They absolutely should be.
Glad we can agree on something fella.
Mr Souza said he had believed he would have no problem returning to Ireland because he heard that during the Christmas period students who had experienced delays in the GNIB process could travel
Mr Souza would want to be surer than that before he headed off for his holidays
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I’m an agreeable sort.
Thu, 02 Jan, 2025 - 15:05
Waterford woman ‘fueled racial tension’ with false sexual assault claim
A Waterford woman, who falsely claimed that she was sexually assaulted in Dungarvan last year, was recently sentenced at Waterford Circuit Court.
WNS reporter
A Waterford woman who falsely claimed that she was sexually assaulted in Dungarvan last year was recently sentenced at Waterford Circuit Court.
The unfounded claim made by Ms. Tanya Wall in February 2023 caused considerable upset and disruption in Dungarvan, when a Facebook post made by her sister outlined that the woman had been assaulted by non-Irish nationals.
A “vigilante group” was formed in the immediate aftermath of the post, which aimed to address what they perceived as Garda inaction at tackling crime.
The false claim made by Wall, “fueled racial division” and “planted hatred” into the community of Dungarvan, according to Judge Eugene O’Kelly.
Unfounded claims
Earlier this year, Ms. Wall pleaded guilty to a single count of making a false complaint to Gardaí on February 19, 2023.
On this date, Ms. Wall, with an address at 68 Congress Villas, Dungarvan, presented herself to Dungarvan Garda Station alleging that she had been sexually assaulted.
She claimed that she was walking home alone after a night out and was approached by a number of males who dragged her up a laneway, forcibly took off her belt and pulled down her jeans.
Wall claimed that the group fled when an unknown woman entered the scene. Ms. Wall was later unable to describe this woman to gardaí.
After the report was made, gardaí attended the scene of the alleged crime with Ms. Wall herself. Nothing of evidential value was found.
Gardaí then went to the home of Ms. Wall to seize clothing as evidence, along with messages from her phone.
A lengthy investigation into the alleged crime was conducted, and upon looking through CCTV footage, gardaí noted that there “were clear inconsistencies” in Ms. Wall’s allegations and it became evident that her account was false.
On March 8, 2023, she was arrested at her home, and subsequently conducted three interviews with gardaí.
During these interviews Ms. Wall said that her memory of the alleged attack was limited.
‘Vigilante group’
Ms. Wall informed gardaí that after the incident she called her ex-partner and mother to tell them about it.
Details of the alleged event were then posted on Facebook by Ms. Wall’s sister. The “deeply offensive, racist message” which took aim at foreign nationals living in Ireland, garnered considerable attention from the public.
According to gardaí accounts, the Facebook post indicated that Ms. Wall “had been attacked by foreigners and they should not be left in the country.”
As a result of the post, gardaí received complaints from concerned locals, and they were criticized for their perceived inactivity in addressing crimes committed by non-Irish nationals.
In the wake of the claims by Ms. Wall and the post made by her sister, a “safety group” was setup in Dungarvan.
The court heard that the group was formed by locals who believed due to the Facebook post that the assault had in fact occurred, and that gardaí were “covering up” the incident.
In reality, house to house enquiries were being made by gardaí, CCTV footage was scanned, and five weeks of time and resources “were wasted” due to the false claim made by Ms. Wall.
‘Hatred and racial division’
Defense counsel for Ms. Wall, Ms. Sarah-Jane Comerford BL, outlined that her client has “severe diabetes”, and that high blood sugar and a high level of intoxication on the night could have led to the episode where she made up the false allegation.
Ms. Comerford told the court that Ms. Wall “knows she’s in big trouble”, and that she told a lie which “completely snowballed” and which she was not “brave enough” to stop.
In mitigation, she outlined that her client entered an early guilty plea and has no previous convictions.
In a letter of apology to Dungarvan Gardaí, Ms. Wall said: “I had never meant to cause so much stress, time and work.”
Judge O’Kelly was critical of the letter, saying that it made no direct apology to the foreign community.
In sentencing Ms. Wall, Judge O’Kelly said that the incident “fueled racial division” and “planted hatred into the community", causing "alarm and upset.”
He said that although Ms. Wall was granted the opportunity to retract her false claim, she failed to do so.
Her actions resulted in “significant criticism” of gardaí and “a lot of hatred being expressed” to the foreign community in Dungarvan.
She was sentenced to 200 hours of community service.
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Isn’t Damo from Damo and Ivor….Damo Quirke, anti Immigration ???
Why has a Section 5 been applied for an IPAS Centre off Moore St, by the Quirke folks? Damo, any idea???
Shops on Moore St who have thrived with immigrants buying fresh produce are concerned.
The lady in red…
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Remember our resident cheerleaders for the paedo-Nazi who owns Twitter denied white supremacist involvement in the Dublin riots.
They’ll call anything terrorism the cunts.