent the last four years in a voluntary position within Inner City Helping Homeless; I have met an abundance of people, from homeless to colleagues. I have made some great friends and am privileged to lead an organisation that shows empathy, compassion and is made up of decent human beings.

This week however, I can say that it has been the worst week I have seen within the homeless sector. Up to 30 children refused accommodation, whilst those who are charged with solving our homeless crisis enjoy their evening off.

Families sent from pillar to post in order to be left with no hope, no accommodation and no home. Homeless has become an epidemic, a plague that has spread so wide across our city and state.

Homelessness has become a business, a sector, it cost in excess of €100million a year to operate. To some that means profit, which in turn means that homelessness will remain.
This however should not take away from our responsibilities, people are suffering.

Children are being now left on the streets, a prediction that Father Peter McVerry made only a year ago. Homelessness has become socially acceptable. It has become tolerable to pass somebody by in a doorway, it has become bearable to leave families stuck in hotels, and now, this week, it has become justifiable to leave children without a bed.

Inner City Helping Homeless