Niamh Walsh’s Manifesto
It’s too little, too late for Quinn executives
BILLIONAIRE businessman Seán Quinn wrote to The Vatican to complain about ‘persecution from the pulpit’ by his local priest, Fr Oliver O’Reilly. Fr O’Reilly had given a damning homily at a Sunday sermon condemning the violent attacks on Quinn executives, which culminated in the kidnap and torture of Kevin Lunney.
A touch of the old Henry II, Part Two, perhaps? ‘Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?’ asked the King of England referring to the monarch’s ongoings troubles with Thomas Becket, the then Archbishop of Canterbury.
The men in cloth refused to bend to Mr Quinn’s plea for divine intervention into what is clearly a civil matter concerning his displeasure at the words of Fr O’Reilly.
But gardaí in Cavan, it seems, showed no such reticence and were prompted into swift action at the behest of Mr Quinn, when two detectives arrived at the church and demanded the priest hand over a hard copy of his homily.
Mr Quinn told gardaí that he was fearful for his safety after the parish priest blamed ‘a Mafia-style group with its own godfather’ for the September 17 abduction and torture of Mr Lunney, by a gang who threatened to kill him if he did not resign from Quinn Industrial Holdings (QIH), the company lost by Mr Quinn and his family in the financial crash.
That two detectives from an ‘understaffed, under resourced and under pressure’ Garda force should act so swiftly and be dispatched to Fr O’Reilly’s home in what is entirely a civil dispute is highly questionable.
Executives of the former Quinnowned company have been asking for years for an equally speedy response to their complaints of ongoing threats, violent assaults, torching of property, and the proliferation of signs inciting hatred that remained illegally erected.
They believe that had these complaints been handled properly, then perhaps this atrocious escalation of violence could have been averted before it led to the kidnap and vicious torture of Mr Lunney, an innocent family man.
Just Let It Go and enjoy the movie
FROZEN II has finally arrived in cinemas and conscious of the global shift in attitudes to gender, race, age and other such movements, Disney has rightfully moulded its modern-day heroines into positive little princesses.
But this doesn’t sit well with the perpetually offended, who simply cannot Let It Go for two hours to enjoy a delightful fairytale.
In the sing-along movie, Anna and Elsa embody feminist fierceness and embark on an adventure into sisterhood, as they put the patriarchy in its place and right the old-order wrongs of Arendelle.
Anna, Elsa and by extension Disney are ‘woke’ but it seems not woke enough for some folk. Why, the naysaying mummies are asking, do Elsa and Anna have to be so very thin? Even Dr Malie Coyne, a clinical psychologist, voiced her concerns: ‘Whilst there has been much discussion about the behavioural characteristics of both Anna and Elsa, who each display strong personalities in their own right, it is a shame that once again we have stick thin figures with unrealistic features, which are not representative of the norm.’
Well, Dr Malie, I hate to diss your PHD but your perceptions of the norm and realism seem to me as fantastical as a walking, talking Norwegian snowman. As a young girl growing up I was thin, not ‘stick thin’, but healthily thin. And I was not the exception among my peers, I was the norm.
Like Anna and Elsa we had tiny waists, toned legs and maintained a healthy slim weight because week in, week out our parents shuttled us to early morning swim classes, thrust us out into all types off inclement weather for athletics, and played basketball at club, school and international level. Our devoted parents had our social and health interests at heart, and after a hard day’s work, they stood frozen, shouting, cheering and consoling on the sidelines as we ran our skinny little legs off
What our parents, to their collective credit, did not do is plonk their put-upon bottoms in front of computers or phones and frantically search online for one thing or other.
Disney princesses are not unrealistic, they are in fact very realistic and achievable if only the grown-ups would do less moaning, phoning and more moving.
Burning desire to help tragic koala
MY Hero Of The Week award goes to a fearless Australian woman who made a daring dash into outof-control bushfires to rescue a burning koala bear, named Lewis.
Wearing just her bra, Toni Doherty gave the 14-year-old koala water and wrapped him in her shirt after finding him on the Oxley Highway west of the New South Wales state town of Wauchope.
He was then taken to the nearby Port Macquarie Koala Hospital for treatment for severe burns to his feet, chest and stomach. So far, GoFundMe donations – to which I have donated – have exceeded $1m and I am urging others to help these iconic species too.
All hail Lorraine after TV heckle
SCOTTISH TV presenter Lorraine Kelly became an unlikely heroine on Monday when she heckled Jennifer Arcuri after an interview on GMB, saying: ‘What’s the point of you coming on TV to clear the air and then you don’t say anything?’
It is alleged that American entrepreneur Ms Arcuri received favourable treatment during Boris Johnson’s time as mayor of London due to their friendship, which he denies. She has since given a plethora of interviews but has refused to dish the dirt.
Kelly suggested she had not properly answered the questions from GMB hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid. ‘I believe I said a few things,’ Ms Arcuri responded.
‘Well, you didn’t answer any of the questions that were put to you, and I don’t really see the point of you coming on,’ said Kelly.
In venting her frustration, Kelly was speaking for every journalist who has endured that soul destroying ‘what’s the point’ interview and forced to listen to a self-indulgent twit who refuses to answer anything of interest or significance.