Martin Ferris under the legal limit.

DonJose

It was reported a couple of weeks ago that Martin Ferris was arrested on the suspision of drink driving. The results came back today and Martin Ferris has been found to be under the legal limit for drink-driving.

greine

And.....

baztard

Good for him. Funny that the media made a huge deal out of it when he was caught. Now theres only a whisper of the news that he's innocent. I wonder is it because they're anti Sinn Féin or just controversy peddlers?

humbert

baztard wrote:

Good for him. Funny that the media made a huge deal out of it when he was caught. Now theres only a whisper of the news that he's innocent. I wonder is it because they're anti Sinn Féin or just controversy peddlers?

Both I'd say. So rare to see a polition accused of something that they weren't guilty of.

DonJose

greine wrote:

And.....

The media and members of this board plastered it all over the news when he was arrested, then there is hardly a mention when the results came back negative. These are the same jackasses who spout "innocent until proven guilty"...

jhegarty

greine wrote:

And.....

Funny how there was no posts like that when everyone though he was guilty....

Oriel

I think this should be on the front page of every news paper.
The ****ing media are quick to drag people down, but say nothing when the truth is revealed.

Jakey

I come across this in various media, On the radio a few times and Google news is showing quite a few results,
http://news.google.ie/news?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&tab=wn&ncl=1116200516&filter=0

Including BBC (who call him a Gun Runner) . I dont think it reflects well on Ireland to have Gun Runners (their words) as TD's in the national media.

NutJob

baztard wrote:

Good for him. Funny that the media made a huge deal out of it when he was caught. Now theres only a whisper of the news that he's innocent. I wonder is it because they're anti Sinn Féin or just controversy peddlers?

if Ferris farts he makes the news.

(Above)Media grabbed the story and apperntly he was doing 90 mph and threating guards. Which all parties now deny.





4 months back

He approached "people in an estate" to see if "they could help have stolen goods returned". Usual story people who know people. Goods were returned fair play to him.

Media grabbed the story. He had accused people in the estate of stealing said goods . In some act of vigilantism the goods were returned. Suddenly out of nowhere the traveling community got added to the story and racial tensions.
Funny thing was that members traveling community appeared on radio praising ferris for all his help over the years and saying he had not accused anyone.

Ferris 2. Irish meda 0

Poor lad i wouldn't fart in public if i was him or it'll be all over some tabloid rag.

kmick

To be fair he did have 3 or 4 drinks and then drove. Now it may have been over the space of a few hours + meal but he took a risk of being over the limit. And if he was convicted of gun running (no idea whether he was or not) then its probably fair to call him a convicted gun runner. If not its grounds for libel. If any other politician was breathalysed and was doubtful it would be big news as well. Do I sense a bit of sensitivity here?

Heinrich

kmick wrote:

To be fair he did have 3 or 4 drinks and then drove. Now it may have been over the space of a few hours + meal but he took a risk of being over the limit. And if he was convicted of gun running (no idea whether he was or not) then its probably fair to call him a convicted gun runner. If not its grounds for libel. If any other politician was breathalysed and was doubtful it would be big news as well. Do I sense a bit of sensitivity here?

2 pints + 1 glass of wine = 3 drinks exactly!

If he was convicted for gun running and did a jail stint he paid the price. CJH signed cheques for gun running if you look back at the arms trial and the perjury involved!;)

humanji

Heinrich wrote:

If he was convicted for gun running and did a jail stint he paid the price. CJH signed cheques for gun running if you look back at the arms trial and the perjury involved!;)

Yeah, but every thinks CJH was a c*nt

various news sources wrote:

However, he said today that, if he found himself in the same position again, he would not get behind the wheel of his car.

And if more people thought that way we might have a lot less deaths on the road each year, so if peopel pay attention to this, something good might come of all this.

r3nu4l

Well I've no time for Sinn Féin or their politics but it is very unfair that there has been little mention of this in the papers considering that they had tripped over one another trying to get the story of his arrest out there.

Glad to hear the outcome

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Mossy Monk

kmick wrote:

To be fair he did have 3 or 4 drinks and then drove. Now it may have been over the space of a few hours + meal but he took a risk of being over the limit.

Non issue as he was below the limit.

um7y1h83ge06nx

kmick wrote:

To be fair he did have 3 or 4 drinks and then drove. Now it may have been over the space of a few hours + meal but he took a risk of being over the limit. And if he was convicted of gun running (no idea whether he was or not) then its probably fair to call him a convicted gun runner. If not its grounds for libel. If any other politician was breathalysed and was doubtful it would be big news as well. Do I sense a bit of sensitivity here?

He was convicted and spent time in Portlaoise. Caught with about 7 tonnes of stuff I think on the Marita Ann

From Wikipedia:

Ferris served ten years (1984 - 1994) in prison for his involvement in the attempted importation of arms from the United States. In September 1984, the fishing vessel Valhalla, sailed from Boston, while the trawler Marita Ann, sailed from Fenit, County Kerry. Mid Atlantic, seven tons of explosives, arms and ammunition were transferred from the Valhalla to the Marita Ann. Sometime afterwards, the Irish Navy vessels LE Emer and LE Aisling along with members of the Garda Síochána detained the Marita Ann and arrested its crew. Ferris was convicted for the possession of explosive substances for unlawful purpose and for possession of firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

um7y1h83ge06nx

It was very wrong for the media to start laying into him before there was any results to prove he was over the limit.

The unfortunate price to pay for being a person in the public eye.

baztard

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

Well when he was caught originally he made the front page of a lot of newspapers, and I remember there was a good 5 minute section on six one news. Judging by this it was most likely all over the radio also.

Then when he's found innocent, I didnt see any front page coverage. and the six one news only had a quick 30 second report on it. And as you say he was on Matt Cooper.

Still much less coverage in comparison.

DonJose

I read about the arrest on rte.ie news, todays a very slow news day and a mention about the results of the test, but then again what do you expect from state run media.

Mossy Monk

DonJose wrote:

but then again what do you expect from state run media.

The newspapers gave it as much coverage as when he was arrested then?

Dave!

kmick wrote:

And if he was convicted of gun running (no idea whether he was or not) then its probably fair to call him a convicted gun runner. If not its grounds for libel.

He was convicted for gun running years ago, and served time for it. But since then he has been elected to Dail Eireann -- why don't they call him 'Sinn Fein TD Martin Ferris'?

They call Martin McGuinness 'Sinn Fein chief negotiator', or more recently 'Northern Ireland deputy first minister'. Yet in a headline on breakingnews.ie Martin Ferris was 'former IRA gun runner'.

biko

meh