Is Maria Bailey trying to make a come-back?

Brendan Burgess

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She has a big interview with the Irish Times today

Maria Bailey on ‘swing-gate’ and Varadkar: ‘Leo threw petrol on a fire’

Former Fine Gael TD says she was treated badly by her party leader over her personal injuries claim
www.irishtimes.com


Bailey contacted this newspaper after reading comments by an unnamed associate of Varadkar’s in a profile article of the newly reinstalled Taoiseach published in this newspaper last month, saying that the Fine Gael leader showed sympathy towards Bailey during the episode.

Maybe she is just trying to have a swing at Varadkar?



Brendan
 
She really has only herself to blame.

She chose to sit on a swing in a pub while holding drinks in both hands.
She ran a 10k in 53 minutes, less than a month later.
She issued legal proceedings 2 years later for her injuries.
She signed an affidavit saying she could not run for 3 months despite the fact that it was untrue.
She gave that excruciating interview to Seán O'Rourke.

Brendan
 
She probably feels hard done by as there were 'consequences' for her, which is deeply unfair, she is only doing what lots of other people do and consequences are not for people like her.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Maybe she is just trying to have a swing at Varadkar?
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In fairness, why wouldn’t she?

Her position became untenable but he had no hesitation in throwing her under the bus to advance his own political priorities. She would have understood that at the time but for him now to suggest he supported her at the time must jar big time.

I doubt she wants a comeback - maybe just score-settling.
 
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I agree she was less than appropriate sitting on the swing, but I also believe that the bar/hotel was negligent in placing a swing there in the first place and allowing access to it - they should have been able to foresee that people who had consumed alcohol in their premises could be attracted to trying to use it and injuring themselves.
 
This has been done to death but you're headed down a very dangerous road where other people somehow become responsible for stupid people (including the temporarily diminished) doing stupid things. Society as a whole should not have to suffer on the off chance a drunk person might slightly injure themselves.
 
Would agree that she should have accepted responsibility for whatever injury she suffered but, at the same time, there’s probably an inevitability about putting a swing in the entrance of a licensed premises.

Management could have reasonably predicted what could happen and closed off the risk. I don’t think society would have suffered any great inconvenience as a consequence.
 
She broke the 11th commandment, "thou shall not get caught"

She'll never be selected as a candidate for FG again and I'd say Leo had a chuckle over the article.
 
I disagree that she should have accepted responsibility for injury. The venue should be responsible for the swing. It's not an appropriate thing for that setting. Swings in playgrounds usually have suitable surfaces surrounding them.

I think she was fully justified in pursuing a claim for any injuries received. Where I disagree with her actions is where she sought to misrepresent her injuries.
 
gianni said:
It's not an appropriate thing for that setting.
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I find it depressing to think someone believes that a gown adult is somehow incapable of taking responsibility for their own actions. Do we really want a nanny state where every last thing that might cause injury if used improperly is taken away?

We don't call for a ban of all cars when some idiot has a drink and crashes. What is it about swings, which to my knowledge don't kill hundreds of people every year, that makes you believe they should be treated so differently?
 
A swing, in itself, is not a problem. A swing in a bar, which will only be used by adults and surrounded by hard surfaces is a problem. It wasn't an appropriate installation in the first instance.
 
gianni said:
A swing, in itself, is not a problem. A swing in a bar, which will only be used by adults and surrounded by hard surfaces is a problem. It wasn't an appropriate installation in the first instance.
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It wasn't in the bar, but a separate area, just like many public playgrounds are adjacent to bars. But you are absolutely right in that the swing itself was not the problem here. My pre-schooler knows enough to hold on when on a swing, why is it that you think it's someone else's responsibility to remind adults of that?

People with a few drinks onboard have been known to climb on top of chairs, bars, or tables for a singsong or other 'high jinks', they occasionally fall off and hurt themselves. Do you think we should prohibit tables and chairs? If I go to your house and climb on top of your car and fall off, do you think it reasonable that you should pay me compensation?
 
The swing was there for patrons to sit on for photo ops. It's not the same as people climbing up on tables & chairs.

I think Bailey had cause for redress, if she incurred the injuries/expenses as stated. However, subsequent information suggested that the injury wasn't as described.
 
If she'd fallen off aa bar stool would she have a cause for redress?
 
Purple said:
If she'd fallen off aa bar stool would she have a cause for redress?
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gianni's logic wound suggest yes, unless there's something about the purpose of a photo prop that means the proprietor takes on all responsibility for incorrect (irresponsible) use.
 
It still doesn't explain why anyone would firstly put a swing in a bar and secondly why anyone would want a photo taken of them sitting in it. But maybe I'm just getting old....
 
Peanuts20 said:
It still doesn't explain why anyone would firstly put a swing in a bar and secondly why anyone would want a photo taken of them sitting in it. But maybe I'm just getting old....
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