Category Archives: Human Rights

Pity the Children

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nora_somebodyAs the Spotlight film opens in Dublin we are now facing into yet another sex abuse scandal in a foster home in the south east of Ireland. Covered up and facilitated by the HSE. You have to ask yourself after all the issues of child abuse in this country – how could this possibly happen? How can the State be so negligent? How can the State be so indifferent? And here we have yet another fine display of mock-shock-and horror from the HSE, the Government and certain TDs. Shame on you. There is not a child safe in the land because of your failure to care for the most vulnerable.
What is the famous catch phrase…oh yes, ‘ we failed to hear your cries’ (Bertie Ahern’s famous remarks)
Enda Kenny’s famous remarks about the Magdalene women with tears in his eyes? Many of the women are still waiting, many  have already died.  And Minister Lynch’s remarks that we’re heading towards a public inquiry beggars belief and goes to show how far removed she is from what is actually taking place here.  Its an act of disassociation. … What is the point in having Ministers for Health, Ministers for Children, Ministers for Justice when the perpetrators and the enablers of these outrages will never be brought to justice? Never face any consequences and no child is protected by the State. 
There is talk now of public inquiry and people being brought before the Public accounts committee. Here again, the State is investigating itself and we all know where that leads. What did our last public enquiries bring us? Massive fees, massive bills and no real truth or consequences.  Robert Fisk’s great title ‘Pity the Nation’ comes to mind here except in this instance its ‘Pity our children’.
The same culture that is evident in Spotlight uncovered by the Boston Globe. The same evidence that is being uncovered in the Ryan Report, the Ferns Report, the Murphy Report, we all know will be found to have been at play here in this foster home child abuse scandal. For the many good people out there who foster children and protect the vulnerable stand up, do you hear me, stand up and show leadership here. Don’t let the good work that I know many of you do be undermined by abusers and a weak State and Civil Service. Your reputations are seriously on the line here because this investigation is going to have to include all fostering and all foster homes and protocols and guidelines around children .
The Nation owes this person and her mother an apology.  It would be a travesty for the Taoiseach or any Minister now to utter such words or even the HSE. This needs to come from the mouth of our very own President, Michael D Higgins who would understand the failing of Government and State here. The President has the confidence of all the people and the credibility internationally to make this statement.
 
Where are all the child agencies? Where was Bernardo’s on this? They seem to come very late with their statements.  Where is Amnesty International on this? This has all the hallmarks of dread with the dark hand of the State and its agents all over it.
We can be very grateful to the whistleblower here who has taken enormous risk cause we all know what happens to people who tell the truth, the honest truth and have to whistle blow in this State.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/sex-abuse-cases-hse-admits-failings-in-foster-abuse-377142.html
 
Spotlight Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg5zSVxx9JM

Mother and Baby Home Commission of Investigation – Info

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TraffickedA Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby homes and a select few County homes has been established.

If you were in – resident, worked in or had connections with any of the Mother and Baby homes on the list below between 1922 and 1998  the commission would like you to get in contact with them.

You can write to their confidential committee or meet with them in person.  They are looking to hear from former residents, employees and others with relevant information to hear about their experiences.

List of Institutions under Investigation

(1) Mother and Baby Homes as follows:
1) Ard Mhuire, Dunboyne, Co Meath;
2) Belmont (Flatlets), Belmont Ave, Dublin 4;
3) Bessboro House, Blackrock, Cork;
4) Bethany Home, originally Blackhall Place, Dublin 7 and from 1934 Orwell Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6;
5) Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home, Tuam, Co. Galway;
6) Denny House, Eglinton Rd, Dublin 4, originally Magdalen Home, 8 Lower Leeson St, Dublin 2;
7) Kilrush, Cooraclare Rd, Co. Clare;
8) Manor House, Castlepollard, Co Westmeath;
9) Ms. Carr’s (Flatlets), 16 Northbrook Rd, Dublin 6;
10) Regina Coeli Hostel, North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7, and
11) Sean Ross Abbey, Roscrea, Co Tipperary;
12) St. Gerard’s, originally 39, Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1.
13) St. Patrick’s, Navan Road, Dublin 7, originally known as Pelletstown; and subsequent transfer to Eglinton House, Eglinton Rd, Dublin 4, and
14) The Castle, Newtowncunningham, Co. Donegal.

(2) County Homes
A representative sample of those County Homes selected by the Commission as both fulfilling a function with regard to single women and their children similar to the institutions at (1) above and where the extent of the operation of this function is considered to merit their inclusion for the purposes of the investigations set out at Article 1(I) to (VIII) above having regard to factors such as the number of relevant births, the duration of such operations and the typical length of accommodation period of these mothers and children.
1Historical and official sources may refer to these institutions by various names, and in some cases the Homes may have moved premises during their period of operation.

AmericaForsaken site1
CONTACT
FREEPHONE: 1800 806 688
EMAIL:  info@mbhcoi.ie
POST:   Mother and Baby homes
       Commission of Investigation,
        73 Lower Baggot St, Dublin 2
or
P.O. Box 12626, Dublin 2
All identities will be held in confidence.  
For more detailed information please see www.mbhcoi.ie

The Boulevard of Equals

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Tread softly because you tread on our dream - Say Yes, Vote Yes

Tread softly because you tread on our dream – Say Yes, Vote Yes

TREAD SOFTLY BECAUSE YOU TREAD ON A DREAM – VOTE YES IN MAY

The forthcoming referendum on marriage equality offers a new generation of citizens the opportunity to have their values enshrined in the Irish constitution.  As it stands at the moment, the Constitution endorses a narrow faith-based definition of marriage rather than a definition that recognises the human and civil rights of all.

For too long Irish society has been managed by an unholy alliance of Church and State; there was only one way, the Catholic way.  There was no consideration given to the great mystery of how a human being, in its different shapes and forms, like a sturdy tree, evolves, grows and flourishes.  The constitution is not written in stone, but is a living document which should reflect the aspirations of all the citizens of the country.  This referendum is not about sexuality; it is about equality under the constitution – a hard fought for republican constitution which embraces the grand idea that no single individual nor institution should have domination.  It is time for the institutional Catholic Church and its supporters to realize that they can no longer expect their brand of virtue to be foisted upon others.  The relationship between citizens, their faith, their religion, their spirituality, their God and indeed their marriage choices are personal ones and our constitution must change now to protect the expression of those choices.

It is not surprising that those who, for centuries, have held a monopoly on what is deemed to be moral would be scared of change.  After all, religion and religious organisations have always been in the business of the religious business and sought to keep their customers loyal by whatever means possible – means ranging from burning at the stake to forced adoptions, destruction of family life, excommunication etc.  Those of us who have lived here long enough know too well the damage done when people are ruled by fear, exclusion, punishment and penalty.

God never failed anyone that I know who believes in God or a God, but I know tens of thousands of people who have walked away from the Catholic Church because they were betrayed, because they were let down, because they were damaged, because the Irish church was wrong.  There are many still whom I meet on a regular basis who are hurt, disappointed and who continue to go to church only to pray for answers and solutions to the decline of their church and to ease their own personal hurt and confusion about the behaviour of some members of the catholic clergy and of the church leadership.

If we don’t mature and become responsible citizens and go out in May and create a document that is fit for purpose, well then we all fall back. Things are changing in Ireland; they have been for some time and a “yes” vote will acknowledge and claim that change.  We don’t lose anything by voting YES.  We gain.  Irish society gains.   The constitution is a statement of our aspirations and many of us want Ireland to be a place where all our citizens can grow and flourish.  This is not a black and white issue about sexuality and sexual identity.  It’s not even a moral issue.  It’s an issue of legal and constitutional right and the freedom to express that right and for that right to be protected under the constitution.

Changing the constitution is what gives it life.  It is not a dusty old document under glass in a controlled atmosphere in some museum.  The constitution of Ireland is a flesh and blood document that lives and breathes alongside and with us.  It is the document from which our legislation flows and the laws of this republic should never endorse inequality in any shape or form.  It must give equal opportunity to all.  No exceptions.  The present Government are to be commended for bringing this referendum forward, but it is worth bearing in mind that it is highly unlikely that they would present the Irish public with an amendment to the constitution that is going to threaten our way of life in any shape or form.  I will be supporting the change to the constitution and I call on my fellow artists and all those in the cultural community to support an end to discrimination and exclusion. Equality now and always, till death do us part.

A Grandiose Conference of Indifference

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photo-18

 

This opinion is meant in the best possible constructive taste and one should take it without the fear of uncomfortability.  If we are not challenged and open to challenge and if we are not uneasy, well that is a very unhealthy place to be. Honesty is the order of the day. 

Hidden Rooms or Hidden agenda? Collaboration or evasion? Inclusion or exclusion? What difference? DCC’s A Different Conference or a conference of gobbledygook.

November 25th to 26th A conference on the future of the City has been taking place in and around Dublin’s City centre.

How out of touch can Dublin City Council be from its homeless people  is evident in the laissez faire expenditure in this Pivot project. One can only coin the phrase

‘City Manager, City Manager,the people of Dublin are homeless’ and his reply is ‘Let them have Pivot, let them have conferences on City living’.

You cannot justify not being able to maintain the basic needs of people’s housing i.e. fixing a broken window for a senior citizen, or housing a homeless family, by this elite gathering of elites to simply waffle on about their grand designs.

As a Councillor and a Dubliner, in my opinion, to conduct these conferences in light of the above and to continue with the failed Pivot bid and its program is nothing short of shamelessness and indifference to the poor of our city.  One has only got to look at the line up of guest speakers and participants to see the usual wafflers offering their tuppence worth of what has already been well discussed and well ironed out in other cities.  All they are doing is an act of plagiarism. There is nothing original here.  It is simply grand standing of personalities before any principal or consideration of the ethical implications of wasting such scarce financial resources when they had better been spent on maintaining and housing our homeless and looking after our elderly and needy.

Its quite obvious that this is a pet project centered around self promotion and is substanceless no doubt we will get the booklet and the DVD on how marvelous the whole event was.  Like the many other DVDs and catalogues we have gotten over the years.

You cannot justify this for one moment when there are hundreds of children homeless this very day.  If you want to do something with the kind of money that you are so loose with, the public purse, spend it on the public’s poor and not on your well off selves.  Possibly spend some of your own money on this, you might be a bit more prudent and reckless rather than the complete waste of scarce resources of the finances of City Council.

All of these issues have been driven in the Dublin City Council Development plan, the local area plans so on and so forth. They were even discussed in the SDZ Docklands plans and the Grangegorman plans.  Lets face it folks, this is more naval gazing and it is highly unlikely that anything, other than more grandiosity, will emerge from this.

Spend the money on the citizens who need it most.  Spend the money on making children safe tonight but stop this nonsense, this indifference, to the public purse and the people of the city.  This is designed entirely for a professional ruling class elite so as they can all slap each other on the back and I know you know, from the many that I spoke with over the conference, that there is great uncomfortability and uneasiness about this rather surreal event given what’s going on outside of the doors and out on the streets outside City Hall.

photo-19Nothing to smile about with this expenditure #hiddenhouse 
Question to the Chief Executive Council Meeting 03 November 2014

Q.159 COUNCILLOR MANNIX FLYNN

Can the Chief Executive issue a full report with regards to PIVOT and the bid for design capital.  This report to include how much was spent on the bid for design capital and what was the allocation an expenditure of PIVOT.  Also what are the future plans for this initiative and what its achievements to date are.

 CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPLY:

Report on the PIVOT Dublin initiative and the bid for World Design Capital 2014, allocation and expenditure, achievements to date and future plans for the initiative.

PIVOT Dublin is an initiative to promote the use of design as a driver of social, cultural and economic development in the city. It has served as a means of promoting Dublin’s design businesses domestically and internationally, promoting Dublin’s attractiveness as a place to visit and do business and promoted greater public understanding of the role and potential of design as a means of effecting an improved quality of life in the city’s built environment.

The PIVOT Dublin initiative originated through the bid for World Design Capital 2014 which was run during 2010 and 2011. The bid was a joint initiative by Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, South Dublin County Council and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The following documents provide a full report on the bid:

 

  • World Design Capital 2014; The Potential for Dublin to mount a bid for the designation (2010)
  • Guide to the World Design Capital 2014 Bid (2011)
  • Guide to PIVOT Dublin (2012)

The expenditure for 2010 to 2011 on the bid for World Design Capital 2014 was as follows:

  • Overall expenditure on Bid (Dublin City Council, Fingal Co Council, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council, Fáilte Ireland): €386,275

 

  • Dublin City Council expenditure (included in the above): €314,227

The allocation to PIVOT Dublin is made on the basis of a costed programme submitted in advance each year to the Chief Executive.

Motion in support of Gay Russian Community

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Cllr Flynn Motion May 2014

Cllr Flynn Motion May 2014

The motion above was before Dublin City Council at its monthly meeting in April. It was postponed for a month as one Councillor associated it with censorship and questioned whether it was supported by the gay community etc. The exhibition itself is by artists who are long deceased and relates to the Russian Revolution and it is meant to coincide with the 2016 celebration. It is in no way an act of censorship it is more in line with sanctions and challenges that are designed to oppose the manner in which Putin has threatened the gay community in Russia.

The Gay community the world over and indeed many in society at large are absolutely appalled at the draconian measures that have been brought into legislation to suppress and oppress the Gay community of Russia. As an artist and a politician, I am wholeheartedly opposed to these measures, hence, the motion. Please indicate your support by sharing this motion and if you email me mannix.flynn@dublincity.ie I will forward your support to the Council meeting tomorrow (Monday 12th May) where I will speak on this motion.

Many artists from musicians to visual arts are withdrawing from scheduled concerts and artistic events such as Documenta 10 in solidarity with the Russian Gay Community.

 

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/arts_n_ideas/article/manifesta-10-plays-down-concerns-about-russia/497323.html

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/05/russia-anti-gay-law-criticism-playing-into-putin-hands

 

https://www.allout.org/en/actions/russia-attacks

The Vatican, UN Committee on Torture, Geneva and Children’s rights

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Report by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Jan 2014

Report by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Jan 2014

Today in Geneva the Vatican have been called to give account of cover up at the UN Commission against Torture in Geneva and to answer why nothing substantial has been done to protect children from sexual attack by religious and the culture.

The UN committee is reviewing the Vatican on its compliance with international prohibitions against torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under the Convention Against Torture, which the Vatican ratified in 2002. This will be the second time in four months that top Catholic officials have been called before the UN to account for the Vatican’s human rights record on addressing the ongoing worldwide crisis of sexual violence and cover-ups within the Catholic Church. Vatican representatives will appear before and be questioned by the Committee on May 5 and 6, 2014.

Today testimony from those who have experienced abuse at the hands of religious will give evidence.
I was invited to participate but due to my workload it is not possible. My thoughts and prayers are with all of those who are engaged in the fight for truth and justice.

The image attached is the last report from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child which was published in Jan 2014.It was the first time the Holy See had been called to account for its actions, or lack thereof, on these issues before an international body. In February 2014, the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed “grave concern that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed…has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and impunity of the perpetrators,” and that “[t]he Holy See has consistently placed the preservation of the reputation of the Church and the protection of the perpetrators above children’s best interests.”

http://ccrjustice.org/newsroom/press-releases/vatican-summoned-report-un-committee-torture

Rest in Peace, Christine Buckley

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chairs

Christine Buckley gave hope and living voice to the many who suffered in silence in Ireland’s Residential Institutions and throughout their lives.  She will be greatly missed but her strong voice will be heard forever.  Rest in Peace.

Then they put me into a car zoom zoom, beep beep over O’Connell Bridge, past the Ha’penny Bridge, along Capel Street Bridge. All alone all along the Liffey I cried like the canal to the gates of Goldenbridge. At Goldenbridge, the nuns said that they were my sisters now. ‘Now, now, stop that crying or we’ll give you something to cry about. Christ didn’t cry. Christ wasn’t a whinger.’ I cried, I screamed for me ma, yelled for me da. Then all the kids there started to cry like me. We screamed through the clatters in the face, the lashes across the back of our legs, the smashing of our heads against the doors.
‘Mary is our mother now and God is our Father. Repeat, Mary is our mother now and God is our Father. ‘Tis the Divil that has you all crying. ‘Tis the Divil so that we’ll be getting out of here, only the Divil. James, that’s a lovely boy’s name. Stop that crying now. Silence is golden, boys and girls. Silence is golden. St James, a lovely saint.’
I rocked back, I rocked forward. I rocked in silence for a day, for a week maybe two. I cried until I was dry. I bit my lip; I bit my nails; I pissed the bed; I rubbed my eyes; I bit the boy beside me, I bit the girl beside me. They both bit me back. The nuns and the priest battered us all. Screamed at us that we were bold and evil and that they were going to put us into the washing machine to wash our souls of sin, souls of sin, souls of sin. I rocked back and forth till one day somebody came and picked me up into their arms and took me back home, to my ma, to my da and all the family and another new baby. Silence is golden, golden, in Goldenbridge. Ssssssh.  (James X)

SONY DSC

Release Margaretta D’Arcy Now!

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To everyone out there – please petition the Irish authorities and the Minister for Arts, Jimmy Deenihan (jimmy.deenihan@oir.ie) for the immediate release of artist, political activist and Aosdana member Margaretta D’Arcy.

Margaretta is now incarcerated in Limerick prison on the trivial matter of refusing to sign a peace bond regarding her protest at Shannon Airport.  Margaretta is a committed person but is of very frail health.  The courts and the administration of justice’s first role is mercy and compassion.

Margaretta D’Arcy is a threat to no-one and certainly no threat to public order.  She is a person of enormous integrity and dignity and is one of the finest global citizens one could meet carrying an Irish passport.

A moment behind bars is a moment too long for this courageous individual to be out of our company.

Margaretta was simply exercising her right to protest without hindrance. All right minded citizens should immediately ring their TDs, Cllrs and Public Representatives and insist that Margaretta D’Arcy be release immediately.  She is 79 years of age and is a National Treasure. She is a life long committed activist.  Please support this worthy woman and bring her home.