Whose benefit is it anyway?

by Mike

Is it worth drudging up the past for the sake of getting into the newspapers one more time? That was the thought I had when I read of the comments made by Mr Justice Paul Carney during a lecture in Cork on Wednesday.

Mr Carney presided over the trial of Wayne O’Donoghue, who was found not guilty of murdering his 11-year-old neighbour and friend Robert Holohan, but guilty of his manslaughter. The High Court Judge, during his lecture, was critical of Holohan’s mother and the remarks she made in her impact statement at the sentencing of O’Donoghue.

In response a statement was made by Majella Holohan saying that she was hurt and offended by the remarks of Mr Carney. It just made me wonder why someone would need to bring this up all over again when the matter has been done and dusted since January 2006.

It is interesting to me that Mr Carney complains that Mrs Holohan was given an iconic status by the media, in particularly the tabloids who had enthusiastically adopted her remarks and stirred up hatred towards O’Donoghue. Do Mr Carney’s comments not stir up the media once more? I would’ve thought it must as I am writing about this now and Newstalk is currently discussing it as I write this.

The media did latch onto the case when the story broke, as they always do. It’s broken down simply into fodder and it easily fills pages and pages of speculation, “exclusives” and detailed accounts of how the family is coping. It draws us all in and the media realises this and tries to stretch it out for as long as possible.

I feel sorry for the Holohan family, what they had to go through in the glaring spotlight of the media was more then anyone should. I think the impact statement is important and should be used more.

People who commit crimes, such as this, need to gain an understanding of how their actions affect other people. The problem is now that too many just don’t care and most believe they will not be caught.

I think we have to look at all the problems across the board. I will constantly wonder whose benefit Mr Justice Paul Carney was making those comments for.

Thursday, October 11th, 2007 and is filed under Thoughts & Questions, Views on News.