Brendan O’Regan
The Prime Time debate included Fine Gael TD Neale
Richmond and John McGuirk from Gript 
I can understand people getting upset about ill-treatment of animals, and I doubt that anyone who is cruel to animals would be kind to the human beings in their lives.
However, I do think the reaction to the picture of trainer Gordon Elliott sitting on a dead horse two years ago has been excessive. Sports Minister Jack Chambers on Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio One, Tuesday) said it was horrific and appalling. It was certainly ill-judged, but the horse was dead, so while it was disrespectful and thoroughly off-putting, it wasn’t on the face of it any evidence of cruelty. On It Says in the Papers (RTÉ Radio One, Wednesday) it was reported that sports journalist Eamon Dunphy had said it would be disproportionate if the trainer lost his livelihood over this and I couldn’t disagree with that. Later that morning on Today with Claire Byrne (RTÉ Radio One) there was a strong sense of support for the trainer from texters, though nobody was defending the trainer’s action.
What galled me the most over the week was the outrage of politicians who facilitated the abortion legislation that led to the deaths last year of 6,666 little human beings. Now there’s something to be outraged about. But the silence in the media is deafening, while the dead horse story was prioritised on the Nine News (RTÉ One) last Friday night, reporting that the trainer received and accepted his sanction.
One of the big disappointments in the abortion-related repeal campaign was the support it got from Amnesty International, an organisation that was once a source of pride for defending prisoners of conscience. On Moncrieff (Newstalk, Monday) law professor Ronan McCrea criticised Amnesty’s “mission creep” – distracted and diverted by causes far removed from its “foundational goal”. This was in the context of Amnesty no longer supporting Russian dissident Alexei Navalny as a prisoner of conscience because he is supposed to have made anti-immigration statements 14 years ago!
The violence at a recent anti-lockdown protest in Dublin was objectionable on so many levels – such events, whether from left, right or middle are dangerous in a pandemic. The topic featured on Prime Time (RTÉ One, Tuesday) when gript.ie editor John McGuirk was interviewed with Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond TD. As often happens there were more grounds for agreement than was evident from the prickly nature of the debate. Both had no time for the violence at that protest, which was welcome. Mr McGuirk sought to understand the reasons behind it, referring to the frustration of people who were out of work for months due to the lockdown. He had actually spoken to some of the protestors. He got in a dig at media coverage, pointing out that the filmed report that preceded the discussion contained no interviews with any of the protestors. Mr McGuirk suggested that part of the problem was the fact that when there were moderate objections to official Covid-19 strategy, they were often shut down – he instanced a doctor and a barrister who were harshly treated by arms of the State for expressions of opinion that didn’t tally with the mainstream narrative. A useful point, though Prime Time has been better than most current affairs programmes in giving airtime to dissenting views – they featured contributions from some who have challenged the prevailing Covid-19 narrative (including that doctor referred to).
By contrast The Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk) has been obsessed with far-right conspiracies, while the far-left seems to get a free pass. Last Thursday I thought they were going to redress the balance – it was still about the protests in Dublin, but the promos told us that roving reporter Henry McKean was going to speak to some of the protestors. The item was laughable. The few protesters didn’t impress though one could sympathise with the man that had been out of work for months – he said he had stayed quiet for the first two lockdowns, but this one was too much for him. One man said he’d be the only one working after a while because the rest of us would be dead from taking the vaccine! One said people were being ‘literally’ crucified for their opinions!
Newstalk didn’t trust its listenership to come to its own conclusions – they had Dr Lucy Michael, a ‘professional on equality and diversity issues’ and anti-racism campaigner after each interview clip, as if we needed an interpreter – such a condescending and paternalistic attitude!
Pick of the week
EWTN NEWS IN DEPTH
EWTN Sunday March 14, 9.30am
In-depth interviews that examine and analyse important issues, news, and events from an authentically Catholic perspective.
A WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING II – THE GENDER AGENDA
EWTN Sunday March 14, 9pm
Liberal and progressive influences shaping society’s attitudes on gender and human sexuality, and how this threatens the Biblical understanding of marriage and family.
CELEBRATE ST PATRICK 2021
RTÉ One Tuesday March 16, 11.25pm
A mixture of secular and sacred music with readings from St Patrick’s own words, from sites of spiritual and historical importance including his first church and grave.
