Former stray Wilson ‘mad to go to work every day' as Garda sniffer dog
And the lively springer spaniel, who was handed into the Cork City animal shelter as a stray almost four years ago, has already shown he has a real nose for the work after he found a cache of cocaine during one of his first deployments.
His handler, Garda Pat Harrington, of the Garda Southern Region Dog Unit, said his new partner looked set for a remarkable career in the force.
'He's my fourth sniffer dog in my 20-year career and he's a real dinger of a dog. He's just mad to go to work every day,' he said.
'Wilson is more than a dog and a colleague. He's a partner, and a best friend.
He is now owned by people of Ireland, and he will serve them extremely well.
Wilson was about six weeks old when, about four years ago, he and his sister were found as strays and handed in to the Cork Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA) shelter in Mahon. They faced months in the pound awaiting adoption.
But CSPCA manager Vincent Cashman said there was something special about the male pup as he cared for them at his family home, while they awaited their forever home.
'He was showing a little bit more promise,' Mr Cashman said.
'There are a few tests you can run to see if a dog has the kind of potential that some of those in the emergency or rescue services look for.
'For example, when we threw a ball, and if it got stuck in a tree, he'd look for it in the tree, not on the ground.
'Springers are intelligent dogs but he just showed a little more sharpness and intelligence, so I called a friend of mine in Irish Search Dogs, and said he was worth a shot.'
The ISD trainer took the pup home and spent a few months on basic training and agreed he had huge potential, and she invited Garda Harrington to take a look at the now eight-month-old dog.
When Garda Harrington saw him in action, he knew the dog had what was needed and he asked the ISD trainer to continue socialising the puppy, before gardaí returned a year later to assess the dog.
'He flew through that assessment, so we bought the dog and began a rigorous and intense training regime to get him qualified,' Garda Harrington said.
Wilson is trained to detect illegal drugs, including cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, cannabis and speed, as well as firearms and their component parts, bullets, and firearms residue on items like clothing, and he is also trained to sniff out cash.
An injury delayed training but Wilson was fully certified last month and is now formally attached to the Southern Region Dog Unit, based in Douglas.
He is trained to detect illegal drugs, including cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, cannabis and speed, as well as firearms and their component parts, bullets, and firearms residue on items like clothing, and he is also trained to sniff out cash.
He is on call 24/7 and can be deployed to assist in Garda operations across the southern region, and beyond. He helped recover an estimated €6,000 worth of cocaine in Tipperary during one of his first deployments.
Garda Harrington said criminals find so many ways to hide drugs, guns and cash these days in compartments hidden in houses or cars.
'A dog is often the best tool we have to find these items, and take them off the streets,' he said.
'There is huge satisfaction when we find quantities of illegal drugs that can bring death and destruction to people, and we know that when we recover a gun or bullets, whether it's six or 60 bullets, we could have saved six lives or 60 lives."
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Extra.ie
13-07-2025
- Extra.ie
'I suspected the priest in the old black and white photos was my real father'
The son of an Irish priest has called for a criminal investigation into the whereabouts of his father's assets and demanded: 'I want to know what happened to my father's fortune.' Aidan Wilson had always suspected that the local priest who baptised him as a baby in the UK was his father. The 'man in black' in a photograph in his house growing up was Fr Paddy Crowe, originally from Tuam, Co Galway, who worked and lived in England for much of his life before his death in 2000. But it was a full 22 years later before Mr Wilson, 57, was finally told by his brother Pat, who had three months to live at the time, that the priest who bore a close resemblance to him was indeed his father. Aidan Wilson had always suspected that the local priest who baptised him as a baby in the UK was his father. Pic: Supplied Over the past three years, Mr Wilson has been searching for answers about the man who fathered him, and what has become of the wealth he amassed during his lifetime. In an exclusive interview with Mr Wilson said the Catholic Church has many questions to answer, including if its members in England know what happened to the money his father allegedly amassed over his lifetime. He suspects that an Irish-based nun could hold the all-important information on Fr Crowe's fortune, but she has refused to speak to him about the matter. Attempts by to contact the nun were rebuffed by her order. A photograph published for the first time today shows Fr Crowe baptising Aidan at St John's Church in Norwich, knowing the baby was his own child. Pic: Supplied Mr Wilson said the nun was very close to Fr Crowe and would take holidays with him, and that she accompanied him to hospital for the surgery where he died on the operating table. Mr Wilson has spoken with the Bishop of Northampton, the Bishop of East Anglia, three of Fr Crowe's colleagues in Luton, as well as the head of the Columban fathers in the UK concerning the case. 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And I would say to my mum, 'who is that man?' She'd say that was the priest who baptised you, and I'd say, 'he looks like me, mum', and then she'd change the subject.' Aidan said it was only when his mother was dying in 1999 that the subject of Fr Crowe and the family secret became more pronounced. Aidan has since gone on to say that had he been told the truth, he would have had the opportunity to meet Fr Crowe before his death. 'I always thought that that man in the picture was my dad, the man who baptised me. Anyway, this went on. I got nothing out of Mum and Bob, but when I was 12 years old, my big brother Pat, who is 17 years older than me, he and my mum had a massive falling out to the tune that they never spoke for 20 years until her deathbed. 'Pat disappeared, basically, for 20 years, but when mum was dying, I told Pat he had better go and see mum in Ireland, because she's dying, and he did so. 'So me and Pat got together for the first time in 20 years, and we went for a drink. We're still waiting for mum to be buried, and that's the first time I said to Pat: 'Is Bob my dad?' He was a bit taken aback about this because I said, 'I don't think he is. I never thought he was,' and he would lie and say, 'yeah, yeah, he is.'' Aidan said this 'went on for over two decades', in the early 2000s, when the brothers temporarily lived together, Pat hinted he had something to tell him. 'Sometimes, when he'd had a few, he nearly told me something. He almost told me a few things. 'He said he [priest] had to get out of Norwich quickly. Something happened.' Finally, after pressing the matter, Pat finally told his brother the truth while they were out having Christmas dinner in 2022. Pat was dying of cancer,' Aidan said. 'Pat only had a few months left to live, and I said to Pat at the table: 'Right, Pat. Same question I've been asking you for decades – is Bob my dad?' And he said, 'No, he's not. Your dad is Patrick Crowe. He's the bloke in the picture.' 'I said, I knew it all these years! You lied to me.' After that, Aidan said, 'Pat told me everything.' He told his brother Fr Crowe and their mother were always close, and that he was suspicious the pair were in a romantic relationship. He also recounted how Fr Crowe burst into the hairdressers where Pat was apprenticing at the time and announced to everyone: 'It's a boy! It's a boy! We have a boy!' Fr Crowe used to watch Pat play football every Thursday, but he began to notice that, shortly after the whistle blew, the priest would leave and head towards the Wilson household. Aidan said that one Thursday, Pat got himself subbed, went home early and 'caught mum and [Fr] Paddy naked having sex in the living room'. He told 'He [Pat] got himself into an altercation with Paddy. And mum was shouting at him, in the living room, to 'leave that man alone'. Anyway, Paddy grabbed his clothes, scurried out the house, putting them on, and ran out, and disappeared. And then mum was pregnant.' Aidan said his brother was scared for the future of his family as Fr Crowe continued to come around to the house. At one stage, Pat went to St John's Church in Norwich and told a senior priest Fr Crowe was the father of his little brother. Months later, after hearing nothing back, Pat returned to the church to demand that something be done. On this occasion, Aidan said his brother spoke with 'a more senior priest. He said: 'I want something done. Everyone knows what's going on here. Something needs to happen.'' Days later, Fr Crowe arrived at their family home and revealed he was being sent away. He never returned to the Wilson home but took up several new parishes, eventually settling in Luton. After Aidan finally discovered the truth about his father, he tried to get in touch with his relatives in Ireland. He said some were delighted to hear they had 'a piece of Paddy still alive', but others were less forthcoming. 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The Journal
09-07-2025
- The Journal
Irish anti-immigrant groups finding 'common ground' with NI loyalists and UK neo-Nazi networks
IRISH ANTI-IMMIGRATION campaigners are working alongside those who identify as British nationalists and Ulster loyalists as part of their activism, according to a new report published this morning. The report by the Institute of Strategic Dialogue, an anti-extremism think tank, details how Irish anti-immigration figures have promoted former-UVF members on social media and held tricolours next to loyalists waving the Ulster banner during protests. 'Groups who've historically been on opposite sides—Irish nationalists and Northern Irish loyalists—are now finding common ground in anti-migrant narratives,' Zoe Manzi, an ISD hate and extremism analyst and author of the report, said. 'It's a major shift that shows old ideological lines are breaking down, replaced by shared grievances that are driving a growing and increasingly visible anti-migrant movement across the island.' The report compares this collaboration to how Islamist and far-right groups can both amplify antisemitic conspiracy theories, despite being ideologically opposed to each other. As an example, the report also notes that Tommy Robinson, a far-right British nationalist was welcomed to Dublin by Irish nationalist figures such as Derek Blighe, the former leader of the unsuccessful Ireland First political party. Robinson, who has an extensive criminal history , has expressed support for Soldier F, an officer who an inquiry into the Bloody Sunday massacre of 1972 found to have killed multiple Irish civilians in Derry. Soldier F faces trial in September. The ISD report claims that an 'emerging cross-border infrastructure for anti-migrant mobilisation' was evident in recent riots against immigrants, including in the Antrim town of Ballymena. Advertisement The recent protests were celebrated by some nationalist groups in the Republic, as well as violence that broke out during protests against a centre for asylum seekers in Coolock, Dublin, last year. Representatives for the anti-IPAS protest group, Coolock Says No, also took part in Belfast anti-migrant protests that broke out after the Southport stabbings last year (which were falsely said to have been carried out by an asylum seeker, including by Irish anti-migrant groups). Glen Kane, a loyalist activist who has been convicted of kicking a Catholic to death during a riot in 1992, also attended that protest. The report warns that loyalist figures at these events now attended by Irish anti-immigration activists often have established ties to UK neo-Nazi networks, as well as far-right groups further afield. The report also details how protests in Ireland have been used by international far-right groups to push fringe agendas. 'These include British neo-Nazi and far-right networks (some with direct ties to Loyalist groups in Northern Ireland); North American influencers who frame Irish unrest as part of a broader cultural war; and Russian-aligned propaganda outlets promoting polarising content,' the report reads. However, rather than just amplifying Irish fringe viewpoints, the report claims that these international figures are also increasingly pushing their own narratives. This often involves inciting dissent into Ireland's political discourse in a new phase that the report says is characterised by 'street protests, intimidation, targeted violence and coordinated amplification online.' Want to be your own fact-checker? Visit our brand-new FactCheck Knowledge Bank for guides and toolkits Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... It is vital that we surface facts from noise. Articles like this one brings you clarity, transparency and balance so you can make well-informed decisions. We set up FactCheck in 2016 to proactively expose false or misleading information, but to continue to deliver on this mission we need your support. Over 5,000 readers like you support us. If you can, please consider setting up a monthly payment or making a once-off donation to keep news free to everyone. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Examiner
09-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
Irish nationalists and Northern Irish loyalists 'finding common ground' on immigration, research finds
Irish nationalists and Northern Irish loyalists are "finding common ground" in anti-migrant protests, according to new research. A new report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) finds protests that began as "localised expressions of opposition have grown into a more structured movement, with actors from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland participating in shared demonstrations and messaging". ISD's research points to a number of instances where Irish nationalist and Northern Irish loyalist groups appeared side by side at protest events. In August last year, representatives from Coolock Says No, an anti-immigration protest group, travelled to Belfast to participate in anti-migrant protests in the wake of a stabbing attack in Southport, England. The report says the "overlap" between Republic-based nationalist activists and Northern Irish loyalist networks "laid the groundwork for further collaboration" seen during protests in Ballymena and Limerick last month. This convergence reflects a broader trend in which traditionally opposed groups coalesce around common narratives. "This was observed in ISD's analysis of cross-ideological antisemitism following the October 7 attacks, where both Islamist and far-right actors amplified antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes," the report's authors say. The report says that some loyalist figures involved in these protests have "established ties to UK far-right and neo-Nazi networks", adding that Glen Kane, a former Loyalist paramilitary convicted of manslaughter for a sectarian killing in 1993 was present at an anti-migrant protest in Belfast 2024 alongside members of Coolock Says No, who had travelled from Dublin to participate. Protesters, the authors say, are increasingly crossing borders in both directions. In the same year, Kane was charged under public order legislation for possessing publications intended to incite racial hatred, including British National Party (BNP) materials and merchandise related to Britain First. "What stands out most is that groups who've historically been on opposite sides — Irish nationalists and Northern Irish loyalists—are now finding common ground in anti-migrant narratives,' said ISD hate and extremism analyst and author of the dispatch, Zoe Manzi. It's a major shift that shows old ideological lines are breaking down, replaced by shared grievances that are driving a growing and increasingly visible anti-migrant movement across the island. It adds that a "diverse range of international actors — including neo-Nazi and far-right networks — is embedding Ireland's domestic protests within wider global anti-migrant narratives". During the unrest seen in Ballymena last month following reports of an attempted sexual assault, some within the online anti-migrant ecosystem in the Republic of Ireland echoed core grievances promoted by loyalist actors, the report adds. It said this "demonstrates how anti-migrant sentiment on digital platforms resonates across ideological divides". It gives the example of Niall McConnell, a far-right activist and Independent election candidate from Donegal, who hosted Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) member Mark Sinclair on his Youtube channel at the height of the unrest. The pair discussed setting aside historical differences to work against the perceived threat caused by immigration.
