Tom Gilmartin: in praise of a brave man

Dostoevsky

Just listening to Tom Gilmartin's son on RTÉ 1's This Week at the moment.

Gilmartin was the Sligo man who went to Britain and made a fortune, came back to invest in Ireland and found politicians like Pádraig Flynn were demanding bribes in order for him to get his investments off the ground.

It was Gilmartin who first made the claims against Frank Dunlop, namely that he was the "bag man" delivering the bribes from business people to politicians. Back in the early 1990s few people believed corruption was happening on this professional scale. It was Gilmartin who also had the courage to take on a senior government minister, Pádraig Flynn. The Garda did not want to know. Just how many senior gardaí have their positions determined by senior politicians? Just how many journalists depend on being well-in with senior politicians to be guaranteed stories every week? It was a cold place for one man taking on senior political figures.

Most disgustingly, Flynn and his supporters spread rumours that Tom Gilmartin was mentally unwell and therefore his evidence should not be treated seriously. This Week just played the excerpt of Flynn making that claim about Gilmartin's mental health on the Late Late Show. Flynn's apologists throughout the years have repeated that claim. The Mahon Tribunal has categorically rejected all Flynn's claims against Gilmartin and ruled Flynn to be guilty of "corruption".

I hope Gilmartin and his family are currently planning to sue Flynn and all his supporters who have tried to slander/defame his reputation.

For once, the underdog wins. It doesn't happen too often in our society, so let's recognise it when it happens.

MickySticks

I'd love a creme egg right now.

lividduck

Dostoevsky wrote: »

Just listening to Tom Gilmartin's son on RTÉ 1's This Week at the moment.

Gilmartin was the Sligo man who went to Britain and made a fortune, came back to invest in Ireland and found politicians like Pádraig Flynn were demanding bribes in order for him to get his investments off the ground.

It was Gilmartin who first made the claims against Frank Dunlop, namely that he was the "bag man" delivering the bribes from business people to politicians. Back in the early 1990s few people believed corruption was happening on this professional scale. It was Gilmartin who also had the courage to take on a senior government minister, Pádraig Flynn. The Garda did not want to know. Just how many senior gardaí have their positions determined by senior politicians? Just how many journalists depend on being well-in with senior politicians to be guaranteed stories every week? It was a cold place for one man taking on senior political figures.

Most disgustingly, Flynn and his supporters spread rumours that Tom Gilmartin was mentally unwell and therefore his evidence should not be treated seriously. This Week just played the excerpt of Flynn making that claim about Gilmartin's mental health on the Late Late Show. Flynn's apologists throughout the years have repeated that claim. The Mahon Tribunal has categorically rejected all Flynn's claims against Gilmartin and ruled Flynn to be guilty of "corruption".

I hope Gilmartin and his family are currently planning to sue Flynn and all his supporters who have tried to slander/defame his reputation.

For once, the underdog wins. It doesn't happen too often in our society, so let's recognise it when it happens.

Couldn't agree more, Flynn and FF went out of their way to label Gilmartin as a mental case.
In all the furore over bertie this has been forgotten.

the purple tin

It does feel good to dust out the corners.

stovelid

I hope TG sues the f+ck out of Flynn. One of the drawbacks of the tribunal news in recent days has been watching the old footage of that smug, venal wretch.

Chuck Stone

P. Flynn is a human parasite.

General General

Dostoevsky wrote: »

Just listening to Tom Gilmartin's son on RTÉ 1's This Week at the moment.

Gilmartin was the Sligo man who went to Britain and made a fortune, came back to invest in Ireland and found politicians like Pádraig Flynn were demanding bribes in order for him to get his investments off the ground.

It was Gilmartin who first made the claims against Frank Dunlop, namely that he was the "bag man" delivering the bribes from business people to politicians. Back in the early 1990s few people believed corruption was happening on this professional scale. It was Gilmartin who also had the courage to take on a senior government minister, Pádraig Flynn. The Garda did not want to know. Just how many senior gardaí have their positions determined by senior politicians? Just how many journalists depend on being well-in with senior politicians to be guaranteed stories every week? It was a cold place for one man taking on senior political figures.

Most disgustingly, Flynn and his supporters spread rumours that Tom Gilmartin was mentally unwell and therefore his evidence should not be treated seriously. This Week just played the excerpt of Flynn making that claim about Gilmartin's mental health on the Late Late Show. Flynn's apologists throughout the years have repeated that claim. The Mahon Tribunal has categorically rejected all Flynn's claims against Gilmartin and ruled Flynn to be guilty of "corruption".

I hope Gilmartin and his family are currently planning to sue Flynn and all his supporters who have tried to slander/defame his reputation.

For once, the underdog wins. It doesn't happen too often in our society, so let's recognise it when it happens.

I'd forgotten about that. I'd long made up my mind Pee is a stinker, but I had forgotten about that 'highlight' of his career (& FF 'politics'). Thanks.

charlemont

lividduck wrote: »

Couldn't agree more, Flynn and FF went out of their way to label Gilmartin as a mental case.
In all the furore over bertie this has been forgotten.

Irish society all over again, Anyone who doesn't want to fit in, Or anyone who rocks the boat is labelled and branded..

Good man, Mr Gilmartin.

Duckworth_Luas

Chuck Stone wrote: »

P. Flynn is a human parasite.

To include Flynn (or Ahern) in the same classification as tapeworms is deeply offensive to the tapeworms. They are a higher form of life altogether!

tricky D

Not too sure about this brave and good man angle. Gilmartin was quite happy to do nothing and let it all go until Flynn opened his gob too wide on the Late Late. Revenge was his main motive. Nevertheless, thankfully it all came out.

charlemont

lividduck wrote: »

Couldn't agree more, Flynn and FF went out of their way to label Gilmartin as a mental case.
In all the furore over bertie this has been forgotten.

I'd rate Flynn as far worse than Bertie, Why ? I think Bertie is actually intelligent, Intelligent enough to know that his party was/is corrupt, So Bertie had to be quiet sly, Cute hoor, whatever to get to the top and be leader. Charlie Haughey makes Bertie look like an angel, What surrounded him was a useless shower of self serving idiots and Bertie stupidly went along with it and blew the economy.
I just reckon Bertie isn't as arrogant, slimy and dirty as Flynn.

Doc Ruby

lividduck wrote: »

Couldn't agree more, Flynn and FF went out of their way to label Gilmartin as a mental case.

Credibility is the only currency that matters in these situations.

I can only hope that now the veil has finally been drawn back on the depth and scale of corruption in the upper echelons of Irish politics, a good clearout can happen, and lasting regulations put in place to ensure it doesn't happen again. Such as removing political appointments for judges and guards.

lividduck

tricky D wrote: »

Not too sure about this brave and good man angle. Gilmartin was quite happy to do nothing and let it all go until Flynn opened his gob too wide on the Late Late. Revenge was his main motive. Nevertheless, thankfully it all came out.

He had already gone to the Gardai years earlier and nothing happened!

the keen edge

tricky D wrote: »

Not too sure about this brave and good man angle. Gilmartin was quite happy to do nothing and let it all go until Flynn opened his gob too wide on the Late Late. Revenge was his main motive. Nevertheless, thankfully it all came out.

+1

Next thing people will be championing that muppet from Achill Island who drove the concrete truck in the the gates of the Dail.

stoneill

In all fairness - I'm sure it is rather difficult to keep three houses going on a measly EU commissioner pension. You should try it sometime.

DonkyPlonk

does anyone know how much it costs to run a 3 houses on his salary!

You should try it, I'm tellin ya!

:cool:

UglyBolloxFace

Dostoevsky wrote: »

Just listening to Tom Gilmartin's son on RTÉ 1's This Week at the moment.

Gilmartin was the Sligo man who went to Britain and made a fortune, came back to invest in Ireland and found politicians like Pádraig Flynn were demanding bribes in order for him to get his investments off the ground.

It was Gilmartin who first made the claims against Frank Dunlop, namely that he was the "bag man" delivering the bribes from business people to politicians. Back in the early 1990s few people believed corruption was happening on this professional scale. It was Gilmartin who also had the courage to take on a senior government minister, Pádraig Flynn. The Garda did not want to know. Just how many senior gardaí have their positions determined by senior politicians? Just how many journalists depend on being well-in with senior politicians to be guaranteed stories every week? It was a cold place for one man taking on senior political figures.

Most disgustingly, Flynn and his supporters spread rumours that Tom Gilmartin was mentally unwell and therefore his evidence should not be treated seriously. This Week just played the excerpt of Flynn making that claim about Gilmartin's mental health on the Late Late Show. Flynn's apologists throughout the years have repeated that claim. The Mahon Tribunal has categorically rejected all Flynn's claims against Gilmartin and ruled Flynn to be guilty of "corruption".

I hope Gilmartin and his family are currently planning to sue Flynn and all his supporters who have tried to slander/defame his reputation.

For once, the underdog wins. It doesn't happen too often in our society, so let's recognise it when it happens.

Brave man me bollox. He's as corrupt as the cunts he bribed.

mikemac1

Poor P Flynn

Three houses to run on a commissioners salary

Was a tough life

He told me to try it sometime but I know I wouldn't manage

lividduck

UglyBolloxFace wrote: »

Brave man me bollox. He's as corrupt as the cunts he bribed.

Winner of todays most ignorant and dumbest post!

djk1000

MickySticks wrote: »

I'd love a creme egg right now.

Witty AH style, thanks attracting first reply FAIL....:D


Last time I was in any kind of physical confrontation was about 25 years ago and I'd call myself a pacifist, but I was thinking earlier that if I met Flynn on a street somewhere, I would probably hit him, not in a keyboard warrior bull**** kind of way, but in an actually deck the smug **** and not care about the assault charge kind of way.

oppenheimer1

lividduck wrote: »

Winner of todays most ignorant and dumbest post!

Why? Gilmartin did give bribes. It would all have been kept hush-hush but for P. Flynns hubris and stupidity.

lividduck

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

Why? Gilmartin did give bribes. It would all have been kept hush-hush but for P. Flynns hubris and stupidity.

A bribe was demanded of him, he went to the gardai , they ignored it.
Faced with two choices pay up or go bust he paid, even the Tribunal recognised he paid under duress.
Paying extortion money is not the same as bribery.

Coriolanus

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

lividduck wrote: »

Winner of todays most ignorant and dumbest post!

Why? Gilmartin did give bribes. It would all have been kept hush-hush but for P. Flynns hubris and stupidity.

In India, they've decriminalized bribery and made it tax deductible. Accepting or soliciting one is still illegal though and with the new boon of tax records they're making some headway into killing off the culture.
Something similar could be of use here.

oppenheimer1

lividduck wrote: »

A bride was demanded of him, he went to the gardai , they ignored it.
Faced with two choices pay up or go bust he paid, even the Tribunal recognised he paid under duress.
Paying extortion money is not the same as bribery.

Gilmartin had refused to co-operate with the McCracken tribunal before the P. Flynn interview. He was so insulted by it and the other mutterings in the press at the time that he then decided to co-operate.

It was revenge that was his motive, not high minded opposition to bribery.

Born to Die

lividduck wrote: »

A bride was demanded of him, he went to the gardai , they ignored it.
Faced with two choices pay up or go bust he paid, even the Tribunal recognised he paid under duress.
Paying extortion money is not the same as bribery.

FF have reached a new low, now they want your first born daughter.

lividduck

Born to Die wrote: »

FF have reached a new low, now they want your first born daughter.

Grammar nazi!:D

ilovesleep

I only started taking an interest in politics within the past couple of years so all this is just like one very big complex jig-saw puzzle. All this about politicians, who helped who with money and dig-outs, who is he, what part did he play, is wrecking my brains out.

lividduck wrote: »

Couldn't agree more, Flynn and FF went out of their way to label Gilmartin as a mental case.
In all the furore over bertie this has been forgotten.

Reading this makes me sick. This is absolutely disgusting on behalf of FF. Trying to cover up their corruption by labelling this man as sick with mental problems.

Many people are sickened as to how FF behaved during the past couple of decades and as to why they behaved corruptedly - for their own greed and selfish gains. Here we are today with a failed economy which will have many effects on many people while during the boom looked after their wage increasing their own pay to which they still hold onto today. I'd say there are many people who would hold the same opinion as me but many of FF do not deserve their pay and pensions. Their pay, pensions and perks have to be sersiously cut back with some members having their pay and perks revoked altogether.

Is there any hope for us Irish?

trashcan

lividduck wrote: »

Grammar nazi!:D

Don't you mean spelling Nazi ? ;)

mikemac1

ilovesleep wrote: »

I only started taking an interest in politics within the past couple of years so all this is just like one very big complex jig-saw puzzle. All this about politicians, who helped who with money and dig-outs, who is he, what part did he play, is wrecking my brains out.

You missed the fun and games with Liam Lawlor so and how in Dublin it's possible to magically move a estate from Clondalkin to Lucan

That Liam Lawlor, what a wizard :cool:

Son Of A Vidic

mikemac1 wrote: »

That Liam Lawlor, what a wizard :cool:

I wonder who killed him though?

red sean

Gilmartin had refused to co-operate with the McCracken tribunal before the P. Flynn interview. He was so insulted by it and the other mutterings in the press at the time that he then decided to co-operate.

It was revenge that was his motive, not high minded opposition to bribery.

Come in Beverley!

steddyeddy

For all the shock at this corruption and the length that it went on people are forgetting that its still going on. I dont see anything happening regarding criminal investigations. Are the guards that refused to do anything about the bribes going to be disciplined?

Banjoxed

A decent man buried: Miriam Lord in the Irish Times.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/a-quiet-funeral-for-a-brave-man-the-big-boys-could-not-bury-1.1608574

Would that more would stand up to underhanded sleeveens and "playing the game".

Copyerselveson

Banjoxed wrote: »

A decent man buried: Miriam Lord in the Irish Times.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/a-quiet-funeral-for-a-brave-man-the-big-boys-could-not-bury-1.1608574

Would that more would stand up to underhanded sleeveens and "playing the game".

Let there be no doubt that in Ireland today we still have to toe the line and agree with whatever has become the national consensus. Gilmartin blew the lid off of the stinking stew of corruption that Fianna Fáil and their allies cooked up in West Dublin, Meath and Kildare.

Many in Ireland don't want to hear anything counter to their cosy consensus and will stop at nothing to silence dissenters. Gilmartin would not be silenced and for that I respect him.

In return he was vilified by the political establishment. Liam Lawlor died before real justice was served on him and Bertie had to leave Fianna Fáil.

Gilmartin was a true patriot and proved that you can serve your country well even outside it. May he rest in peace.

Banjoxed

Copyerselveson wrote: »

Let there be no doubt that in Ireland today we still have to toe the line and agree with whatever has become the national consensus. Gilmartin blew the lid off of the stinking stew of corruption that Fianna Fáil and their allies cooked up in West Dublin, Meath and Kildare.

Many in Ireland don't want to hear anything counter to their cosy consensus and will stop at nothing to silence dissenters. Gilmartin would not be silenced and for that I respect him.

In return he was vilified by the political establishment. Liam Lawlor died before real justice was served on him and Bertie had to leave Fianna Fáil.

Gilmartin was a true patriot and proved that you can serve your country well even outside it. May he rest in peace.

I wonder how many times was Gilmartin asked to "wake up and smell the Coffee" or other such nonsense by those who wanted him to keep silent? Thank God that he did not.

Maximus Alexander

I do love waking up to the smell of coffee though. When it's literal, and not some asinine attempt to get me to turn a blind eye to corruption on a national scale.

hansfrei

Political corruption aside, the "gardai" made a show of themselves in the tribunerals. I still.don't know why a few of them weren't locked up after the revelations.

Maximus Alexander

hansfrei wrote: »

Political corruption aside, the "gardai" made a show of themselves in the tribunerals. I still.don't know why a few of them weren't locked up after the revelations.

That sounds like a cross between a tribunal and a funeral. Are you suggesting we kill them all when they're found guilty at a tribunal? I... I suppose you have my support!

Ghost Buster

A high profile funeral that politicians didnt flock to be seen at....wow

Formosa

Someone should set up a website like the Thatcher one, called isflynndeadyet, we can all countdown and celebrate the day the vile cúnt keels over.

donvito99

What a great piece by Miriam Lord. Fair play.