I wonder what the breakfast table conversation this morning between Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe and his wife is like. Are they saying “Isn’t it lovely that the HSE has made a statement and apologized to us for that child abuse smear they made against you, Maurice”? Unlikely, since the McCabes before this morning have been nothing if not definitive: “We reject both the statement and apology.”
The thing is, if you’re a whistleblower, you better have a clean slate, because what’s certain is, they’re going to come after you. And sure enough, after Garda McCabe made allegations of serious wrong-doing among some gardaí, next you know there’s a child abuse allegation made against Maurice McCabe. That was a clever area to choose for attack: not because there has been any whiff of such vileness around Maurice McCabe but because an allegation of child abuse is normally very hard to counter-act. The public have been schooled to think of the accuser as wronged and the alleged abuser as near-sub-human, before ever a shred of evidence is adduced. So more power to Garda McCabe that he’s managed to stop that particular train in its tracks.
But there’s more. Yesterday on RTÉ Frances Fitzgerald said she hadn’t known a thing about such a file until it was revealed on RTÉ last Thursday. “I was stunned” she said. On the same programme, Clare Daly TD said it had been common knowledge around Leinster House for a long time, and that Frances Fitzgerald was Minister for Justice in 2014.
Wow. Somebody is up to their necks in post-truths here – Frances Fitzgerald can’t both not have known and known at the same time. And while Enda Kenny isn’t quite in the cross-hairs the way Frances F is, he’s far from out of the line of fire.
Add to that two things: today the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone flies in to face this cluster-suck of allegations; and Sinn Féin have put down a motion of no confidence in the government, to be debated today. Interestingly, Fianna Fail who have been loud in criticizing the government and particular Frances Fitzgerald over this whole thing, are expected to abstain from voting if there is such a motion. So now we’ve had the FFers propping up the government, attacking the government, and now apparently about to, um, be neutral regarding the government. All things to all men, then.
Something is rotten in the southern state that smells of ancient fish. Something is rotten in the northern state, that smells of burning money. Still, though, you have to admit: partition was a great idea.
A curious thing, all the same, Esteemed Blogmeister, how the same surname suddenly appears to rise up from the ranks of An Garda Síochána as if to remind the National Witch Hunta in the Free Southern Stateen that the God of Irony will not be mocked.
-McCabe.
For the past twenty years or so the spectre of the unfortunate Garda J. McCabe has been exploited to shame a particular political party whose name is scarcely necessary to check.
Not least on those occasions of maximum advantage (perceived) such as, let’s see, ah yes, Election time. The claim might even be made that there is no limit to the depths of cynicism to which even the same cunning Hunta (see above) will not plumb in their opportunistic efforts to beat the same damn party as if it were a Lambeg drum itself.
And all the while the American lesbian lady in charge of Irish Children is back home in Washington State as distinct from The Free Southern Stateen which is at least a day away from A to Zee or even to Zed, Fred.
24 HOURS from TUSLA to Z
Zappone phones dearest darling to say
I am 24 hours away but I’m on my way
Like Mr.W. Micawber
Re. Affaire MacCába
She’ll turn up in Eire marked US of A.
I’myself not sure what Katherine Zappone’so sexual orientation has to do with anything.
Afraid that observation will have to be referred to Ms. Zappone.
As one recalls it, some short years ago she first crossed the broad, Atlantic ocean in an easterly direction in business class on Aer Lesbos. Meaning, she meant B for Business in the little ole’ Emerald Isle..
Everytime she appeared on the media (often, very) she was wearing her closet-shaped lapel sticker:
– ‘ Hi ! I’m Katherine of Aer Lesbos: Fly Me’.
Seemed very, very important to the good lady at the time to get this message across.
Unless, of course, she has since switched airlines.