Our columnist Frank Brandon on the various scandals and systemic failures to hit the national news in recent weeks, a seismic sporting weekend, and the sad passing of renowned GAA figure John O’Mahony
It’s a beautiful Monday morning as I write – almost like what a Monday morning in July should be like. The sun is threatening to appear, and the cold wind that made us wonder whether it was October or July has subsided. After a seismic sporting weekend, everything in my garden should be rosy.
However, nothing could be further from the truth, as I am occupied wondering how our beloved country – the country which Pearse, MacDonagh, Clarke, Connolly, and so many others gave their lives for to give us the freedom we now enjoy – could have got itself into such an appalling mess.
Everywhere we look these days there is evidence of a complete breakdown of law and order. Day after day we have more and more allegations of wrongdoing, with damaging revelations concerning so many aspects of our society – often in areas that are supposed to be protected by Government agencies.
Some years ago, in one of my life’s 30-odd jobs, I was a hackney driver. And while it’s a few years ago now, I can remember there was a difficult enough process to get my SPSV (small public service vehicle) licence. Among the requirements were that your tax affairs had to be up to date (remarkably, mine were), and you had to have passed the SPSV examination. But most importantly, you had to be vetted by the Gardai and deemed a ‘suitable person’ to hold such a licence.
And yet we have the recent case in Dublin, wherein Raymond Shorten, a taxi driver with several court convictions, was allowed to renew his licence, carry on driving his taxi, and (as it turns out) prey on vulnerable, usually intoxicated, young women. He carried on with his vile predatory life until (thankfully) two women came forward, leading to him being convicted of raping them both in the summer of 2022.
He will be sentenced later this month – and hopefully will get a proper sentence – but an issue surely arises about how was he allowed to keep his SPSV licence.
(Editor’s note: Later on Monday, after Frank’s column had been submitted, it emerged that Shorten has also been convicted of raping a 7-year-old girl about 12 years ago).
Meanwhile, the protectors of soccer in Ireland (the FAI) are facing yet another crisis following the John Delaney affair, the Jonathan Hill payments controversy, and their failure to appoint a manager for the Irish men’s team (the latter a mild issue relative to the others’), with multiple female players having claimed they were subjected to unwanted or inappropriate sexual advances by FAI coaches in the 1990s. That story is only breaking in public now. The allegations are certainly something the already beleaguered national body could do without.
Throw in the suspended sentences handed down to two members of our Defence Forces, soldier Cathal Crotty and Naval officer David O’Gorman, despite each of them being convicted of a serious assault on a female victim, and the fact that (initially at least) they both kept their jobs, and you begin to realise the appalling state this country is in.
There’s also the case of John Joe Fitzpatrick, owner of Shannonside Foods, who was licensed by the Department of Agriculture to run the equine slaughterhouse in Straffan, Co Kildare, in February 2016… even though he had already been before the courts and charged with neglecting 54 horses. Despite ongoing legal proceedings, he still got the licence to run the slaughterhouse – the same slaughterhouse in which RTÉ exposed alleged shocking animal abuse in a documentary that made for very difficult viewing. How Fitzpatrick got his licence remains a major mystery.
We also have the fact that our politicians are now ‘fair game’ for anyone who wants to abuse, or even terrify, them and their families in the supposed safety of their own homes, and where the far right can pretty much do anything they like. We have a health service that, despite the heroic work of its overburdened staff, is completely overrun. And our roads are seemingly getting more and more dangerous.
And so, as I write this on this still-beautiful Monday morning, I really think our heroes of 1916 wouldn’t have bothered if they could have seen where their beloved Ireland would be in 2024.
Sporting weekend
overshadowed by loss
of John O’Mahony
It really was a seismic sporting weekend last weekend. We had the two fantastic All-Ireland hurling semi-finals, the Galway footballing ladies following the example set by the lads in beating All-Ireland champions (the Dubs), the camogie Dubs beating red-hot favourites Kilkenny, and Leona Maguire’s first European tour win for an Irish female golfer.
Then there was the crazy rugby test match between Ireland and world champion South Africa, and despite still not firing on all cylinders, our neighbours England reaching the semi-finals of the Euros.
However, for us Galway folk, the whole weekend was dominated by the news that double All-Ireland winning manager John O’Mahony died on Saturday.
None of us will ever forget how in 1998, while under the Mayo man, Galway bridged a 32-year gap by bringing home the Sam Maguire Cup – a feat that was repeated in 2001, after being unluckily beaten in a replay the previous year by Kerry.
His managerial career with Mayo and Leitrim also brought great success, and the 1994 Connacht Championship win with Leitrim to this day still ranks up there with the all-time great sporting achievements.
Over the years I met John a few times, and the best chat I had with him was (perhaps peculiarly) in Murrayfield in 2005, at a Scotland-Ireland international rugby match. That was the day that Ballina’s Gavin Duffy made his Six Nations debut and scored a try, and myself and my brother Duff ran into the O’Mahonys and John Duffy, Gavin’s father, after the game.
As it happened, the Irish ladies were playing Scotland immediately after the men, and as it was almost impossible to get back to the city, we decided to queue to get back into the stadium for the women’s match.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that John O’Mahony and his wife Geraldine were also beside us in the queue, and despite his massive profile at the time, he was simply a totally normal and pleasant man, and we chatted away for quite some time.
Obviously he enjoyed a successful political career later on in life, but just as Galway under Pádraic Joyce recently produced one of their best performances since 2001 in beating the Dubs and raising all of our spirits, I will never forget that win over Kildare in ‘98, and our victory over red-hot favourites Meath in 2001.
I watched the Kildare win in Mikeen’s in ’98, but was behind the goal in 2001, where the same Pádraic Joyce led Galway to a famous win.
For all of us, John O’Mahony will never be forgotten, and those two All-Irelands give him a status in Galway football that will always be cherished and respected.
May he rest in peace.
And finally…
Out here in Creggs, the local GAA Club is holding a fantastic draw. There are two stand tickets to be won for both the All-Ireland football and hurling finals, and if that wasn’t enough, there is a Saturday night B&B stay in the Gibson Hotel for both finals up for grabs as well!
With Clare already in the hurling final, we’re hoping Galway might make it to the football one, but no matter who’s in it, tickets will be extremely hard to get – and pretty expensive too.
In Creggs, you get one line for €10, three for €20 and eight for €50, so don’t miss out on a chance to get to one or both finals! The wise thing would be to buy your tickets before the hurling final on Sunday week, as you would then be in the draw for both finals.
You can buy tickets online at creggsgaa.ie, so please support your local club, all while giving yourself a chance to have a big night up in Dublin and enjoy what are sure to be thrilling All-Ireland finals – especially if Galway are there!
This weekend we have the final of the Junior B football league in Creggs, when our lads take on a very strong Elphin team on Friday night at 8 pm. It’s not often we have a county final in Creggs, so we ask all our couch potatoes to come out and support your local team!
