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Has Paddy Cosgrave overstepped the mark?

Kermit.de.frog

Seems to be going from bad to worse to awful for his company on the back of his comments on the Israel/Hamas conflict.

Google the latest to pull out of Web Summit following Intel and Siemens.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2023/10/20/google-pulls-out-of-web-summit-over-cosgraves-israel-hamas-comments/

This chap has been commenting on politics all over the world but mostly in Ireland.

A classic example of why it's best for companies to concentrate on their own business rather than making statements on current affairs that have nothing to do with them IMO no matter what one thinks.

Surely his position is untenable and this should be seen as a warning to others?

Self inflicted wound and has done serious damage to his company.

Or maybe you think he and other CEO's have every right, maybe even a duty, to speak up?

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VinLieger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121390739#Comment_121390739

In fairness he wasn't surreptitiously funding the ditch he was pretty open about it, although he did try to pretend he wasn't involved in the direction of their stories which was quite obviously a lie. It also turns out he was lying about the funding though, he wasn't personally funding them as he had implied, it was all actually coming from the Web Summit.

astrofool

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121390803#Comment_121390803

Why risk his own moolah even if it lays bare the cowardice in their convictions...

tinpib

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121390486#Comment_121390486

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121390670#Comment_121390670

Nope, knew about Paddy resigning and all that, but didn't mark my calendar that Web Summit was coming up. It wasn't exactly forefront in my life.

What Clo-Clo says could be the reason. What I mean is that I didn't see anything about it on RTE website, nor Reddit, I dont go onto Facebook much, maybe once a day, other days I don't but didn't see anything there. Out of all my friends I'm prob the one most interested in it, but it wouldn't have been a total shock to get some link or comment from someone on WhatsApp in previous years. I'm not on Twitter or other social media, don't listen to talk radio(why the hell would ya?).

So it just passed me by until this morning.

ednwireland

i think all these types of events have a lifespan and after 10 years it's probably run its course. don't think paddy helped himself.

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121392981#Comment_121392981

All these events are just network marketing and a way of meeting new clients and contacts.

The actual content of the weeb summit itself is pretty terrible.

VinLieger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121392950#Comment_121392950

I think they were specifically keeping their heads down and not doing much if any press so as to try and put space between themselves and the paddy fiasco. For instance any story reporting on it would undoubtedly mention all the big companies not in attendance, maybe attendance figures being lower and obviously paddy's ignominious exit. In this case no press coverage is possibly better than any press coverage.

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121393148#Comment_121393148

They tried a huge campaign on facebook for one but it totally back fired and it was just a list of people commenting on how they would no longer go to it etc so it seemed to die as quickly as it was started

I guess they didn't want press coverage then because it would hurt the brand more than help it.

EmmetSpiceland

The “spin” I heard out of it was that it’s now a good place for start ups because with all the big names out of the picture they get more time on the stage.

blackwhite

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121401707#Comment_121401707

I see they’ve Frank McDonald listed as an expert speaker on the housing crisis. One can only assume he’s an expert due to the volume of objections to new housing he has produced?

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121402494#Comment_121402494

You have got to be kidding me. As if he couldn't get any worse.

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121401707#Comment_121401707

Going to be a bit of a shock when they realise that having 62k followers in twitter might boil down to a couple of hundred once you strip out all of the fake accounts and the russian bots etc

The support base they have wouldn't be known for putting their hand into their pockets. might be a long lonely night

VinLieger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121402494#Comment_121402494

Jesus if anyone ever espoused the phrase more succintly "the enemy of good is perfect" it would be frank and his absurd planning objections.

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121402613#Comment_121402613

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121403829#Comment_121403829

Ahh the type of ld Ditch supporters love

"We want houses"

Here you go

"Not those houses"

So what houses

"Other houses"

unknown

This content has been removed.

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121403889#Comment_121403889

One minor issue, what happens if Sinn Fein get into government? then The Ditch becomes irrelevant.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121403791#Comment_121403791

Orwell Road might throw the useful idiots a few quid 😆

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121666313#Comment_121666313

Wow just wow !!

There must be some story there.

I must admit when you said you'd give her six months I thought "no it couldn't be that bad"

How wrong I was.

VinLieger

Id be willing to bet paddys vile influence is still festering all over the place

EmmetSpiceland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121300940#Comment_121300940

Jaysus, Bob, you “called it” there, right enough. Any tips for this week’s lotto numbers?

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121666700#Comment_121666700

Word will get out, if it already hasnt.

No one decent or good will want to take up the role.

Paddy is burning his company into the ground.

De-****-lighted.

VinLieger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121667987#Comment_121667987

I feel sorry for the people who will inevitably lose their jobs but anything that further shows paddy for the pathetic narcissistic craven sap that he is is a win in my book

Seth Brundle

Another one leaves the mess...

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/01/25/web-summits-chief-marketing-officer-mike-sexton-set-to-leave-the-group/

hoodie6029

I hate the Irish begrudgery that tears down decent people who get ahead and plough their own furrow and are delighted if they fail.

Cosgrave didn’t experience that. He is experiencing something much worse.

He bullied his way through life and puffed up being an event planner and pretended his family connections and money had nothing to do with. Went around throwing rocks at everyone.

It really must be incomprehensible to him that a tweet of no real consequence in the greater scheme of things has ended his power. He’s continuing to behave in the same way that brought him success and it is only serving to burn his fiefdom to the ground even more quickly.

I’d wager some Cosgrave loyalist kept running the company on his orders delivered via WhatsApp. Undermining any action towards change in the organisation.

keeponhurling

Given that we have now seen 25,000+ civilian deaths and genocide charges brought against Israel, even the US are tacitly acknowledging that there are war crimes here........ could it be time time for Paddy to return ?

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674184#Comment_121674184

could it be time time for Paddy to return ?

paddy had his day and hopefully we'll never see or hear from him again!

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674184#Comment_121674184

He is already back on Twitter

Do you think he should return to Web Summit? Well if he wants to totally destroy the company then yes

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121673405#Comment_121673405

I hate begrudgery but that's not what I feel about Paddy. I love seeing guys like Collisons go out and make a name for themselves.

Paddy has trampled all over people, hired graduated and then not paid them. The reviews of his company say a lot when you find them on the web.

He ran around for years after FG, sucked up to them at every chance. Then when he didn't get his way he has run a vendetta for years. Also his way would have been terrible for a lot of people in Dublin when he wanted to take over the city for the duration of the event.

Going after FG was one thing, but then going around doxing people on twitter so they could get abuse from his army just because they support FG or in some cases just because they didn't support SF was the final straw for a few people.

He is a clown, gets too much air time anyway in Ireland, let him off to Portugal and let them deal with him. Unfortunately I expect if Sinn Fein get in they will have to make good on wahtever promise them have made to get his support so who knows what that will be, I can only guess he will be given the keys to Dubin to run his event.

hoodie6029

But who’d go to it now? All the big names can’t roll back on pulling out especially when the organisation hasn’t changed.

They are looking to save money and reduce air travel of their employees so it will be even harder for companies to justify sending them to the event now.

Gregor Samsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674184#Comment_121674184

If Cosgrave himself were to come back as CEO, it would remind me of that Tenacious D song "City Hall", where they orchestrate the total collapse of society:

But now what will we do?

We must rebuild

But who will lead us in the rebuilding process?

Man, it's got to be someone with the know-how

And the elbow grease, to lead us to a new land

No, not me and KG

We don't have the cognitive capacity to lead

Alright, we'll do it!

We'll lead as Two Kings

But just one king. A total onekinger.

VinLieger

Like a sh1t terminator..... hes back

https://twitter.com/paddycosgrave/status/1755656337457869296