Sickening article in to-day's Irish Times

jetsonx

Sickening article about a corrupt Dublin city planner in the Irish Times today. How could they publish such a doting article about somebody who was a key player in Ireland's 1980's mafia-esque style corruption schemes.

A man who was a side-kick to Liam Lawlor.

A man who helped make Tom Gilmartin's (RIP) - a decent man - life hell.

A man who was lining his own pockets when half the country were leaving.


http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/redmond-had-unshakeable-belief-in-himself-mourners-told-1.2541167

whiskeyman

Funny that the indo has this:

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/george-redmond-a-frugal-slick-and-extremely-corrupt-man-34467179.html

Indo headline wrote:

George Redmond - A frugal, slick and extremely corrupt man

Someone in the IT know the family I wonder?

sheesh

did you actually read all the article?

the only nice things said about him were quotes from his son and the priest officiating at the ceremony they bring up his taking bribes going to jail a couple of times in the article.

What should they have said.

jimgoose

There's nothing particularly "doting" about it, it's a reasonably respectful and truthful write-up about a recently deceased elderly man. Fairly textbook I.T. tone, to be honest. They do provide this short paragraph:

"...retired as Dublin assistant city and county manager in 1989 after a life-long career in the corporation during which he received large sums of money from builders and developers."

Harry Palmr

Ha what a terrible punches pulled article - using quotes to suggest he was actually a 'grand fellow' when his deeds told us all we need to know.

maudgonner

I think the tone of that article is relatively benign because it's a report on the funeral. They had another article that was more critical when the news emerged of his death on Wednesday.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/late-george-redmond-disputed-tribunal-s-findings-1.2538711

jimgoose

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Ha what a terrible punches pulled article - using quotes to suggest he was actually a 'grand fellow' when his deeds told us all we need to know.

What, like these:

“an unshakeable belief in himself,”

“It was the Gospel according to George, that’s the way it was with him,”

“in public service for many years”.

“You could say that we agreed to differ.”

“a man of his time”

“low-risk road hazard”

Truly the portrait of a living saint. :pac:

techdiver

jimgoose wrote: »

There's nothing particularly "doting" about it, it's a reasonably respectful and truthful write-up about a recently deceased elderly man. Fairly textbook I.T. tone, to be honest. They do provide this short paragraph:

"...retired as Dublin assistant city and county manager in 1989 after a life-long career in the corporation during which he received large sums of money from builders and developers."

Why is there a need to be respectful despite the type of **** a person was?? Just because someone died, doesn't make them a good person. If you are a slug in life, that doesn't change because you die!

jimgoose

techdiver wrote: »

Why is there a need to be respectful despite the type of **** a person was?? Just because someone died, doesn't make them a good person. If you are a slug in life, that doesn't change because you die!

I should imagine that his family are upset and mortified enough without every slack-jawed hack having a go every five minutes from every direction. It's considered polite in this part of the world.

SEPT 23 1989

"absolute scumbag with the wafer thin veneer of respectability"

is what they meant to say

callaway92

Write to the editor imo

techdiver

jimgoose wrote: »

I should imagine that his family are upset and mortified enough without every slack-jawed hack having a go every five minutes from every direction. It's considered polite in this part of the world.

I still don't get it.

Why should we be polite to the likes of these people? He certainly wasn't when he was profiteering from corrupt dealings and contributing the the infrastructural destruction of our country.

jimgoose

techdiver wrote: »

I still don't get it.

Why should we be polite to the likes of these people? He certainly wasn't when he was profiteering from corrupt dealings and contributing the the infrastructural destruction of our country.

Concentrate, Grasshopper - he is dead, his family are not. His family do not stand accused of anything. Funerals are about the living, and a small bit of decorum is considered correct and proper.

doolox

Never speak ill of the dead

sheesh

techdiver wrote: »

I still don't get it.

Why should we be polite to the likes of these people? He certainly wasn't when he was profiteering from corrupt dealings and contributing the the infrastructural destruction of our country.

because he is dead and it wasn't their fault

jetsonx

jimgoose wrote: »

It's considered polite in this part of the world.

I'm all for politeness. It's a lovely trait of the Irish. But when I think of the misery that George Redmond inflicted on other people...its very incongruous with politeness.

jimgoose

jetsonx wrote: »

I'm all for politeness. It's a lovely trait of the Irish. But when I think of the misery that George Redmond inflicted on other people...its very incongruous with politeness.

Spitting venom at his wife and family at this stage is unproductive and rude. It is they who will catch it, because he, as you might have heard, is dead.

seamus

techdiver wrote: »

I still don't get it.

Why should we be polite to the likes of these people? He certainly wasn't when he was profiteering from corrupt dealings and contributing the the infrastructural destruction of our country.

It's a report on his funeral. Not really a report about him at all.

The kind of sensationalist Jeremy Kyle stuff, "His son said he was a kind man, but we all know the truth!" belongs in the rags.

I don't see what could be added to the report above tbh. It's pretty clear that the writer is doing their best to simply report the facts of what happened at the funeral and not get sidetracked into yet another scathing critique.

Harry Palmr

doolox wrote: »

Never speak ill of the dead

Why not? Will they lurch up out of the earth and eat me?

ChunkyLover54

jetsonx wrote: »

Sickening article about a corrupt Dublin city planner in the Irish Times today. How could they publish such a doting article about somebody who was a key player in Ireland's 1980's mafia-esque style corruption schemes.

A man who was a side-kick to Liam Lawlor.

A man who helped make Tom Gilmartin's (RIP) - a decent man - life hell.

A man who was lining his own pockets when half the country were leaving.


http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/redmond-had-unshakeable-belief-in-himself-mourners-told-1.2541167

It seems like a quite straightforward report on the man's funeral including some balanced information about his background.

You'd have to be very sensitive to be "sickened" by that article.

techdiver

jimgoose wrote: »

Concentrate, Grasshopper - he is dead, his family are not. His family do not stand accused of anything. Funerals are about the living, and a small bit of decorum is considered correct and proper.

Less of this condescending tone please.

Just because someone doesn't agree with your outlook or opinion on matters of morality of decorum, doesn't make you automatically superior in sociological knowledge or wisdom over their opinion.

jimgoose

techdiver wrote: »

Less of this condescending tone please.

Just because someone doesn't agree with your outlook or opinion on matters of morality of decorum, doesn't make you automatically superior in sociological knowledge or wisdom over their opinion.

You'll get less of it when I see fit. I'd consider someone who doesn't know enough to keep their mouth shut in the absence of anything positive to say about a recently-dead person to be half-cooked.

keeponhurling

He was seen as fond of a few quid, he even described himself at one of the tribunals as "a heavy saver"

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Today's report is basically just a report on the funeral. Yesterday's paper had an article covering his corrupt activities.

techdiver

jimgoose wrote: »

You'll get less of it when I see fit. I'd consider someone who doesn't know enough to keep their mouth shut in the absence of anything positive to say about a recently-dead person to be half-cooked.

Wow.

Even by boards standards, you have a serious superiority complex topped off with just the right amount of passive aggressiveness.

Best not to engage with you any further so.

jimgoose

techdiver wrote: »

Wow.

Even by boards standards, you have a serious superiority complex topped off with just the right amount of passive aggressiveness.

Best not to engage with you any further so.

Quite.

steddyeddy

jimgoose wrote: »

I should imagine that his family are upset and mortified enough without every slack-jawed hack having a go every five minutes from every direction. It's considered polite in this part of the world.

I'll remember that next time a Dublin gang member dies.

Fish out of water

Absolutly terrible news

steddyeddy

Personally I don't see the need to even cover his funeral nor do I buy the polite angle either. It's a bit laughable to say that his privately educated children like Haughey's offspring didn't benefit from crime.

steddyeddy

jimgoose wrote: »

You'll get less of it when I see fit. I'd consider someone who doesn't know enough to keep their mouth shut in the absence of anything positive to say about a recently-dead person to be half-cooked.

The man was a saint..........

Read Finnegan's wake if you can. There's people in it spouting sentiments like the one you're spouting right now.

It's cretinous.

jimgoose

steddyeddy wrote: »

I'll remember that next time a Dublin gang member dies.

The likes of Redmond did rather more damage to me and mine than any two-bit Dublin gangster ever will. That's neither here nor there.

murpho999

What does "to-day" mean?

jimgoose

steddyeddy wrote: »

The man was a saint..........

Read Finnegan's wake if you can. There's people in it spouting sentiments like the one you're spouting right now.

It's cretinous.

Oddly enough I've already struggled through it some years back, but thanks for the tip.

MadsL

Striking the outrage about planning corruption when it relates to someone now dead, less outrage to stamp out the many mini-Redmonds still active.

Planning inquiry my arse. Whitewash is cheap.

FalconGirl

Them lads gave poor Tom Gilmartin an awful time. Below is an interview with his son. George even gets a mention at 12 mins. It would make your blood boil. We need to rid this s**t from the country. We have an election coming up in a few weeks. If I'd like to see anyone buried its the civil war parties and their cultures.

RIP Tom.

jimgoose

MadsL wrote: »

Striking the outrage about planning corruption when it relates to someone now dead, less outrage to stamp out the many mini-Redmonds still active.

Planning inquiry my arse. Whitewash is cheap.

They struck the outrage in that particular article, which is about the funeral. There's gallons of it overleaf in the same paper.

steddyeddy

Yep I remember that well. Drove many honest men to breakdowns. A truly horrible man and here's hoping his family face a visit from the Criminal Assets Bureau.

jimgoose

FalconGirl wrote: »

Them lads gave poor Tom Gilmartin an awful time. Below is an interview with his son. It would make your blood boil. We need to rid this s**t from the country. We have an election coming up in a few weeks. If I'd like to see anyone buried its the civil war parties and their cultures...

RIP Tom.

I couldn't agree more.

jetsonx

steddyeddy wrote: »

Yep I remember that well. Drove many honest men to breakdowns. A truly horrible man and here's hoping his family face a visit from the Criminal Assets Bureau.

A truly horrible man...well said Eddy.

He put poor Tom Gilmartin through the mill.

I hope Redmond's family can live with the shame.

Eugene Norman

steddyeddy wrote: »

Personally I don't see the need to even cover his funeral nor do I buy the polite angle either. It's a bit laughable to say that his privately educated children like Haughey's offspring didn't benefit from crime.

Talking of haughey there was plenty of criticism of the man on his death.

Ice Maiden

Link is broken now but if it was just a news article, then it's standard not to give a negative opinion, no matter how deserved. Or a positive opinion for that matter. Just an outline of the information.

AndyBoBandy

I guess it's back to normal in the Times now he'd dead & buried.

George Redmond among most corrupt officials in Irish history

Kev W

Bad as he was, as far as I'm aware he was never monstrous enough to put a hyphen in the middle of the word "today".

jetsonx

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

I guess it's back to normal in the Times now he'd dead & buried.

George Redmond among most corrupt officials in Irish history

The Irish Times have vindicated themselves. I'm glad that the "most corrupt official in Irish history" title has now been bestowed on. I'm sure that Tom Gilmartin would have wholeheartedly agreed with that.