Excellent post from Durra1, however I don't think any political party would go down that road in a county council election, simply because the Irish people have long expressed a preference for "pliable" elected representatives. I can't find the exact quote, but I vaguely remember one rural TD who spoke about constituency clinics and and how a third of his visitors wanted him to do something illegal, a third wanted him to do something immoral and the other third were lonely and wanted a chat.
All too often, as a nation of voters we've proved that we like that dark side, because someday we might need to pick up the phone and get a few rules bent ourselves.
Regarding the incident yesterday morning, today's story in the Irish Independent shines a different light on the whole affair -
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ca ... 39273.html
No rational person would condone a shooting incident, if that's what actually happened here. The report of how he left his own children alone in an upturned car and ran away by himself to "draw their fire" in open country is just one comment that makes me more than a little suspicious of the reported version of events. However all that aside, there is a natural imbalance at play in the sense that in this instance, a man who is a proven thief, a corrupt former councillor and a bankrupt is living in a palatial home with significant living expenses, while those who lost money to him, money that was no doubt sunk into the bricks and mortar of that ridiculous mansion, are struggling to get by. The Irish justice system has failed these people, and that makes it more difficult to move on. Now we have the added complication that the same man who is supposedly bankrupt, and cannot pay his creditors, is reportedly driving around with thousands of euro in cash in the back of his car and investing in a new business.
To this uninvolved third party, that should be a breach of his bankruptcy and since he is serving a three year suspended prison sentence, I would suggest it could be a breach of those terms as well - not that we'd ever expect a man like Ger Killally to serve prison time in a country like Ireland. However my unlearned opinion aside, imagine how that feels if you're a local tradesman, local business or local supplier, and you were badly hit by Killally leaving you unpaid - imagine how this would feel?
I don't excuse anyone trying to impose their own brand of justice, but I can completely understand how certain people might feel driven to these measures.
Kevin Egan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.
