In Ireland the Law is not an Ass; it’s a Goat.

“I’m not saying that pacifism is unmanly.  For all I know, pacifism may even be the highest form of manliness.  All that I’m saying is that if a man cuts off your left hand with an axe, you don’t offer him your right one as well.  Not if you want to play the piano again, you don’t.”

—-film director and legend Sam Peckinpah

Did you hear the one about the Muslim asylum seeker from Somalia who just happened to end up slaughtering goats right, left and centre in a house in Tralee, County Kerry? As you do if you are a civilised human being?

Do you think that’s a joke? Do you think: Ach, that’s just Brady being his old xenophobic self?

If you do then I don’t blame you. I mean– it’s mad really, isn’t it?

We have this absolute nutter living here called Rashid Kibaga.  He’s over in Ireland from Mogadishu seeking asylum. (Naturally.)  And on Thursday July 4^th he got a one year suspended sentence at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee for having a house of animal cruelty that looked like something out of ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’.

Of course when I say that he is a headcase who should have just immediately been booted out of the country, what I mean is that I wouldn’t like to have been living next to him.  Not because he’s a creep who obviously doesn’t mind torturing animals—hey, I’m no animal lover myself unless they’re cats—but because I don’t like to hear of anything being tortured unless they’re called Dame Edna Kenny and Tiny Eamon Gilmore.  And maybe, Crom help us, not even then.

Asylum seeker Kibaga pleaded guilty to several counts of criminal acts at Balloonagh Estate in Tralee on April 23^rd of 2012.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of cruelty to animals.

He pleaded guilty to using the house as an unlicensed abattoir.  Yes, you are reading that correctly:  as an abattoir.  Without a license.

And he pleaded guilty to a third count of failing to see that the goats did not suffer.

Jesus wept! Failing to see that the goats did not suffer!

Now my late father would often say that I myself am completely uncivilised in how I conduct my life.  But compared to this guy my life is a serene scenic wonderland, full of azure blue skies and I am a man who harbours no bad thoughts towards his fellow human beings at all. Well, that’s nonsense for a start; but I’m pretty sure that the Old Man never thought I was capable of torturing, beheading and skinning poor bloody animals INSIDE MY DAMNED HOUSE!

According to Garda Patricia Fitzpatrick, who was speaking in court, she was called to the semidetached house on that afternoon after a complaint from residents.  Well, animals screaming in agony would have that effect on me as well.  I’d be on the blower to the cops before you could say ‘Ed Gein’.  Garda Fitzpatrick, several welfare inspectors, as well as some dog wardens arrived to find that it was occupied by an Irish national and three foreign nationals.

What they found when they had their afternoon spoiled for them was a house that was not a home in any way that I can think of the definition of ‘home’ being.

I mean, look at me:  I have a little place where I watch an occasional movie, read a few books and cook a few meals.  I even have the odd friend in.  My definition of a place of residence doesn’t include:

The four carcasses of young goats, two of which had been skinned and lying in a shopping trolley.  And, endlessly curious person that I am, I couldn’t help wondering where they had stolen the shopping trolley from.  Nor does it include:

A two month old goat that had been beheaded and lying in a welter of blood next to a couple of kitchen knives.  But hey, that’s just me.  Also:

There was another goat being kept in a shed and that goat by all accounts was in bad shape.  Now when I say in bad shape, that poor old goat doesn’t know how lucky it was since I’m pretty damned sure that these barbarians weren’t lining up to keep it as a household pet that they could shower love and attention on.

In the course of several police interviews our innocent asylum seeker Rashid Kibaga eventually admitted that he had cut the throats of the goats whilst one of his mates held the squealing animals down.  Well, as you do, Rashid; as you do.

Still, I can understand him now because he also went on to say that it was necessary to do this because it was the proper preparation of halal meat.  Ah, now you see why I’m on his side all of a sudden: it’s because I believe in religious tolerance for all.  And on top of that, poor old Rashid said that he didn’t know that it was illegal in Ireland.

Are you getting that?  This poor innocent was able to find his way here from Somalia, when of course the first place you set foot in is the place that you are supposed to look for asylum.  Surely there must have been a few other countries before he hit these shores.  But don’t mind these small details. This is Ireland. We’re suckers and this lot know it.

Anyway, good old persecuted Rashid was able to appear wearing a nice trimmed goatee beard and looking like a Somali Tony Stark/ Iron Man, whilst wearing a jacket that I’m damned sure cost more than the goat did, and also whilst wearing a superior look on him that says:  “Hey, Irish suckers, it’s my religion so there’s no way that I’m even spending a day in Mountjoy Jail. That’s for people who don’t pay their TV License”.

And you know what? This scumbag was absolutely right.  Because Judge Carroll Moran said that his religious beliefs are respected here.  Yeah, right: just like they respect our religious beliefs in Somalia, is it?

So he gets a ONE YEAR SUSPENDED SENTENCE because his religious beliefs are more important than torturing some poor frigging animal before cutting its throat?

His lawyer told the court:

“He now accepts that things are done differently in this country and he apologises.”

Seriously, even people who hate what I write just have to be as BLOODY FURIOUS as I am at this.

Whilst this…thing is still allowed to live here I’d like to know the answer to a few fundamental questions.  You know, stuff like who is selling the goats to him.  I’ve no problem with a bit of commerce; it’s just this torture business that keeps niggling at me. Basic stuff like that.  Stuff like how is he able to get so many damned goats into a housing estate?  Mind you, after that ‘punishment’ from Judge Moran you can’t exactly blame the neighbours.   Allah knows, they would probably find themselves locked up for ‘religious discrimination’ faster than a clean cut guy like Rashid could say:  “Didn’t know it was illegal, your honour. Allah prevails.”  I mean, isn’t that what modern Ireland is about?  Let’s look after the criminal and his ‘human rights’ first.

It’s like Sam says at the top of this piece:  if we keep sticking that other hand out it’s not long before we’ll be unable to play the piano in any shape or form.

The Killing of Eugene Moloney

And on that note let’s look at the sentence handed out to Gary Burch, the killer of journalist Eugene Moloney.

In March of this year I wrote in the Examiner of the murder—sorry, manslaughter– of Eugene Moloney:

“Last Monday Judge Mary Ellen Ring let Burch walk out onto the streets once more as he continues the bail that he has enjoyed since before Christmas.  Well, Christmas, it says it all really.  Good Christian country like this one, we have to show compassion to those who have done terrible wrongs, eh?  We’re all sinners and some such bull.

“Look, I’m interested in Justice, not the Law, so I don’t really understand why a violent man like Burch has had his sentence deferred.  I have no doubt that Judge Ring is quite correct within the parameters of the Law.  But I still don’t get it.  And do you know why he had it deferred?  Because he has to finish a FAS course before he can be sentenced!  This is where you think that you are having some sort of acid flashback.  I mean, how can this be?

“How can this make any sense at all?  A trainee mechanic has admitted to the manslaughter (and I only use that term because I have to: I would prefer to call it something else) of a man who was walking down the street and minding his own business.  And because he’s on a work course he must be given time to finish it? Am I down the that bloody rabbit hole again or what?

“And it’s not as if this lout turned himself in.  As journalist Philip Nolan puts it: ‘Ms. Gearty [Burch’s senior counsel] told the court that Burch had no previous convictions.  He had been granted bail before Christmas after voluntarily (!) spending time in custody and had abided by the terms.  But let us remember one thing.  He may have confessed yesterday, but at the time of the crime, he fled and did not hand himself over.  Instead he had to be tracked down by gardai with the help of CCTV footage.  To me, that puts him on rather a shaky footing to expect much in the way of clemency.’”

Unlike Philip Nolan, I didn’t know Eugene Moloney personally.  But it was with weary bloody acceptance that I read of the murderous —scratch that, the man slaughtering– Gary Burch being given his sentence this week.  It comes to 22 months.

We now know a little bit more about happened that evening when a man died for no reason at all.  We know that Burch also had some skill as a boxer and we know that he danced around like a lunatic after punching to the ground– from behind– a man who was old enough to be his father.  “Boom!” he shouted as Eugene Moloney went down for what was to be a meeting with a pavement that he never got up from.

Boom.  But still, at least Burch was of good character and at least he got to finish that last course of his.  I’m assuming it wasn’t in the Humanities.  In his pathetic letter of apology to the family he couldn’t even spell the name of his victim correctly.  Still, the Judge says that this will haunt him for the rest of his life.  So I guess that’s his punishment, is it?

A couple of years for killing a man who was just in the wrong place and at the wrong time. Five years was handed down; but after all the jigs and reels it ends up at 22 months.

There is seriously something wrong with a country that allows this.

When Violence Isn’t Violence

Look at Judge Martin Nolan this week:  he gives a TWO YEAR SUSPENDED SENTENCE to an animal who sexually assaults a woman in front of her child.  In the name of sanity , the swine pleaded guilty!  The woman had the marks of violence on her throat and yet the learned Judge witters on about the creep moving out of the area and now living on social welfare!  And to add insult to injury he says that “ the most pertinent finding” is that he won’t reoffend and that there was “no aggravated violence”.

Sweet Lord of the Sea, you so-called educated wig, how much more aggravated violence do you need before you call it VIOLENCE!

Then again, this is obviously a guy with his morals and his education, not to mention his sense of perspective, firmly lodged up his learned ass. Because he has a history of being soft on sex offenders. He’s also the guy who gave Paul Begley SIX YEARS in jail for not paying tax on imported garlic. Let me see…two years suspended for sexual assault; six years for not paying tax on garlic.  Nope.  Not getting it. Must be my lack of education.

I’m leaving the bankers alone this week for several reasons, one being that I’m fed up with them and it has just been more of the same.  Although it has been intriguing to see the ones who didn’t want to be involved gradually admitting that they have known of the existence of the Anglo Tapes for years.  As I said last week, no real surprise there.

As it drags on and on in true Irish fashion, however, I do find myself wondering why just SO much emphasis is being put on Drumm.  Ghastly, reprehensible human being he may be, but I can’t help thinking that there is something there that has still to be dug out.

You can explain the workings of the Law to my poor brain on email at chasbrady7@eircom.net or read my blog and what I think of buffoons on www.charleybrady.com