Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Posts Tagged ‘Fianna Fáil

Man charged over a child-rape, CityWest racist riots; Despicable commentary by government and Sinn Féin representatives, echoed by irresponsible journalists

leave a comment »

Man charged over a child-rape, CityWest racist riots; Despicable commentary by government and Sinn Féin representatives, echoed by irresponsible journalists

Sinn Féin has a lot of influence, and is playing the racist card.

Listen to Matt Carthy TD, SF, Cavan-Monaghan.

Well-spotted by Saoirse McHugh; and well spoken by Eimer McAuley, a journalist.

Politicians defending despicable “legitimate concerns” protests have carried the ball up the pitch for the riots at CityWest

Politicians defending these despicable "legitimate concerns" protests have carried the ball up the pitch for the riots at citywest.Thank God Eimer is there cause none of these people, TDs included, seem to give a shit when it's a white Irish man brutalizing, abusing, or murdering women or children

Saoirse McHugh (@saoirsemc.bsky.social) 2025-10-23T06:48:13.676Z

Saoirse McHugh :

” Politicians defending these despicable “legitimate concerns” protests have carried the ball up the pitch for the riots at citywest. Thank God Eimer is there cause none of these people, TDs included, seem to give a shit when it ‘ s a white Irish man brutalizing, abusing, or murdering women or children”

Cedar Lounge Revolution :
Spot On, Cedar Lounge Revolution

The same message is promoted by irresponsible RTÉ journalists and government politicians such as Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan on news programmes and RTÉ’s Prime Time referencing “legitimate” concerns expressed by residents, contributing to a “consensus” that immigrants are the problem, and tougher deportation policies are needed.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Businessman behind smears against Jim Gavin previously spread false claims about rival” – Irish Times report on Kieran Kelly, far-right targeter of Irish presidential candidate

leave a comment »

Far-right activist Maria Steen, who failed to secure a nomination for the 2025 Irish presidential election, agrees she spoke with Kieran Kelly.

The 2025 Irish presidential election is toxic and dirty, and that is going to continue, TrumpSteen or no TrumpSteen.

“When contacted by The Irish Times on Monday, (Kieran Kelly) declined to share any evidence for the claims, saying it would be made available at a later date.

Mr Kelly said online that he had a call this month with Maria Steen, the conservative campaigner trying to enter the presidential election.

Ms Steen confirmed the call during a press conference on Tuesday.

She said: “As you can imagine, I’ve been getting calls from lots of different people who I have never met before and have never spoken to before.

“I had a call with Kieran Kelly. He mentioned nothing about Jim Gavin or any other candidate to me. He talked about, I think, that there’s an organisation called the Wild Geese, of Irish people abroad, who are taking an interest in Irish politics.

“That was the sum total of the phone call. I listened to what he had to say, and that was it.”

  • Cormac McQuinn and Pat Leahy Irish Times, September 23 2025

The left-wing candidate Catherine Connolly needs to promote a positive anti-racist message.


The absence of Steen from the presidential ballot paper is tempting government coalition partners Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to play the racist card in support of their candidates Jim Gavin and Heather Humphreys.

Read the rest of this entry »

‘I was raped by Mountbatten in Kincora at 11; he wasn’t a lord… to me he was king of the paedophiles’ – Journalist Chris Moore makes sensational new allegations in a new book

with one comment

Chris Moore from Belfast is no ordinary journalist.

He has worked for decades on the Kincora child abuse scandal. After extensive new research he makes credible allegations about the British royal family’s Lord Mountbatten (killed by an August 1979 IRA bomb in the western Irish county of Sligo) and a wide-ranging British state cover-up.

A new book brings the story up-to-date.

Link :


Kincora: Britain’s Shame – Mountbatten, MI5, the Belfast Boys’ Home Sex Abuse Scandal and the British Cover-Up

Kincora: Britain’s Shame – Mountbatten, MI5, the Belfast Boys’ Home Sex Abuse Scandal and the British Cover-Up

Readers are recommended to go and see the film “Lost Boys” whenever they get the chance – despite the British State’s efforts to kill the story, aided and abetted by the Irish police force, An Gárda Síochána (Guardians of the Peace).

All of this is grim reading.

The UK government has locked up files on Kincora until 2065 & 2085.Veteran investigative journalist Chris Moore’s new book, ‘Kincora: Britain’s Shame’, launched last night in a packed Duke of York bar, means we don’t have to wait until then. #mustread

Patrick Corrigan (@patrick-corrigan.bsky.social) 2025-05-16T09:13:34.658Z
Read the rest of this entry »

Obituary: Cathleen O’Neill, witty, irreverent and tireless activist, author and advocate for social change – Lorna Siggins

leave a comment »

We are delighted to publish a second tribute to Cathleen O’Neill on this blog – this time written by Lorna Siggins for the Sunday Independent, May 11 2025.

A link is here :
Cathleen O’Neill Tribute, by Lorna Siggins; Witty, Irreverent, Tireless Activist, Author, Advocate for Social Change – Sunday Independent

Cathleen’s Death Notice is here ;
Cathleen O’Neill, Death Notice, RIP.IE

All who attended the funeral will remember the hilarious stories and moving tributes. Cathleen, in lock-step with her campaigning friend and activist Joan Byrne, was fearless.


Cathleen O’Neill, who has died aged 76, was a witty, irreverent and tireless activist, author and advocate for social change whose passion for education and opportunity transformed countless lives.

Described as an “organic intellectual” by Professor Kathleen Lynch of UCD, she said she was one of a rare few experts whose ideas were informed by their own working-class background. She was born and reared in Ballyfermot, Dublin, as the eldest of 13 children, but said in an Irish Times interview in September 2012 that her life “began at 33”.

Read the rest of this entry »

The FFFGBG (Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Beggar Gombeens) Programme for Government – Racist Devils in the Detail

leave a comment »

A friend has begun vital work – examination of the 2025 FFFGBG Programme for Government, which contains lots of measures these parties did not propose during the recent general election campaign.


Alarming things

The programme for government has a few alarming things in it – (and the government has a few alarming people in it) eg there’s lots of commitment to reduce carbon emissions alongside actions and plans that will directly increase carbon emissions. There’s a bunch of mangled science around the particular characteristics of methane and it’s basically a valentine card to those involved in data center construction.

Shutting people up over Israel’s genocide

It also has a commitment to recognise a particular and highly contested definition of anti- semitism which would help those who want us to shut up about Israel’s genocide and occupation – and which was as far as I can remember not part of any single party or politician’s election platform. It would be very interesting to find out how and from where and on whose request this made it into the programme.

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by tomasoflatharta

Jan 30, 2025 at 4:03 pm

Posted in 1921 Treaty Partitioning Ireland, 2004 Referendum Amending Citizenship Definition in Irish Constitution, Adoption, Apartheid, “A Carnival of Reaction” - James Connolly’s Warning About the Partition of Ireland, Beggar-Gombeens (BGs), Catholic Church, Censorship, Child Abuse, Corruption, Direct Provision - Irish Gombeen State Racism, Dublin Governments, Emigration and Immigration, Feminism, FFFGGG Coalition, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Gombeens, Poltroons, History of Ireland, Hope and Courage Collective, Human Rights, International Political Analysis, Ireland, Ireland's Open(ish) Border, Irish General Election February 8 2020, Irish General Election November 29 2024, Israel, Israel Assault on Gaza, October 2023, Legislation in Ireland to Legalise Abortion, Martyn Turner, Cartoonist, Mobilising to Oppose Violence Against Women, Moriarty Tribunal, Mother and Child Scheme, Noël Browne, Seán MacBride, Clann na Poblachta, Racism, Saint Rita’s Nursing Home, Ranelagh, The Irish Times, University Occupations, Israeli Genocide 2025, Vatican, Violence Against Women, Women

Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Irish General Election 2024 : Corruption and Racist CV of Head Beggar-Gombeen Michael Lowry TD; Bacik Pulls Labour Out of Coalition Talks

leave a comment »

Michael Lowry TD is currently in the news as he is the “point of contact” for the Beggar-Gombeen (BG) Regional Independent Group of Dáil deputies negotiating a coalition deal with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael (FFFG). One of Lowry’s BG colleagues, Verona Murphy, was elected Dáil Ceann Comhairle on December 18, paving the way for the creation of a coalition government bringing together FFFG and the BG’s in January 2025.

FFFG’s coalition options are narrowing, as the Labour party has confirmed it is unwilling to be a coalition mudguard.

Source :
The Labour party will not be a FFFG Mudguard – Ivana Bacik pulls out of coalition government talks

Lowry is a former Fine Gael Minister who had to resign in 1995 over his suspicious financial connections with wealthy business men Denis O’Brien, Ben Dunne, and others. He was marooned on the backbenches, for very good reasons.

The State’s Moriarty Tribunal investigated the finances of Lowry, former Fianna Fáil leader Charles Haughey, and many other establishment politicians.

The Moriarty Tribunal, officially called the Tribunal of Inquiry into certain Payments to Politicians and Related Matters, was an Irish Tribunal of Inquiry established in 1997 into the financial affairs of politicians Charles Haughey and Michael Lowry. It has revealed significant tax evasion by these and other politicians and leading businessmen. As a consequence, the tax authorities have recovered millions of euro in settlements and penalties from many individuals

Michael Lowry’s financial connections to Denis O’Brien (a wealthy businessman) who secured a pot of gold (a licence to set up a mobile phone network in Ireland) were thoroughly investigated. Here are the 2011 Moriarty Tribunal Conclusions :

Link
Moriarty Tribunal – Conclusions, Michael Lowry TD

Lowry has a strong racist CV.

“I am Not A Racist”…..But

Lowry is a well-dressed suit-and-tie racist (STR).

The trick is to oppose the housing of vulnerable immigrants in your own constituency.

Dishonest reasons are proposed : buildings should be used for something else : locals need a nursing home, a hotel…….anything but safe accommodation for immigrants. Arson and rioting drives immigrants onto the streets or sub-standard accommodation such as Crooksling in Dublin’s Clondalkin. But that is bad publicity for a STRs such as Lowry.

So, verbal gymnastics :

Ireland’s current immigartion policy is unfit for purpose and ‘ordinary people’ in communities around the country are angry, Deputy Michael Lowry told the Dáil.

“Taoiseach, recently in the Dail I addressed you in relation to the resentment that is simmering in towns and villages across Ireland. This genuine and heartfelt anger is not coming from organised groups such as we witnessed in Dublin last week, it is coming from ordinary people”, the Tipperary TD said on Tuesday addressing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Justice Minister, Helen McEntee.

“People are filled with pent-up worry, fear and frustration at how their communities have changed due to the influx of International Protection applicants. It has reached a stage where people fear the Department will target every vacant building in their communities.

Source :
Modify and rebalance Ireland’s immigration policy – Michael Lowry

Conclusions

  • Lowry “secured the winning” of the 1995 mobile licence for O’Brien.
  • O’Brien made two payments to Lowry in 1996 and 1999 totalling IR£500,000 (£147,000 and £300,000) and supported a loan of £420,000 given to Lowry in 1999, a benefit equivalent to a payment.
  • Lowry imparted substantive information to O’Brien which was “of significant value and assistance to him in securing the licence”.
  • Lowry bypassed consideration by his Cabinet colleagues and thereby not only influenced, but delivered the result for Esat Digifone.
  • A US$50,000 donation to Fine Gael was made through Telenor on behalf of Esat Digifone.
  • Lowry sought to influence a hike in the lease for Marlborough House (Telecom Éireann headquarters) following a request from Mr Dunne. These rent increases would have improperly enriched Dunne, and were deemed to be “profoundly corrupt”.
  • Lowry was criticised for his “cynical and venal abuse of office” and his brazen refusal to acknowledge the impropriety of his financial arrangements with O’Brien and Dunne.

Anti-racists conclude (correctly) that STR racism is racism.

So Michael Lowry offers statements that do not follow logically from his opening words : non-sequiturs.

“Irish people are not racist, I am not racist. People welcomed the victims of the war in Ukraine with open arms. They have willingly opened their hearts to those in need.

“But Taoiseach, I believe it is time to modify and rebalance our immigration policy”

People familiar with the career of the six-county racist rabble-rouser Ian Paisley know the pattern. Fire up racist mobs, stand back as the arsonists and racist mobs take direct action, deny responsibility.

The Racquet Hall premises in Roscrea Co. Tipperary hit the headlines in 2024 for many bad reasons – a racist mob attacked vulnerable people trying to enter a new Direct Provision Centre. Lowry fanned the flames win this Dáil speech addressed to then government minister Heather Humphreys :

“On four different occasions in the past year, I have raised the subject of immigration policy and lack of strategy. Each time I spoke in this Chamber I illustrated Roscrea as a classic example of a system that is not working.

“A town that was overburdened, overwhelmed and in urgent need of vital services to be improved and supplemented. This Government did not listen. You ignored the legitimate and genuine concerns of the people of Roscrea’ he said.

“The people of Roscrea are compassionate by nature. After assurances of enhanced support networks they accepted without protest a Direct Provision Centre with hundreds of asylum seekers and also a Centre to house 400 Ukrainian Refugees.

“The reality is that this influx accounts for up to 20% of the population of Roscrea. Therefore under any sensible, reasonable, logical or sustainable criteria you would have to conclude that Roscrea had exceeded it’s capacity.

“Roscrea is a traditional rural town. Roscrea is a friendly welcoming place. It’s people have shown great generosity and kindness. It’s a town with an excellent community spirit. A town that has coped with a lot of setbacks and adversity.

“A town that is fighting back through it’s community and voluntary leaders and organisations. I worked closely with these groups. A lot of positive things are happening in Roscrea. Projects have been sanctioned, which will bring enterprise, jobs and stimulate the local economy.

“You, as Minister under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, have sanctioned and funded crucial revitalisation projects. It is rather ironic that while your Department is assisting with the renewal of the town, another Department of State has taken the extraordinary decision to take over the only hotel in the town.

“How can it be acceptable for a Department to be complicit in such action?”, Deputy Lowry asked.

Source :
Roscrea Protest Shows Government is on the run with immigration – Michael Lowry

Will FFFG risk bringing Lowry into their new cabinet?

John Meehan December 19 2024

Changing of the Mudguard

leave a comment »

Diana O’Dwyer presents a refreshingly honest and interesting analysis of the November 29 2024 Irish General Election result. No attempt is made to hide an obvious fact : this was a setback for the left.

Link :
Changing of the Mudguard

People Before Profit’s (PBP) slogan during the election campaign was “End 100 years of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael”. But now we are facing into yet another Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael (FF-FG) government. Why has this happened? Are we stuck in a never-ending Groundhog Day or does hope for radical change remain?

After the last election in 2020, escape from a century of FF-FG rule seemed not just possible but probable. The cycle of alternation between the two frenemies had finally been broken with the identical twins of Irish capitalism forced into a grand coalition, propped up by the Green Party with external support from right-wing Independent TDs. [2] The 2008 economic crash and the decade of social upheaval and struggle that followed had enabled Sinn Féin (SF) to steal the mantle of the largest party in the Dáil for the first time and it looked certain to lead the next government.

But now, almost 5 years later, FF and FG have returned with an extra 13 seats and are only one seat short of a majority – compared to 7 short last time. They are not any more popular than they were in 2020 – their share of the vote actually fell slightly (by 0.4%). But in a situation with little in the way of class struggle and where no clear alternative was posed, they were able to maintain and even improve their position. FF topped the poll at 22%, followed by FG on 21% and SF on 19%.

Read the rest of this entry »

Irish General Election November 29 2024 – Independent Candidates on the Left and Right : Stop the Far Right : Vote Left, Transfer Left

with one comment

The electoral action proposed here is :

How To Vote on November 29? Oppose Any Coalition with FFFGGG – Stop the Far Right : Vote Left, Transfer Left

FFFGGG Equals ; Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Greens, Gombeens.

The 2020-2024 coalition government was composed of three parties : FF, FG, and the Greens – and was regularly supported by Right-to-Racist Gombeens (Independents) in the last Dáil.

In this context it is important to know the identity of left-wing and right-wing independent candidates.

A Cedar Lounge Blog writer has done a great job identifying credible candidates on the left who are often categorised as independent. Link :
Possible Left Independents in the next Dáil


Here is the excellent article :

As noted in comments here a number of left Independents of one stripe or another are running, either to hold their seats or to return to the Dáil. Irish Election Literature has material from a huge number of candidates here on a special page on the 2024 election and it’s an essential read to get a sense of matters. One thing that was perhaps under considered in 2020 was the winnowing of left Independents (or those who were with small groups). It really took the wind out of the left side of the Independent equation with barely a handful left and some who barely were left at all (who left for Europe at the last election).

Here’s a selection of possible Left Independents. What of others who are potential, possible or likely to arrive in the Dáil?

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by tomasoflatharta

Nov 27, 2024 at 4:57 pm

Posted in 26 County State (Ireland), Bríd Smith TD, Cabra For All, Catherine Connolly TD, Clare Daly TD, Councillor John Lyons, Councillor Tania Doyle, Diarmuid Mac Dubhghlais, Direct Provision - Irish Gombeen State Racism, Dublin 7 for All, FFFGGG Coalition, General Election February 25 2016, Gombeens, Poltroons, Hazel De Nórtúin, Independent Left (Ireland), Ireland, Irish General Election February 8 2020, Irish General Election November 29 2024, Ivana Bacik TD, Labour Party Leader, Joan Collins TD, Labour Party (Ireland), Left Wing Organisations, Natalie Treacy, Paul Murphy TD Dublin South-West, People Before Profit, Racism, RISE, ruth-coppinger, Séamus Healy TD, Thomas Pringle TD

Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Taoiseach Simon Harris Announces Irish General Election on November 29 – Heading to Phoenix Park HQ of President Michael D Higgins to dissolve current Dáil – Support Credible Radical Left Candidates

with one comment

https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/1108/1479774-end-33-dail-general-election/

Simon Harris confirmed that he’ll travel to Áras an Uachtaráin shortly to ask President Higgins to dissolve the Dáil.

The election is set for Friday 29 November 2024.

A number of radical left candidates against any coalition deal with FFFFGGG have a realistic chance of winning a Dáil seat. [FFFGGG = Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Greens, Gombeens].

One of them is Councillor John Lyons in Dublin Bay North.

Councillor John Lyons (Second left) supports Irish Left With Ukraine (Seen Here Picketing the Dublin Russian Embassy of Vladimir Putin

Rejecting any coalition deals with FFFGGG and a policy that All refugees Are Welcome should be top priorities for radical left candidates in this general election.

People Before Profit (PBP) candidates also endorse the above policy.

Link :


No Coalition with FF or FG – PBP Conor Reddy

John Meehan, November 7 2024

Written by tomasoflatharta

Nov 8, 2024 at 2:22 pm

Posted in 26 County State (Ireland), Anti War Movements, Boris Kagarlitsky, Councillor John Lyons, Direct Provision - Irish Gombeen State Racism, Dublin 7 for All, Dublin Communities Against Racism (DCAR), Dublin Governments, Dublin’s racist mobs hit the city centre, 23.11.23, Elected Left for Ukraine, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Free Russians Ireland, Green Party, History of Ireland, Holly Cairns TD (Cork South West), Hope and Courage Collective, Independent Left (Ireland), International Political Analysis, Ireland, Irish Left With Ukraine, Ivana Bacik TD, Labour Party Leader, Labour Party (Ireland), Left Unity, Mary Lou McDonald TD, Micheál Martin TD, Niamh McDonald, Paul Murphy TD Dublin South-West, People Before Profit, Political Prisoners in Russia, President Michael D Higgins, Racism, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), RISE, Roderick O'Gorman TD, Russia, Show Racism the Red Card, Simon Harris TD, Sinn Féin, Social Democrats (Ireland), Ukraine

Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Campaigners ask President Higgins to keep Dáil in situ – Israel’s Illegal Settlements and an Occupied Territories Bill

leave a comment »

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/1108/1479764-higgins-dail-campaigners/

It is hard to know if President Higgins has the power to force the Dáil to continue to meet against the wishes of taoiseach Simon Harris – but this request is certainly justified morally.

President Michael D Higgins has been asked not to dissolve the Dail later today, by campaigners who want the Occupied Territories Bill to be passed by the Oireachtas.

The bill would ban trade between Ireland and Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

It is expected that Taoiseach Simon Harris will make the request for a dissolution this afternoon.

However, in a letter sent to Áras an Uachtaráin by the Mothers Against Genocide group, President Higgins has been asked to use his presidential powers to keep the Dáil in situ.

Read the rest of this entry »