Listowel: rape apology that the rest of Ireland will not tolerate

I've a new post up on GlobalComment:

A figure sits shivering in the drafty courthouse. She is only twenty two, alone except for the counsellor from the Rape Crisis Clinic. She waits for the judge to enter and sentence the man who sexually assaulted her. She must give her victim impact statement, and maybe then, she can concentrate on healing and taking care of herself. The courtroom door opens to reveal a line of men and women. Danny Foley, in the defence chair, receives condolences, handshakes and some tears while she, the state witness, the young woman who was found drugged and half naked by the police, gets dirty looks.

Continue reading here.

Listowel is a horrible place for women to live

A horrible story where a community sided with the rapist rather than the survivor. Anyone want to reiterate claims that we live in an equal society or that we don't have a rape culture?

Before sentencing dozens of people queued inside the courthouse to shake hands and sympathise with Foley.

He had been found guilty two weeks ago of sexually assaulting a woman who was discovered by a Garda patrol in a semi-conscious state and naked from the waist down alongside a skip in a car park early on June 15th, 2008.

Speaking today Fr Sheehy said he was one of the men who shook Foley’s hand because he wanted to “support him and let him know he was not alone”.

While placing the survivor in a vulnerable position and siding with a rapist. Anyway since when are priests arbitrators of morality. Not anymore. Not since they were involved in the rape of children and cover up of crimes.

He said: “My Christian responsibility was to this person that I knew and to the person who is the object of, what I call, this extremely harsh sentence.”

No five years is not an extremely harsh sentence for rape. Life in prison might approach a "harsh" sentence.

Yesterday the judge criticised the character statement made by Fr Sheehy. The priest had said Foley was always “respectful of women”, but Foley’s actions “gave the lie” to Fr Sheehy’s statement, the judge said.

How would a priest, a man, know how Foley treats women? How would he know any better than the women who endured contact with him.

Listowel is clearly not a place for women to live. I would like to write more at leisure but disgust is making my stomach turn.

Flooding

The journey from Kerry to Cork was a long one this evening. Flooded roads and closed roads and fun activities like driving through floods. Now that there is no money left in the kitty, no chance of dikes being erected to deal with Ireland's manifestation of climate change. Oops we did it again. Oh well St Paddy promised to wipe Ireland off the map ten years before the end of days. Maybe this is his prophecy coming true!

(pic taken from IrishTimes.com)

Old news is new news

While this is all very shocking in our current economic crisis, the people of Kerry South were well aware of "The Bull"'s antics with the garda driver and the flights.

It was whispered in the pubs of Killarney, Dingle and Kilgarven. I wanted to blog on it last March ago but there was no proof.

Kerry people knew but nobody said a word. I'd wager that Jackie Healy-Rae was well aware of his colleague's flights but he did not out O'Donoghue. Nothing goes on in Killorglin or Castlemaine that the community doesn't know about. It's probably the same with all the smaller towns in Ireland. I bet there is enough information out there to bring down a government.

We must blow the whistle and call time. Enough. No more cosy cartels, political parties or senior public servants. Cut off corruption at the top.

How about this: every TD gets a credit card for expenses and each charge is immediately posted up on the government websites. No more profits off miles and meals. No more disguising the trivialities under miscellaneous subheadings. TDs need to be accountable to their constituents.

Hell if the British Foreign Minister can fly Aer Lingus, and the Dutch Crown Prince and Princess ride bikes then why can't Irish Ministers fly steerage with the rest of us plebs?

*image from the Tribune