What do Fine Gael politicians do when they retire? Join the corporate elite naturally.

The Dublin, MEP, Brian Hayes has become a well-paid lobbyist for bankers. Now their former leader, Enda Kenny is joining the global advisory council for a vulture fund. ... read full story / add a comment

Lay Litigant Kevin Tracey had a significant win in the Supreme Court when he succeeded in having a contempt of court order quashed after 12 years and 9 months. In the judgement delivered by O;Donnell J and supported by 3 colleagues including the Chief Justice it was found that he had not received fair procedures in the District Court. In his long struggle for justice there were many obstacles in his way. One of these was the Courts Service within whose walls someone backdated a Court order by nine months. This prevented him from appealing a High Court judgement within the permitted time limit. The long struggle for justice reminds me of the remark of a passing countryman to a mason called Mike who with my student brother was taking longer than expected to build build a hen shed: “Do you know, Mike, if every hen was as hard housed, a lot of them would shleep out”. It’s not funny to recall in these days of homelessness, that many other lay litigants may be left literally sleeping out after the justice system in Ireland prolongs their agony in their efforts to obtain simple justice from that same justice system. ... read full story / add a comment

These are my initial published thoughts on the terrorist attack I and my partner survived and endured 17th August 2017.
Fadó Fadó, long time ago, when many more readers came to this corner of the internet, I published a series of articles in reaction to a terrorist attack on Madrid, the 11th of March 2004. I promoted a simple design back then, to my surprise the idea found traction and was accepted by countless people. i had thought my suggestion was easy to reproduce and helped people express collective mourning, to show publicly their fellowship with a community in shock. My design was a black ribbon, one which was easy to knock up variations upon and print out. I admit the ribbon idea was based on my much younger years when I had worn a green ribbon in support of a complex idea back then : the inclusion of political prisoners in a tentative British Irish peace process. Am I turning some off the provenance? OH talk to me about my youth why not? The idea of a black ribbon took off the weekend of March 11th, 2004, whilst the then government of Spain falsely attributed an attack by Salafists in the ambit of Al Qaeda on Madrid by blaming the Basque armed seperatist group ETA. IT was a few days before a general election. An estimated 80,000 people took to the streets of Spain and the Spanish state and camped out in front of government offices and the offices of the ruling party demanding the truth... I was one... the ribbon was a moment in my life... I never wanted to see it used again In the last hours the city of my home where I have lived almost 20 years has been victim of a long anticipated terrorist attack. Even google now puts a black ribbon. I return to indymedia ireland to indulge POV reflections. ... read full story / add a comment

Yesterday the city where I live was victim to terrorist attack which has long been anticipated and it would seem prepared for. The attack happened within 600 metres of my home. I pass on foot every day the street which yesterday became a trail of human blood dragged out by a young man turned mass murderer, to be claimed and vaunted later by so-called DAESH/ISIS and then it seems to be a trigger for another simliar attack on a tourist town. You will understand if I come to this text with attitude. I have pointed out many times the soft points in the city where I live & yesterday my wife and another our closest friend were both caught up in on ordeal which lasted hours. There are lessons to learn. These are thus my initial published thoughts on the terrorist attack I and my partner survived and endured 17th August 2017 & are party to the words I am writing and publishing now in various languages. There are lessons to learn & I feel it my duty to point out a few. Especially since a meme idea I promoted lots perhaps thought up if i can remember correctly is the go to for societal collective fetishized memorial glyph. I never wanted to see black ribbons again. But they do come back & they will. ... read full story / add a comment

This is opinion & analysis piece comes from Integrity Ireland who are attempting to fight corruption in the legal system and face an uphill struggle in their task and this piece illustrates well what they are up against.
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Well, it has been an interesting few weeks again, with reports of increasingly odd and bizarre ‘developments’ – especially regarding decisions being made by Gardaí, by Courts Service Staff and by senior personnel at the DPP’s Office. ... read full story / add a comment

To help highlight the case of the Jobstown 18 we are republishing an open letter by Irish Writers.

We write as writers concerned with the impact of proposed jury restrictions in the case of the Jobstown 18 on freedom of expression in Ireland. ... read full story / add a comment

March for Justice for Jobstown Not Guilty tomorrow, ahead of the trial which starts next week. 1pm at Central Bank Dame St in Dublin. Please watch this information clip, share and join the protest tomorrow. ... read full story / add a comment

Garda Maurice McCabe was an honest Garda who was horrified by the way that ‘respected’ and well connected people got their penalty points written off.

When he reported this practice, he was immediately ostracised. Senior officials saw him as a dangerous outsider who was upsetting local networks of privilege. Far from being ground down, Maurice McCabe started to look at other malpractices.

He blew the whistle on how Gardai in the Cavan –Monaghan area deliberately reduced a charge against Gerard McGrath who had viciously assaulted a female taxi driver. ... read full story / add a comment

There is more than a whiff of corruption arising from NAMA. The most obvious case has already been highlighted with Project Eagle in Northern Ireland.

Here a giant US company Cerberus paid a €7 million fixer fee to secure assets originally worth €6.5 billion for just €1.34 billion. Even though Michael Noonan was informed that another company had withdrawn from the bidding after it was asked for a ‘fixer fee’, he still allowed the sale to go ahead.

The main fixer was Frank Cushnihan, a well connected insider among the Northern political elite. It is alleged that Peter Robinson and his son Garret stood to benefit from this fee. Astoundingly, Cushnihan was also acting as an advisor for 58% of NAMA’s Northern debtors. ... read full story / add a comment

In the months leading up to the Olympics there was a clear political campaign to kick Russia out of the Olympics and this was all part of the broader strategy to make Russia the number one enemy of the West and to restart a new Cold War which the USA has managed to more or less achieve.

However it was surely obvious to anyone who follows sport that there are plenty of others taking drugs and nobody is squeaky clean. Therefore it comes as no surprise to discover the US athletes were taking drugs but what does come as a surprise is the influence of the global US machine on the likes of bodies such as World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) who seem to have one set of rules for some countries and allows them to take drugs with "doctor's note" and other rules for other countries where no such exemptions or rather turning of a blind eye are allowed.

All of this has come to light as a result of recent hacking of WADA. Naturally it is blamed on the Russians. Whether it is or isn't is in material. What matters is what was found and blaming the hackers whoever they are, is simply away to distract from the issue. ... read full story / add a comment

On Sept 6th - Tuesday in Castlebar District Court, latest hearing in the State’s attempt to criminally prosecute two prominent I-I members for speaking up in Court when a judge, aided and abetted by others in the pay of the State, broke just about every rule in the book! ... read full story / add a comment

We will assemble outside SuperValu Car Park in Westport town at 11am on Sunday 4th September.

Judge Seamus Hughes had a total of six penalty points wiped from his driver’s licence on three separate occasions between 2011 and 2012, Phoenix Magazine claims.

The Wesport native, who is also a former Fianna Fail TD, clocked up the first offence on March 28 2011, shortly after taking over from retired judge, John Neilan in District Number Nine. ... read full story / add a comment

Dormit in Pace
2013:

Sitting in the cells beneath one of our country’s circuit courts, my travel-weary eyes settle briefly on my hands. Their stillness and my stoic-like composure belie my internal turmoil.

I cast a cold eye over my surroundings - stale urine and solid waste regurgitated from a steel toilet lays siege to the senses. Cigarette butts litter the floor; confetti of condemned men. Crude misspelt graffiti bears mute testimony to the length of their sentences and the shortness of their education. A reasonable inference using the inverse square law - my maths teacher would be proud. ... read full story / add a comment

There is 'a plan' for tomorrow, Wed Jan 13th folks at Castlebar
Courthouse - where we hope and intend to (peacefully) place the
spotlight on the outrageous abuses of the law and the Constitution which
are ongoing daily in our so-called 'Courts of Justice!' Amongst the
issues we wish to highlight are: (1) NO more private or secret Courts.
(2) NO more illegal assaults on the public. (3) Registrars and Judges to
abide by the law. (4) Proper sanctions for fraud, perjury and contempt
of Court (by authority figures). (5) Proper action on legitimate
citizen's arrests. (6) Equality for lay litigants. (7) ..and an end to
multiple abuses of our fundamental rights by politically-appointed
Judges and Registrars. TV cameras are expected, so let's make the most
of it! ... read full story / add a comment

Today we are publishing a copy of an open letter sent to the Judges of Ireland by Integrity Ireland relating to corruption in the legal system.

Dear JAAB / Courts Service Staff;

Please ensure that the attached email letter (also by recorded post) is
brought to the personal attention of each of the persons listed on page
3, and that the contents are made known to any and all Courts Service
Staff members, solicitors, barristers and Registrars, who may in any way
be implicated in facilitating the criminal activities as referenced
herein. ... read full story / add a comment

Integrity Ireland which was setup to expose and fight corruption in our legal
and justice system has written an Open Letter to President Higgins because of
the unprecedented obstalces and obstructions that they have encountered.

The open letter reproduced below is seeking the protection of the Presidential Office in the
event we have to arrest two of our most senior judges for criminal conspiracy on Friday January
30th next.. ... read full story / add a comment

Shell to Sea has called on Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Alex White to clarify what impact Corrib Gas partner Vermilion's Luxembourg tax avoidance deal – revealed in today's Irish Times – will have on the revenue the exchequer thinks it will earn from the Corrib gas field. [1] ... read full story / add a comment

On Wednesday 9th July, 6 Corrib campaigners appeared in Belmullet District court to answer charges as a result of their opposition to Shell. While the following Friday John Monaghan appeared in Castlebar Circuit Court, where he was appealing a conviction of obstruction and careless driving outside Shell's Aughoose compound. ... read full story / add a comment

The Shell to Sea campaign is making a fresh call for whistleblowers to come forward to expose malpractice and corruption in the facilitation of the Shell Corrib gas project. The call comes in the wake of the publication of the Guerin report and against the backdrop of the ongoing criminalisation of protest against the imposition of the Corrib gas project in Co. Mayo. ... read full story / add a comment

Not unexpectedly Martin Callinan was forced to stand down as head of the Gardai on 25th March 2014. Throughout 2013 I have written a number of articles concerning malpractices within the Garda organisation and particularly the questionable management style of (former) Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan. While Callinan was eventually forced from office, the ‘mess’ created during his term will take years to cleanse, indeed if ever. That will only happen when there is accountability. Amongst the outstanding bad practice issues are multiple claims of Gardai mishandling of a number of serious cases involving abduction, assault and murder that are being presently looked at by a Senior Barrister and now we are told that people have been maliciously prosecuted previously, it is frightening. However, if former Garda Wilson or others are in possession of such detail he must divulge it to the relevant authority.
... read full story / add a comment