John B. must be wincing in his grave. Listowel has not yet reached the 21st century, never mind the 20th. You may not know the story of Danny Foley, convicted of sexual assualt and sentenced to seven (7) years, five to be served in jail.
Convicted. By a jury. With CCTV evidence. Read it here.
In the court, just before the beak came out to pass sentence, an extraordinary event occurred. Up to fifty people approached the defendant, in the dock with two prison officers, and commiserated, even cried with him, Danny Foley. Included in the fifty was the parish priest of Castlegregory.
Fr Sean Sheehy, the Parish Priest of Castlegregory, said Mr Foley had the highest regard for women and didn’t have an abusive bone in his body. Of course A 'Parish Priest' would of course be considered an expert in the area of abuse. On newstalk this priest said the sentence was a miscarriage of justice. It was an 'alleged' assault. And this knowing of the guilty verdict.
The victim was not ignored, but she had to leave the courthouse by a side door about half an hour later, with a garda escort. Read it. She, the victim, left with a garda escort. She may, who knows, have to leave the area for good.
Rant, rave, rage all you want. This is the underbelly of polite society.
