Slugger O'Toole

Latest comments from antoinmaccomhain (see all)

antoinmaccomhain has commented 66 times (7 in the last month).

1. Comment on “RAAD was founded in 2008 by members and recent ex-members of the Provisional IRA in Derry…”
   on 10 May 2012 at 9:34 pm

   seamus60 (profile) says: 10 May 2012 at 12:57 pm Antoin. Fair play to the people who worked the backsides off for this when even under threat.

   @Fair play to the people who worked their backsides off….

   Better wo(men) than i’ll ever be that’s for sure.

   @when even under threat….

   I remember when i was a teenieboppper letting a shout at the ‘joyriders’ outside me front door.A few women appeared with bricks and said ‘son,get outta the way’……

   The Joyriders stayed away for a few nights.

   @ Groups like this merely move their so called professionalism on to a new subject when funding is under threat.

   Funding?What Funding?The Concerned Parents Against Drugs began in the 1980s Because There Was NO FUNDING.Them people hadn’t a pot to piss in.Nothing.No Resources.Their homes were used as Detox Centres.Their attitude was simple-’You want to get off drugs? There’s a bed’.Why did they do it?Because it was the right thing to do.They didn’t get paid and nor did they want to be paid for what they were doing.They got nothing but abuse for it.

   ‘Community anti-drug activism appears to have waned due to fatigue’-Dr Marianne Breen, Ph. D.

   This is the only passing,fleeting acknowledgement these people ever got for their troubles,on an official level,that i ever heard of.

   Go to comment

2. Comment on “RAAD was founded in 2008 by members and recent ex-members of the Provisional IRA in Derry…”
   on 10 May 2012 at 1:31 pm

   J Kelly (profile)

   4 May 2012 at 5:05 pm

   THe issue here is not who these people were once connected to or not, some of them were also members of the IRSP as was Eamonn McCann, but what are they at now. They are a bunch of self serving criminals who tax alledged drug dealers and criminals and the entire political spectrum in Derry oppose them bar a few dissidents.

   Oh,but it is an issue ‘who’ they were connected too.If it wasn’t why throw the name of the IRSP into the mix?

   The Original Concerned Parents had a democratic way of dealing with allegations by The Community about senior reps ‘taking backhanders’ in ‘big brown envelopes’.
   For example: If i was an alleged Drug Dealer-Or ‘If’ i was ‘Taxing Drug Dealers’ I would have been given an opportunity at a local Community meeting to explain myself to my Community.

   Lets say i came from South Inner City Dublin and i was directly connected to the PIRA and allegations were made that i was ‘taking back handers off a scum lord’ then i’d have the chance to defend myself,and by extension my ‘associates’. If i was taking ‘backhanders’ and i couldn’t defend myself,well that doesn’t look too clever does it? What would it say about the PIRA in South Inner City Dublin as a whole?

   Go to comment

3. Comment on “RAAD was founded in 2008 by members and recent ex-members of the Provisional IRA in Derry…”
   on 10 May 2012 at 11:21 am

   jojo (profile)

   8 May 2012 at 3:10 pm

   The only decent interview with RAAD was by Conor Sharkey of the Strabane Chronicle,

   As far as i’m aware Pushers Out was the only book ever written about the Anti-Drugs Movement.The following review shows briefly how a ‘heroin epidemic was an accident waiting to happen’,and when it did happen ‘no one noticed’ it happen…it happened ‘over night’……It was a Symptom-A Symptom of what?80% Unemployment….
   And that it was in fact ‘Working class women who made up the Backbone of the Movement for Change.The author was also scathing of the Professional Community Workers who replaced the women who’d been there from the start,when there was no dollars floating around.-’This was the era of social partnership and Lyder is particularly scathing about the incorporation of community resistance by ‘professional’ community workers.’

   Pushers Out-A Review from Indymedia-

   The Irish ruling class showed utter contempt for the poor inner city areas of Dublin. Charles Haughey, the corrupt Taoiseach (prime-mister) famously bought shirts worth five grand each and stole cobblestones from Dublin streets to pave the drive at his home, Meanwhile areas of the city were suffering over 80% unemployment. An epidemic was ravaging certain parts of the city, destroying lives, families and communities and the ruling elite were happy to ignore it. Lyder argues these areas always had a tradition of using alcohol as an escape from grinding poverty, such that the way was paved for heroin. He quotes one local:

   “I used to drink cider on the streets with the gangs I grew up with. We would buy a few flagons, sit down and have cider. At that stage they were called cider parties by the newspapers. Now that would have been around ’77. And then hash became what people started smoking. And all of a sudden hash turned to heroin you know…. it happened overnight but no one noticed it happen… I remember it being given out for free.. but at that stage I was lucky enough to go into pubs so it didn’t bother us….but the generation that came directly after me … drugs took over from cider. So drugs was the big out

   Heroin is big business, and those standing in the way of that business can be putting themselves in considerable danger. Des Whelan, an anti drug activist was stabbed to death as was the fourteen year old son of another activist, others were shot at but survived. Lyder argued that while there were Sinn Fein members in the campaign, sometimes in prominent positions, they did not (as the media argued) control it or use it as a front. Their presence did, however, allow the anti-drugs activists to imply that they were under the protection of the IRA, and it seems, in the very early days they were:
   ‘Throughout the ‘80s and to a lesser degree for the COCAD campaign [a deterrent had] been provided by the notion that the IRA and the anti-drugs campaign were intrinsically connected and if one attacked the anti-drugs campaign one was effectively attacking the IRA. Within COCAD we referred to this as the ‘big bluff’. It was a bluff in the sense that no such intrinsic relationship existed, we had no guarantees from the IRA about anything and no reason the IRA would necessarily to feel obliged to respond to any particular threat to the anti-drugs campaign. Some sort of commitment was made in the early ‘80s to the emerging Concerned Parents and the IRA did respond to the shootings in St Teresas’s Gardens in 1983. This did not however, assure future response”

   What was the end result? Lyder argues that the anti-drugs campaigned stabilised the extent of heroin users in the city, they moved drugs up the agenda, secured funding for treatment services, youth facilities and lead to a growth of local pride and sense of community. The drug problem wasn’t ‘solved’ but it was contained (and in this respect, Lyder is critical of government responses which rely on methadone maintenance rather than support for detoxification and rehabilitation).

   There is an entire history of the city in this book, a history that without it would remain mostly hidden. Indeed one of the most interesting aspects of the campaigns is mentioned just as a brief aside ‘women were the backbone of the campaign, overwhelming filling the meetings and marches’ (p. 234).

   Go to comment

4. Comment on “RAAD was founded in 2008 by members and recent ex-members of the Provisional IRA in Derry…”
   on 7 May 2012 at 6:27 pm

   thedissenter (profile)

   4 May 2012 at 4:33 pm

   Didn’t RAAD have an earlier existance as IRA cover for vigilante activity in Belfast years earlier, or was it a different acronym? Certainly not original. Sticking to form.

   PaulT (profile)

   4 May 2012 at 4:49 pm

   not quite thedissenter, that was DAAD (Direct Action Against Drugs )

   XX Against Drugs-

   Co-Cad-Coalition of Communitys Against Drugs.(1990s)

   CPAD-Concerned Parents Against Drugs(1980s)

   4 Entirely different groups.

   The CPAD differed from the others because they Never wore Balacalavas when they confronted the Top Dealers.
   They marched without masks.A terrifying sight to see a couple of hundred Inner City women marching.

   CoCad was a 1990s version of CPAD.

   RAAD-DAAD are something entirely different.They don’t have public spoke(wo)men for example.Everyone knew who the Concerned Parents were.As i’ve said-They wore no balacalavas-They’re attitude to the Pushers was one of Defiance-I’m Right Here In The Ghetto -Come And Get Me – I’m Not Going Anywhere.

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5. Comment on “RAAD was founded in 2008 by members and recent ex-members of the Provisional IRA in Derry…”
   on 7 May 2012 at 5:51 pm

   weidm7 (profile)

   4 May 2012 at 9:25 pm

   Instead of this moralistic shite, how about we ask some pertinent questions:

   26th April 2009 The Irish Times – headlines!
   “Garda misled road haulage licencing authority over the application by a convicted drugs dealer!”

   Timeline:— December 2003: Boylan is caught with heroin and cocaine worth 750,000 at Dublin Port. He is charged and released on bail.

   October 2005: The Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU) catch Boylan with heroin and cocaine worth 1.7m in Ardee, Co Louth. Boylan claims other gardai knew he had the drugs and alludes to his involvement in entrapment operations.

   December 2005: Boylan stands trial for the docklands haul and is sentenced to five years in prison, two of them suspended.

   June 2006: Charges relating to the seizure of drugs in Co Louth are struck out. This follows representations to the DPP by senior gardai.

   August 2006: A Co Louth woman claims her life was threatened by Boylan after she gave gardai information on the location of a drugs haul. An intruder later breaks into her home and threatens to murder her if she makes a statement.

   February 2007: The Sunday Times publishes details of an alleged conspiracy that prompts opposition TDs to raise the case in the Dail. An internal Garda inquiry recommends re-charging Boyle with the Co Louth haul.

   April 2007: Boylan is re-charged with the Co Louth haul.\par \par December 2007: Boylan is freed after completing his sentence for the Docklands haul. The garda ombudsman begins an investigation after the Co Louth woman threatened by Boylan lodges a formal complaint.

   June 2008: The Sunday Times publishes a report alleging that a garda has admitted to a senior officer that he took part in entrapment operations involving Boylan. Michael McCarthy, an assistant commissioner, is asked to investigate the Co Louth drugs haul.

   Questions as Kieran Boylan case dropped….”

   What are the Police doing?It looks like they’re working hand in glove with those who are Importing the Drugs-

   How can a junior officer ‘entrap’ people without the approval of senior officers?(June 2008: The Sunday Times)….Unless he was Lying through his teeth.

   Why haven’t Sinn Féin asked for an Inquiry into Arthur Conroy?If Arthur falls how many fall with him?Judges,Cops,Barristers-The whole chebang is corrupt?
   Rotten to the core.

   Go to comment

6. Comment on “RAAD was founded in 2008 by members and recent ex-members of the Provisional IRA in Derry…”
   on 7 May 2012 at 12:56 pm

   weidm7 (profile)

   4 May 2012 at 9:25 pm

   Instead of this moralistic shite, how about we ask some pertinent questions:

   What are the police doing to enter these areas and deal with the problem of drug-dealing?

   Prison officer jailed for Mountjoy drug-smuggling attempt

   Monday, March 05, 2012 – 06:28 PM-Irish Examiner-

   A prison officer who tried to smuggle more than €20,000 of drugs into Mountjoy has been jailed for five years.

   Jarlath Walsh (aged 40) of Dublin 9, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cocaine, cannabis and cannabis resin with intent to supply at the prison.

   Walsh’s father is a retired detective and when his son came to him for help, he advised him not to report the incident.

   Independent-Sunday February 06 2011

   A GARDA alleged to have bought 10 grams of cocaine from a north inner-city drug dealer to share with a colleague has jeopardised several criminal trials, including some involving drug dealers.

   He was stopped by officers allegedly in possession of 10 grams of cocaine, with a street value of €800

   If 10 grams is worth €800 then 1 gram is worth €80.That means 18000 Grams is worth 18000 X 80= €1,440,000.

   What are the Police doing?Selling drugs and buying drugs.Supply and Demand.Small fish like Drugs Squad Dectectives kids like Jarlaith Walsh are taking the Hit for the Big Shots like Arthur Conroy.

   Go to comment

7. Comment on “RAAD was founded in 2008 by members and recent ex-members of the Provisional IRA in Derry…”
   on 7 May 2012 at 11:40 am

   weidm7

   4 May 2012 at 9:25 pm

   Instead of this moralistic shite, how about we ask some pertinent questions:

   How do we as a society deal with drug dealing and addiction?

   Well according to Dr Marianne Breen, Ph. D. when the Irish Free State government discovered a Heroin epidemic in Dublin in the 1980s they embarked upon a policy of ‘containment’.It’s safe to say that that policy has FAILED.

   Does the vigilantism work?

   It depends.Swing a baseball bat at the next c nt who tries to rob your family car and see what happens…..

   What are the police doing to enter these areas and deal with the problem of drug-dealing?

   Read the following articles from the same newspaper about a family member of the Gardaí.He was initially caught with 18000 Grams of pure undiluted Cocaine with a ‘street value of €3m.Two years later he walked away with a non-custodial sentence.The value of the drugs had ‘fallen’ to €138,000.

   HERALD Michael Lavery-Tuesday September 15 2009

   TWO men have been charged in connection with a drug seizure of cocaine worth €3m in Dublin.

   The two, Arthur Conroy (24) of 32 Violet Hill Park, Glasnevin, and Eric Wynne (23), of 7 Portland Place, Lower Dorset Street, were remanded yesterday to appear at Cloverhill District Court on Friday.

   They were each charged in Blanchardstown District Court with unlawful possession of cocaine at 32 Violet Hill Park, Glasnevin, on September 11 last.

   Each was also charged with having cocaine in their possession at the same address for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying it.

   Evidence

   Det Garda Neal Cameron of the Garda National Drugs Unit gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of Conroy at Finglas Garda Station. Conroy made no reply to the charges.

   The Det Garda applied for a one week remand in custody.

   Asked by the judge what amount was allegedly involved, the Det Garda replied that it was €3m.

   HERALD-Tuesday June 28 2011

   A YOUNG father from a family of gardai who was caught operating a cocaine factory from his garage has been given a partly suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

   Arthur Conroy (26), of Violet Hill, Glasnevin, was caught with €138,000 worth of the drug along with mixing agents, a hydraulic press, weighing scales and moulds.

   Conroy pleaded guilty to possession of 18,000 grammes of cocaine in a garage beside his home on September 11, 2009.

   The court had previously heard his father and grandfather were gardai and his cousin is a serving member.

   Judge Donagh McDonagh said he believed Conroy, who has been in custody since October 2010, deserved a chance.

   He sentenced him to five years in prison, which he backdated to October, but suspended the balance on strict conditions

   Go to comment

8. Comment on Thread under temporary review…
   on 27 January 2012 at 2:53 pm

   Rory Carr-’Me thinks your a billy-no-mates……

   I’m a fanily man.Not that it’s any of your business-

   Rory Carr-’Dissident Republican…….

   No.I left Sinn Féin before the GFA.I’ve no interest in politics beyond a community level.I think labels like that are ‘extremely’ dangerous….

   New years eve for example,i had a mountain bike flung at the windsceen of a car in which i was a passenger.It was aimed at my head.Now as far as i’m concerned,this came about due to elected representatives,labeling people with terms like ‘vigilante’.Something which i certainly am not-But i will say this-The idiot who threw the bike was lucky i wasn’t driving the car……….But then again,so am I.

   A year or two ago i was asked to join a left wing party.I declined the offer.Two weeks later i was a ‘;vigilante’……

   As this thread was about the Internment of an Innocent man,i apolagize for going ‘off-topic’.

   Go to comment

9. Comment on Sanctioned ‘Gay Cure’ Psychiatrist on Board of Organisation Behind ‘Leper’ Conference
   on 23 January 2012 at 4:06 am

   @I can’t comment on the two books you have read. I would just caution that it is quite easy to write in ways which deningrtae a particular group. A large part of Western University culture has been unashamedly Marxist in the 20th century and they were all about creating a new society and denigrating the existing ones. i have read many books that follow that mindset and purpose.

   Point taken.Im not a devout atheist.Im not even an atheist.I honestly didn’t mean to offend you,or your beliefs.If i have done so,i apolagize.

   Go to comment

10. Comment on Thread under temporary review…
    on 23 January 2012 at 3:44 am

    Comrade Stalin-Quid pro quo-

    @As for the rest of us, justice is something that we can’t be selective about. It is incumbent upon us to accept the judgement of the court and move on….

    Being ‘selective’ about ‘justice’ is half the problem,imo.Take the ‘Not In My Name’ society-Where were they when Kevin Brendan McDaid was kicked to death?A catholic-protestant community worker going about his business-Who egged that mob on?

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