Ciaran’s Peculier [sic] Blog

A view of the world from an Irish hole

Category: Ireland

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Dr Brendan Scott ?

Viewers of long-running soap opera Coronation Street in the early 1990s may remember a character called Brendan Scott, played by British TV actor Milton Johns. He was, I think, an area manager for supermarket chain Betabuys and was the scourge of Curly Watts and his boss Rambling Reg Holdsworth. Apart from the shared name I don’t see any link between the above and what follows, apart from the fact that Mr Johns once played the role of Adolf Eichmann.

 It seems to me that there is a certain historian whose friends seem to have nothing better to do than surf the Internet looking for anything that might show him up for what he is. So they visit my website a lot and read pages which have those magical words “Brendan Snott” in the title. A;ternatively they search for anything about that haemorrhoid on the face of Co. Cavan, the “Cavan County Museum”. You know my blog contains lots of other material reflecting my widespread abilities and interests, but these human cockroaches would find some of my posts too challenging. I’ve got a message for them.

 I know what you’re looking at, and who you are. Why don’t you find something nearer to your tastes like some kiddy porn, or something on your intellectual kevel like the Cartoon Channel? So fuck off!!!

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Enda the lawyer lashes out at the Druids

 

Some are calling Kenny’s tirade against Vatican interference in Ireland’s affairs a historic moment in the history of church and state. Certainly there are few – but they exist – who would disagree with the Prime Minister of a so-called liberal democracy castigating a state founded by a fascist government, which is ruled by old men and where there is no pretence of democracy which has sought to undermine efforts to protect his citizens from acts of sexual abuse. But, and there is a big but, why has it taken so long for an Irish government to get touch with the Vatican? The crimes of commission by a handful of priests and the crimes of omission committed by their bishops who protected them or moved them to locations where they could continue their foul deeds, have been known about by the dogs in the street for decades. It would only be a radical lefty with no hope of getting anywhere in Irish politics who would have given voice to such “slanders” against the church. The former bishop of Kilmore Dr Francis McKiernan, was never in any doubt that secular authority was always subservient to religious authority, and I don’t think he was unique amongst the Irish hierarchy in this.

 But there is one other aspect of Kenny’s speech which renders it more hypocritical. The Catholic Church, quite rightly, must be condemned for what it has done. If we were to believe Kenny it is the church and it alone who is at fault. What about the state authorities, the police, the health boards etc. who were also aware of what was going on, and who did sweet FA about it? Another area of deafening silence (excuse the cliché, but when talking of dishonesty I feel it is the most appropriate language) is that child abuse is continuing in Ireland as I write this, but the worst villains aren’t priests, but agents and employees of the state who work in centres charged with the “care” of young adults and children, or those involved in foster-care. The One-in-Four organisation has alleged that as many as nine out of ten reports of child abuse are not being investigated by the Health Service Authority, while the foster care regime in Dublin has been described as being in crisis, with many fosterers’ backgrounds not being checked.

 Those people who abuse children, the vulnerable, or indeed old people in nursing homes are truly evil, as evil as Josef Fritzl. But there are certain government departments, some of whose staff members are equally evil and cowardly. I sometimes think that such evil is a necessary prerequisite for their promotion. They often have free rein in committing acts of evil against those they believe to be too weak or frightened to defend themselves , and in a climate of economic hardship they can defend any action that saves money – and may very well be rewarded for it. Politicians seem either unable or unwilling to do anything about this. However many members of the church, the many good priests that Diarmuid Martin rightly talks about, are made fully aware of the victimisation of the poor and vulnerable carried on by the state. But no religious person would be allowed to defend them, as their criticisms of government policy would be swiftly swept aside with a remark such as “Who are you to talk?”

There is however a litmus test to Kenny’s sincerity. Does he support a possible Papal visit next year? This would be an opportunity for those elitist and narcissistic elements in the Vatican to come to Ireland, to strut their stuff, maybe to check out “The scene”. It would also be an opportunity for those whom Diarmuid Martin rightly refers to as a “cabal” within the Vatican and the Irish hierarchy to be rewarded for protecting child abusers. But there is one very practical reason why it should not go ahead. We can’t afford it.

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An fleadh ghorm

I find it reprehensible that the greatest lawyer in the land has been invited to have anything to do with the fleadh in Cavan. When were the blueshirts friends of traditional music? They were too busy singing hymns or practising the Horst Wesel Lied. But then I forget that Cavan has been taken over by Fine Gael. They’ve got three seats here as well as controlling the county council, many of whose employees are sympathisers. I suppose Kenny may take the salute as volunteers dressed in new blue shirts supplied by Tesco march past on their way to fight communism in Spain. There may very well be a special version of God Save the Queen for the button accordion. Other tunes to be performed include “Kenny’s Two-step” and “Lament for Roscommon County Hospital”, a haunting air telling of deceit and betrayal.

As a true republican I know I wouldn’t be welcomed there  It all makes perfect sense now – the only historians that have been invited to take part in the fleadh must have an unimpeachable Fine Gael pedigree.

… and to those who might say “Isn’t it a shame Ciaran can’t write something better…” let me answer in the letters used by Kevin Bloody Wilson – DILLIGAF

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Promises are made of …

Enda the lawyer has shown that he wants to give Santa claus a run for his money by promising 165 jobs for Co. Galway in a factory making wind-breaking machines for politicians  But be waned. Can he be trusted? Personally if Enda Kenny wants to don a red cloak and a white beard I would be tempted to sing those words penned by the Australian balladeer Kevin Bloody Wilson:

 Santa Claus you cunt,
Where’s me fuckin’ bike?
I’ve unwrapped all me presents
And there’s nothing here I like …

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Shame on you Minister Burton

The Minister for Social Victimisation has announced a series of cowardly reductions in the supplements for fuel, telephone calls gas and electricity. In the case of the latter, these have been reduced to 2007 levels, this at a time when many providers are announcing increases3s in their charges. This is expected to lead to savings of 17 million euro in 2011 – less than the amount spent over a few days in May on the visit of Queen Elizabeth and President Obama, The decisions regarding these reductions are particularly hypocritical, given that they have been made and will be implemented by people who inhabit well-heated offices from where they have access to unlimited quantities of free telephone calls.

 Eamon Gilmore’s defence of these cuts is both mealy-mouthed and pathetic. It’s no good blaming them on the previous government; you’re in charge now and you are under no obligation to implement them if you feel that they are unjust. But the Labour Party is led by a crowd of “comrade comfies” and pork-scratching “socialists”, for whom anything is just and acceptable so long as it keeps them at the trough of power. What’s more they are typical spineless  politicians, unable to stand up to their un-elected mandarins.

 I state again that this government is continuing the unpublished policy of its predecessor towards the old and infirm. This is nothing other than euthanasia. The hope is that the greater the level of discomfort, the quicker old people will die. A winter like the last one should thin their numbers, especially if they can’t afford to heat themselves. They may also die of loneliness, as they will be afraid to use their telephones. Let’s not forget thei shameful and cynical racket pursued by their buddies in the Departmenjt of the Environment which has seen many old and infirm people robbed of their postal votes. Without a vote they are of little interest to the politicians.

Of course this policy is not literally euthanasia. The term comes from the Greek and the prefix ευ implies pleasantness, whereas the type of θάνατος or death envisioned by these shameless cowards will be anything but pleasant.

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Kenny the lawyer

We all know that Enda Kernny is a schoolteacher by profession, but some will recall the incident when the late Frank Sherwin stated in the Dail that the then taoiseach, John A. Costello, was a liar. He was immediately upbraided by the Ceann chomhairle, but Frank responded by saying he had merely stated that he was a lawyer.

 Now Enda Kenny7’sw refusal to come clean about his statements regarding Roscommon hospital remind me of the joke about the guy from the wrong side of the tracks who is boxing above his weight in the relationship stakes. He had met a girl from a very rich family and they decide to get married. Her family is naturally horrified, but they decide to invite him to dinner at their mansion. The meal goes very well until the end of the final course when our hero unmistakeably breaks wind with a multi-barrel fart, causing the cut glass crystal on the table to shatter. What should he do? Should he:

         A       Make a bee-line for the nearest exist and disappear back into the ghetto?B

.          B.   Take out his cheque-book and offer to pay for any damage? Or

          C.       Stand up on his chair and challenge anyone present to do better?

 I think Enda has gone for option C, but he may find he face3s a lot of competition from other fibbing politicians of all parties.

 But honestly, he should do the decent thing and sign up for the next series of What’s my lie?

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Fine Gael’s Presidential Quick-pick

The Fine Gael party has finally chosen a candidate for the presidency. I suppose he was the best of a really bad lot. Gay (by name, not by lifestyle choice) Mitchell came out of the selection convention yesterday. Mr Mitchell has denied claims that he wants to make the Aras into a sanctuary for penguins, claiming there’s lready a zoo in Phoenix Park..

Mairead Magennis was truly embarrassing with her continued emphasis on getting a blue … Fine Gael person into the presidency. It was about time that there was a Fine Gael President she intoned. This was unseemly. The holder of the office of president must be above narrow party politics and would be best to be a truly independent figure. The president must represent all sections of the Irish population, not just one particular patronage group. She spoke of the presidential office as if it were no more than the chairmanship of a town council or a Vocational Education Committee in Co. Leitrim. I think the success of Fine Gael in the last elections have gone to their head. I honestly think that had Mairead got the nod and (God preserve us) been elected, the Aras would have been painted blue on the inside and outside. Her candidacy was inspired by a desire to have someone who had been on television and in the public eue torival Sean Gallagher, but the FGers got their fingers burnt before – remember the George Lee fiasco, and Mairead was all they could get after Bunny Carr’s refusal to seek the nomination.

And then there was Pat Cox. His candidacy would have appealed, it was hoped, to all the political parties he has been a member of. He started out with Fianna Fail, then jumped ship to the Progressive Democrats became an independent when they disintegrated and now he’s with the Blueshirts. The only problem is that Pat is an incredibly arrogant and self-opinionated person who has insulted people in every political organisation of which he has been a member. I can’t really have imagined Cox asking anyone for a vote. Instead he would have responded to any erstwhile offers of support with a sneering “and why should I accept a vote from you?”  His political future now looks bleak. However his surname may save him. With a name like Cox he had to be a sexpert like his namesake Tracy Had he been elected certain figures in the porn industry like Hugh Heffner and Ben Dover would have had a field day. It has emerged that  anonymous backers of Cox planned to turn  into a clinic for all sorts of men’s problems from gonorrhoea to premature ejaculation, as well as a venue for seminars on how to give your woman satisfaction, in which he might be assisted by a pal from his PD days, Mary Harney.

Isn’t it a shame that they held the auditions on a Sunday, that way making sure no Protestant could put their head up.

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Sex, lies and audiotape

One of the most unfortunate aspects of Enda Kenny’s foray into the highways ad byways of mendacity is that it was caught on tape. The experiences of Brian “head-the-ball” Lenihan Sr with the research assistant should have been enough to warn Enda of the wisdom of the old paradigm “Whatever ya say say nothin’” As a result all future public meetings involving Enda or leading members of the government will be banned and will be before a “guests only” audience, which will be strip-searched beforehand for any concealed recording equipment. All meetings ibvolving Enda organised by Fine Gael will be open only to those who can show a clean Fine Gael pedigree, including a signed testimonial by General O’Duffy or the local bishop concerning their involvement in the struggle against communism in Spain will be sufficient. What is more the party leader will not so much speak as address his audience through sign language, If that doesn’t go down well with the punters recourse may be had to an old trick employed by Enver Hoxha in Albania – a lookalike will be put in to replace the real Enda Kenny. He will look and talk like him, but if  such a figure cannot be located someone of equal height and similar accent will be forced to undergo plastic surgery until he resembles the real Enda. This person will make all of Enda’s speeches and if he makes any commitments about keeping a brothel open or extending the opening hours for a VD clinic, the government can immediately say: “It wasn’t Enda what said it”.

 It is a bit rich now to claim that he made the commitment without knowing that Roscommon hospital was a death-trap, to be avoided by all healthy people. Surely, if that was the case, some of the politicos in Roscommon would have alerted him to it. And how can a hospital, parts of which were built only in the last ten years, have dilapidated to such third world conditions? If it is true surely those charged with its maintenance, and who got paid to keep it on par with health facilities elsewhere, have a case to answer.

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Enda’s porkies

So an taoiseach Enda Kenny has finally been outed as a purveyor of porky pies. What is his excuse? “Ah well, sure I heard about  the hospital and they were all sorta cheerin’ like an’ I lost the head.” Maybe like John A. Costello, on declaring Ireland a republic, Enda had had a few. Maybe he is like a former taoiseach, no names mentioned, whose truthfulness was brought into question by a mutual friend who said: “Yan fella will always say what he thinks ya wanta hear. Ya mightav bought a new car an’ he’d come up tya an shake your hand an’ say ‘That’s a powerful cyar yev just bought yerself’ even though the world might know it was a haip o’ shite”. Enda has been round the houses long enough by now. He’s the father of the Dail. He’s not like some neophyte TD full of aspirations, who promises free condoms (of any flavour) every week, a free orgasm each month, all under the slogan “A vote for me is a shag for you.”. But once elected a sordid reality check kicks in. The new boy (and I’m not being sexist here. Most women know it already) discovers that he is only a member of the legislature, the poor relation amongst the powers (Did someone say Powers? Thanks, with lots of ice) and that the real power in the land are the un-elected heads of Civil Service Departments, parastatals and other associated quangos. No, the fact is Enda’s only defence is to sing that song beloved of Morecombe & Wise. “Why did you believe me when I said I loved you when you know I’ve been a liar all my life?”

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HSE waste

Government cannot condone waste = Brian Cowen

Let’s give it in the neck to vampirism – Count Dracula

Give me chastity and continence – but not yet – St Augustine of Hippo.

Just a sample of the comments about the discovery of a catalogue of waste of public money and serious breaches of corporate governance, financial oversight and procurement” within the Health Service Executive, involving the SKILL programme operated by the HSE in conjunction with the Trades Union SIPTU.

 One can shrug one’s shoulders about dodgy conduct in the HSE, saying “What have they done now?” but SIPTU is one of our largest trade unions. What smells very much like larceny of public funds has occurred with the connivance of its officials. SIPTU should be protecting workers’ rights and conditions; its officials should not be feathering their own nest, either alone or in tandem with others.

 A slogan much used, abused and over-used by New Labour was “Tough on Crime, Tough on the causes of Crime”. What makes people steal? Poverty and deprivation can certainly play their part, though the bewigged perverts of the Judiciary have traditionally dismissed this as a motive. The erudite and opinionated Francis Bacon once wrote “opportunity makes the thief” and certainly temptation can be great, especially if you are starving.  But when those who do the stealing are already financially secure, or far more secure than the rank and file of society, we have to ask this question again. Is it psychological and social deviance, an example of grown up people reverting to their childhood and their desire to stick their tongues out at people? Ort is it something which reflects far more on the rottenness of our institutions and their personnel, be they executive, legislative or judicial? they steal because they think they can get away with it.

 And indeed we do not know the identities of those in the HSE whose lack of financial oversights and managerial competence have led to his debacle. We may never know, but one thing we can be fairly certain about is that they will never face legal or criminal sanction. In other words they will never stand before a member of the Eighteenth-century Themed Fancy Dress Party that is known as the Courts. Even if they did, they will meet up with people who will be unlikely to chastise them. Our judges are not arbiters of the Law, still less of Justice, but Social Policemen – there to ensure that no member of the establishment ever suffers for their misdeeds, and that the only ones who go to prison are the poor – if you don’t believe me, ask the Department of Justice how many “Middle Class” people there are in prison at the moment. Chances are they won’t be able to answer the question. So anyone who has stolen big, and I’m not talking about people who might have been benefiting from a few “nixers” with the labour” and who are guilty bye virtual of simply being poor, will not see the inside of a jail. Heavens, such dreadful places! It would ruin their health, lead to social obloquy as well as expulsion from their golf and rotary clubs.  This is in contrast to France, a truly republican nation, which has no qualms about hailing high0born miscreants. As a result of this unspoken impunity from prosecution, they won’t even be brought before a court. Instead they will be “retired”. This means that they will be given a nice, handsome golden handshake and allowed to ride off into the sunset of consultant land, together with a nice pension. This is their reward for wrongdoing. Surely, if our state wished to dissociated itself from such misdeeds, but yet it did not (maybe for sentimental reasons) wish these people to face a trail, they should just simply be dismissed, without a lump sum, without a pension, and made to experience the reality faced by those vile, horrible ordinary people – who incidentally pay their wages.

 Ask many a white-collar criminal whether they see anything wrong in what they do and they’ll probably answer with a laugh, “getting caught”.” But so many of our white-collar thieves don’t have to worry about being found out. The penalties are, let’s face it, hardly onerous.

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