Proud to be from Donagh
Editorial Department • Published 19 Jan 2012 13:00
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Dear Sir, - I am writing in response to Mr. Michael Connolly's several articles in your paper since the McDermott abuse case came to light. I have followed all the goings on, locally and through the media. I was abhorred and sickened by what several children were subjected to for the past 30 years. While I have great respect and admiration for all those victims involved, both those who have had the courage to come forward and also those who haven't, I simply can't sit back and bite my tongue any longer! Mr. Connolly, alongside the other victims who successfully brought the brothers to court, are to be applauded for their involvement in the case. However, I am amazed at some of the tripe that Mr. Connolly has published about the community that I live in. I cannot understand where Mr. Connolly is coming from on most of the views he has about the community considering he hasn't lived here for the past 30 years.
As a member of the Donagh community and an active community member I am sick of Mr. Connolly's constant presence in the local media. Mr. Connolly doesn't see or hear all the great things about our close knit and active community instead tries to portray a hostile, awful, place when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. I am proud to be from Donagh and to have lived there all my life. We must remember that awful events have happened in Donagh over the years but that shouldn't take away from what is a beautiful, scenic and extremely active community.
In his most recent article Mr. Connolly states, "There are 15 to 20 people in counselling, besides the six and one other. To my knowledge none of the rest have come forward and given a statement to police. That is tangible evidence to the fact that the community is not communicating with the police or have the trust. That lies fairly and squarely on the shoulders of those who have discouraged it in the first place," This is a ridiculous statement. It is certainly NOT tangible evidence. Would it ever have struck Mr. Connolly that others affected haven't came forward because it is an extremely difficult decision to come to terms with, also in light of the sentence handed out to the McDermott brothers, it would be more that it has discouraged any others coming forward rather than the political spin Mr. Connolly is trying to put on things. There has been no discouragement. Our community has been trying to manage the situation it finds itself in by supporting the local community, survivors and their families and also the extended members of the McDermott family. The local Forum and Donagh Development Association have had constant contact with both the Western Trust and all of the relevant agencies including the PSNI. Police have attended several meetings in the community with survivors, community and political representatives. I suggest that if Mr. Connolly wants to engage with the community that he contact them directly instead of commenting on these issued in any form of media that will listen to him!
Mr. Connolly also stated "A small rural community like Donagh has been strongly discouraged from co-operating with the justice system in the past. This would appear to be a culture that has become ingrained within small communities and it is very evident that little has changed in the last 30 to 40 years. Political representatives in an area like Donagh should be doing more to promote integration and legal protection for all," Mr. Connolly seems intent in dragging up the past for this community. The strongly republican area had issues in co-operating with the justice system because like other small predominantly nationalist communities we were being oppressed by the establishment to which the justice system belonged! Of course things have taken massive steps in the last ten years and I would strongly disagree with his view that little has changed in the last 30-40 years. I never remember the co-operation we have seen with the police at this time.
Mr. Connolly also comments on a long running local issue "Despite my campaign over these last couple of years to have the chicken houses in Donagh removed and taken into community ownership, a review of the Mental Health Act, the introduction of community and victim impact statements introduced into Northern Ireland's justice system, I have received no support from Donagh's political representatives or from the party to whom they belong. In two years I have had one meeting with a Sinn Fein representative from the area to which I have had no response to any of the issues raised".
On the aspect of his campaign that concerns the chicken houses, if Mr. Connolly's campaign involved having the chicken houses taken into community ownership, why has he not been in contact with the local community? Donagh Development Association has been working on this issue for the past 20 years! This has been an ongoing project for the removal of the houses that came to fruition last year with their demolition. DDA has a very strong relationship with local political representatives and locally from their political party also. In fact without the support of the local political representative a lot of initiatives within the community would not have happened. Mr. Connolly has NEVER directly contacted any member of the development association to speak about this issue, despite his working on the matter over the past two years. He much prefers to publish articles in local papers, one does wonder of his motivation for this mode of communication.
Donagh and it's residents have been through enough bad press with the constant coverage of the case while it was going on. The work of the Donagh Development Association, the Donagh Community Forum and our local public representatives from all parties is much appreciated in my eyes. It is quite evident that Mr. Connolly has a chip on his shoulder about the local area and it's politics. If you have anything constructive to add to the current ongoing and tireless efforts of any of these bodies, I urge you to get in touch and talk to people on the ground rather than your usual tactic of commenting from afar. While no-one wants to get into a public tit for tat affair in the local paper, I just couldn't sit back and read his constant droning any longer, but this will be my one and only response to Mr. Connolly.
Yours faithfully,
FED UP In DONAGH
This letter appeared in Impartial Reporter 19 Jan 12
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