When the Mairia Cahill sex abuse scandal broke last year, Sinn Féin hardly covered themselves with glory. Their slick PR machine was all over the place. The Party seemed to be dragged to a position of compassion, even if their knuckle-dragging element were denigrating a rape victim in graffiti….and their slightly more sophisticated “tweeters” were conducting an online whispering campaign.
It is of course in the nature of Politics that a political party will have enemies in the media. The media will seek out stories…especially if there is an agenda. There is no doubt that Sinn Féin would have been aware that a second sex abuse story was about to break. A big clue would have been that the BBC were seeking out quotes and comments from senior Sinn Féin figures. And no doubt Sinn Féin would have been minded to go into a huddle and come up with a response to the allegations that a young man from County Louth was raped by a senior member of the IRA.
Clearly, Sinn Féin had learned from last years debacle. Gerry Adams believes Paudie McGahan.
Meanwhile nobody told Francie Molloy MP for Mid Ulster, who was still in 2014 “blame the media….they are out to get Sinn Féin”. He or his designated “tweeter” produced this.
Molloy of course deleted the tweet and apologised. But surely it speaks volumes for the Party that they go into denial before facts are known. A disgrace!
Keeping An Eye On the Czar of Russia 
The media IS anti-Sinn Fein.
I think you are missing the point.
Mairia Cahill was raped by a senior member of the IRA. IRA-Sinn Féin covered it up.
Paudie McGahan was raped by a senior IRA man. It was covered up.
Is Independent Newspapers anti-Sinn Féin? Of course.
Is BBCNI anti-nationalist? (Sinn Féin and SDLP). …Yes it always was.
Is Francie Molloy a disgrace? Obviously.
people who dont support the police go to the IRA and ask for help.They then denounce those they went to when things dont pan out the way they want.Simple as that.
Really?
Are you saying that a member of the IRA or Sinn Féin involved in a road accident where he was hit from behind by a small renault at the corner of Kashmir Road and Springfield Road in early 2001 ….would not phone the RUC?
Cos if you are saying that….I know that youre wrong.
Since early civilisation a distinction has been made between justice and victims wanting their pound of flesh. Anne Travers wanted more than the courts could give and Mairia Cahill tried to bypass the courts completely. The issue is the cover up by a party that lectured the Catholic church over abuse. I’m minded of the stories spread after Jean McConvilles disappearance saying she was spotted in England Cover up is nothing new. The chest beating over rape seems odd when relating to an organisation that killed so many. Seems murder and killing isn’t as media friendly as sex and rape. My guess is the media will be less likely to run pages on male rape.
Not necessarily.
Rape is much more emotive.
And the two (so far) victims are obviously brave.
It is going to be interesting to see if a name of the man from the prominent Belfast Republican family becomes public. I would assume that the victim (obviously), Sinn Féin, journalists, politicians already know.
The attitude by SF towards these victims of sex abuse seems worrying to say the least.
Must say that Maria Cahill is a very brave impressive and articulate person – it must be incredibly difficult to speak out the way she has.
II think a lot depends on peoples attitudes.
Almost forty years ago, my father said that there would be a long term moral price to be paid for the Troubles.
He was a devout though liberal-minded Catholic and I think he was thinking in terms of religious devotion but also family circumstances.
The world is unrecognisable to me…1969 seems a million years ago. Family structures etc.
There had always been a kfeeling in Norn Iron that Catholics were lesser….superstitious, unemployed, uneducated, feckless. At some point every Catholic has encountered that in the workplace.
But I think that feeling has come back…that the Protestant “saved” and Catholic “damned” are among us.
I wonder if we have in some way contributed to it (I am deeply concerned about this) that collectively in West Belfast, South Armagh that we seen so much (and much of it by RUC-British Army as well as IRA or Loyalists) that we are somehow lessened “morally” by it all.
Like I say I dont recognise this world.
My parents, Auntie Sheila, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Jackie and Auntie Mary….they would be sickened.
Apparently the “top provo” was 19 at the time of the alleged assault.He must have rose through the ranks at a remarkable rate.Maria Cahill was so opposed to any form of policing that she resigned from SF and took a TOP position in RNU which to this day refuses to recognise either the PSNI or Gardai.She went to the IRA for help,thanked a woman republican by letter for that help and then landed her in court for providing that help.She then refused to participate in that court case where she could be cross examined She instead chose a media campaign where she could smear people without any fear of being questioned on the veracity of her accusations.The man at the centre of the latest case is now appearing on RTE, questioning SF’s tax policies! He went to Arthur Morgan in late 2008 for the first time,was told to go to the Gardai immediately and this was reinforced by a follow up letter from Morgan in early 2009.Bizarrely Morgan is now accused of “cover up”!.
So you know the offenders name.
No I dont know his name as I live about 70 miles from county Louth but the alleged victim gave his alleged attackers age as 19 at the time.If you check out his many media interviews ,I’m sure youll come across it.( I’m not sure if its the one where he discusses SF taxation policy or not). And by the way John ,for someone who rightly criticises Slugger O’Toole you can be quite Sluggeresque in your debating style.
Oh I have no debating style at all.
The “Keeping An Eye on The Czar of Russia” is a Blog. It is not a Message Board.
I encourage discussion rather than debate and although this Blog is (as declared) pro SDLP….it does get a few kudos for not being overly partisan. The contributors are generally from a nationalist-republican-socialist gene pool.
Allowing for a little Election Season campaigning on my part (which I declared a few weeks ago) and which I will declare again…it seems reasonable to so do.
Like it or not Roddy….the Party you support or are a member (Sinn Féin) HAS done a U-Turn on Welfare Reform.
Like it or not….and plainly you dont….SF has covered up Rape by members of SF.
Now as Molloy got caught offside with remarks about the latest scandal, its most likely that SF will have anonymous people engage in a whispering campaign against the victims.
So giving a factual account of what the alleged vicims said and did is engaging “in a whispering campaign.Also John when political parties start using these things for political advantage,God knows where it could finish.For example if SDLP MEMBERS in a school or parish commitee (where SF members would be somewhat thin on the ground) were alleged to have been aware of abuse but did nothing for the sake of either school or church it could leave a lot of people very embarassed indeed.
Roddy….youre being a bit silly.
If you are suggesting that SF are not church goers then you are probably doing some of your SF colleagues (you are a member arent ya?) a disservice.
But then youd say anything wouldnt you?
Youd even wildly suggest that SDLP members were involved in historic sex abuse or covered it up and on absolutely no evidence.
What we do know is
Mairia Cahill was raped by an IRA man.
Paudie McGahon was raped by an IRA man.
And it was covered up.
You have a chance to recover some dignity here Roddy. Do you want to take it?
SF members might go to church but their representation on church commitees would be next to zero.Conversely sdlp members were grossly overrepresented in the teaching profession and on church commitees.SF have called for an all ireland inquiry into abuse in all sectors of society.AllI say is bring it on.I’m telling you John when it happens a lot of holier than thou politicians will be running for cover.
Youre just making it up as youre going along.
Evidence exists to show that IRA men raped a young man and young woman.
There can be no doubt that people of all faiths and none have raped people.
Youre missing the pattern here.
Rape…Cover Up….Sinn Féin.
OK ,John but remember what you just said when the shit hits the fan.
Or when the fan hits the shit.
,,Eamon Mallie said on RTE today that scandals involving “other political parties” were bubbling beneath the surface”. If it turns out to be the SDLP , I “will give you a chance to recover some dignity”
Clutching at straws arent you Roddy?
As I have said, sex pffenders can belong to any religion, any political party.
The issue is the tolerance shown by (so far) one political party to such people.
We will see how it all pans out.