Muiris Ó Súilleabháin ✍ The trouble with lying is that it always comes back to haunt you, even when it is the big lie that you tell repeatedly. 

Last weeks revelations about the paedophile within Sinn Fein is not really news: paedophiles exist in all organisations across the world, it pervades all classes and there is not a single person nor a single political party that has not been affected by it. This weeks fallout is all about transparency, accountability and cover up.

The difficulties and challenges faced by New Sinn Fein (NSF) this week, under the new leadership emanate from the fact that they have not really moved away from old ways of working. What is clear is that truth and justice continue to have zero value to the “biggest political party in Ireland”. What they have failed to grasp is that if you treat the truth as disposable commodity, dilemmas such as this week’s will continuously emerge.

I may be wrong, but I sense a change in the media attitude to NSF. Maybe the media have been emboldened to challenge NSF by the fact that senior NSF people brazenly lied to them as this story broke. Maybe it is because the notorious media bully Maguidhir has been unceremoniously dismissed with ignominy and can no longer threaten the careers of those who dare to ask awkward questions.

Murphy was atrocious on TV and harangued a BBC journalist who had the temerity to ask him a very reasonable question about a child protection matter. O’Neill was brought in to steady the ship and show the “leadership” required, however in the intervening period she has performed more back flips than Nadia Comaneci.

In many ways their handling of this debacle is reminiscent of their handling of the murder of Robert McCartney. I have no doubt that the same “working group” that dealt with the McCartney slaying has been recalled to limit the damage to the “movement”. Be in no doubt, damage limitation is paramount here, not safeguarding children. Protect the “movement” and to hell with the potential child victims, blame everyone and anyone and deflect. The old ways die hard.

Slowly, and bit by bit the truth is emerging, and I have no doubt that more will emerge in the days to come as good people continue to probe.

The sight of the First Minister having to apologise to a charity, a heart charity no less, on behalf of her Ministerial colleague Murphy and because of her party’s attack on that charity, should be enough for them both to resign. Having the Chief Constable of a Police Service that you endorse publicly contradict your “version” of the truth should have ended both O’Neill’s and Murphys political careers. It will not happen as all parties will prioritise saving Stormont and they will give the sound bites they have to give, but none will call for resignations.

As the truth emerges, NSF have been circling the wagons. Pliant commentators are now caressing O’Neill’s ego, telling the world that she has shown true leadership by retrospectively tackling an issue that should never have been allowed to happen. Squinter has been churning out junk all week, enlightening us all to a hitherto unknown area of his expertise, child protection. Anyone who had the temerity to say that covering up for paedophiles is not acceptable ever, has been savaged and left in no doubt that there will be a day of reckoning. One prominent Belfast Republican has vowed that he will never ever donate to the charity in question again. Imagine the mental gymnastics required to rationalise boycotting a charity for telling the truth.

Such is the strength of the cult, and the level of group think that is now so evident in NSF, that they will continue to lead the time for truth campaigns and call out the Brits as cover up merchants without even a hint of embarrassment. Cognitive dissonance at its finest

Truth in our lips and purity in our hearts is but a distant memory.

Muiris Ó Súilleabháin was a member of the Republican Movement until he retired in 2006 after 20 years of service. Fiche bhliain ag fás.

Lie Hard Die Hard

Muiris Ó Súilleabháin ✍ The trouble with lying is that it always comes back to haunt you, even when it is the big lie that you tell repeatedly. 

Last weeks revelations about the paedophile within Sinn Fein is not really news: paedophiles exist in all organisations across the world, it pervades all classes and there is not a single person nor a single political party that has not been affected by it. This weeks fallout is all about transparency, accountability and cover up.

The difficulties and challenges faced by New Sinn Fein (NSF) this week, under the new leadership emanate from the fact that they have not really moved away from old ways of working. What is clear is that truth and justice continue to have zero value to the “biggest political party in Ireland”. What they have failed to grasp is that if you treat the truth as disposable commodity, dilemmas such as this week’s will continuously emerge.

I may be wrong, but I sense a change in the media attitude to NSF. Maybe the media have been emboldened to challenge NSF by the fact that senior NSF people brazenly lied to them as this story broke. Maybe it is because the notorious media bully Maguidhir has been unceremoniously dismissed with ignominy and can no longer threaten the careers of those who dare to ask awkward questions.

Murphy was atrocious on TV and harangued a BBC journalist who had the temerity to ask him a very reasonable question about a child protection matter. O’Neill was brought in to steady the ship and show the “leadership” required, however in the intervening period she has performed more back flips than Nadia Comaneci.

In many ways their handling of this debacle is reminiscent of their handling of the murder of Robert McCartney. I have no doubt that the same “working group” that dealt with the McCartney slaying has been recalled to limit the damage to the “movement”. Be in no doubt, damage limitation is paramount here, not safeguarding children. Protect the “movement” and to hell with the potential child victims, blame everyone and anyone and deflect. The old ways die hard.

Slowly, and bit by bit the truth is emerging, and I have no doubt that more will emerge in the days to come as good people continue to probe.

The sight of the First Minister having to apologise to a charity, a heart charity no less, on behalf of her Ministerial colleague Murphy and because of her party’s attack on that charity, should be enough for them both to resign. Having the Chief Constable of a Police Service that you endorse publicly contradict your “version” of the truth should have ended both O’Neill’s and Murphys political careers. It will not happen as all parties will prioritise saving Stormont and they will give the sound bites they have to give, but none will call for resignations.

As the truth emerges, NSF have been circling the wagons. Pliant commentators are now caressing O’Neill’s ego, telling the world that she has shown true leadership by retrospectively tackling an issue that should never have been allowed to happen. Squinter has been churning out junk all week, enlightening us all to a hitherto unknown area of his expertise, child protection. Anyone who had the temerity to say that covering up for paedophiles is not acceptable ever, has been savaged and left in no doubt that there will be a day of reckoning. One prominent Belfast Republican has vowed that he will never ever donate to the charity in question again. Imagine the mental gymnastics required to rationalise boycotting a charity for telling the truth.

Such is the strength of the cult, and the level of group think that is now so evident in NSF, that they will continue to lead the time for truth campaigns and call out the Brits as cover up merchants without even a hint of embarrassment. Cognitive dissonance at its finest

Truth in our lips and purity in our hearts is but a distant memory.

Muiris Ó Súilleabháin was a member of the Republican Movement until he retired in 2006 after 20 years of service. Fiche bhliain ag fás.

3 comments:

  1. Great writing Muiris, as always. I share your view of the problem they face - they simply cannot shed themselves of the institutional lie bequeathed to them by their martial politicians whose first instinct was to lie.

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  2. I've been saying this for years on the Quill- every organisation of a significant size is going to have to deal with sex offenders. The only correct way is to prevent it happening through rigorous processes and oversight, mitigate any harm, stop it when it is discovered and use every means possible to stop it happening in the future through learning and adding additional safeguards.

    Unfortunately, after a sex offender was discovered he was given references by former colleagues and not shunned/exposed. A total betrayal of the victims and any future victims now exposed to harm.

    I have voted Sinn Fein for over 30 years and if I don't believe the stories of him swanning about Stormont with ex-colleagues like the Invisible Man what chances are there of other parties or floating voters believing it? In a room with fellow colleagues and no-one spots him? Someone they know well and who colleagues have not only worked with but have given references to? I'm sorry but I don't buy it.

    Sinn Féin normally run a tighter ship. I'm not saying that they haven't been caught out before but this error is so amateurish it is almost incredible. Either amateurish or heinous.

    The only way it won't have been a heinous act is if lessons are properly learned, additional safeguards put in place, rigorous checks on employees and prevention of harm in the future. Victims are being forgotten here. By giving references, being overly defensive, being critical of others once caught out and not holding hands up about H.G. Wells' least easy-to-spot character turning up for a few hors d'oeuvres at a Stormont photo-op the ground isn't solid for dealing with sex crime in the future.

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  3. They were very much cack-handed and reminded me of the time they were all in the toilets during the Robert McCartney flare up. As Muiris points out in the piece old habits die hard. Suzanne Breen had a strong piece on Sunday asking serious questions about how Gerry Adams can remain in the party but the two PR people had to walk the plank. Given how his malfeasance was handled within SF the possibility remains that the two people who gave references believed that the party culture would be accepting of it. The fact that the invisible man was spotted by none of them suggests it was not viewed as a serious transgression . . . until they were found out

    ReplyDelete