Anti bully site used to harass men

A FACEBOOK page set up to help victims of bullying was used to harass two Tralee men.

On Monday the administrators of anti bullying Facebook page ‘Bullying in the Kingdom’ issued an apology after photos and a story were posted on the site claiming – entirely falsely – that two men, who were identifiable, had been using their dogs to intimidate people on a popular walking route.

“Since this page was founded last Feb, we never expected it to actually Cause harm to anybody. We only want to protect victims, not actually harm them,” said the apology.

A FACEBOOK page set up to help the victims of bullying has been used by bullies to harass two innocent Tralee men.

Last week John Dollard (52) and a friend in his sixties were walking their dogs along the old Tralee Fenit rail line – now a refurbished and popular walking route known as the ‘Skinny Mile’ – when their dogs become involved in an altercation with the dog of another man who was also walking along the route.

Following a minor disagreement with the man Mr Dollard and his friend went on their way , thinking little more about the incident.

That all changed on Monday when they discovered that someone had posted their photos on the ‘Bullying in the Kingdom’ Facebook page along with a story claiming the pair had been using their dogs to intimidate walkers.

Mr Dollard – who was alerted to the story about him on the Facebook page site by a worried relative – said he was stunned when he heard what was being said about him online.

“Everything that was said was a complete lie. It’s disgraceful that a site set up to help the victims of bullies was used to hurt people,” he said.

“It has been very upsetting. I consider myself a strong fella but this is the first time in my life when I felt completely helpless,” Mr Dollard said.

“This is a small town. My name has been blackened and there’s nothing I can do about it,” Mr Dollard said.

Mr Dollard – who discussed the matter with gardaí and a solicitor – contacted the administrators of Bullying in the Kingdom who had already removed the posts about Mr Dollard.

The Facebook page – which allows bullying victims to post on the site and share their stories anonymously – posted an apology on Monday, referring to a picture that was posted by another person.

“We made the terrible mistake of hearing only one side of the story but not the other. All we knew about was that two attacks had taken place at the Skinny Mile. We had no idea the story may not have happened at all,” the page’s administrators said in the apology.

“Since this page was founded last Feb, we never expected it to actually Cause harm to anybody. Clearly in our last post, it did. We promise that this was not our intentions. We only want to protect victims, not actually harm them, ” the apology continued.

That apology has subsequently disappeared from the page but in subsequent posts the administrators said they had apologised on behalf of others’ behaviour and would “no longer tolerate bullies who enter here with false stories.”

Mr Dollard – who says he will “fight all the way” to clear his name – also wants to ensure the public know the Skinny Mile is safe and that there is absolutely no danger to walkers.

Attempts to contact the administrators of Bullying in the Kingdom were unsuccessful.