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When is a riot not a riot?

on 4 September 2006 , 2:20 pm 9 | 0 views

Answer: When you seek compensation. A Garda Chief Superintendent has refused a request by solicitors acting for a person whose car was destroyed to define participants in the ‘events’ in Dublin as “rioters”.

  • Betty Boo

    But weren’t they called rioters on the day by the same Gardai?

  • Oilibhear Chromaill

    The real story behind this concerns the Sunday Indo’s initial misreporting of the event. They claimed it was being organised by, wait for it, SF/IRA. And they made a big play on this.

    Now, when the pressure’s on someone’s pursestring, the Gardai have to come out and tell it like it was. Sure it was a riot – but it wasn’t an organised riot like the media, mainly the Sunday Indo, were trying to proclaim as loudly as possible at the time.

    When push comes to shove in Dublin, it’s money that talks the talk and rights the ‘riot’.

  • Green Ink

    By acknowledging “the event/disturbance/hi-jinx/collective Tourettes/urban renewal/chavfest/fillyourownmisnomerhere” as a riot the Gardai would be tacitly admitting they allowed same riot to happen. The high ranking guards who’ve dodged the bullets of Carty, Morris and Lyons, and have moved the lower-ranking dirt around the house for the appearance of cleaning, don’t want the shrapnel from THE DUBLIN RIOTS to be what gets them in the end (sorry for shouting).

  • Betty Boo

    So it is only a question of time then before they call a gangland murder a fatal accident.

  • smcgiff

    The law’s an ass!

  • bertie

    Can anyone answer the thread’s question?
    Or is everyone else as confused as I am?

  • Betty Boo

    A riot is only a riot if Gardai/Police can’t get implemented in compensation claims over damage caused during the above mentioned.
    With other words – if we sue more there would be less “riots” and if the papers say there were, then we can sue them for misinformation.

    It doesn’t really help, does it?

  • bertie

    Thanks for trying Betty 😉

  • Betty Boo

    I’ve posted recently a poem by Stephen Cane, Bertie, so here comes the second one and there is hardly a way to say it better.
    As before from “Black Riders”, written 1894

    “The wayfarer
    Perceiving the pathway to truth
    Was struck with astonishment.
    It was thickly grown with weeds.
    “Ha,” he said,
    “I see that none has passed here
    In a long time.”
    Later he saw that each weed
    Was a singular knife.
    “Well,” he mumbled at last,
    “Doubtless there are other roads.””

    Enjoy.