Gardaí warn of ‘completely inaccurate' misinformation circulating over death of Garda Kevin Flatley
Gardaí have warned the public of 'completely inaccurate' information circulating online about the
death of Garda Kevin Flatley
.
Gda Flatley became the 90th member of An Garda Síochana to lose his life while on duty when he was struck by a motorbike on the R132 near Lusk in Co Dublin on Sunday morning.
An alleged eyewitness account of the incident has been circulated on social media.
In a statement, Gardaí said the account has 'no basis whatsoever in fact.
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'This type of misinformation also risks diverting Garda resources and time from what is a complex and ongoing investigation into this collision.
'We have regularly highlighted the rise in the level of misinformation, disinformation and fake news.'
The statement went on to criticise 'misinformation, disinformation and fake news (which) are typically amplified by multiple accounts in order to spread concern within communities.
'We appeal to all members of the public to independently verify any information that you are reading on social media and/or messaging apps.'
Gardaí have referred the misinformation report to the social media companies involved.
They added: 'It is a matter for them to comment on requests from An Garda Siochana for this material to be removed from their platforms.'
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RTÉ News
41 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
How misinformation took hold in the aftermath of Carlow shooting
Just after 6pm on Sunday 1 June in the centre of Carlow Town a 22-year-old man discharged a firearm inside a supermarket at the Fairgreen Shopping Centre. The man later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was the sole fatality. While there was understandable panic in the shopping centre, it was amplified online by false claims, misinformation, and disinformation about the number of victims and nature of the incident. The only other person physically hurt was a young girl who sustained a minor leg injury while fleeing the scene. She was treated by ambulance personnel and later brought home by family members. In the hour after the incident prominent individuals online claimed falsely that a child had been shot, that the gunman was a foreign national, and that the incident was a terror attack with multiple casualties. Some of these claims first appeared on online accounts with small followings. Others were amplified by prominent anti-immigration campaigners, at least one of whom travelled to Carlow to film the scene. What followed was a fast-moving and often chaotic swirl of information, in which rumour outpaced fact, and where the Gardaí ultimately felt compelled to issue unusually detailed public statements to try to calm public concern and set the record straight. Here's how that narrative took hold, step by step. The first claims appear Gardaí received multiple reports of shots being fired in the Fairgreen Shopping Centre shortly after 6:15pm on Sunday evening. Armed Garda units responded to the scene, and members of the public were quickly assisted to leave the area. While some local media, including radio station KCLR 96FM, had begun reporting on the incident as early as 7:05pm — noting that Gardaí were dealing with an incident and that shots were believed to have been fired — the first official Garda statement didn't come until 7:27pm. In it, Gardaí said the area had been evacuated and specified that there was no "further concern for public safety." The statement also urged anyone who had recorded footage of the incident "not to share it on social media platforms or messaging apps, but instead to provide it to Gardaí at Carlow Garda Station." It was an early indication of concern about a narrative that was already beginning to spiral online. In the period between the initial incident and the first Garda statement, a trickle of posts on X began to appear — mostly expressing confusion and concern about what had happened. Before long, speculation was spreading rapidly across social media. By around 6:51pm, some users were falsely claiming there were multiple shooters. At 7:05pm, a commenter on a fringe online forum claimed the incident was a "terror attack" and that the gunman had been "shot dead." Gardai would later specify that the gunman was a white Irish male, however the commenter inferred the person was non-white, saying "gunman shot dead. Have we been given his colour chart number yet?" By 7:13pm, others on X were alleging that a nine-year-old had been shot in the leg and that Gardaí had returned fire on an attacker, neither of which was true. One user posted around the same time claiming they'd heard "reports" of up to five injuries resulting from the shooting. Videos were soon circulating, in one filmed outside the shopping centre a voice could be heard saying "they f**king shot him down," adding to the confusion. At 7:20pm, Cork-based Derek Blighe the founder of the nationalist and immigration-focused 'Ireland First' party, weighed in on X. "Unconfirmed Reports of a mass shooting in Carlow," he wrote, "apparently 7 people including a child have been shot." In a video posted alongside the caption, Mr Blighe — who has been unsuccessful in several recent elections — speculated that the individual responsible had "been shot dead." His video also included a screengrab of a Facebook comment thread showing incorrect information about the incident, including that a nine-year-old had been shot. Mr Blighe commands a sizeable online following and regularly posts during high-profile incidents. Minute-by-minute analysis of posts on X containing the word 'Carlow' at the time shows a marked increase in activity following his comment. Gardaí issued the aforementioned first public statement providing the initial account of the incident shortly after. But the statement, that said there was "no further concern for public safety," did little to stem the spread of rumour. At 7:31pm, a user on X posted that: "rumours are a migrant went into the shopping center and started shooting." At 7:35pm, online outlet known for publishing hardline and often sensationalist content, posted to its near 70,000 followers that "Gardai appear to have shot an active shooter at a Carlow Shopping Centre." It followed up with a series of posts including one saying: "A 9-yr-old child has been shot during the crossfire." Traditional media sources began reporting on the incident soon after. Some local media had shared brief updates on social media earlier in the evening, but most outlets held off until Gardaí released their first official statement at 7:27pm. RTÉ News published its first online story at 7.40pm, reporting that a man had died and that a child had been injured. The report added that details of the incident remained "unclear" but that it appeared "a man fired a number of shots," and that it appeared the man had died as a result of "self-inflicted" gunshot wounds. Despite these emerging reports, false information continued to be shared elsewhere for hours. Shortly after at 8pm, Tommy Robinson, founder of the English Defence League, began amplifying false claims about the incident, saying "Multiple reports of a suspected terror attack in Carlow, Ireland. Gunman shot dead by Gardaí." Robinson, who was jailed in the UK for contempt of court in October after repeating false claims about a Syrian refugee, was released from prison last month. He has previously posted inflammatory claims related to events in Ireland, often amplifying false or unverified information. Despite the posts from Mr Blighe, and Robinson being inaccurate, they remain online more than a week after the incident. Influencers on the scene As speculation intensified online, Philip Dwyer, an unsuccessful candidate in the most recent general election and self-styled 'citizen journalist', travelled to Carlow to film outside the Fairgreen Shopping Centre. In a live video stream, which started at 8:27pm, Mr Dwyer approached frontline emergency service personnel and asked them how many casualties there have been. When they declined to answer, he told viewers that "the next thing they'll be going around in their LGBT fire engines." He later accused them of "belligerence." Earlier that day, he had been livestreaming from an anti-immigration protest in Clonmel. That stream drew just 6,000 views. His Carlow stream, filmed hours later amid public fear and confusion, has since been viewed more than 80,000 times. On his social channels, Mr Dwyer includes links inviting followers to donate to his mission to "expose Ireland." He also offers a subscription service, with an 'Ultra Tier' option of up to $100 a month to help him "expose the madness." The official response A second Garda statement was issued at 9pm on Sunday, confirming that the gunman was a white Irish male who was known to Gardaí and had died at the scene. It was notably specific, appearing to be partly an attempt to address misinformation by countering circulating claims. The statement also gave media outlets more verified details to report. RTÉ News followed up its earlier online coverage in the Nine O'Clock News bulletin after the second Garda statement was issued. Again, even with verifiable information now widely available about the incident, rumours continued to spread. Users like Mr Blighe repeated unverified claims about explosives and tactical gear in a post on X at 9:07pm. International escalation While the volume of posts about Carlow peaked around 8pm, the reach — the number of people viewing and engaging with those posts — continued to climb, peaking at 10pm. As with previous incidents, the Carlow shooting revealed a pattern in how information and misinformation now spreads. In the crucial early hours, the facts often become secondary, with online figures racing to insert themselves into the narrative before the full picture emerges. And as the night wore on, accounts with international followings began wading in to the discourse. One of the most widely shared falsehoods came from the account @CilComLFC, which regularly posts Ireland-related anti-migrant content, and has recently been amplified by X owner Elon Musk. At around 10:50pm, it shared a video of Gardaí responding to an unrelated incident weeks previously in Dublin city centre, alongside a caption containing terminology which would be familiar to a US audience. "Today's Shopping Mall Massacre, which saw a 9-year-old girl shot by a man who had explosives strapped to his body, has enraged the General Public," the post said. The post, though entirely false, was viewed more than 5.7 million times. The aftermath By Monday afternoon, the facts had settled. At 12:30pm, Gardaí issued their fourth statement, setting out in detail what had occurred. It confirmed that the gunman was a 22-year-old Irish man who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. No Garda had discharged a weapon. Additionally, it said that a bottle containing an unknown substance was found on the deceased, prompting the involvement of the Defence Forces' Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team. The gunman It later emerged that the man with the weapon, named Evan Fitzgerald, was on bail having been arrested last year as part of a Garda investigation into the sale of firearms on the dark web. He had been facing 13 charges related to firearms, ammunition, and explosives, and was granted bail with Garda consent under strict conditions. The Director of Public Prosecutions has since directed that the charges be withdrawn. On Tuesday morning, during a sitting of Naas District Court, Judge Desmond Zaidan addressed what he described as "sensational headlines" about Fitzgerald having been out on bail at the time of the shooting. While that was true, he said, crucial context about the court's limited power to deny bail in such cases was omitted from much of the reporting. His comments came after several outlets highlighted the bail decision in their headlines, but did not always explain that consent from Gardaí meant a judge had no discretion to refuse it. "Once gardaí consent to bail, the court cannot go beyond that — remember that," he said. Bail had been granted to Fitzgerald on consent in March 2024. "This judge or no judge in Ireland has the power to go behind that… They'd be running to the High Court if I did," he added. "Please report sensibly. Please tread carefully." The judge's comments were themselves widely reported on by media outlets. 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Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Video emerges in Cork of man appearing to perform Nazi salute amid jeering between protest groups
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The Irish Sun
10 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Republic of Ireland's toothless attack fires blanks as Heimir Hallgrimsson's side stumble to bore draw in Luxembourg
AND the winners from Ireland's last game before their summer holidays were the players already on their summer holidays. 2 Ireland players leave the field after a scoreless draw against minnows Luxembourg 2 Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson won't be happy with the end-of-season showing on his birthday A 0-0 draw against the Grand Duchy was as good as it got, as Ireland never looked like losing and rarely looked like winning. In truth, it was typical end of season friendly fare on the final day before everyone on the pitch goes on their summer holidays. But it meant the real winners were those that Hallgrísson had told to go on their holidays already. When picking his squad, he left out the majority of Championship players because their season finished five weeks ago telling them to rest up for the World Cup qualifiers. read more on football In fact, they told them to take a holiday this year because there would be none next year as Ireland prepared for the World Cup! If Josh Cullen, Finn Azaz et al were watching last night in a beach bar, they will have seen that they were missed and should be back in the side for the autumn qualifiers. This June window has seen the emergence of That said, it was a game that Ireland could still have won. Most read in Football But a win would have just painted over the cracks that Ireland's performance was well below par - especially in the first half. Heimir Hallgrimsson gives first call-up to four Ireland players in squad for friendlies vs Senegal and Luxembourg During that 45 minutes, an average team - nevermind a good one - would have punished the Boys in Green. Fortunately, Luxembourg are below average as their one win in the past 18 months proves with their team having more problems than simply getting results. That was evident even before kick-off from the banners around the ground aimed at the local FA - FLF - and the selection of Gerson Rodrigues. In March, he lost his appeal against a conviction for three assault and battery charges, including one on his former girlfriend. There were banners in the stands that made the feelings of many Luxembourgers clear. 'Red card for violence against women' and'Shame on you, FLF' were hung while red cards were brandished by a small section of fans. Rodrigues was also booed, but the majority of that came from the Ireland fans who had little to cheer from their own team. There were five changes to the team as Max O'Leary came in for his debut and Hallgrímsson spoke about how his side have got the 'basics' right but there were few signs of that in Luxembourg as they struggled to gain any foothold. The warning signs were there early on as Collins hit a long diagonal that Robbie Brady could not keep in play and Dara O'Shea was cajoling his teammates to up the tempo. By ten minutes, boss Hallgrímsson was standing on the edge of his technical area, and moved Will Smallbone more centrally after 25 minutes, as his head hardly got a kick. The summer holidays start today but Luxembourg were often able to glide through the Ireland midfield as if they were already in flip flops. Had Luxembourg posed a real threat, they could have punished Ireland but the positive - if we are clutching at straws - was the Boys in Green's backline did hold firm. Debut goalkeeper O'Leary had little to do but did it well coming and making a few catches cleanly though his distribution was erratic. In fairness to him, neither Troy Parrott nor Evan Ferguson were getting any favours from Austrian referee Stefan Ebner despite some robust Luxembourg challenges. But the ball was not sticking to either of them and meant that the Irish backline was continually under pressure. O'Leary had to make a decent save to turn away a Danel Sinani shot from distance after Ferguson gave the ball away and allowed the Luxembourg front man to race forward. Early in the second half, O'Leary again did well when he denied Laurent Jans' effort from a tight angle with his legs after Parrott had lost possession in his own half. Later, he saw a cross from Vincent Thill come back off the butt of his post. And the second half did see Luxembourg pepper O'Leary's goal more often though, in truth, they were largely from distance where you never expected Ireland to concede. That said, Ireland did create chances too and could have won without playing well. Collins came close to an opening goal just before half time when he headed against the post after O'Shea had headed a deep Smallbone free kick back across goal. Early in the second half, Friday's goal scorer McAteer showed his attacking flare with a run from inside his own half and shot that fizzed just wide. And the winger was involved in Ireland's next decent chance when he arrived at the far post to drill Ryan Manning's left cross from the left into the six-yard box. Unfortunately for Ireland, Parrott could not adjust his feet quick enough to turn the ball in as he was then adjusted to have handled the ball as it bounced up awkwardly. Parrott did have the ball in the net on 67 minutes but it was rightly ruled out for offside as he made his run onto McAteer's pass too early. And McAteer - who was moved to the left flank in the second half before going off - also flashed a shot wide as he stretched to reach a ball over the top from Jake O'Brien. Taylor also saw a 20-yard drive cannon off the crossbar four minutes from time that could have earned the Boys in Green a win. But Ireland are going to have to play a lot better in the autumn World Cup qualifiers. Luxembourg 0 Ireland 0
