Comments on The Pensive Quill: Death in Custody

Rory, You'll love it! The man is the human an...

2009-11-11T13:16:03.462Z

Rory, You'll love it! The man is the human and fallible side of revolution,even when he blows his own horn. Best

uilodomhnaill, After 2 months I finally got Trots...

2009-11-11T10:27:56.699Z

uilodomhnaill,

After 2 months I finally got Trotsky's History of the Russian Revolutiuon, it was hard to get and cost €27, so I hope it's good!

Rory

uilodomhnaill, a nice point. The absence of any du...

2009-10-09T20:24:56.181+01:00

uilodomhnaill, a nice point. The absence of any duty of care was appalling

Rights and Responsibilities,it seems to me, ought ...

2009-10-08T22:43:56.601+01:00

Rights and Responsibilities,it seems to me, ought not to be culture bound-so I will put forth the conclusion that I have come to through professional experience-ANY society which asserts the right to deprive any person of their freedom,by arrest or imprisonment,must assume the absolute moral responsibility for SAFE CUSTODY(shouting on purpose) of that person. The least that a suicide in custody indicates is negligence, at some level to be determined. My most sincere condolences to the victim's family.

the establishment (or 'norn iron') media a...

2009-10-07T09:02:08.163+01:00

the establishment (or 'norn iron') media are mercenary scum Sean...what do you expect from a pig but a grunt??

You are 100% correct Mackers. It's been a long...

2009-10-06T23:46:57.089+01:00

You are 100% correct Mackers. It's been a long time since I've felt this despondent about any event. Nobody denies that John was a life-long republican and was involved in the physical conflict here in the past. But that for him was over, and he deserved a break as much as anyone else, on any side, who were combatants in the conflict here. We need a more humane media too. I'm not sure how that can be achieved, but we seem to have a media that relishes adding to some people's pain.

Nice sentiments Seán Mór but such a tragic outcome...

2009-10-06T20:59:52.614+01:00

Nice sentiments Seán Mór but such a tragic outcome to a life that deserved much more and had the potential for much more. I found it very sad. He was vulnerable and needed protection which he obviously failed to get

There is no doubt that any human being placed in t...

2009-10-06T20:50:18.339+01:00

There is no doubt that any human being placed in the precarious situation that John Brady was placed in, would be under huge pressure. Remember, he had spent the past number of years walking a tightrope trying to secure his release. Those who supported him had no political clout. Those who had political clout, did not give him the support he needed. He was left alone, with his family, to try and carve a dignified route out of prison for himself, in the face of a bureaucratic system that unsuccessfully tried to get him to criminalise himself in exchange for his release. But through all this John kept a clear cool head. Speaking to him recently it was clear he was so glad to be on his way home. There was a sense that he had overcome every hurdle they threw at him. I have never been as glad to see any republican come home than I was at John Brady's release... because of everything he faced.

I first met John in Crumlin Road prison 23 years ago, when he was 17 or 18. He spent the next 23 years in a constant political battle. Recently, I think Father Time whispered in his ear, and he realised he needed some semblance of a 'normal' life. He was so close to achieving that.

I believe that something happened in that barracks to trigger this event. I don't know what it was. But I doubt very much if they were serving him tea and telling him things would be fine, and that it wasn't going to affect his eventual release.

Sometimes when we continually try to get our pound of flesh out of someone, we get more than we bargained for.

I don't know if we'll ever get a full answer to the question of what happened here.