IRELAND OF THE COVER-UP'S

by Ron Walsh

                                                                                ‘’All citizens shall be held equal before the law’’. These very words are to be found in Article 40.1 of the Irish Constitution. And for anyone who believes that they have any application to real life happenings around the country, well........just keep taking the pills. (The citing of ‘’God’’ in the Constitution is, in today’s world, highly questionable, even totally unnecessary. Our desire to reunite the entire country probably has the support of a majority of the population, but who knows?)

                                                                                Of course we feel very superior to our next-door-neighbours, who do not possess a written constitution. Which is true, even though some years ago a London High Court case was settled when the plaintiff won handsomely by quoting from their much loved ‘’Magna Carta’’.

                                                                                On February 14th 1981, at around 1.30am, a fire started in the ‘’Stardust’’ nightclub, located in Artane, Dublin, which eventually resulted in the deaths of 48 of its 841 patrons. It was a St. Valentines Eve disco event, where alcohol was allowed to be served between 11pm and 2am. In order for the drinking exemption to be given the event was billed as a ‘’dinner dance’’, which was the first law that was broken in relation to that ‘’Stardust’’ event. Plenty of dancing, but no dinner. And there was more.

The fire outbreak is believed to have derived from an electrical fault in the room beside the roof space. This no-planning-permission-compliant first-floor store room contained dangerous flammable materials, including 45 five-gallon (23 litre) drums of cooking oil. The fire reportedly originated in the store room and quickly spread to the roof. By 1.45am a ferocious burst of heat and thick black smoke started quickly coming from the ceiling, causing the material in the ceiling to melt and drip on top of some of the patrons, and onto other highly flammable materials, including the seats and carpet tiles on the walls.

There were five emergency exit doors, most of them locked by padlock or chains, or otherwise blocked on the outside by vehicles or tables, placed there to prevent individuals from sneaking into the nightclub. The windows were sealed with metal grills and steel plates, which, on the night in question, were found to be impervious to sledgehammers, axes, tow-ropes, and even a chain attached to a fire-engine. 48 people died, 46 in the fire, and 2 later. They were all aged between 10 and 26. Four of them were only 16, while eight were aged 17.

A tribunal of inquiry commenced twelve days later under Justice Ronan Keane, husband of journalist and socialite Terry Keane. After nine months it finally concluded that the fire had probably been caused by arson, even though there was no evidence to support such a claim. The Butterly family, who owned the ‘’Stardust’’, were therefore legally exonerated. The safety standards had been diabolical, while the exit doors had been locked or blocked. But nobody was prosecuted. The Justice Keane decision of arson was dismissed entirely in 2009.

In 1986 another tribunal was set up, ‘’The Victims Compensation Tribunal’’, to focus on monetary compensation for the victims and their families. Over ten million pounds was paid out. The Butterly’s took a claim against Dublin Corporation, which they won, being awarded just over £580,000, with the Irish taxpayer, naturally, picking up the tab.

The 18th June 2018 coroner’s report returned a majority verdict of ‘’unlawful killing’’ on all 48 victims. On August 9th 2024 the Irish government signed off on a 24 million Euro redress package for the families. Justice finally, following a wait of 43 years. What was once said about ‘’justice delayed’’?

Thirteen years before the ‘’Stardust’’ debacle, there had been the cover-up behind the March 24th 1968 loss of the Aer Lingus Vickers Viscount passenger-plane off the Tuskar Rock Lighthouse, near the Wexford coast. Flight 712 from Cork to London, registered as EI-AOM. An investigation into the cause of the crash commenced almost immediately, and was headed by the same man who, 38 days prior to the crash, had approved the Certificate of Airworthiness for EI-AOM!

46 witness’s testified to seeing a plane in distress over counties Cork, Waterford and Wexford for just over thirty minutes, before plunging into the sea, but their statements were not included or even mentioned in the report, which was issued in 1970. There was a very good reason for that omission. An analysis of the maintenance procedures on EI-AOM carried out before March 24th showed a kaleidoscope of slap-dash errors, with some items being called up far too late, and some called up long before their due date! There was also the small matter of missing maintenance records! The Aer Lingus maintenance record for their aircraft in the 1960’s had been absolutely dreadful. At the time that was not confined to Aer Lingus alone, for whatever relief that observation brings. The quality controls employed over maintenance procedures carried out today by the airline are second-to-none.

The awful maintenance record and the missing records were not mentioned in the 1979 Report. But why the cover-up? The answer comes down to money. During 1969 it was disclosed that Aer Lingus was three hundred thousand pounds in the red, a substantial amount back then. If the maintenance record had been mentioned in the report, then large claims would have been taken against the company by relatives of the 57 passengers and 4 flight-crew, which would have been enough to bankrupt it.

But what to do? What was actually done was to move the plane as far to the east as quickly as possible, as it flew towards London. Make no mention of the fact that Flight 712 had been flying in obvious distress over the south of the country for over thirty minutes, so do not mention the witness statements. Say that the plane had been flying at its normal cruising altitude of seventeen thousand feet, something that it never managed to achieve on that day. If EI-AOM can be moved to St. George’s Channel a rumour can be circulated that it had been hit by a U16 Meteor target drone, fired from a missile range in Wales. Which was what was actually done.

Early in the evening of the day of the crash, a small plane flew from Dublin to an airport somewhere in Wales. There were an unknown number of men on board, including a minister of the Irish government. His name is known. What they were seeking in Wales is anyone’s guess, although it may well have had something to do with collecting information on missile ranges. It is impossible to prove any of the foregoing today, so the ministers name will not be mentioned.

As to the cause of the crash, the 1970 Report concluded that it had been caused ‘’by impairment of control ability of the aircraft due to damage to its tailplane. There is evidence which could be construed as indicative of the possible presence of another aircraft or airborne object in the vicinity, which, by reasons of collision or by its proximity, caused an evasive manoeuvre to be made, or by its wake turbulence, might have been the initiating cause of an upsetting manoeuvre resulting in the Viscount entering a spin or spiral dive’’. With no substantiating evidence whatsoever, that is pure hyperbole. But it served its purpose for a number of years. Until 1999 in fact.

By 1999 most of the relatives of the 61 passengers and crew of EI-AOM were protesting so loudly about the crash that the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit decided to look into the matter. And they did not like what they saw. An international investigation was set up by the Irish government, with its report coming out in 2002. The dreadful maintenance record was exposed, as were the missing documents. The target drone conspiracy theory was finally put to bed, and the 46 witness statements were fully taken into account. It had also been discovered that Flight 712 had first encountered trouble a mere ten minutes following take off, never reaching anyway close to its normal cruising altitude. The lies were finally exposed.

In 2022 RTE Television broadcast the Animo documentary ‘’The Tuskar Rock Tragedy’’, where known facts were in the main completely ignored, and where conspiracy theories and mistakes were thrown about like confetti at a wedding. The drone theory was given pride-of-place; ‘’A red target drone had been seen by fifty witness’s, allegedly at 200 feet, before crashing into the Saltee’s’’. Wonderful fiction. (See my blog article ‘’The Tragedy of the Tuskar Rock Documentary’’ for an in-depth analysis.) Despite the 2002 Report there is an obvious reluctance by the media in general, and our government backed television station, to look any further than the 1970 Report. I wonder why?

‘’All citizens shall be held equal before the law’’. In 1983 a gay man, Declan Flynn, was kicked to death by four young men in Fairview Park, Dublin. The trial judge in his summation made the observation that all four defendants ‘’came from good homes’’. They were given suspended sentences. Equality is simply wonderful.

In July of 1985 Father Niall Molloy was killed inside the home of Theresa and Richard Flynn, in Clara, county Offaly. Richard Flynn was charged with manslaughter, and with actual bodily harm. At the subsequent trial Judge Frank Roe, a friend of the Flynn family, directed the jury to give a ‘’not guilty’’ verdict, which they did. Of course, given the circumstances, the Judge should never have taken the case. In 2011 a medical examination of brain tissue revealed that Fr. Molloy was alive up to probably six hours after the initial attack, and therefore might have lived if medical help had been summoned.

In 1989 two teenagers were charged with the murder of Slane gamekeeper Timothy Kidman, 19-year-old Michael Hodgins and 18-year-old Shane O.Brien. What triggered the killing is not known, although hatred for the English-born Kidman was bandied about at the time. In any case he had been shot twice, with the final round fired from a distance of ‘’between three and four feet’’. A clear indication of intent, but incredible the jury returned a verdict of manslaughter against Hodgins. Speculation has it that some members of the jury had been threatened by the IRA. Hodgins was sentenced to twelve years, released in 1998, and was jailed again in 2006 for drug-dealing. In 1991 a fire destroyed the east wing of Slane Castle, which was said to have been started deliberately. Its restoration took place over ten years.

During the summer of 1982 a well known eccentric character in Dublin social circles, by the name of Malcolm MacArthur, was arrested in the home of the states Attorney General, Patrick Connolly, for the murder of a nurse in the Phoenix Park. It was also alleged that he had killed a farmer in Edenderry, county Offaly, shooting him with the man’s own shotgun, which he ended up stealing. Found guilty of the nurse’s murder MacArthur served 30 years in jail (very long for this country, mainly), and was released in 2012. Attorney General Connolly had resigned shortly after MacArthur’s arrest, who was never charged with the Offaly killing. Allegedly because the shotgun used had been found in the A. G’s house!

And then there was the 1970 Arms Trial, where allegations and counter-allegations were thrown about in gay abandon. (strike the word ‘’gay’’) Charlie Haughey and Neil Blaney, both government ministers, were dismissed for alleged involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle arms intended for the IRA, following riots in Northern Ireland during the previous year. Blaney, Haughey, and three others (Including Captain James Kelly, Irish Army Intelligence Officer) were sent for trial towards the end of May. However, all charges against Blaney were dropped on July 2nd, with the entire trial collapsing seven days later, following allegations of bias against Justice Aindrias O’Caoimh. Justice Seamus Henchy later presided over a second trial, which resulted in the remaining four defendants being cleared of all charges on October 23rd. At one point Justice Henchy remarked that either Haughey or Jim Gibbons (minister for defence), who was the main prosecutorial witness, had to be committing perjury. The arms had been bought and paid for, but no-one was successfully prosecuted. Blaney later claimed that Prime Minister Jack Lynch had known all about the arms shipment, which Haughey denied.

Cover-up’s are a common occurrence, while even corruption has been known to raise its ugly head at times. The Shane Ross/Nick Webb book ‘’The Untouchables’’ should be part of our educational system. Back in the dark old days young unmarried women who found themselves in the unenviable position of being pregnant were ushered off into some sort of workhouse or Mother and Babies home at the behest of uncaring parents, and an even more uncaring and dictatorial church. Young women were disappearing off our streets, but hardly anyone spoke about the phenomena, except behind closed doors. These pregnancies were not induced by immaculate conception, but no young men were raising their hands and crying out ‘’Me Daddy’’. Apparently the church had no particular interest in the matter either. The island of disappearing daddies. And we are told that all citizens are equal.

During the 1940’s and 50’s a London priest, Canon Bernard George, ran his own charitable organisation ‘’The Crusade of Rescue’’, which looked after the poor and the destitute. Over the years he also took care of many young pregnant Irish women who had had the good sense, and probably a little money also, to escape from the shores of the island of a thousand welcomes. While he believed in the Roman Catholic Church, in unguarded moments he would speak bitterly of some of its Irish representatives. This was because of the general response he had received to numerous letters written to a number of parish-priests in Ireland.

Notwithstanding the sensitive handling of each case by the Canon, the vast majority of his letters went unanswered. The replies he did receive were invariably along similar lines; Whatever calamity had befallen the unfortunate young woman in question had certainly not occurred in ‘’Holy Catholic Ireland’’, but must have taken place in ‘’Pagan England’’. Ah, the island of Saints and Scholars did not contain any sinners! Wonderful. There was one exception to that general rule. Following the Canon’s usual meticulous approach to a particular parish-priest, a married farmer located somewhere in the Irish midlands forwarded a cheque for one thousand pounds, which was handed over to the young lady in question. An astronomical sum in the 1950’s. But the church certainly looked after the young men, but not the young women. Equality was running rife.

Decades ago the Irish Minister for Justice decided that he would like a ten-foot-wall built around his one-acre estate. Because of his position in government he thought that at that particular time some of the people who live outside the law might be having bad thoughts about him, and might wish to render him bodily harm. But the minister in question had no intention of actually paying for the wall out of his very own substantial salary. Oh no, the generous Irish taxpayer would take care of that particular problem. Wonderful people. And they certainly did. No problem. However, if anyone was seriously considering doing bodily harm to the poor man, no Mickey Mouse ten-foot-wall would have stopped them.

And then there is the story of the T.D. who was having a nice two-story house built in a lovely seaside location, and decided to engage the talents of a local carpenter to carry out all the associated works required inside the house. Time passed and eventually the house was completed, standing there in its beautiful pristine condition. When ‘’chippy’’ presented his large bill to the T. D. in question he was advised to send it to someone (name and phone-number provided) in Leinster House. Which he did. There was a happy ending to the story. For the carpenter. Not for the Irish taxpayer.

Here is a 64-thousand-dollar conundrum. How many politicians and/or county councillors have ended up in jail for selling their votes for varying sums of lucre, to unknown (?) people? Yes, you are quite correct, the figure is suspiciously low. But then this is the island of Saints and Scholars, even though almost everyone knows the truth regarding such matters. Where even angels fear to tread is inside the numerous Planning Departments dotted around the country. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil, where housing plans are approved, or not approved, or where proposers can be advised to make alterations.

Planning Departments are there in order to protect unsuspecting Joe citizen from cowboy builders and investors, who, in their rush to rise from millionaire to billionaire, would trample on peoples rights without loosing one wink of their valued sleep-time. Well, that’s the theory, in any case. But in many cases that’s simply not how it works. Too many times, and in too many Planning Departments, too many top people end up too close to too many builders and to too many people with lots of money. And deals end up being agreed upon. In private, of course.

Back in the good-old-days of the building boom, an elderly builder who was doing all-right told me ‘’There is so much money pouring into the (censored) Planning Department, that nobody knows where half of it is ending up’’. If only my own little seaside village could speak for itself. Quite some years back a local paper mentioned something about the suspicious granting of permission for a hotel to be constructed on the outskirts of Wexford town. If there was an inquiry into the matter because of that article the public was never informed. As a country we have cover-up’s down pat.

Ireland is a wonderful country, and while IT and pharmaceutical companies continue prospering, its very likely to remain so. Our enormous fiscal debt does not appear to be bothering anyone, certainly not the government, even though the yearly interest rate is now almost four billion Euros, with no movement whatsoever on the capital sum. Which stands at almost 230 billion Euros. And then, in the latest budget nine million Euros was granted to our schools for pouches in which the talkative pupils can hide their lovely phones. Why not make the little darlings leave their god-damn phones at home! But it was a wonderful budget. Everyone has said that. Except the opposition. There must be an election pending. Nobody told me. But then I’m following what’s going on in America. Christ, I haven’t switched on CNN or Fox News for almost an hour. Time to go.

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Copyright Ron Walsh 2024.