Home News

This week in Kilkenny a traveller family's house was burnt out. The silence of local councillors was deafening. In an article in the Examiner, Michael Clifford compared Irish attitudes towards travellers to those of the whites towards blacks in the Deep South back in the 1960s. http://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/michael-clifford/backwards-ireland-looks-like-deep-south-189736.html?fb_ref=.T4CiYJv92l6.like&fb_source=timeline
I think the crime happened before the councillor made his comment about taking dole from travellers who wear Prada. My point is: his comments contribute to a climate of hatred that makes such events more likely.
The flaunting of wealth is not a crime for anyone in any community. The illegal acquisition of wealth is. Whether it's a banker or a traveller who illegally acquires wealth, the gardai must press charges, and the criminal must be punished. With regard to Astaban's comment, I see no reason why Pavee Point should stay silent, regardless of what some travellers in some parts of the country may be doing. Their point is either valid or it is not. If an Irishman does something I disapprove of, should I stop defending the rights of Irish people?
The councillor knows full well that a law that specifically sought to deprive travellers of dole if they wore Pravda could never be passed as it would be both discriminatory and stupid.