Comments on The Pensive Quill: Experience

Feargal, the thing about your father and other ve...

2011-11-30T09:58:50.267Z

Feargal,

the thing about your father and other veterans who are no longer with us is that their history has been pushed to the margins or obliterated altogether. I would imagine there is a book to be written about your father's life. There are many others like Seamus Twomey, Billy McKee, Dave O Connell, Seamus Loughran, Davy Morley, whether we agree with them or not, whose contribution to history has been immense but who are not as prominent in the historical narrative as I think they should be. Even in terms of local history there is much that could be written about all these people. There are so many gaps and if not plugged these stories could be lost to us forever.

To true Fergal and some are just slimeballs and ca...

2011-11-29T09:57:27.412Z

To true Fergal and some are just slimeballs and carpetbaggers.....

My father use to say that "lifes full of cont...

2011-11-29T02:56:55.168Z

My father use to say that "lifes full of contradictions". Aint that the truth...He gave many things up in his life, including a thriving business, in pursuit of his Irish Republican goals. I remember a few years ago, before he died, walking around a Belfast park. He met a frailing millionaire acquaintance, and commented how he (my father) could have been wealthy, if he had stayed out of politics.
My reply to my father, was that he was seen by many within his community, with deep admiration. Something money cant buy...and of much more worth, than a healthy bank account. I think at the end of the day, if you can look yourself in the mirror anthony, and are happy...good enough. I met a Sinn Fein person, whom I respect,shortly after Billy Mc Kee had stated--that only for age, he would be over in the short strand helping defend the area. This Sinners response to that, was that Billy McKee was a yesterdays man, a dinosaur..I thought to myself, well, programming had been completed sucessfully in your case. How sad for him, to come of with such a comment.
To hold on to your principles, and to stay true to the truth, comes at a price, in all walks of life. Some fall at the alter of popularity/ego power and money, to name but a few...

Anthony you may be right a cara ,think I,ll hit th...

2011-11-28T16:36:43.672Z

Anthony you may be right a cara ,think I,ll hit the hills around Falcarragh and Gort a hork,have a gander at the bearded one,s country gaff and some of the other cronies weekend pads, I promise for the moment that I wont go chucking any stones,and sometimes I even keep my promises...

Belfast Bookworm, It seems to work as you say and...

2011-11-28T12:31:52.875Z

Belfast Bookworm,

It seems to work as you say and still amounts to discrimination.

I am of the same view as you – if you believe what you are saying, then stand over it. It is when you don’t believe it, that you assume a false identity. It strikes me as absurd that any supposed anti- censorship writer would want to censor their own identity. There is room for anonymous comments as they can inform a debate but anonymity should not be used to knife a named individual. Seems cowardly.

Marty,

It is the pace of life catching up with you!

Anthony forgive me for posting late,I,m playing ca...

2011-11-28T09:16:12.877Z

Anthony forgive me for posting late,I,m playing catchup here mo cara,head has been down arse up and not a sheep in sight,as I,m sure we all know by now if your face dont fit and your not singing from the party hymn sheet then you probably wont work in community jobs.your crime was to look after your family and thats no crime ,the old saying that a friend in need is a friend indeed and in that respect Tom Mc Feely was a true friend,as Nuala said he may be a slum landlord and he surely isnt on his own here,plenty of prominent reps here in Belfast are slum landlords,Tom and those others should look to their conscience,s if they have one not you a cara.

Fionnuala might be old age, but i'm anti futil...

2011-11-27T18:53:39.513Z

Fionnuala
might be old age, but i'm anti futility. Not lending support to what I see as at best stupidity and at worst malicious intent trying to re-ignite trouble. Just the way I've gravitated.

Anthony, If Meehan is behind this skulduggery, an...

2011-11-27T17:24:30.207Z

Anthony,

If Meehan is behind this skulduggery, and from what you've told me, I do believe that he is, then he is not fit to be head of the journalism faculty of any college.

Larry, My view of a Republican is anyone who rema...

2011-11-27T14:35:17.971Z

Larry,
My view of a Republican is anyone who remains loyal to the core objectives of Republicanism.
I don't view you as that type of person, infact reading your rants about Republican prisoners I would say if anything you are anti-Republican.

Just read those two articles. Amazing what conditi...

2011-11-27T13:17:20.300Z

Just read those two articles. Amazing what conditioning and psychofantism allowed SF to do. Garret Fitzgerald nailed it live on TV when he told Adams he had gotten his movement to do the complete opposite of its stated aims. Adams reply...'Thank you Garret'.

votail SDLP

Alfie, Two pieces about Meehan, well worth consid...

2011-11-27T12:31:26.581Z

Alfie,

Two pieces about Meehan, well worth considering, which detail our experiences of him from the Blanket days.

Nameless, Faceless - O'Toole Deception

Story with rusty British blade has Irish adherents

Anthony, with regards to community jobs in the no...

2011-11-27T11:33:11.495Z

Anthony, with regards to community jobs in the north you're 100% right but the powers that be would never be so stupid as to blatantly discriminate. Instead they take over meetings, AGM'a etc & basically put pressure on workers til they leave. They'll bring in their own people for interviewing processes to make sure the candidate they want is boxed off for the job. Stinking altogether. I'm sorry you didn't get that jon in the sector - think you'd have a lot to offer.

Whether it's your intention to emerge well from this incident or not, I sincerely hope you do. You & your family deserve a bit of peace.

Sounds like you've got Meehan down to a 't'. And if as you say, he uses his real name to analyse but a false one to demonize then it must be asked on whose behalf is he writing? Surely, if he had faith in his own convictions then he'd have no problem attaching his name to anything.

mackers i think there is too big a perception that...

2011-11-27T10:11:33.086Z

mackers
i think there is too big a perception that SF had been contaminated beyond anyones belief from a very long time ago. Also, there is possibly an even greater perception that the dissident groupings are the residue of all of that, trying to wring the last few shillings out of the reptile fund. Bit like an overflowing piss-pot, if you like that kind of thing.

fionnuala if your definition of republican is to b...

2011-11-27T09:48:30.988Z

fionnuala
if your definition of republican is to behave like rabid hyenas toward anyone with an alternative viewpoint; I kindly thank you for the complement.

Alfie, In his journalism does he teach the studen...

2011-11-27T09:00:19.520Z

Alfie,

In his journalism does he teach the students that hiding behind a pseudonym to smear and censor is an approach to be recommended? That seems News Of The World style journalism to me. Fine on Dunmanway and the other issues he addresses but this suggests he uses his own identity to analyse and his false identity to demonise or make arguments that he could not possible believe – Scap, not an agent but a ploy by the British. FFS.

Belfast Bookworm,

Thanks. It has been a well publicised issue. It is not my intention to emerge from it well, simply to have the matter framed more accurately than it has been.

The residents are the only ones to be sympathised with, not me, not anyone else.

It has long struck me that the method of procuring people for the community jobs in the North is suspect. Banning people because they have a perspective that does not fit is gross discrimination. And in my case it was not even SF discriminating but the so called Left.

Brendan sought to raise issues about building sites but was censored. If I recall one line of the article that he co-wrote appeared in the AP/RN, the rest was written by someone else and did not deal with the issue raised in the censored piece.

Larry,

I think it is impossible not to have grave reservations about people who would cover for an agent of such seniority. This is a story that some people tried to censor. They have yet to explain their role in it.

Larry, why would you? you are clearly not a republ...

2011-11-26T23:18:19.679Z

Larry, why would you? you are clearly not a republican!

Anthony, I wasn't aware of any of that. I did...

2011-11-26T21:46:58.430Z

Anthony,

I wasn't aware of any of that. I did know that he teaches journalism in Griffith College and that he has links to Sinn Fein. I had read some articles by him on Indymedia and Counterpunch; I even emailed him a while back with some questions on the Dunmanway killings. One thing that I did find a little peculiar was that when replying, he immediately asked what my interest was. I think he wanted to know what side of the debate I was on. If I recall correctly, he did not reply to my second email in which I explained that I was merely an ordinary member of the public who was following the debate and trying to make up my mind on the controversy. Anyway, I was happy enough that he replied to my initial email and answered my principal question. His articles on these historical issues seem well researched and well argued, but I have to say that I am very disappointed to learn that he's an SF apparatchik.

mackers no punches pulled there in relation to sca...

2011-11-26T21:00:26.368Z

mackers
no punches pulled there in relation to scap. I think anyone in SF at this stage best avoided totally.
Wouldn't touch any outfit professing to be Irish Republican with a shitty stick these days, nor their hangers on and cheerleaders. Avoid at all costs.

Alfie, he has long been involved in the cowards&#...

2011-11-26T20:21:13.633Z

Alfie,

he has long been involved in the cowards's side of the debate with the dirty tricks dept. Even when writing as Adam O'Toole he was covering for the British agent Freddie Scappaticci and trying to rubbish those republicans who correctly outlined Scap's role. He did his best to get Scap off the hook, a man who effectively set out to destroy the IRA and the republican struggle and compromised many volunteers. His work on censorship is a farce - has he addressed the censorship or revisionism of SF? Did you hear him once challenge the revisionism of McGuinness about having left the IRA in 1974? A paid hack, a paid coward - and because of his role in covering for Scap the question must be asked about what else he has been paid to do.

Anthony, Are you sure Niall Meehan is behind the ...

2011-11-26T17:57:23.038Z

Anthony,

Are you sure Niall Meehan is behind the smears against you on Slugger O'Toole? I am not a regular reader of that blog and so I'm not familiar with the various contributors' pen names. However, I do have some regard for Niall Meehan's writings on controversies in Irish history, such as the killings at Coolacrease and Dunmanway during the War of Independence, and I would be disappointed if he was involved in these kind of dirty tricks.

BoyneRover, I appreciate your argument. It was th...

2011-11-25T23:47:18.351Z

BoyneRover,
I appreciate your argument. It was the sheer hypocrisy of the glass house brigade that I found surreal.
Tom McFeely may have come unstuck but at least he had time for gaol friends when it mattered. I am also aware that this might sound meaningless against unfolding events but for some of us it meant a lot.

Fionnuala I understand your point of view but in ...

2011-11-25T20:12:12.409Z

Fionnuala
I understand your point of view but in the context of the post by AM maybe sticking to point that this man has now wrecked so many lives that whatever good he may or may not have done previous to this simply has been dealt a severe blow

Boyne Rover, I think that was a good call to with...

2011-11-25T19:11:45.847Z

Boyne Rover,

I think that was a good call to withdraw what you termed the ‘gutter’ language. I think it is always commendable when people pull back from that type of language.

Dixie,

‘There comes a time when you have to take off the coat and defend old friends.’

Fair play. But as I have said to you feel free to criticise where you think I am wrong. Old friends should be able to take each other to task as well.

No doubt they called you everything for your efforts. I saw your stuff on Slugger, but not elsewhere. I heard Harry Waster has been chased from everywhere. Poor Niall, somebody joked to me that he was a professor of narcolepsy who had put half the net to sleep and was banned. Why does somebody who claims to teach journalism behave like that? I imagine if I believed something I’d have the courage to stand over it.

Michaelhenry,

Trust you to bring an element of humour to the thing! You were rubbing your hands with glee!!! There are always rough comments. It has been going on for yonks now. But the mindset is interesting.

Anthony, I've never heard of this issue until...

2011-11-25T18:59:05.044Z

Anthony,

I've never heard of this issue until today. Seems like residents got a pretty rough deal to put it mildly.

Seems to me like you tried to make the best of a very bad situation but that the mess was so great it was like emptying the ocean with a teacup. No matter, so long as you kept your integrity, and it appears you did, then you can still look yourself in the mirror.

As for taking the job in the first place, you done right. I'm sure any ex-prisoner, knowing the difficulties facing POW's on release would have shaken your hand and wished you
well - particularly those who've been intimidated from community jobs or stopped from getting one altogether because their politics were just too awkward.

We'd all love, I'm sure, to live in a socialist utopia but the reality is we've bills to pay & mouths to feed. Those who've criticised you for doing a job need to take a long hard look at themselves.

Think I'm right in saying also that Brendan Hughes was put off a job by a so-called republican who was trying to rip working
men off on the building sites - where were their mouths then?

Alec, The degree of culpability in these things i...

2011-11-25T11:26:45.708Z

Alec,

The degree of culpability in these things is a matter for debate and reflection. We set up the ethical position and evaluate our actions by the distance we fall short of it. It is like in war. We know the ethical position yet don’t always reach it. Support for my account no more makes it right than criticism makes it wrong. Ultimately, there are always choices that can be made. I made mine and others have a right to be critical of it. I worked for the company and fought its corner whether in negotiations or purchasing. And I met some great people along the way both inside and outside the company. It would be all so easy now that I have gone to publicly lambast Tom just to evade responsibility. That would be a disreputable approach. If that was what I wanted to do I should have done it while there.

It was not a question of us on site being told by the company not to do the work. The opposite was the case. We were invariably told to get the job finished and get the proper certification, and it was never said quietly. We were always there, always working, forever trying to persuade others to come up with the proper certification that would allow the building to be declared safe. It was a battle a day. But finance appeared to be a serious problem. There were considerable sums involved. We were forever waiting on banks to release funds to the office.

Although we were out of pocket the office always tried to ensure we got paid back. It was not as if they were trying to shaft us. We were forever late putting the invoices in and causing a headache for the office, trying to keep up with us. That’s how the discrepancy develops, not out of malice or intent not to reimburse us. But things had to be kept moving and materials were needed, so frequently we bought them ourselves. When you have responsibility for a project it is the type of thing you do to stay ahead, always in the expectation that it would level out and you would not be out of pocket for long.

Nor was there any pressure to turn the other way out of loyalty to Tom. As I said in the article his attitude was ‘get it done’. It was not ‘turn a blind eye.’ But getting it done proved very difficult with insufficient funding available.

It was not a question either of blowing the whistle and ‘exposing’ Tom. The whole issue was so well exposed. The press and politicians were aware of it. Dublin Fire Brigade was on top of it and knew the issues. So speaking out would have been a critique rather than an exposé. While there are always grounds for speaking out, I made different choices for other reasons. Had you been there the choice you might have made was to speak out.

In the end Alec, I probably bit off more than I could chew. It was the most frustrating job I ever had. It was a constant struggle with internal pressures, issues, agencies and other firms trying to evade their own responsibility, and the problems kept mounting. In sum it probably didn’t suit my temperament. I have come away concluding that construction is a pressure cooker industry that has driven many people to despair, not least its victims.

The entire focus of the media on Tom allows so many other agencies and the regulatory system in general to get off the hook. While developers must take responsibility for their actions, restricting it to them means the entire system and culture will continue. I think this is why the residents are determined not to be satisfied with being thrown the bone of a jailed developer. They know the problem is systemic and seem determined that more than just the developer will be brought to account.