Did Galway BEO cross the line?

Mrs OBumble

Galway Beo is a new local-news genre website and social media presence, competition for Galway Daily, or the Advertiser without the paper edition. It's a Reach plc subsidiary, like the UK Mirror, and their journalism is similarly sensationalist. This is no amateur effort: probably it's a cookie-cutter of what they've done elsewhere, but someone is paying to have it very regularly fed with new content.

Anyways, there's been a video on social media this week, showing a street-drinker taking swings at another, who had allegedly píssed on a tree in Eyre Square. The alleged písser is well-enough known around town, a tall ginger-haired lad whose behaviour suggests he has mental health problems, and he's been involved with the yellow-vest / right wing politics crowd.

Galway Beo have published this video with an article naming the lad who is being hit and saying he's a "convicted criminal" with "previous convictions for theft".

Now, it's dubious that he's a convicted criminal: Galway Daily has this article from September last year (charged with theft), when he had no previous convictions, and the judge applied the Probation Act. I can't find evidence of other convictions. He's the one being assaulted, not the one doing the hitting. It's likely he was píssing in the street, the same as dozens of other lads do the same thing in the area every day.

No matter what anyone might think of his politics, does he deserve to be named like that, while the guy hitting him gets off scott free? His problems don't get him a free-pass but should at least get some compassion, and the last 18 months have been very rough on lots of people.

Is there an especially bad-taste about picking on someone like this? Or am I'm missing something?

_Whimsical_

I agree with you, seems in extremely poor taste, maybe even actionable on a few grounds. Someone being named and shamed for being subjected to an assault is absolutely over the line. Whoever thought that was in the public interest really needs a swift lesson, though I'll be bet they'll know who can safely target without fear of reprisal.

ben.schlomo

That Galwaybeo is an absolute rag of a yolk, the worst kind of tabloid sh1te.

JohnCleary

That Galway BEO is a load of horse sh1te. They keep spamming Facebook groups trying to get hits... says it all.

Hotblack Desiato

We're way too indulgent of people like that in this country. They ruin the public space for everyone else.

Homelander

He's been in court other times and at one point recently was given a prison sentence for theft of something or other so yes he would have convictions.

Clearly he's not quite well but equally it's no excuse to abuse people and I have most certainly seen him do that.

It's not really responsbile to say it's unlikely someone has convictions because you couldn't find anything on Google. 99% of cases that pass through the District Court don't appear online (or in any other form of media either for that matter).

Don't really know about Galway Beo other than it appears to be trying to muscling in on Galway Daily. Probably has more better resources, GD is literally one lad doing 90% of the articles/reports.

ben.schlomo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118136219#Comment_118136219

Bad and all as GD is it's far less sensationalised and clickbait like in its work.

Galwayguy35

They sound like 2 right scumbags, dead right to name and shame them.

skinny90

Galway Beo are shocking tho, I see another article about Ruibin closing down as they had a positive case. Their Articles are complete sensationalized for click bait and they dont seem to care about local business's affected

Stone Deaf 4evr

Now, I'm no judge on the pro circuit of boxing, but I cant see any punch being landed in that video.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118143167#Comment_118143167

But they didn't: they only named one of them. The one who is known to have a mental illness and was on the receiving end.

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058216495/did-galway-beo-cross-the-line

a tall ginger-haired lad whose behaviour suggests he has mental health problems, and he's been involved with the yellow-vest / right wing politics crowd.

God forbid we could let people with right wing ideologies just walk around unmonitored! Why these people are not in some kind of ward of court or other such institution is beyond me. 🙄

_Whimsical_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118154049#Comment_118154049

That's exactly the crux of it.

I suppose the only thing open to any of us is to make a complaint. If more than one or two do it might go somewhere towards actually standing.

Truth is that it's him this week, next wk they could decide it's you that deserves to be named and shamed for being the victim of an attack just because there's a handy video of you being humiliated and you aren't their idea of a model citizen.

Sensationalising an attack against someone like that, as if the person receiving the punch deserves it despite there being no context, is nearly an incitement towards bad treatment of them. It's not something we want in Galway surely.

Galwayguy35

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118154049#Comment_118154049

He deserved a slap for being in that yellow vest crap before he ever took his yoke out in public to piss around the place.

Everyone these days has "mental health issues" when most of them are just scumbags engaging in anti social behaviour.