Unanswered questions

The following extracts are taken from RTEs This Week on Sunday March 25th 2007.

It is an important post because it records the questions asked by a Supreme Court judge, Justice Hardiman, arising from the disgraceful Frank Shortt case.

Mr. Shortt was framed by two policemen and at 59 years of age placed in jail where he served a full term. The policemen in question have never been brought to justice.

The case stands as a permanent indictment on Ireland as a two bit, backward refuge for the incompetent and corrupt for so long as the questions asked by the judge remain unanswered.

JUDGE

“THE WORST FAILURE OF THE JUSTICE AND LEGAL SYSTEM IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATE”

Unexplained and troubling aspects of this case

“He was driven into a state of despair and for a period endured a dark night of the soul. His premises were burnt down by the IRA. He suffered intense feelings of shame and powerlessness, aggravated by his school going children being pilloried as the children of a drug dealer.

When, having served a sentence and suffered all the other consequences he endeavoured to have his conviction declared a miscarriage of justice, he was opposed with further perjured evidence by members of An Garda Siochana, including a superintendent.”

Questions that remain unanswered

These include:

How it came about that Mr. Shortt was returned for trial on serious criminal charges at the suit of the DPP even though it was conceded in the Court of Criminal Appeal that there was then no sufficient case against him on the documents which had been produced.

How, despite this state of affairs Mr. Shortt was offered a semi deal whereby the bulk of the charges would be dropped if he pleaded guilty to a single charge with only minor consequences.

How no alarm bells were set ringing by the sudden transformation of a very weak case into a very strong one by new statements by two members of An Garda Siochana containing material which they had inexplicably said nothing about until shortly before a trial date was fixed.

How, while unjustly imprisoned Mr. Shortt was offered (a deal), including early release if he would drop his appeal.

How a very important allegation of an admission of perjury by one of the Gardai involved from a credible source apparently escaped the attention of senior Gardai and prosecuting authorities for a considerable time. They did nothing about it, but the DPP while unaware of this important evidence nonetheless consented to the conviction being quashed for reasons yet to emerge.

Shiela McMahon, wife of Detective Garda McMahon told the Court of Criminal Appeal. ‘He told me that he had perjured himself in court and that he had done it for Kevin Lennon to help him get promotion.’ She stoutly denied that she was saying it for the first time and maintained in the face of skepticism from counsel and the court that she had given the same information to the Carty inquiry.

The court and the parties to the miscarriage of justice application had been given what was represented to be all the relevant papers from this inquiry and there was no mention either direct or indirect of this very significant allegation being made by Mrs. McMahon. But she appeared absolutely certain in court that she had made this allegation to Carty.

The court specifically asked counsel for the respondent. ‘The question is now a very simple one, is there in any shape or form a signed or unsigned note of mention of perjury by Mr. McMahon?

Counsel for the DPP, who was fully alive to the importance of the matter replied. ‘Not in any material we have from the Carty inquiry.’

The court then asked, is there in any shape or form in any Garda document a note of this lady mentioning the term perjury or words to that effect? Counsel replied. ‘Certainly not that I have or that I am aware of.

Most unfortunately and embarrassingly it transpires that Counsel’s instructions were grossly deficient. Later in the day a separate memorandum of the interview with Mrs. McMahon was found and in the words of the counsel for the state it does mention what the witness said is correct.

(So, the truth was known, according to Justice Hardiman, yet nothing happened)

While the Court of Criminal Appeal found that neither the Garda authorities nor the DPP had deliberately concealed the memorandum the fact that it was forgotten about and never acted upon is gravely disturbing. It should be said that Mrs. McMahon gave the account set out above to the Gardai only two months before the DPP consented to Mr. Shortt’s conviction being quashed.

Nevertheless, counsel for the Director told the Court of Criminal Appeal that her account had not influenced the Directors decision because, though he had received the memorandum, he had not read it at the time he took the decision to consent to the conviction being quashed.

This in turn means that the Director had formed the view that the conviction was unsafe or unsatisfactory on grounds unrelated to the Detective Garda’s confession to perjury. The court has no idea what these grounds were. Apart from that, it is very surprising to say the least that so dramatic an allegation was not followed up. It must surely have been communicated to the very highest levels of An Garda Siochana but nothing was done about it.

The remarkable gravity of the case has now being recognized by all who dealt with it. The learned president described what had happened as ‘an outrageous abuse of power.’ Counsel for the state on the hearing of the appeal said that Mr. Shortt’s case was the worst case of state oppression of a citizen of which the state’s defendants were aware.

The consequences to Mr. Francis Shortt were appalling and cry out for vindication. Even apart from the outrageous damage to that unfortunate man there must be grave public concern at the Gardai conspiracy against an innocent man and the calculated, fluent and plausible perjury which the Gardai engaged in with total indifference to humanity or justice.

He lost all hope and was reduced to a state of despair and at times clinical depression. He was released as a tainted and ruined man with his premises burnt by terrorists reacting to his conviction. Over and above the foregoing but related to some of his sufferings he was stigmatized as a drug criminal who had been caught, he suffered total loss of reputation He was painfully aware that he had few or no friends and that his family were suffering for his supposed misdeeds. In a very literal sense he was deliberately and maliciously degraded.

(When in prison, someone attempted to con him)

Someone in authority, very cynically arranged that he be offered early release in return for an admission of guilt. He was painfully aware that he had few or no friends and that his family was suffering for his supposed misdeeds. Mr. Shortt was stigmatized, imprisoned, suffered the loss of his reputation his business and his ability to provide for his family.

In a very literal sense he was deliberately and maliciously degraded. The outrageousness of what was done, the very long period required to discover it, the failure of An Garda Siochana itself expressly to acknowledge and apologise for the misdeeds of its members render it absolutely necessary to make a substantial award of exemplary damages.

(For too long Garda evidence had been treated in court as virtually unchallengeable)

Like most lawyers of my generation I have not infrequently heard trial judges in cases where there was a conflict of evidence between Gardai and defence witnesses inviting the jury to consider what the Gardai would have to gain by lying thereby putting their careers on the line or some such phrase.

If this case and other like it teach anything it is that it does no favour to an institution like the Gardai to accord their members a special level of presumptive credence. On the contrary, this attitude offers a temptation to unscrupulous Gardai who may assume that most of the time the public, the media, judges and juries will accord credence to the Garda account even if it is in certain ways rather improbable.

This case plainly demonstrates that some Gardai will lie simply to benefit their own careers and lie again; even on oath to avoid the consequences of having told the first set of lies and so on.

It should also be noted that the two Gardai could not have succeeded in their ‘activities’ without, at least, the passive cooperation of many public servants, some at a very senior level.

17 thoughts on “Unanswered questions”

  1. i suppose the only response a person can give to unanswered questions above is more unanswered questions,from someone who has experianced and observed the criminal justice system since 1964 who met shan mohangi and many other murderers while still a teenager,it was the stories u heard that only many years later made some kind of sense ,for instance i cant recall the exactdate but a peggy flynn who had just come back from lourdes {she was supposed to be a prostitute}was found murdered on sandycove beach, by coinscidence i met the person who was on remand in mountjoy accused of this crime he told me that even though he was going to plead guilty he would never go to prison?i was told a lot of other things which i took with a pinch of salt but these other things were confirmed to me by by an m,w, whos then girlfriend was a prostitute as were most of her friends,the person did stand trial was repersented by frank martin who went on to be a judge of the irish courts and as he said he did not go to prison for that ladys murder,thats one example,the other was i been so naeive i asked s,mohangi a personal question about a girls private parts that he couldent stop laughing,likewise when it came to girls of the night at that time i would and was more than green as to their acttivites,its a wonder i am still alive with what i have experianced in my early years,but its the law were on about or the lack of it and justice as we were thought in school and church to beleive in,paul singer anybody rember him?it was him who showed up the irish legal system to be bias against the working classes the majority of whom couldnt read or write he got more prisoners out than any of their lawyers,i think he was first to mention habes corpu etc,etc,i was ten and a half years old when he was first arrested i left school at 12 to go to work i had always worked from a very young age either with my father,or collecting pigfeeding,rags,jamgars,scrap,and a lot of collecting turf and waste paper but all that innoncence changed with my first experiance with the guards {and that grey haired man}looking back over all those years i dont think i was ever once asked for an opinion on anything whatsoever,the only thing that kept me going in life is i was determined not to let the state turn me into something i wasent,and neither would my children be turned into something they werent,and its only now that it can be shown what evil the state can be capable of,maybe its time for another tribunal?slan

  2. 10d.68b.161a.115a.32c.055h.164d.37d.053j.94j.92j.97j.72j.146j.b.cooney. michael regan.thomas clarke.s.t.1969.6 st.kevins parade?niall st j.mc.carthy. brian walsh. c.o dalaigh. anthony hederman. thomas finlay liam hamilton.{seamus henchy}juveniles in adult prisons 1966|7|8|9|70.judges o keefe and darcy.justice o sullivan.sean doherty the dpp.fine gael and one m.kearns relative of r.mc sharry.”if poverty is the mother of crime who then will give you justice?}not the dept.of justice unless emily o reilly gets her way.The right to petition the european parliament?In 1986|7 another government committee was formed it is intersting to see who was on that committee as it was to deal with crime.lawlessness.and vandalism we had one bertie ahern. brian cowen. mary harney.willie o dea possible next min for justice and liam skelly was got rid off?IF they set up any more committees they should get people who have real experiance in dealing with juveniles from working class backgrounds fr.peter mc verry. bond in blancherstown.etc.for instance does michael noonan still think the dpp.office is as ineffective now as he said it was in 1992?Does he still feel it should be scrutinsed?Finally does anybody out there in cyberspace know if judge sean delap will ever write a book on his allegations that the dept.of justice interferes with certain court cases?And who was the mysterious spokeswoman in the dept.who the judge said if she contacts me i will show her what cases the dept.tried to interfer in.HOW MANY DID THEY SUCCEED IN? the public can assure its self whoever the gougers were they most certainly werent from a working class background.the one john lonergan always quotes as{six particular disadvantaged postal areas}EQUALITY.JUSTICE.I DONT THINK SO.slan

  3. whos watching the watchers?file no.92ss.265.277.278.280.289.b18670664 b18840767 a1967 b1668 82ss.113ss.1111373 71573.p.quinn higi ct registrar1980.221970.some say its no use advising the ignorant poor.brian lenihans term of office as min for justice will tell if it is or not.

  4. core values the family the state its agents and hypocrisy?vindictive,malicious,callous official versions of ordinary peoples valid complaints against officialdom and corporate power?and how prevalant is the bribing of civil and public servants?i wonder why it is that of all the gov.departments that have been mentioned in the media over the years that it is the dept.of justice that comes out with the following,”the gardi have put in place a strict regime to prevent {or stop}civil servants and others dealing with asylum seekers from being bribed or offered cash and other inducments for favourable treatment.the dept noted three key issues ,the belief that it is{customary}to bribe officials in public office,or to bestow gifts ,the gardi have been quoted as saying “that certain staff that may suffer from personal problems might be predisposed towards corruption.all staff are now subject to spot checks to ensure theyre complying with proper procedures ,to avoid valuable inside information been exposed?go to whos watching the watchers on this site for more information.slan

  5. i always knew it but now i am convinced more than ever that ireland is run on the “enron”principle,take john purcell comptroller and auditor general, when asked by a visiting foreign official,how many people are in jail as a result of your investigations?his answer “in many cases the public berating of people involved in controversies is punishment enough.”{so georg redmond has nothing to worry about then?}just like the banks and insurance companies,etc.then you have gordan holmes after years of investigating complaints agains the gardi stating he was undermined by garda management because the commissioner of the time dident take his reports seriously and the inability of the organisation to say sorry and apologise for their mistakes,its noticeable in the media that those from castleknock who were wronged were compensated,but if your from tallaght{dean lyons}and other such places your left to swing when it comes to truth and justice”the enron principle”but to be fair when the powers that be get caught in a real crisis which could damage their halo then some gardi can suffer terrible consequences like michael diggins and patrick corless the finger print saga.i also read an article by a member of the gardi from 2005 his case is before the courts at the moment,it was titled “bullies in blue” about bullying by management of a collegue.his story mirrors what i suffered for years so you can imagine if they can crusify some of their own,what chance does an ordinary joe soap have.the causes of crime is complex and varied.i will give an example and let the readers wonder what the hell im on about.larkin quarries is owned by gerald and seamus larkin in a case they took of adverse posseion squatters rights judge harvey kenny held the larkins had established adverse possession in respect of a certain section of the quarry 0.25 hectares,pat kenny is trying the same before judge frank clarke,the travellers were even given due and fair process by been allowed exert their constitutional and european rights,and in england an irish citizen was “advised”of his rights by social services of his rights to adverse possession.now{crime}how many irish citizens were illegally robbed of their rights of adverse possession???another crime imposed on the disadvantaged and percived ignorant class is something called “a nonsense court order”confusion as to what the charges are?my answer to that particular order was how much nonsence does a human being have to put up with before ones complaints are fully investigated?this was before judge devally in court 16 in january 1995.still not resolved.the ironic thing about the guards who crossed my path in most of these cases were promoted some now ass.commissioners?just like those involved in the fingerprint saga, the urlingford saga,the airport saga {herion}joe duffy heard from me in person,gerry ryan was given numerous documents at his clontarf home from me,brian farrell rte,recived documents as well.a judge who sat in essex st courts had a lot of documents left with the sergeant of that court to be given to the judge {he never recived them}terry prone recived documents at her howth home,she been married to someone who was going to be a priest?as i said in some of my posts those who i contacted over these 44 years and who turned a blind eye have a lot to answer for.{22.12.1993}also mr grimes of general accident{14.10.1994}petition to strasbourg no.9243.10.96pocirlijh signed daniela tirelli.all court clerks and many judges heard from me or the clerks did not pass on my correspondence when i gave it to them to do so ,but in the majority of cases i put my documents in the judges chambers.if i was a nutter it wouldnt have been documents would it.?they at this stage can all deny they ever seen my documents of {injustices}but i know for shure as a fact who has got them.bernard allen july 1992.just to quote here art.2.1 statute of the european ombudsman “within the framework of the treaties the ombudsman shall help to uncover maladministration in the activities of the community institutions and bodies,as judge michael patwell once said “i am not going to impose penalties unless there is equality of treatment and equality of laws.i will finish with an open plea to brian lenihan min for justice for transparency,openness,and above all for him and his staff truth,honesty,”accountability.my father is dead just like the ministers,but the minister can today read what the mindset was back in 1967 when his father was minister in the dail debates volume 226 ,1.3.1967.contemplate what was said to deputies o donnell,clinton,and sir anthony esmonde..it is healthy that criticismis vital to the wellbeing of democracy. a good read is the trial of stephen ward 1964.to quote cyril connolly in 1961″the test of a countries justice is not the blunders or mistakes which are sometimes made {but the zeal with which they are put right}so to test the theory i will be looking for redress to a lot of wrongs with the help of supreme court findings in regards to secrecy by the government and the state where chief justice tom finlay,niall mc carthy,said the government could not impose privilege onhigh level state documents ,therby giveing citizens a fighting chance to show a case that a government and its civil servants have acted beyond their powers.mairin quill should know that she it is alleged chaired the first allparty committee on crime june 1991 the first since 1987.slan

  6. as regards bullying and the the dignity of an apology this was refused to garda thomas earley on the false premise that no admission of liability was given on behalf of the state{the people}?so if your been bullied by the lads and lasses in blue dont hold your breath for an apology.which brings me to maurice manning and the watchdog known as the human rights commission in 1999 it was hyped as the new powerful body that could or would tackle members of government?be a statutory independent commission with full legal enforceable powers?it will be able to conduct inquiries and obtain information from any government department that is accused of failing to uphold citizens human and constitutional including european rights.maybe now at this late stage mary robinson could pass my writings to that body and i personally request that commission to request from the dept.of justice a copy of a letter i delivered to that dept on 23.6.1999.ref,1601.i dont expect any kind of preferential treatment{as the only treatment our family ever got was been ignored}which as far as i was concerned sowed seeds of suspecion in {my mind }many many years ago.there are a number of issues regarding court officials that i have been trying to hilight for years so far without success?one had to do with harry hill master in 1991.the other which is only two of many would have involved the protect of drug baron informers by certain paramilitary groupings the courts and whoever else.friends of ex garda john o neill,anybody that has a rudmentry inea of the courts system will know that with applications you have to pay court fees and exercise duty court fees are paid in the form of franks which are stamped on court documents it is alleged that if you have a dispute you can get a refund from the finance directorate,{or contact mr.fitzpatrick 13,1,2003 seprate issue}so in the process of plenary summons which i was processing myself paying the fees stamped 13,2,2001 time 1.22.giveing my application into central office it was returned to me no explanation and never a refund?and most certainly no court case so the public never got to know that a family of five ended up in hospital because of said drug baron informer the particular paramilitary group who backed said drug baron continued to hypocritically represent drug raveged working class areas.and a certain radio personality who was doing a programme on crime some years ago in the ormond hotel got confidential documents from me to show him how the causes of crime really work.but what the heck life goes on those that are not affected dont care ,those that are affected survive in despair.so who is really “watching the watchers”slan

  7. karen leahy is an alleged convicted prostitute”upper class”her father an exprison officer prostituted off the misery of young prisoners while he was in mountjoy and caused untold damage to said young prisoners,maybe thats why brian lenihans father wouldent let a delegation of dail deputies into mountjoy to visit striking farmers in the early 1970s?i hope if ever there is an investigation into the abuse of juveniles in the irish legal system in the 19607080.that it will be entirely independent of the grey haired elite who dominate the dept.of justice and the legal {system}as a whole.one fact is these people dont have a “conscience”they have never been fully accountable as expressed by the late judge kinlen,whos last report i cant wait to read.maybe the jesuit centre for justice can pick up on this and whats on the site”watching the watchers”?slan

  8. scans complete?are the grey men of straw still watching?there is no subtance to these people,they are experts on nothing it would suit them better if they gave their time to philanthropy or even studied the law of philanthropy.then they could go into the neglected inner cities of this country and find out whats really wrong ,how long has it been wrong,and whats going to be done about everything thats wrong in the eyes of the working class communities,is it too late is there truly enough hope left to carry on and who will share their burden and take those that want change out of there isolated existence?if equality and entitlements depends on ones status in society then equality and humanrights are a loss cause in ireland.

  9. lost causes?how or why is it that there is always unprecedented resourses available and allocated to the criminal justice system?the states moral duty and double standards irish style,if files and documents go missing in irish state institutions then you can be shure there is corruption and cover ups going on,what would be offensive in todays so called modern standards regarding “DUE PROCESS”?or contrary to constitutional and human rights,someone once wrote which is worth repeating here.”it is easy to dismiss the underlying causes of hatered when its agents were illeducated,but now as educated muslims resort to terror ,we must ask ourselves why”un quote.the same could be asked of the irish crime scene,and why theres so much violence in modern irish society?who benefits the most,the system does not the victims or{ALLEGED VICTIMS}who controls and runs the system?or put another way who rubber stamps the formalities within the system,how long have they been there and how many of their family generations held the same job?for instance there is a case that was upheld by the human rights commission,this case inderectly involved me and my family,who were put through a lot of unnecessary suffering at the time,i have wrote on this site and the site”WATCHING THE WATCHERS”of just a small amount of christian mass going people i thought would help hilight the wrongs i wrote to them about,{I WAS WRONG}for 40 odd years i wrote to people just like them,they are probably the first to complain today about modern irish dysfunctional society,i watched brian darcy last night talk about his dead collegue fr.clery,and realised looking at ross clery what a fake society we really are ,however the case i refer to regarding the e.c.h.r.is in relation to equality before the law ane{EQUAL PROTECTION}of the law under art.26.1 of the international convention of civil and human rights,case{ccprc71d8191998}4th april 2001.slan

  10. WAS WHAT MAURICE MANNING SAID ABOUT THE ABUSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS BY THE GARDI JUSTIFIED?so where do you start,i will start with the statment of jannette byrne who wrote a book about cancer she said”it is frightening to think that you have to KEEP QUIET or face the possibility of being PUNISHED IN SOME WAY for telling people about your lifes TRUE experiences”unquote.threats,fear, intimidation,deterrents,this is not from drug barrons,gangsters,or low life scumbags,as they are called,it is the hurdles you face if your an {ORDINARY INVISIBLE PERSON]who decides to make a geneuine complaint to the garda complaints board.FERGUS FINLAY said we all have memories of events that stands out as clear as day,even years afterwards{NOT IF YOU GO BEFORE A TRIBUNal}?JOE DIRWIN calls on the IHRC to back up their remarks with concrete examples{CIRCUMSTANTIAL FOR JOE O REILLY]the media wants specific examples,the DPP says he dosent want trial by media{I DONT KNOW WHAT JOE O REILLYS WAS]”COMPARED TO DONNA CLERY?but the truth of the matter is all past complaints should be researched if things are to get better for the gardi and the public.the irish deaf society is the national representative organisation of the deaf,and strives to hilight the societal needs of the deaf through ADVOCACY .SO HERES A SPECIFIC CASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE THAT WAS BRUSHED UNDER THE CARPET,”you must rember that susan denem now supreme court judge once sat on the garda complaints board”A YOUNG PROFOUNDLY DEAF MAN WAS BEATEN TO A PULP WHILE IN GARDA CUSTODY,TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY HE WAS GIVEN HIS RIGHT TO A PHONE CALL}now i dont know how many members of the public who ever heard a profoundly deaf person on a phone”BUT A PERSON DEAF FROM BIRTH FROM RUBELLA”who is in a high state of distress is not a very nice thing to listen too on the other end of the phone or anywhere else for that matter,he still suffers to this day from that beating one of a few he recived,from the so called few bad apples in the gardi.there is good and bad everywhere but those with arbitary powers are the worse espically if they are not checked.CLOSED RANKS ATTITUDE,THE ENRON PRINCIPLE JUST DOSENT WORK,i have written a lot about this abuse and those who seem to hog the headlines “THE VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS”merchants i have yet to meet an honest,trust worthy champion of the voiceless with no strings attached.i look forward to the limerick professors research to be published next month{TO SEE WHAT HE MISSED OR LEFT OUT}slan

  11. hi i spent an hour on indymedia the other evening but because of a cookie my message wouldnt print?so i will ask the question here.is there anybody out there that has ever done research on the “EVILS OF BUREAUCRACY”?including how terms of reference that are thought up to hinder or fail the discovery of truth?to quote judge desmond windle in 1999 who said i will not do things on a nod and wink basis,its been going on far too long in law,politics,EVERYTHING.then some years later you have p,j,stone allegedly saying about michael mc dowells reserves or recruits,that they will be despised and hated when they join the force.?then you have the bullying and intimidation within the force against those who try and do their job honestly and properly and if they become whistle blowers they are finished,tina fowler{donegal}patrick mc mahon{portlaoise}and lots more who were ostracised for speaking out about the abuse of power and wrongdoing.it is alleged that the use of a citizens right to ask a question in the dail is their only form of real redress to wrongdoing by powerful people or bodies?{I WONDER}in 1984 brian lenihan senior asked michaen noonan min.for.justice .about a house that was bugged on the northside of dublin {BY RED TWO TWO}and members in the security of the state,seamus mallon frequented this house at the time.IS THIS STILL GOING ON TODAY?”HAVE THINGS REALLY CHANGED”?i wish to test the water in this regard.a citizen of this state should be allowed express their views,opinions,and lifes experiances without”FEAR”or “DISCRIMINATION” from any quarters.{CORRIB GAS PROTESTERS}as a modern day example.in previous times when brian lenihan was min.for {JUSTICE?}you as a juvenile were trasferred from st,patricks institution to portlaoise prison for “SPEAKING YOUR MIND”then when the farmers spoke their mind and protested ,you were sent from portlaoise to mountjoy prison so the farmers could be imprisoned down the country/on 1751967,seven juveniles were transferred from one hell to another,the prison authorities and the dept.of.justice always said prisioner no.901,was always the ring leader .at least thats the NUMBER they gave him in mountjoy.juveniles were never ever segerated from adult prisoners only during mass.maybe now its time that the presumptive credence thats given to those in posictions of power and authority{PASSIVE PUBLIC SERVANTS}will be properly investigated ,by some honest retired judge who has the same compassion as the late judge kinlen?as i have written else where on these sites its criminal courts for one section of society and tribunals as always for the law makers.if brian lenihan junior has to take up time and energy defending his boss on television …….”WHOS GOING TO TACKLE THE CAUSES OF CRIME”not those who have been in the dept.of justice since the 195060s.slan

  12. whats in the news this week about hypocrisy,rhrtoric,”spiked”news stories,frality,humanity,those that are{FETED}and those that are hated?we will start with donal lynch who says if you live in the “BADLANDS”of dublin ,your interests are not well “REPRESENTED”in politics or the media.unquote cyprian brady says the tribunal is like “A CRIMINAL COURT”?a john meehan wrote a letter to the papers saying,CHILD CARE IS A DISGRACE”he recalls FR>EDWARD FLANAGAN,of boystown fame scathingly condemed childcare in ireland in 1946,stating that irish orphanages,industrail schools,and residential homes were not fit for human habitation and were a disgrace to the nation.GERRY BOLAND,then minster for justice?castigated fr.flanagan and told him to mind his owen business.more than 60 years later two things “REMAIN THE SAME”our treatment of vulnerable people is still a disgrace to the nation and f.f.are still in power.end of letter.now “CONSPIRACY THEORISTS AND COINCIDENCES”jody corcoran writes a piece about humanities and real life stories{THE COLOUR BRUISED PURPLE}is me”MY”colour.he goes on about perception and impressions false ones that is,by the media.he said an impression created regarding celia larkin by the media was in fact her abuser was a single barman “WITH A GRIEVANCE”from many years ago,but thats journalism for you,ITS THE NATURE OF THE BEAST he said.he then goes on to tell his own human life story which is not very dismiler to berties troubles thats before the mahon tribunal.regarding getting a dig out when one was badly needed by a FRIEND,there is talk about the balance of probabilities,making findings of fact in the absence of defnite proof,NOW SO AS SOMEONE LIKE ME DOSENT GET THE IMPRESSION OR PERCEPTION OF HYPOCRISYCOCRANS COLUMN NEXT WEEK”? slan

  13. so we still have the gerry boland frame of mind in 2007?diramuid martin wants a nationwide debate on crime and its causes but public opinion dosent seem to want to know.two women write books,justine delaney wilson writes about high society drug use and dealing,frances cahill writes what is termed the criminal classes,a book about growing up with her father”THE GENERAL” so there is a big debate in the media print and brodcast as to the rights and wrongs of both books.gerry o carroll says about frances cahills book that it is a hate filled rant against the police seen through the rose tinted glasses of his daughter.the people who frequent dail eireann want to know who the minister is that allegedly said not only does he do drugs but a shower of hypocrites he works with also does drugs??so these are just two books about two different “CLASS”of people.{HOPE DIARMUID MARTIN IS A GUEST ON THE LATE LATE WITH FRANCES CAHILL”so in general{NO PUN MEANT}the subject matter is about retribution punishment vs”REHABILITATION”on the one hand the public rightly complain about crime,on the other the public i imagine would like to see an end to whats known as the criminal classes????the media goes on about “UNDERCLASS NORMS”and the wayward notions of detached crime “THEORISTS” they say a {MOVEMENT}has eroded the integrity of the justice systemand common sense punishments that made prisonsof the past “PLACES TO BE FEARED”before i go any further who said”THE BARREL IS CAUSING THE ROT”?charlie flanagan said it is some time now that ex-justice minister mc dowell made a comment that prisons would be drug free,well whoever was the justice minister in 1973 is the one to blame not michael mcdowell.i dont see what p.j.mcevoy had to say getting a lot of attention,WHY.he claims the state is responsible for the 1983 murder of prison officer brian stack?he said it was the general consensus that officer stack became aware of “INFORMATION”the authorities did not want him to be in possession of,an “ANONYMOUS”caller got in touch with liveline and said officer stack was murdered because of the brutal regime in portlaoise prison,he also said stack was responsible for implementing a “POLICY”of systematic “TERROR”in the prison.{THE PRISONS OF THE PAST”was officer stack in cork prison in 1973?who did he mix with when he went around the country refreeing boxing matches.?how many prisoners were badly beaten in the prison in 19607080.?WHO CARES?maybe the jury that sat on the inquest of a mental patient”GARY CONNELL”who recommended that the central mental hospital should regularly undertake “INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL AUDITS”of “ALL PROCEDURES”.mr connell was kicked in the head by a “CARE OFFICER”this happened while been restrained and his hands cuffed behind his back.mr connells home address was the morning star hostel that caters for the homless and dispossed.justice.?slan

  14. who cares anyway?fr joe young in limerick cared there are a few who over the years hilighted the decades of neglect in working class communities by the state and its agents, while they and their cronies lined their pockets as shown by all the present day tribunals,those who ruled in the recent past have left a legacy of corruption and mistrust.it even runs true into the culture of the gardi ,where good guards who do their job{det.garda fergus treanor}was not promoted because he rocked the boat.the kind of garda that judge morris said was needed to over come internal CORRUPTION.its a culture thats prevalent all across the top rung of the ladder in irish society.when it comes to solutions to any problem social or otherwise it for some unknown reason is never implemented properly.brendan kenny has recently discovered how bad the social problems are from the years of social neglect in limerick,he already knew about fatima mansions and st michaels estate in dublin two of many areas neglected over the years.he said about limerick that social issues are frightening and appalling and in his 27 years working in disadvantaged areas it was a grim warning to enact change.there is a unit attached to local councils called social inclusion in the guise of”the community engagement process {SOCIAL JUSTICE?}did this process apply to the people who live in weston gardens rosbrien in limerick?there is a lot of talk about those who are disconnected from the reality of peoples lives who live in places like fatima mansions,north and south innercity,pineview etc.and statments like mr.kenny “years ago there used to be a system if you dident go to school {A GUARD}called to your door “THREATENING”the parents,but that doesnt seem to happen anymore??????i am sorry to say but it seems to me that brendan is one of those who is disconnected from the year 2007,not alone reality just like some of his heavy handed collegues that are still in dublin city council,there is a certain german name for those kind of people.so if the powers that be want to change the landscape of limericks neglected estates as well as some of its occupants behaviour “HE WILL HAVE TO GET TO REALLY KNOW THEM”there was a pensioner found murdered in his “DILAPIDATED”home in cork during the week,it was stated in the media that he was a well liked human being,but looking at his home on the news it showed just how careing irish society is?is it any wonder every type of service is in a mess from the political system down.good luck with your limerick regeneration i hope it dosent end up like the eircom fiasco,those that need and who should be brought on board are last to know and in most cases left behind.dr carson is right the socially excluded speak and write a drifferent language to the professionals and ruleing class.slan

  15. hi happy new year,my old year ended with the usual immoral tactics of officialdoms abuse of power?but the mental distress would be nothing compared to the family of the late probationary garda aonghus”sully”o sullivan,it would appear that what some human beings perceive as trivial,may and do have major effects on others as in the case of mr o sullivan.there was no equality of treatment of this young man and the guard involved in the lucan incident?with the result you get a member of the g.r.a.michael o boyce condemning garda management culture”AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM”they say one thing but mean and do something different?maybe ian paisley got it right when he said “how can we trust them if they dont trust us?its one thing in big organisations to round the wagons,its another thing alltogather not righten a wrong.WHO KNOWS WHAT ABOUT WHO IN THE GARDI?is it power ,money,property,political clout?what ever it is it wasent worth the death of aonghus o sullivan and the pain and anguish his family have to bear.slan

  16. PAIN AND ANGUISH?Yet again it was proven that it will always take an”OUTSIDER”to expose the scum that govern and dictate irish society as in the dr.neary case.[a professional god]But god help irish society when people like Gordon Holmes feel it is appropiate at this time for joint consultation between the department of health ,children justice,equality and law reform to ENSURE those in need of care and treatment will have it readily available.He was referring to irish prisoners,there are all kinds of prisoners in ireland you dont have to be locked up to be defined a prisoner.
    There are families all around the country who have loved ones with certain illnesses who cant get proper help with for instance “bipolar”disorder this is a very destructive disorder that affects everyone who comes in contact with such a person,There is no geneuine practical help for families who have a loved one with this complaint they are left in limbo.If a carer of such a person shows up at the medical professions door and themselves suffering from extreme exhaustion,stress,frustration,the first question they are asked is the patient”SUICIDEAL”and when you say no the family is left to carry on with their UNNECESSARY SUFFERING behind closed doors?And when extreme cases of suicide [which there is plenty off]come into the public domain, the cry goes out how could that have happened or WHY did it happen.Heres a question for the medical profession,do they feel it appropiate or right or even necessary when out of a group of patients who had been togather over a period of time because of their individual condition,and three out of that group commit suicide within months of each other,SHOULD THE REST OF THE GROUP BE GIVEN COU NSELLING?Or medication.I know what the answer to that question should be,just as the midwife knew in the dr.neary scandal.slan

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