Hypocrisy and opportunism . . . lowest form of politics

Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

“Can you not condemn rape,” asked Galway City Councillor, Pearce Flannery, of his Council colleague, Catherine Connolly, who looked baffled by the query.

Of course every right-thinking person condemns rape. But it takes a special breed of individual to use rape as a political weapon against opponents.

It was Monday evening, at the tail-end of a lengthy meeting, and Pearce proposed the following motion:

“Galway City Council absolutely and unequivocally condemns rape and sexual abuse in all of its forms. Furthermore, Galway City Council condemns and disassociates itself from any individual, group, organisation or political party that in any way deigns to facilitate any cover-up of sexual abuse or impede the investigation of sexual abuse by An Garda Síochána in any manner whatsoever.”

What in God’s name was this all about? The Catholic Church? Why rush it through, without debate? Who would the motion be sent to? Why, oh why, oh why?

It took a while for the penny to drop. But when it did, it confirmed suspicions that some politicians will stoop to any level in order to get one-up on their foes; that they’ll do anything – even table asinine notices of motion about sexual abuse – to cause maximum discomfort and embarrassment to political opponents.

Of course, Pearce was having a dig at Sinn Féin. And at its leader Gerry Adams and the IRA’s handling of historic child abuse by its members in Northern Ireland, and how it was covered-up.

The child abuse scandal that has emerged in the Republican movement North of the Border is every bit as sordid and despicable as that of the Roman Catholic Church in the South.

But, back to Monday.

The motion was designed to embarrass the two Shinners present, Anna Marley and Cathal Ó Conchúir, (the third, Maireád Farrell, was not at the meeting). It clearly didn’t work – both of them voted in favour. Of course they did; what was Pearce expecting?

Rather than calling Pearce’s bluff, and calling his motion out for what it was – a deeply cynical political stunt that insults people’s intelligence without having the courage to criticise Sinn Féin directly – the Labour, Fianna Fáil, and most independent City Councillors, like sheep, supported it, too.

For a minute we gave Pearce the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he really is concerned about rape.

But then we checked the record, and couldn’t find any statements of condemnation from him when the Fine Gael and Labour Coalition presided over budget cuts that resulted in two Rape Crisis Centres having to close doors last year when the Government couldn’t be bothered funding them because rape and sexual abuse is so low on their priority list.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.