Bradley Bytes: Israeli’s ‘secret’ City Hall visit will be last

Bradley Bytes – A Sort of Political Column with Dara Bradley

The prospect of the Israeli Ambassador slipping in and out of City Hall for a meeting with the city’s mayor, or deputy mayor, that’s kept quiet from other elected members, has been diminished.

The secret visit to Galway City Council by Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, Ophir Kariv, last month, was rightly slammed for the lack of openness and transparency surrounding it.

Councillors were not notified of the February meeting, which was arranged through the office of the Mayor.

The Council executive had nothing to do with arranging the meeting and did not meet the Ambassador; nor did the Mayor, Niall McNelis, as it happens. That duty fell to Deputy Mayor, Donal Lyons.

Given that Galway City Council has passed a number of motions supportive of the Palestinian people, it is likely that the visit of the Ambassador would have attracted peaceful protest and resistance. And rightly so – we are a democracy, and city councillors and others should have been afforded the right to register a protest.

Instead the Mayor’s office kept schtum . . . perhaps to spare Israel’s blushes . . .  yet another example of local politicians speaking with forked tongue – waving Palestinian flags one day, arranging private meetings with the Israeli Ambassador the next.

But the Shinners have put paid to a repeat of that fiasco. Mairéad Farrell, who’d have been front and centre of any protest of the Israeli ambassador’s visit, had a motion passed at the latest meeting, which stipulates that councillors will be given advance notice of all future visiting dignitaries arranged through the Mayor’s office.

Hurray for openness and transparency.

Give GARN red card over ‘racism’ outrage!

GARN (Galway Anti-Racism Network) is so busy looking for things to take offence at, and is so preoccupied with uncovering racism where none exists, that it has forgotten a fundamental pillar of our justice system: the presumption of innocence.

For more Bradley Bytes see this week’s Galway City Tribune