The appointment of a Senator to represent Traveller voices was, in my opinion, a good thing. I do not share, and have never shared, some of the more aggressive antipathy to An Lucht Siúil that is still perfectly acceptable in polite society in Ireland.
In fact, that’s one of the hypocrisies of the liberal left that goes mostly unscrutinised: the same people endlessly seeking to beat you into submission with their shrill virtue-signalling about the latest woke commandment have no problem calling working-class people ‘scumbags’ and sneering at their clothing, accents, or lack of middle-class sensibilities. And behind their hands, they’ll also often disparage Travellers while espousing the usual guff about the importance of protecting minorities.
The response last week to the row around remarks made by Senator Eileen Flynn who levied harsh criticisms against fuel protesters was interesting, because those who oppose free speech saw it as an opportunity to drum up support for defunct hate speech proposals – and because the unacceptable abuse she received which crossed a line was dealt with in the manner in which it should be: by reporting it to An Garda Síochána.
Ms Flynn attracted attention said that she wouldn’t join fuel protests because they were “overtook” by the “far-right” – adding that when she saw “the tri-flag” she was terrified to be part of that protest.
She added in the same breath that there was “so much hatred” towards migrants, and that it “boils her blood” to waste time on people who were spreading hate – presumably also the dread Tricolour wavers. Within minutes, of course, the comments started from both sides.
Given the emotion around the fuel protests, and the sheer despair that many families are feeling as spiralling costs threaten their businesses and their livelihood, the Senator should have expected some pushback for her frankly ridiculous remarks, though comments that went beyond fair criticism cannot and should not be condoned. But that cuts both ways.
The reality is that Ms Flynn is a Senator who has a platform that most people in the country don’t have. She also has what appears to be unlimited access to the national media, including RTÉ, who are always ready to offer her a sympathetic ear and allow her to accuse people she doesn’t like of ‘hatred’. Those unchallenged assertions are often made in a scatter-gun way so that the impression given is, for example, that people who oppose an IPAS centre are full of ‘hate’, and fuel protesters are simply pawns of the ever-present-bogeyman ‘far-right’.
Ms Flynn later went on RTÉ and talked about some of the abuse she had received, and accused her critics of ‘punching down’. But isn’t she also punching-down? In the Seanad and elsewhere, she has accused ordinary people – and they number in the tens of thousands – who have protested the government’s immigration policy of being full of hate. Some of those protesters have been battered by the riot squad, pepper-sprayed and beaten, vilified and demonised. Haven’t they actually borne the full impact of being subject to ‘punching-down’ and unfairly categorise? Yet they are accused of being full of ‘hate’ by politicians who blather on about division and equality.
AGGRESSION
Eileen Flynn sounded genuinely upset in her RTÉ interview about some of the emails she had received which attacked her looks, accused her of being a “junkie”, and subjected her to abuse because of the fact that she is a Traveller. That sort of personal abuse is vile and unacceptable and should not be tolerated.
But she also told Ocean FM that she was “terrified right now of Irishmen” and not of migrant men: surely a fairly sweeping and racially-charged statement to make in any situation.
There was no pushback to Ms Flynn’s assertion on RTÉ’s Late Debate that the fuel protests were taken over by “bullies” and the ‘far-right’. None whatsoever. And that’s the pattern, always.
It’s interesting that when Senator Sharon Keogan defended the protestors and the Tricolour in perfectly reasonable terms, she was targeted personally in an aggressive fashion by Ms Flynn in the Seanad chamber where she accused Keogan of talking about a flag that stands for “hatred, discrimination and division”.
Sharon Keogan had said that: “Too often, people are branded far right not to describe them but to silence them, to delegitimise grievances without engaging with them.”
In response, Eileen Flynn said: “I will not stand underneath the flag Senator Keogan is talking about. The flag that stands for hatred, discrimination and division in this country. That is not the Ireland I stand in so I am sending a clear message today.”
Senator Flynn’s combativeness stands in stark contrast to the gracious follow-up made by Senator Keogan several days later when she said: “I also want to address the online abuse received by my colleague Senator Eileen Flynn. While I disagree with a number of Senator Flynn’s opinions, I restrict my criticisms to the opinions and not the woman herself. Comments on Senator Flynn’s background as a member of the Traveller community, the way she dresses and the way she speaks, are racist, deplorable and, worst of all, intellectually bankrupt.”
“I am a believer in free speech and debate, but such abusive comments hurt our national discourse and, most of all, let down those who utter them,” Keogan added.
This, in fact, is a key point. The controversy around Senator Flynn’s comments were seized on, as ever, by the champions of ‘hate speech’ legislation. As sure as night follow day, we had Senator Martin Conway call for a solution” to “hate speech and misinformation” online, saying social media users were being “let away with it” by platforms. Eileen Flynn was, of course, a strong and vocal supporter of Helen McEntee’s failed hate speech proposals.
NO GROUP IS ABOVE CRITICISM
In some ways, the controversy is reflective of the general discourse around Travellers in this country. Eileen Flynn has the right to speak and to be heard – and I welcome Traveller voices in Leinster House – but she cannot expect to avoid pushback when she makes sweeping and incredibly unfair aggressive allegations against ordinary people who are upset and angry at the government. Just as her opponents are not entitled to be abusive, she is not entitled to hide behind allegations of racism instead of being pressed during media interviews or online discussions as to the validity of her condemnations.
Being unfair to ordinary people and crying racism at every turn isn’t new. Senator Flynn previously accused a taxi-driver (hardly a member of the oppressive ruling class) of being a baddie for refusing to drive into a halting site and spoke of the need to tackle racism.
Was he being racist, or was he simply nervous of driving into a site given that taxi drivers say they have had difficult experiences in this regard? For too long, the attempt to control public discourse insists that all criticism of protected groups, including Travellers, must be immediately decried as racist.
Thus we are supposed to ignore horrific, murderous feuds, and pretend high rates of incarceration are somehow the fault of “settled people”, in the same way that we are never to disagree with Senator Flynn even when she unfairly accuses people of ‘hate’ because she is a Traveller and disagreeing with a Traveller makes you racist. It’s such tiresome nonsense.
It was notable that at a time of great controversy around politicians writing character references for criminals, Senator Flynn received fairly minimal pushback for writing to a US Court in support of her cousin John O’Brien – a “predatory” swindler who “bullied” more than 100 mostly elderly people out of an estimated €2.2m for unnecessary “home repairs”. Why was that?
John Connors, the actor and podcaster who has been an outspoken voice for Travellers, addressed Senator Flynn directly when he said:
“Eileen Flynn. You do not represent Travellers or our values. That is precisely why they chose you. They wanted a Traveller in name but not in culture. They did everything in their power to stop my grand aunt Nan Joyce, from being elected, a great activist like her sister, my grandmother Chrissy Donohue Ward. You do not share any values with those great women. “You were selected to uphold the status quo establishment views. I pray that the Lord opens up your heart and mind. God bless.”
It’s important to understand that when political establishment makes appointments, a person is likely often chosen not only to represent a section of society, but to also chime with the prevailing ideology of the party making said appointment. While she was appointed in the first instance, Eileen Flynn won her seat in the last Seanad election in her own right, and hats off to her for that achievement, but the observation still stands.
Much of the media coverage of Travellers seems to veer between Pavee Point press communiques and paternalistic coverage about Traveller culture that often ignores the aspects where they excel. As I have previously written “from the great pipers to the singers and storytellers, the Travellers’ contribution to Irish traditional music is worth celebrating.” Yet too often Traveller are made to feel unwelcome – disparaged because of the actions of a section that grab all the headlines and all the attention. That’s unfair.
Many of the outcomes for Travellers are hugely concerning: reduced life expectancy; higher infant mortality rates; higher rates of school dropout; and perhaps most disturbing of all – suicide rates that are seven times higher than the national average. That’s a genuine mental health crisis that needs urgent attention. And efforts led by members of the traveller community to improve educational outcomes for young Travellers are to be applauded.
But none of that changes the fact that Senator Eileen Flynn, just like any other Senator, is not above criticism. Abuse is wrong, threatening women is wrong, and she was absolutely right to go to the Gardaí in regard to threats made against her or her family. But labelling protesters as ‘far-right’ and as representing ‘hate’ is also wrong, and being a Traveller or a member of any minority does not mean you cannot be challenged on your views.