Cathal O Searcaigh

boardinwork

Did anybody see the programme about this Irish poet last night? I have never seen a more disgusting man in my whole life.

Honestly this lad should leave the country because i dont think he is safe here after people seeing that.

He has raised over 50k for charity work and gone off to Nepal using this cash (donated by good people) to buy young boys.

One boy said that he knew of 50 or 60 boys that have been manipulated by Cathal. He picked them up outside schools offering them money for books, offering to buy them bicycles and then invited them to his room for "English lessons" etc.

I seriously hated watching this programme, he was so open about the fact he was sleeping with these kids and i just wanted to actually murder this monster.

Did this make anyone else feel as sick?:mad:

togster

when you say kids what age do you mean?

TequilaMockingBird

I was prepared for it to be a bit sensationalist, but I was disgusted with him. Did anyone notice his body language, when the reporter confronted him?

Guilty m'lord.

christo82

Yeah, very disturbing alright. But he's actually probably one of many Westerners exploiting the Nepaleese poverty for the own gratification. I liked the fact that the Hotel manager had the guts to speak out about what was going on in the hotel. Although he seemed kind of resigned to the fact that there was little he could actually do to prevent it.

The final interview with Cathal when the filmmaker confronts him about what he has been doing is quite unnerving. You can see his anger towards the woman for questioning what he does, because he clearly has no ethical dilemmas with regards to his actions.

boardinwork

christo82 wrote: »

Yeah, very disturbing alright. But he's actually probably one of many Westerners exploiting the Nepaleese poverty for the own gratification. I liked the fact that the Hotel manager had the guts to speak out about what was going on in the hotel. Although he seemed kind of resigned to the fact that there was little he could actually do to prevent it.

The final interview with Cathal when the filmmaker confronts him about what he has been doing is quite unnerving. You can see his anger towards the woman for questioning what he does, because he clearly has no ethical dilemmas with regards to his actions.

Yeah the final scene is horrible alright. He looked so flustered. He actually reminded me of a child with guilt written all over him. He didnt know how to react and for a man with so many words usually, it seemed to leave him stuck for them. I hate this scumbag

Gandalf23

"Pussycat pussycat where have you been ..."

That was the most disturbing bit.

dodgyme

Article today about David Norris suggesting that the film shouldnt be shown?

indo today

Senator David Norris yesterday called for the broadcasting of a controversial documentary on the poet Cathal O Searcaigh to be postponed and brought before a Dail committee.

---Thanks David - have you gone all censorship on me?

togster

Haven't seen it, but have read a bit about it. seems sick tbh

Dave!

is it online yet?

carmen_jones

Totally agree with all the posters, he's a nasty piece of work alright. It also reflects the power that Westerners can have in such a poor and isolated country. What legal action, if any, can be taken against him I wonder?

WindSock

For the first half I thought ahh he's not so bad, he seems to do more harm than good. I was determined not to be phased and fall into the trap. Then after watching the whole thing I realised there was something very wrong going on there.

watna

Op, was it on last night? In that article it says it's on RTE tomorrow night. It sounds pretty bad but I'd really prefer to watch it and decide for myself.

/goes to check TV listings

EDIT: Doesn't appear to be on tomorrow night after all

WindSock

It was on last night, Wattie. Bound to be repeated.

watna

WindSock wrote: »

It was on last night, Wattie. Bound to be repeated.

I miss everything!

/keeps eye out for repeats

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

boardinwork wrote: »

Did anybody see the programme about this Irish poet last night? I have never seen a more disgusting man in my whole life.

Honestly this lad should leave the country because i dont think he is safe here after people seeing that.

He has raised over 50k for charity work and gone off to Nepal using this cash (donated by good people) to buy young boys.

One boy said that he knew of 50 or 60 boys that have been manipulated by Cathal. He picked them up outside schools offering them money for books, offering to buy them bicycles and then invited them to his room for "English lessons" etc.

I seriously hated watching this programme, he was so open about the fact he was sleeping with these kids and i just wanted to actually murder this monster.

Did this make anyone else feel as sick?:mad:

No, but then I'll not that easily enfluenced by ther media.
What's his poetry like? Any good?

Avns1s

WindSock wrote: »

It was on last night, Wattie. Bound to be repeated.

I hope not. I think this was the most sickening piece of television I have ever watched, and I could never be called a prude!!

Disgusting.

WindSock

Well then don't watch it if it is.

watna

WindSock wrote: »

Well then don't watch it if it is.

Maybe his/her eyes are forced open and she/he is tied down in front of the tv every night. You just don't know what goes on in the comfort of peoples own homes. Have some sensitivity windsock!

The Sparrow

I doubt it will be repeated on RTE because it is doing the whole festival thing. Plus I know that RTE were concerned about the level of complaints that last nights airing was likely to generate.

watna

woooo232 wrote: »

I doubt it will be repeated on RTE because it is doing the whole festival thing. Plus I know that RTE were concerned about the level of complaints that last nights airing was likely to generate.

boo-urns!

WindSock

watna wrote: »

Maybe his/her eyes are forced open and she/he is tied down in front of the tv every night. You just don't know what goes on in the comfort of peoples own homes. Have some sensitivity windsock!

You're right Watna. I forgot that there are some people out there that are forced against their own will to watch things they know they won't like. ''Think of the Children'' as O'Searcaigh might say.

Nerin

WindSock wrote: »

''Think of the Children'' as O'Searcaigh might say.

quote of the day already?!

watna

nerin wrote: »

quote of the day already?!

+1 I'm getting funny looks in work now after appearing to giggle at my screen!

MoominPapa

A much better artist had O Searcaigh ilk nailed years ago:

Handsome Devil - The Smiths (abridged)

All the streets are crammed with things
Eager to be held
I know what hands are for
And i'd like to help myself
You ask me the time
But i sense something more
And i would like to give
What i think you're asking for
You handsome devil
Oh, you handsome devil

A boy in the bush
Is worth two in the hand
I think i can help you get through your exams
Oh, you handsome devil

And when we're in your scholarly room
Who will swallow whom ?
When we're in your scholarly room
Who will swallow whom ?
You handsome devil

There's more to life than books, you know
But not much more
Oh, there's more to life than books, you know
But not much more, not much more
Oh, you handsome devil
Oh, you handsome devil
Ow !

Karoma

This thread is on dodgy ground as it is.
I appreciate that it does stir a lot of feelings of disgust and hatred, but would ask that you refrain from posting anything that may incite violence and libel the individual (Stick to the facts.)
No, I don't care that you think "PEOPLE LIKE HIM DON'T DESERVE ANY BETTER" - unless you can find a judge and guarantee a jury with the exact same opinions.

Dudess

And there is no evidence that any of the boys with whom he had sex were underage.

Ah, I always find it amusing when certain After Hours posters with unbelievably crass attitudes towards sex and women get all indignant and on their moral high horse about inappropriate sexual behaviour...
Kinda like The Sun: page 1 lead - "FILTHY PAEDOPHILE SICKO LIKES 15-YEAR-OLD GIRLS!", page 3 - "This is 17-year-old Holly from Bournemouth"...

Wertz

What the hell? It's an opinion...one I'm sure a lot of people share.
What have judge and jury got to do with it? He hasn't commited a crime in this jurisdiction (that we know of)
I'm not going to kill anyone or encourage someone else to do it....although that might be how I feel, my sense of morality would not allow me to do so.

I stand by my previously posted/deleted statement that it's a bloody joke that this "man's" musings are part of the national curriculum taught to the children of this country.
I fail to see how any of the rest of my post was libellous....the facts were laid bare on that doc last night.
May as well just lock the thread....there isn't really any "constructive" things to add to this debate, unless we get someone on here defending the guy...

cornbb

Dudess wrote: »

And there is no evidence that any of the boys with whom he had sex were underage.

Ah, I always find it amusing when certain After Hours posters with unbelievably crass attitudes towards sex and women get all indignant and on their moral high horse about inappropriate sexual behaviour...
Kinda like The Sun: page 1 lead - "FILTHY PAEDOPHILE SICKO LIKES 15-YEAR-OLD GIRLS!", page 3 - "This is 17-year-old Holly from Bournemouth"...

No-one here has actually implied that he has broken the law... Take from the documentary what you will, but you can hardly call it sensationalist. Did you watch it?

Lux23

Dudess wrote: »

And there is no evidence that any of the boys with whom he had sex were underage.

Ah, I always find it amusing when certain After Hours posters with unbelievably crass attitudes towards sex and women get all indignant and on their moral high horse about inappropriate sexual behaviour...
Kinda like The Sun: page 1 lead - "FILTHY PAEDOPHILE SICKO LIKES 15-YEAR-OLD GIRLS!", page 3 - "This is 17-year-old Holly from Bournemouth"...

Its not that the boys were underage but that they live in a very sheltered country and some of them had no idea what sex was even. He was using money that was donated to him for charitable reasons so he could buy bikes, clothes etc in order to buy these boys 'love'.

TequilaMockingBird

The piece filming the boy/young man in the ice-cream shop was particulary hard to watch. He just looked lost and confused.

Dudess

cornbb wrote: »

No-one here has actually implied that he has broken the law...

Some posts have been deleted but I said that more as a warning than anything else.

Take from the documentary what you will, but you can hardly call it sensationalist. Did you watch it?

Oh no I'm not arguing that Ó Searcaigh is an innocent in this - some of Boards' more reasoned members are shocked by it, which is enough for me.

My comment was just directed at the small knucklehead brigade who feel they can be as obnoxious as they want with their macho crap but then they're the very same people who'll get on their moral high horse about something like this - I just find it amusing and hard to take them seriously. Hence The Sun analogy.

Wertz

Dudess wrote: »

Ah, I always find it amusing when certain After Hours posters with unbelievably crass attitudes towards sex and women get all indignant and on their moral high horse about inappropriate sexual behaviour...

Since I'm obviously one of the AH posters that this is aimed at, kindly point me to where I have expressed "unbelievably crass attitudes toward sex and women" that have been anything other than tongue-in-cheek. Assuming you find any, then tell us why that's equivocal with this man's exploitative behaviour and why exactly holding such an opinion of him is in some way hypocritical.
Oh and instead of generalising your argument, why not just pick on the poster(s) you have a problem with and argue it directly instead of taking the old moderator cop out of implying wrongdoing amongst several posters...

cornbb

Dudess wrote: »

Some posts have been deleted but I said that more as a warning than anything else.

Ah, touche. There's been a thread on this in Humanities for weeks, I guess when the number of pitchforks being whipped out in AH reaches critical mass it might be time to whip out the padlock.

cornbb

Dudess wrote: »

My comment was just directed at the small knucklehead brigade who feel they can be as obnoxious as they want when talking about females and sex on this board but then they're the very same people who'll get on their moral high horse about something like this - I just find it amusing and hard to take them seriously. Hence The Sun analogy.

"Something like this" goes way above and beyond any comments about women/sex which are thrown around here, which are slightly tasteless at worst... Its hardly a fair analogy.

Dudess

cornbb, the point I'm making is it's amusing to see such types putting on their moral high horse hat. Leaving aside what the actual issue in question is, it's just laughable, that's all. The kind of thing I'm talking about is, I think, well summed up by The Sun analogy.

And Wertz, you got the wrong end of the stick. I wasn't referring to you at all. You're a poster I'd have a lot of time for actually.

Wertz wrote: »

Since I'm obviously one of the AH posters that this is aimed at, kindly point me to where I have expressed "unbelievably crass attitudes toward sex and women" that have been anything other than tongue-in-cheek.

Absolutely. I wouldn't be able to point you to same.

Wertz

Ah apologies so....boy, must have been a whole swathe of posts deleted then. In retrospect, my comment about lynching was probably begging for moderation.

But my point still stands, kind of; it's much more fun to single out those posters and rip them a new one rather than try and tag them all with one wide put down.

Absolutely. I wouldn't be able to point you to same.

Good ¬¬

[edit] BTW I should add that I didn't see the full run of the show (had to go out), but the first 20 minutes were enough for me to form an opinion....others are saying it got worse toward the end? Gonna have to catch the repeat. Additionally Liveline should be fun today :pac:

Gandalf23

The following is a true story.

I was in Nepal in 2002/03 for a few months climbing. I was in Katmandu for a day or two before flying home, and an American guy told me there was a poetry reading by some Irish guy in this big bookshop that evening. I went down to check it out as I was curious and hadn't seen anyone Irish in months. It was Cathal O'Searcaigh (I'd never heard of him but he was sorta familiar ... thought I might of seen him on TG4 but wasnt sure) so I went up to him and said something like "hello, good poetry reading". He heard my Irish accent, looked at me like a kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, mumbled something patroinising, and literally ran out of the place. The look of surprised shock and guilt on his face really horrified me at the time... I just couldn't figure out what was wrong with the whole picture.

Until now that is.

Mickey G

The moderators on this site are the pits. Petty little people on a power trip with what often seems like little understanding of rights and law.

Free speech on this website is possibly on par with China and thus diminishes the mandate and the idea of a forum as a whole.

I have been admonished for critisising a moderator on this site before (and for that reason only) and i found that amazing. Thus i would not be completly suprised if this minor criticism drew a similar reaction.

I only come on this site as a last resort due to its high participation numbers(if i cannot find a particular discussion on another) but im beginning to think that it is pointless...

cornbb

Mickey G wrote: »

The moderators on this site are the pits. Petty little people on a power trip with what often seems like little understanding of rights and law.

Free speech on this website is possibly on par with China and thus diminishes the mandate and the idea of a forum as a whole.

I have been admonished for critisising a moderator on this site before (and for that reason only) and i found that amazing. Thus i would not be completly suprised if this minor criticism drew a similar reaction.

I only come on this site as a last resort due to its high participation numbers(if i cannot find a particular discussion on another) but im beginning to think that it is pointless...

You know, you're absolutely right. You should create a post in the Feedback forum explaining thoroughly how your right to free speech has been impeded.

Miaow!

Karoma

Wertz wrote: »

Ah apologies so....boy, must have been a whole swathe of posts deleted then. In retrospect, my comment about lynching was probably begging for moderation.

But my point still stands, kind of; it's much more fun to single out those posters and rip them a new one rather than try and tag them all with one wide put down.

There were a few posts removed. By your own admissions, the guy is not guilty of a crime in Ireland. Ergo, he's an 'innocent' individual who is being called nasty stuff, accused of things he hasn't done (no reports), and there's the stuff about lynch mobs ...
We know that has done other things; these are fair game for discussion (not just the "rabble!rabble!rabble!" posts) as much as any other topic - cast your stones...

Mickey G wrote: »

The moderators on this site are the pits. Petty little people on a power trip with what often seems like little understanding of rights and law.

You should see & smell the lusers.

Free speech on this website is possibly on par with China and thus diminishes the mandate and the idea of a forum as a whole.

It's a balance between open discussion (Since "free speech" doesn't ****ing exist) and Irish defamation laws. Boards.ie is a private forum, and is subject to Irish law. Don't like it? Tough, neither do I but that's how it goes. Live with it or leave.

I only come on this site as a last resort due to its high participation numbers(if i cannot find a particular discussion on another) but im beginning to think that it is pointless...

Nobody's keeping you here. Feedback forum is under Sys. Post your thoughts there. Not in AH. Be sure to mention how mean I am, and that I didn't try hard enough to keep your custom. End of this discussion here.

Dudess

Mickey G, why do you feel there is an automatic right to free speech on Boards? It's a privately owned website, therefore free speech is not permissible on all occasions. So there's your answer.

Wertz

Gandalf23 wrote: »

The following is a true story.

I was in Nepal in 2002/03 for a few months climbing. I was in Katmandu for a day or two before flying home, and an American guy told me there was a poetry reading by some Irish guy in this big bookshop that evening. I went down to check it out as I was curious and hadn't seen anyone Irish in months. It was Cathal O'Searcaigh (I'd never heard of him but he was sorta familiar ... thought I might of seen him on TG4 but wasnt sure) so I went up to him and said something like "hello, good poetry reading". He heard my Irish accent, looked at me like a kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, mumbled something patroinising, and literally ran out of the place. The look of surprised shock and guilt on his face really horrified me at the time... I just couldn't figure out what was wrong with the whole picture.

Until now that is.

Pics or it didn't happen :pac:



As for points on free speech, this forum is a private publication, with all the legalities that entails...as someone who likes to speak my mind, quite bluntly on occasion, I don't like being censored, but that's the rule you have to operate within...
If it bothers you that much get a blog and a lawyer on retainer.

Nerin

<blast,beaten to it>
thats odd about meeting him Gandalf. how long have people thought he was up to shenanigans (alleged shenanigans) or was it just this documentary?

Karoma

Get back on topic please.
He has said his piece, and he can go to Feedback or the Help Desk.

skelliser

i may be wrong but to my knowledge he may have commited a crime. It is alledged in the documentary that he had sex with one or more 16 year old boys. the age of consent in ireland, i believe is 17, thus if its proven he can be prosecuted for having underage sex.

togster

isn't homosexuality illegal in that country?

WindSock

I can't remember if the doco said it was illegal there, but it is very heavily frowned upon.

Dragan

christo82 wrote: »

You can see his anger towards the woman for questioning what he does, because he clearly has no ethical dilemmas with regards to his actions.

Watch The Woodsman if you haven't seen it. Throws a very interesting spin on this whole issue.

Gandalf23

nerin wrote: »

<blast,beaten to it>
thats odd about meeting him Gandalf. how long have people thought he was up to shenanigans (alleged shenanigans) or was it just this documentary?

Yeah it was sorta odd alright. I wouldn't say I thought he was up to any "shenanigans" ... I just thought something was wrong in some way I couldn't quite put my finger on. Tbh it sorta bothered me for a long while afterwards ... the whole incident was very very disconcerting. I remember telling a friend the story a few months after I got home and she was wondering why I remembered that from all the other memories (and frostbite) of the entire trip.

But then I always say I have a 6th sense about stuff like this ...

16 is the legal age of consent in Nepal.

WindSock wrote: »

I can't remember if the doco said it was illegal there, but it is very heavily frowned upon.

/edit/ Homosexuality is not illegal in Nepal ... but "unnatural sex" definitely is illegal, and this may be seen to include homosexual sex. Its a very grey area at the moment ...

Look at this and this and (most interesting of all ... and perhaps biased?) ... this

Gran Hermano

Is it true the Department of Education are looking at combining two sections
on this years paper; literature and poetry? I heard the prescribed text will
be "Kiddie Fiddler on the Roof".

humberklog

cornbb wrote: »

Well the incidents didn't take place in Ireland so I'm fairly sure he hasn't broken any Irish laws.... The law on homosexual acts is pretty ambiguous in Nepal apparently so maybe he has or hasn't broken the law there.
.

Irish law ,from i think 2004 ,carries into other jurisdictions. EU law brought in in order to make sex tourists culpable in their own jurisdiction. Homosexuality is illegal in nepal however that doesn't mean it's implemented.(the law not the act).
I thought cahal a reprehensible character who summed up his intent when he said...'if i'd more money i could do more' The 'do' sent a bit of a shiver.