Latest news with #O'Doherty
RTÉ News
14-05-2025
- RTÉ News
Solicitor hopes mother's case against Gemma O'Doherty can proceed
The solicitor representing a bereaved mother who is suing former journalist Gemma O'Doherty has said he hopes the case can now proceed to a full hearing following a recent High Court judgment. An application made by Ms O'Doherty to strike out the case, after she claimed the action against her was unfounded and unlawfully funded, was refused in the High Court on 29 April. Edel Campbell is taking legal action against Ms O'Doherty, trading as The Irish Light, after the alleged unauthorised use of an image of Ms Campbell's son Diego Gilsenan who died by suicide. It is alleged that Ms O'Doherty had unlawfully used his image in an article linking unexplained deaths to the Covid-19 vaccination. Ms Campbell also claimed she has been the subject of a campaign of harassment by Ms O' Doherty after taking legal action against her. In June 2023, Ms Campbell's lawyers obtained orders from the court against Ms O'Doherty, including an injunction restraining the defendant from harassing, intimidating or communicating with Ms Campbell and her family. In emails to the plaintiff's lawyers, Ms O'Doherty denied the defendant's allegations and rejected all claims that she has done anything wrong. On 10 April last year, Gemma O'Doherty was arrested at her home and brought before the High Court over an alleged breach of an injunction ordering her not to harass Edel Campbell. Ms O'Doherty told the High Court that the case taken against her over her alleged harassment of the mother of a young man who died by suicide is part of a targeted campaign funded by third parties who are out to silence her. Ms O'Doherty repeatedly claimed the case was being funded by third parties and therefore any injunction against her was also illegal. In a judgment two weeks ago, Mr Justice David Nolan said after considering the evidence "it would be inappropriate to prevent this case, at this preliminary stage, going to trial". He stated that the purpose of the plaintiff's GoFundMe page is clearly stated. He said the donations are to assist the plaintiff, in what the person who established the page said, "and presumably by the people who made the donations believe, to be a battle against hate and negativity". He said there is no evidence to suggest champerty, and the evidence that is before the court suggests that the donations are for a charitable purpose. "Therefore I refuse the application to dismiss the case on the grounds that it is maintenance and champerty." The case appeared in court again today. Ms O'Doherty did not attend. Mr Justice Nolan directed the plaintiff's costs to be paid for by the defendant. Afterwards the solicitor representing Ms Campbell, Ciarán Mulholland, said in a statement that this judgment is a significant step forward for Ms Campbell in her efforts "to protect her son's memory, family integrity, personal privacy but also to seek accountability for the suffering and harm caused by Ms O'Doherty".
RTÉ News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Irish at conclave on what they want to see in new pope
The election of a new pope starts today, with cardinals from around the world set to begin the process of voting. And, while no one knows when white smoke will emerge, or even who will be the next head of the Roman Catholic Church, there is much anticipation. Many people are coming here in anticipation of the election of a new pope - and some of those people are Irish. Ann-Marie O'Doherty from Co Donegal said it was on her bucket list to come to witness the conclave after the death of Pope Francis. She was diagnosed with cancer 14 months ago. "I don't regularly go to mass. I don't regularly go to confession but I think it is in my DNA. For most Irish Catholics we feel the same. It's in our DNA. I can't deny it," she said. She has studied the mechanics of the conclave and hope that Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will be the next pope. "I think that he would take up Pope Francis mantle of inclusion. They call him the 'Asian Francis'. He is extremely charismatic and he is young. We want to keep young people in the Church so you have to look at him. "I will stay until the white smoke comes up," she added. The white smoke Ms O'Doherty talks about is not expected to happen today. This morning, cardinals celebrated a special mass - the Holy Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff - in St Peter's Basilica. This afternoon, they will walk in procession to the Sistine Chapel where the conclave will start at 4.30pm. Once the cardinals enter the conclave all access to the outside world is cut off. The Vatican issued a statement saying it would cut the phone signal during the conclave. But that will not deter Ms O'Doherty from remaining in Rome. She, coming here for the first time, feels peace and the anxiety of facing her cancer diagnoses has dissipated. "I was looking forward to retirement. I got a pretty devastating diagnosis 14 months ago. "Perhaps that drove me to this journey to go back to what is it all about. "I am staring at my mortality. I have done all the crying. All of the what ifs, but today arrive to St Peter's … the one thing I have not had since my diagnosis is peace. I feel peaceful," Ms O'Doherty added. Carlow family hopes new pope will follow in Francis's footsteps The election of the new Pope works on a two-thirds majority. The first ballot is expected this evening. Voting will then happen four times daily after that - twice in the morning and twice in the evening. On the run up to the conclave, last Friday, a special stove was installed in the Sistine Chapel. After each round of voting cardinals' ballots are burnt until a new pope is picked. Black smoke indicates that the required majority for a new pope has not been found. White smoke means that a Pope is elected. Denise O'Mahony, Barry McKeown, and their sons Kevin and Rory McKeown from Carlow organised a trip to Rome on holidays for this week. That is something they are delighted that coincided with the election of a new pope. They are waiting for the white smoke and hope the new pope will follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis. Ms O'Mahony said the Roman Catholic Church is at a crossroads. "They need to include women and young people more," she said. 17-year-old Rory McKeown said: "I think that it important that there is an aspect of change. There needs to be representation from outside of Europe. Catholicism is a worldwide religion - so we need a worldwide approach." With the Catholic population growing in Asia and Africa, it is thought that cardinals lean toward an Asian or African pope. Some say that would be more representative of the 1.4 billion baptised Roman Catholics worldwide. Archbishop John Kennedy, the Head of the Disciplinary Section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican said there were some "essential qualities" a pope has to have. He told RTÉ's Morning Ireland: "He has to be a kind compassionate love pastor with a pastor's heart. "The next pope will be conscious of what the predecessors were like and try to bring his own gifts to the future." He said ideology and geography will play a role but that "the whole of idea of gathering in the conclave is to bring all of these elements and to coalesce them in to one particular view". "The pope is the pope of the whole Catholic Church - 1.4 billion people - and not just from a particular nation," he added.
The 42
30-04-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Death In The Afternoon: How a young soldier met his fate on the pitch 100 years ago today
WHEN YOU PIECE it all together, the story of Hugh O'Doherty pulls in all the threads that bound together the aspects of rebellion, the War of Independence, the formation of the Irish Free State and a National Army, and the fledging GAA as a cultural and sporting body. Just over a century ago, O'Doherty was three days short of his 23rd birthday and despite his relative youth had lived through much already. In this latest guise of his life, he was a soldier of the Irish Army, based in Finner camp outside Ballyshannon, Co Donegal. 'Young Doherty came to Finner camp with the first detachment of the National Army immediately after mobilisation,' noted a Ballyshannon correspondent in the Omagh-based newspaper, 'The Ulster Herald.' 'With his comrades, as well as the people of Ballyshannon and Bundoran – indeed all over Tír Chonaill, where he was known as a clean and gentlemanly footballer – he was extremely popular,' the account continued. 'Of a cheery disposition he always saw the bright side of things. A true sportsman, a win or defeat on the football pitch was all the same – he accepted either in the proper sporting spirit. He was looked upon as one of the best footballers in Co Donegal.' Playing for Ballyshannon against Dunfanaghy was a typical afternoon for him. But the later evidence to an inquest at the Sheil Hospital of Sergeant James Campbell, of An Garda Siochana Ballyshannon, who attended the match as a spectator, showed how the day soon turned catastrophic. After 20 minutes the ball was kicked towards the Dunfanaghy goals. Doherty, playing for Ballyshannon, positioned himself under the ball at the same time as the Dunfanaghy goalkeeper, Hugh McGinley. In the evidence, McGinley was said to have jumped higher and while both men were in the air, the goalkeeper's knee caught O'Doherty in the stomach. He fell on his back, his head striking the ground. After some time spent collecting himself, he walked off the pitch unassisted. Some time after, Patrick Kennedy from Ballyshannon walked past O'Doherty who was kneeling on his knees behind the goal and asked him was he badly hurt. - 'I'm done,' came the wounded response. Kennedy suggested he was merely winded and offered some first aid. O'Doherty asked if he could get a drink and with the help of another boy, Kennedy brought him across the railway line in search of a tap. Halfway there, O'Doherty collapsed, remarking he could go no further. Advertisement A newspaper report of the match in which Hugh O'Doherty lost his life. He was lifted and brought to the railway platform and access to a water tap. They then conveyed O'Doherty into a Mr Cowley's motor that brought him to the home of a Dr J D Gordon. Dr Gordon's evidence was that the victim was at the time suffering from a great deal of abdominal pain. He administered one-eighth of a gram of morphia and sent him to the Shiel Hospital. Later that evening, Dr Gordon called at the hospital and O'Doherty was more stable. On Monday morning at 10am, Dr Kelly and Dr Donovan of Finner Camp consulted with O'Doherty and his condition appeared to be improving, but would soon deteriorate. At 5pm it was decided to operate. They discovered a large rupture on the upper part of his small intestine, while there was a good deal of intestinal contents in his abdominal cavity. Naturally, this was seriously alarming. Around 45 minutes into the operation, he died. Dr Kelly believed this to be due to shock and peritonitis, with a sudden blow capable of inflicting the damage, with Dr O'Donovan corroborating. Rev E O'Harte, Finner Camp, stated he refereed the game. He gave his sequence of events, and how a crowd had gathered around the stricken player on the turf, before being instructed to disperse. He told the coroner O'Doherty made no complaint about being struck by any other player. The jury returned a verdict that Hugh O'Doherty came to his death according to the medical evidence from shock and peritonitis due to the rupture of his bowels. The coroner, PJ O'Dolan of Dunfanaghy, Mr J Norton of Ballyshannon GAA, all expressed sympathy with the relatives of the deceased on his sad bereavement. After the inquest at 10pm on the Tuesday night, the remains were conveyed from Hospital to the Finner Camp with military honours. The coffin, mounted on a gun carriage and covered with a tricolour while a company of his comrades marched behind with arms reversed. An enormous crowd of Ballyshannon people turned out. Mass was on the Wednesday at camp. The remains were brought to Omagh, where they were met by a large crowd of people. The coffin, still shrouded with the tricolour, was borne on the shoulders of his acquaintances and brought to his parent's home in Kevlin Road, where Hugh O'Doherty senior and his wife Bella lived. On Thursday, Requim Mass took place in the Sacred Heart, celebrated by Fr Lagan. Members of the Free State army accompanied the remains and acted as pall-bearers. Wreaths were sent from a wide and varied collection of bodies such as the Irish National Forresters, St Eugene's Brass and Reed band, the committee and members of St Patrick's Hall, Omagh, Dunfanaghy and Aodh Ruadh Ballyshannon clubs, Ballyshannon United soccer club and the Omagh Motorman's Association, reflective of a man who spread himself across many diversions. However, trouble arrived prior to the funeral. On the Wednesday night, it was reported that two RUC men went to the house of Hugh O'Doherty senior and gave warning that the flag of the Irish tricolour would not be permitted to fly the following day. O'Doherty then pointed out that funeral arrangements would be the business of the Free State Army and brought two of the officers to the door, who had accompanied the remains. One of the policemen said, 'It is a scandal to carry that flag through the streets of Omagh.' A Free State officer asked if the Free State flag was not recognised in the six counties and received an answer, 'We know nothing about you fellows. Remember you are in the six counties now.' After some more discussion and rancour the RUC men left, vowing to remove by force any Irish tricolours should they appear on the day of the funeral. However, one of the policemen returned later that day and said that the flag could be displayed at the funeral. A little further digging into the story revealed that Hugh, along with his brother Jim, had to get out of Omagh some years earlier, owing to their subversive activities. After receiving a tip-off about an impending arrest, they made across the border. In 1941, his mother, Bella, was sent a medal in recognition for his contribution to the War of Independence. As he was deceased at the time, his name was engraved on the medal. Some years later, when Hugh Jnr's brother John passed away having lived in Cabra, Dublin, the Ulster Herald newspaper ran an obituary that contained some revealing details. 'The deceased gentleman was a member of an old and respected Catholic family, the members of which had taken an active part in the struggle for Irish Independence. Hugh O'Doherty's medal for his part in the War of Independence. 'The late Mr Doherty served the 2nd Northern Division IRA in the Omagh area until the British agents got to know of his activity when he was forced to go 'on his keeping.' At the same time, his brother Mr Hugh O'Doherty, also of the 2nd Northern Division had to go on the run…' Their escape was a long and arduous one, no doubt, on a horse and cart making their way across the border and into Pettigo in Donegal. When they reached that point, the border patrol stopped them and were attempting to relieve the company of their horse and cart. That was before one of the patrol – who himself came from Omagh – recognised Hugh O'Doherty and after renewing acquaintances, allowed them to continue on their way. His resting place is in Killyclogher graveyard today, his death marked as 100 years ago today. His medals came into the care of his father Hugh and was passed on to his brother Joseph when he passed away. They remained on top of a wardrobe while the children were growing up and are kept safe today, a reminder of a tumultuous time in Irish history. *** Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
