Category: Media coverage

Anti Sinn Fein campaign: The penny begins to drop

Irish Independent journalist Eamon Delaney used most of his 900 word article on the visit of Prince Charles to say something that can be summed up in the following sentence.

Sinn Fein made a political mistake in not meeting the Queen when she visited Ireland in 2011.

But Delaney did make a reference, even if only very obliqulely, to the massive elephant in the room – the ongoing anti-Sinn Fein propaganda campaign by the establishment parties and their many media supporters.

And it is strange that the main political parties here were reportedly opposed to such a meeting, (Adams meeting Prince Charles) given that four years ago they would have dragged Adams up the carpet to meet the queen.

Let us hope that the electoral threat of Sinn Féin has not made our political parties think only of themselves these days and not of the overall good of the peace process.

Ah I really love it when I hear the sound of a penny dropping.

Delaney is the first establishment journalist that I know of who is, slowly, beginning to realise that the attacks on Sinn Fein have nothing whatsoever to do with any unfinished matters surrounding the war in the North.

It is exclusively to do with the abject fear of the establishment parties/ruling elite of this country witnessing the entry of a powerful, well organised, non-establishment political force entering the previously exclusive domain of that privileged ruling elite.

Breaking: Gerry Adams foiled by anti-terrorist team

I’m shocked, absolutely shocked I tell you. I’ve just heard that Prince Charles is in the country and neither Gerry Adams nor Mary Lou McDonald have been arrested.

How could this be, how could the current leader of the still in existence Provisional IRA be allowed roam free while one of the terrorist’s prinicpal targets is on holiday here?

What…what did you just say – Adams is going to meet the prince, Jesus Mary agus Joseph who’s in charge of security? Whoever it is I want his balls cooked in a microwave forthwith.

Get me Michael Martin on the line immediately. He has all the facts about how Adams is still organising the IRA, he’ll know how to handle this security crisis.

At last, some good news. I’m told that Martin will accompany Adams when meeting the prince. Very clever, journalists with Independent Newspapers have known for years now that the bulge in Adams’ pants is really a pipebomb.

No doubt our hero Michael will leap in at the vital moment and grab the deadly weapon from between Adams’ legs thus preventing a sinister explosion.

What, what’s that your saying? A special undercover team of hard-hitting anti-terrorists experts has been formed to protect the prince from the terrorist and cult leader Adams.

Let me see that list, I want to make sure they’re hardened anti-terrorist operators of the highest calibre.

Independent Newspapers special forces personell.
Willie Kealy
Jody Corcoran
Eilis O’Hanlon
Jim Cusack

RTE special anti-terrorist team
Cathal Mac Coille
Sean O’Rourke

Irish Times anti-terrorist co-ordinator
Stephan Collins

Phew…ok folks, everybody relax. We have a best in the world anti-terror/anti Sinn Fein team on the ground ready for action if the evil Mr. Adams makes even a hint of a sinister move towards his crotch.

RTE rejects bias complaint

RTE have made a decision regarding my recent complaint against Sean O’Rourke regarding bias against Sinn Fein.

Predictably, the station has rejected my complaint. I will now submit it to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

Here’s the RTE reply/decision.

Dear Mr Sheridan,

Thank you for your email concerning The Sean O’Rourke programme of Friday April 17th.

In the 22 minute section of the programme – The Gathering – the programme set out to deal with Seanad Reform, the death of 400 migrants in the Mediterranean, insolvency, a bus strike, along with Mary Lou McDonald and Dail privilege. The presenter also introduced the subject of grants for first time buyers towards the end of the discussion.

We reject your assertion that the discussion was anything less than fair, objective and impartial. During the discussion all the panellists were given time to give their views on the various subjects.. It is not unusual for the presenter to move rapidly from guest to guest as he moves from one topic to another : indeed, over the years this has been a mark of Sean O’Rourke’s presenting style.

The discussion was robust and that again is to be expected considering the issues involved. The presenter was cognisant that none of the individuals named in the Dail, under privilege, or their representatives – since some of them are deceased – were present. His questioning of Deputy Tóibín was completely in keeping, therefore, with that section of Rule 22 of the BAI Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs which states: “It is an important part of the role of a presenter of a current affairs programme . . . to reflect the views of those who cannot, or choose not to, participate in content.”

The presenter put forceful questions to Deputy Tóibín in an attempt to elicit whether or not Deputy McDonald – in the first place – or Sinn Féin accepted the bona fides of those named individuals. In our view this was fair and would be expected of the programme by its listeners, and again in keeping with Rule 22 , where it states: “It is an important part of the role of a presenter of a current affairs programme . . . to ensure that the audience has access to a wide variety of views on the subject of the programme or item; to facilitate the expression of contributors‘ opinions – sometimes by forceful questioning.”

Finally, your claim that the presenter breached Rule 22 by “strongly and emotionally expressed his personal view” is incorrect. The presenter was, on behalf of listeners, carrying out his professional role of forcefully questioning a panellist whose party colleague was at the centre of public debate concerning her actions in Dáil Éireann. There is a clear distinction between challenging questions and the expression of a partisan view and there was no such expression on this occasion.

If any member of the public is of the opinion that a programme or segment of a programme broadcast on RTÉ has breached a provision of Section 39(1)(a), (b), (d) or (e) of the Broadcasting Act 2009 or failed to comply with a provision of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland Codes and is not satisfied with RTÉ’s response they are entitled to make a complaint to the BAI.

Yours sincerely,

Fianna Fail and the Nazi’s

Journalist Michael Clifford on Fianna Fail.

Notwithstanding their lead role in wrecking the country, it’s difficult to hold a grudge against this shrunken tribe.

This is like saying of the Nazi’s:

Notwithstanding their lead role in the Holocaust, it’s difficult to hold a grudge against this shrunken tribe.

Siteserv and supporting journalists

It’s always interesting to note the language used by establishment journalists when reporting on the questionable activities of those they tend to support.

Here’s some quotes from an article on the Siteserv controversy by John Downing in this morning’s Irish Independent (my emphasis).

Both Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin believe that Messrs Kenny and Noonan can be made to look bad as they pick over the details of a reported loss to the taxpayer of €105m.

Opposition party leaders Micheál Martin and Gerry Adams moved with alacrity on Tuesday to capitalise on work done by Kildare North Independent TD Catherine Murphy.

Yesterday was day two of their onslaught. And Martin and Adams pushed for an independent inquiry into the sale by IBRC of the Siteserv company to businessman Denis O’Brien’s Millington for €45m.

Michael O’Regan: A captured journalist?

I wrote recently that Michael O’Regan, parliamentary correspondent for the Irish Times, may be a captured journalist.

Because O’Regan spends most of his working life interacting with politicians and government officials he is unlikely to even consider the suggestion that he may be a captured journalist.

A recent contribution by O’Regan adds weight to the suggestion that he is indeed a captured journalist.

During a discussion (Today with Pat Kenny; part 3) on the naming of alleged Ansbacher names under Dail privilege by Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou McDonald O’Regan said:

I have to say this, when I saw the list of politicians allegedly having Ansbacher accounts I had to laugh. The whole idea that some of the people on that list would have had Ansbacher accounts. Now, that’s just a personal view of the people involved.

This is a deeply disturbing attitude for any journalist to hold. An absolute refusal to even contemplate the possibility that certain people of power and influence may have broken the law.

It is reasonable to assume that before the Ansbacher nest of criminality was exposed Mr. O’Regan would have been outraged at the suggestion that the Taoiseach of the country held such an illegal account.

It is reasonable to assume that this journalist would have laughed if handed the Ansbacher list containing the names of hundreds of some of the most powerful, influential and respected names in politics and business who held illegal Ansbacher accounts.

Here’s another uninformed comment from Mr. O’Regan.

And the other point that you made Pat (Kenny) was, Richard Bruton said it was investigated by his government. It was also apparently investigated by a previous government, so this is not a file that was lying around the place and nobody dealing with it.

Here are the facts:

For two years the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton failed to act on a file given to him by civil servant Gerard Ryan. The file contained very serious allegations of tax evasion by Ansbacher account holders.

It was only after Gerard Ryan contacted the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to highlight his concerns that the Minister handed over the dossier to the Gardai who are now investigating.

So this was a file that was lying around the place with nobody dealing with it until Gerard Ryan forced the Minister to act.

Clearly, O’Regan is either chronically unaware of the details surrounding this latest Ansbacher scandal or he’s a captured journalist who automatically rejects any suggestion of wrongdoing by those he sees as incapable of such behaviour.

For comparison, here’s the contribution during the same discussion by journalist Martina Devlin. Her analysis is informative, questioning and balanced.

What I find interesting is that a privilege given to the Oireachtas by the Constitution is absolute and its been endorsed by the courts. But Dail Eireann itself has limited that privilege with its standing orders. It says that if it’s defamatory you must not say it and she did say something that was defamatory. She needed to be on really solid ground if she was going to do that. I believe she believed that what she said was true. I do believe she felt she was acting in the public interest. However, she wasn’t on firm ground, she tripped up on those standing orders which said if it’s defamatory you shouldn’t say it.

Copy to:
Michael O’Regan

Formal complaint against RTE regarding blatant bias against Sinn Fein

Once again we witness blatant bias and intolerance by RTE when reporting/analysing the politics/activities of Sinn Fein.

I have submitted the following detailed complaint in response to the latest disgraceful example of so-called professional broadcasting by the station.

21 April 2015

To whom it may concern:

I wish to lodge a formal complaint against the presenter of Today with Sean O’Rourke, Sean O’Rourke, for a breach of section 22 of the Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs, which came into effect on 1 July 2013 under Section 42 of the Broadcasting Act 2009.

On Friday 17 April last, during a panel discussion on the controversy surrounding the naming of alleged Ansbacher names in Dail Eireann by Sinn Fein TD Mary Lou McDonald Mr. O’Rourke was anything but fair, objective or impartial.

Mr. O’Rourke was obviously leading the panelists into condemning the actions of Mary Lou McDonald by attacking Peadar Toibin the Sinn Fein representative on the panel.

As soon as a panelist agreed with Mr. O’Rourke’s obvious view on the matter he moved on to the next panelist.

For example, when David Hall suggested that perhaps there were some questions to be answered by the body politic Mr. O’Rourke interrupted him demanding a direct answer to the question – Do you think it was an abuse of Dail privilege?

As soon as Mr. Hall confirmed it was an abuse Mr. O’Rourke moved on to the next panelist.

Mr. O’Rourke failed, deliberately in my opinion, to interrupt and challenge Labour Senator Lorraine Higgins when she made false claims in relation to the issue.

For example, Senator Higgins falsely claimed that Mary Lou McDonald had presented allegations as findings when she named names in the Dail. It is not acceptable to just allow a panelist to refute this false claim, as Mr. Toibin did. The presenter has an obligation to clearly state that the claim was false.

Mr. O’Rourke, in direct breach of Section 22 of the Code, strongly and emotionally expressed his personal view on the issue as witnessed in this exchange between Mr. O’Rourke and Sinn Fein representative Peadar Toibin.

Toibin: I’m saying to those people that they are innocent until proven guilty.

O’Rourke: No, you’re really saying, and what she’s using Dail privilege to do, is say they’re guilty until proven innocent because why won’t she say it outside the House to the people who are still alive?

Toibin: You have to let me answer the questions. You’ve been firing them at me left right and centre.

O’Rourke: Yeah, well if we got an answer to one or two of them.

It is crystal that Mr. O’Rourke was neither objective nor impartial in the following exchange. His tone was accusatory and condemning of Mr. Toibin, Mary Lou McDonald and Sinn Fein.

O’Rourke: Does the word smear mean anything to you?

Toibin: It does, of course. What do you mean by that?

O’Rourke: I mean the… by naming or reading extracts which name individuals in Dail Eireann under privilege, the cloud of suspicion is raised over these people.

Toibin: The best way to actually clear any cloud of suspicion over these individuals would be for the Government, the Taoiseach has had this information since last November and yet we’ve had no efforts by the Government to have an investigation into these allegations…

Mr. O’Rourke allowed Mr. Toibin’s political rival on the panel, Labour Senator Lorraine Higgins, free rein to interrupt Mr. Toibin at will. Mr. O’Rourke himself constantly interrupted Mr. Toibin to the point where Mr. Toibin was effectively prevented from making adequate rebuttals.

The very obvious overall tone of the discussion, and in particular Mr. O’Rourke’s contribution, was one of bullying, intolerance and extreme bias.

For your convenience I include a transcription of the relevant section of the discussion.

Yours etc,
Anthony Sheridan

Extract from Today with Sean O’Rourke.
Broadcast 17 April 2015

Sean O’Rourke: Brenda Power, do you think she deserves to be censured?

Brenda Power: I think she abused Dail Privilege. Whether or not it’s one that the public will have sympathy for is another question, I think she has possibly more support on this than you might suspect because I guess there’s a lot of unfinished business with regard to the period in Irish politics that she was highlighting and a sense that maybe all the issues weren’t ventilated at the time.

Sean O’Rourke: What do you make of it David Hall given that all the people named have vehemently denied they had these off shore accounts?

David Hall: I think there’s a significant amount of support for a certain period in Irish politics, not necessarily a certain period but a general integration of Irish politics where there’s questions to be answered. It is unfortunate for those people deceased who are not in a position and families….

(Interrupted by O’Rourke.) Do you think it was an abuse of Dail privilege?

Hall, Yes, all things being equal, yes, I do.

O’Rourke: Lorraine Higgins whether there was abuse or not it seems to (be it’s) being played by Sinn Fein as political/Dail insiders effectively defending their own and there’s no particular benefit attempting to censure Mary Lou McDonald?

Lorraine Higgins: Look, this has become part and parcel of the kind of stunt politics we expect from Sinn Fein. At the end of the day Mary Lou needs to reflect on presenting allegations as findings in the Dail and she’s a member of the Public Accounts Committee, that was the proper realm to bring up these concerns when they were investigating the Ryan report. I just think with privilege comes responsibility so Mary Lou needs to be mindful of that.

Peadar Toibin: Mary Lou didn’t present them as findings. Over and over again she said they were allegations. What’s involved here is an authorised officer of the State making very, very serious allegations and the only corroborated element of this whole process is that that officer handed the information to Minister Richard Bruton. For two years the Minister sat on those documents and only when Mary Lou raised this issue did the Minister decide to give the documents to the Gardai.

(Interrupted by Senator Higgins) Peadar, it’s not for the politicians to investigate revenue offences, it’s up to the Revenue Commissioners and the Gardai.

Toibin: Are you saying it was ok for Minister Bruton to sit on a document…

(Interupted by Sean O’Rourke.)

O’Rourke: You’re changing the argument there Peadar Toibin. First of all, the former chairman of Revenue Commissioners, Josephine Feehily, assured the PAC that these investigations (sic) had been thoroughly examined and were found not to warrant further action. And Mary Lou named individuals. For starters, I’m not aware that she or your party have accepted the denials made by the people she named.

Toibin: Well, first of all, I haven’t seen the documents from the authorised officer, I have no idea what’s contained in those documents…

(Interrupted by O’Rourke.)

O’Rourke: No,no, that’s not the question. Does your party and does she accept the bona fides of the people she named under Dail privilege?

Toibin: What I can tell you is that Mary Lou is not saying that these individual are guilty of…

(Interrupted by O’Rourke.)

O’Rouke: Does she accept the bona fides of those people and does she accept…

(Interrupted by Toibin.)

Toibin: You need to ask Mary Lou that question but what…

(Interrupted by O’Rourke.)

O’Rourke: Ok, does Sinn Fein accept those denials of the people that were named?

Toibin: What I’m saying to you is…

(Interrupted by Senator Higgins.)

Senator Higgins: It’s a yes or no answer Peadar.

Toibin: It is not about the individuals concerned.

O’Rourke: Yes it is, very much so. If you were Sylvia Barrett’s family and if you were Declan Costello’s family it would most certainly be about their bona fides and so what you are saying to those people?

Toibin: I’m saying to those people that they are innocent until proven guilty.

O’Rourke: No, you’re really saying, and what she’s using Dail privilege to do, is say they’re guilty until proven innocent because why won’t she say it outside the House to the people who are still alive?

Toibin: You have to let me answer the questions. You’ve been firing them at me left right and centre.

O’Rourke: Yeah, well if we got an answer to one or two of them.

Toibin: I’m saying that they’re innocent until proven guilty and I’m saying that Mary Lou is saying that she is just echoing the allegations by an authorised officer…

(Interrupted by O’Rourke.)

O’Rourke: Does the word smear mean anything to you?

Toibin: It does, of course. What do you mean by that?

O’Rourke: I mean the, by naming or reading extracts which name individuals in Dail Eireann under privilege, the cloud of suspicion is raised over these people.

Toibin: The best way to actually clear any cloud of suspicion over these individuals would be for the Government, the Taoiseach has had this information since last November and yet we’ve had no efforts by the Government to have an investigation into these allegations…

(Interrupted by Senator Higgins.)

Senator Higgins: Politicians don’t investigate revenue matters Peadar, I thought you would knonw that. It’s up to the Revenue and the Gardai.

Toibin: (continuing) And we know that very senior authorised officers in the civil service felt so strongly about these issues that they felt they needed investigation, that they lodged them with the Minister and that he sat on them for two years…

(Interrupted by Senator Higgins.)

Senator Higgins: Are you saying that members of PAC were wrong in deciding not to call Mr. Ryan to make an oral submission?

Toibin: PAC can’t deal with it. Members of PAC were given legal advice that they can’t actually deal with it.

Senator Higgins: You’re skewing the facts here Peadar, you’re skewing the facts absolutely.

Toibin: Attention is being focused on Mary Lou…

(Interrupted by Senator Higgins.)

Senator Higgins: Righty so, rightly so.

Toibin: (continuing) and all the attention is diverted off these allegations that are being made by this authorised officer…

(Interrupted by Senator Higgins.)

Senator Higgins: The Gardai have investigated, the Revenue has investigated, the Mahon and Moriarty tribunals have investigated and PAC has examined, how much more needs to be done?

Hall: It’s very important to remember this has been investigated, some people don’t like the outcome of investigations but this has been investigated by a number of State bodies and outcomes have been determined and to be fair to all concerned and particularly those named, they are innocent as has been proven by those investigations and it is unfair to suggest anything else.

Copy to:
Peadar Toibin
Lorraine Higgins
David Hall

Marian Finucane and ‘ordinary decent wars’

Marian Finucane was not happy with the comment by Gerry Adams that people are ‘disappeared’ in every war.

Not all wars have disappeared. I remember the outcry across the world over Pinochet and Chile and the disappeared. Somehow or another that’s not kind of standard in your ordinary decent war.

This is the kind of ignorance that’s going to escalate as we approach the climax of the 1916/100 commemorations.

It seems that Ms. Finucane happily operates under the delusion that there is such a thing as an ‘ordinary decent war’ and that the participants in these ‘decent’ wars would be outraged at the idea that anybody would be ‘disappeared’.

Stuffed into ovens in millions, yes. Wiped out in mass bombings of cities, yes. Cut down in swathes by machine gun fire and artillery, yes. Systematically cut to pieces for practicing the wrong religion, yes.

But abducted and ‘disappeared’, no, nobody could be that evil – except Sinn Fein/IRA.

Ms Finucane, apparently, can think of only two conflicts, Chile and Northern Ireland, where people were disappeared.

She’s seems to be blissfully unaware the people are disappeared in every war. I would be genuinely astonished to learn of a war in which people were not abducted, murdered and ‘disappeared’.

RTE management really should insist that if a presenter is going to comment on current affairs/history they should possess at least a smidgeon of knowledge on the subject.

Or could it be that Ms. Finucane has so bought into the establishment’s anti Sinn Fein propaganda campaign that she now believes, without question, that acts of war committed by the IRA are, somehow, more gruesome, more reprehensible than any other act of war ever committed throughout history?

Yes, I think that’s nearer the truth.

Copy to:
Marian Finucane

Oh my God, Sinn Fein must now be outlawed

Oh my God, Sinn Fein have done it now, they’ve finally crossed the line of no return. Now the Government/State have no choice – Sinn Fein must be outlawed and hunted down like the evil shower they are.

Why, pray tell?

Well, Mary Lou Mcdonald called the Tanaiste Joan (how much did you pay for that smart phone) Burton – a wimp.

But…but…why do you think this is such an evil thing to do?

I don’t, but the mainstream media are reporting it all over the place so it must be an issue of crucial importance to the welfare of the nation.