Martyrs no more - Jobstown acquittals

B

Betsy Og

Registered User
Messages
447
Have to say I am relieved/delighted they were acquitted, mostly in that it takes the wind out of the sails of the hard left. Dunno much about the others but it would have been the making of Paul Murphy.

Plus its still a shot across the bows of those who think a protest is code for doing whatever you want.

A good day for the nation.
 
So, last year, A judge has said that he was satisfied a schoolboy was guilty of the false imprisonment of former tánaiste Joan Burton during a water charges protest in Jobstown two years ago -Link
But then, these people were acquitted.
Understand that the schoolboy will not have a criminal record, but was he not part of the same group?
 
This is going to be portrayed as a victory over " the man " & allied to their success in dismantling water charges is likely to attract many more disenchanted voters.
They will now move onto the next battle - the new bin charges plan & who's to say that they won't have further success in that area now that they have been emboldened by this not guilty decision.
Can we now look forward to more overly enthusiastic protests ?
 
Deiseblue said:
This is going to be portrayed as a victory over " the man " & allied to their success in dismantling water charges is likely to attract many more disenchanted voters.
They will now move onto the next battle - the new bin charges plan & who's to say that they won't have further success in that area now that they have been emboldened by this not guilty decision.
Can we now look forward to more overly enthusiastic protests ?
Click to expand...

Once it involves people who normally get everything for nothing I would think so yeah :rolleyes:
 
Speaking as someone who many moons ago sat on a road in college alongside hundreds of other students when Mary O'Rourke was visiting so she couldn't get out, I have mixed views on this. We did eventually leave in time for last orders :)

Firstly, there seems little doubt the Gardaí made a complete and utter horses rear-end of this, both the protest and the trial. Given everything else that is happening with the Gardaí, this further erodes confidence.

Secondly, in one respect it will embolden the hard left to launch further protests. Bin charges are the next obvious ones. However it will also harden their behavior and the ability for the Gardaí to react may be reduced since they may not want to be seen to be "getting revenge" for Jobstown. However at least it means Paul Murphy and go are denied the chance to be martyrs for the cause. However, there is a large part of me would have liked to seen them locked up because I hate their "we should get it for free approach", after all half the country has paid water charges for years out in rural Ireland, we paid it to the well diggers, plumbers, electricity etc for our own supply. The hard left is a townie movement.
 
The bar has now been set very low as to what constitutes legitimate protest. Make no mistake that mob would have seriously injured JB if it were not for the Gardai. The cost of Garda protection for future protests has now sky rocketed. Bad day for Ireland, North and South.
 
Deiseblue said:
They will now move onto the next battle - the new bin charges plan & who's to say that they won't have further success in that area now that they have been emboldened by this not guilty decision.
Click to expand...

Paul Murphy brought us the Water charges debacle and probably bin charges next.

We got off lightly. Look what the nihilist Farage brought Britain
 
Thanks Joan for yet another expensive bill for the Irish taxpayer. It was never going to end any other way.
 
Leper said:
Thanks Joan for yet another expensive bill for the Irish taxpayer. It was never going to end any other way.
Click to expand...
What's Joan got to do with it?
The Gardai brought a file to the DPP and the DPP brought charges. Do you not accept that we have separation of powers in this country?
 
thedaddyman said:
Firstly, there seems little doubt the Gardaí made a complete and utter horses rear-end of this, both the protest ...
Click to expand...

Gardai are too light. In any other country, if a minister of the state was being attacked like that, those causing the trouble would have been dealt with properly. I am all for protests, but if the personal safety of someone is being compromised then a line has been crossed. Bin charges next I hear? Well at least we'll all benefit* from that..

*even though the money will have to be found from somewhere else :rolleyes:
 
Leper said:
Thanks Joan for yet another expensive bill for the Irish taxpayer. It was never going to end any other way.
Click to expand...
I can't understand this comment.

Joan Burton was invited to a graduation of people who had done courses to improve themselves

She accepted the invitation.

Her attendance was found out by the sheep like people who think Paul Murphy is a god. They hijacked what should have been a celebratory event and whilst the courts may have said they were legally not guilty of the offence they were charged with, I would have a different opinion.

Sorry, whatever your views on Joan Burton, she had no blame in the disgusting aggressive behaviour of Murphy and his mob.

But sheep can't think independently.
 
That was not legitimate protest. It was gross intimidation. Possibly not legally "false imprisonment". Reminiscent of the case at the other end of the social spectrum where Seanie got off on a technicality. He oversaw the great €30bn taxpayer rip-off. Surely guilty of something but not apparently of what he was formally accused.
 
Leper said:
Thanks Joan for yet another expensive bill for the Irish taxpayer. It was never going to end any other way.
Click to expand...

That comment is a disgrace, Joan didn't ask for this to happen, neither did her staff member. Only reason this trial happened was because of the behavior of Murphy and his cronies, they are the people who have landed the taxpayer with an expensive bill
 
In today's Sindo lawyer Frank Buttimer points out that the following charges could have been made instead and without a jury.
Section 9: Interrupting the free flow of traffic.
Section 6: Aggressive abusive or insulting words or behaviour.
Section 8:Failure to obey a direction of a garda to leave the scene of a public order event.
Instead they went for false imprisonment which requires premeditation and is really reserved for very serious criminal activity, thus requiring a jury trial.

Of course they got off. The real scandal here is yet another thoroughly botched implementation of justice.

Or just maybe it was all cleverly thought out and, as OP suggests, the powers that be actually wanted to lose to avoid conferring martyr status. However, I doubt the capacity for such forward thinking by the Gardai or their political masters.

If they really believed the very serious crime of false imprisonment was appropriate then I fear Murphy is right, they were blinded by political vindictiveness.
 
It was never false imprisonment. The Garda evidence was spectacularly unconvincing... contradicted by actual video evidence.
The jury made the right decision, it would have been a gross travesty of justice to convict.
The scary thing is that if the video evidence hadn't been available - and remember AGS had to be compelled by the defence legal team to hand over some video evidence that was beneficial to the defence even though they have a legal duty to do so - a travesty of justice would have occurred.

There were lots of charges that could have been brought which were applicable to what happened on that day.
If anyone assaulted a Garda on that day or threatened Jaon Burton they should be convicted of that specific offence.
Just because you dislike Paul Murphy, and just because he may have committed other offences on that day does not make him guilty of the serious crime of false imprisonment.
I have yet to hear anyone who thinks he should have been found guilty of false imprisonment made a cogent argument as to why in fact he was guilty of that specific offence and not a general "he's a toe rag" or "he was up to mayhem that day".
 
Firefly said:
Gardai are too light. In any other country, if a minister of the state was being attacked like that, those causing the trouble would have been dealt with properly.
Click to expand...

Or maybe the person driving the car would have put it into reverse gear if they thought their passenger was actually in danger???
 
Last edited:
the right result and i say that as someone who wouldnt vote for paul murphy if my life depended on it

from personal experience , i know you cannot trust AGS
 
odyssey06 said:
It was never false imprisonment. The Garda evidence was spectacularly unconvincing... contradicted by actual video evidence.
The jury made the right decision, it would have been a gross travesty of justice to convict.
The scary thing is that if the video evidence hadn't been available - and remember AGS had to be compelled by the defence legal team to hand over some video evidence that was beneficial to the defence even though they have a legal duty to do so - a travesty of justice would have occurred.

There were lots of charges that could have been brought which were applicable to what happened on that day.
If anyone assaulted a Garda on that day or threatened Jaon Burton they should be convicted of that specific offence.
Just because you dislike Paul Murphy, and just because he may have committed other offences on that day does not make him guilty of the serious crime of false imprisonment.
I have yet to hear anyone who thinks he should have been found guilty of false imprisonment made a cogent argument as to why in fact he was guilty of that specific offence and not a general "he's a toe rag" or "he was up to mayhem that day".
Click to expand...
I think we are facing the apalling vista that neither the DPP nor the Garda Commissioner are fit for purpose, not to mention the former MOJ. All women, just saying:rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top