Reporting on Charleville protest

Residents of Pike Farm, Charleville, Co Cork, who have been picketing and protesting the home intended for use by persons recently discharged from mental hospitals, have not responded to what Village has written about their protest nor to two radio programmes about the siege in which I have been involved. However, a woman who describes herself as an occasional visitor to Pike Farm and a supporter of the protestors, Anne Marie O'Carroll, has written an email, taking issue with some of what I have written and broadcast.

She says the protestors were right not to have taken part in the radio programmes with me because there was good reason for them to believe I would not be fair to them. She bases this contention on a claim that on visiting Pike Farm myself on 8 May I went there "incognito", wearing a hat, and that in what I have written and broadcast I failed to report that one of the directors of Slí Eile (the organisation that has purchased the home and seeks to run it for five people who have suffered psychological and emotional breakdown) had told the protestors that they (Slí Eile) did not need the support of the residents to continue. She also claimed that I misrepresented the protest in that I failed to emphasise that none of the placards around the estate protesting against Slí Eile had mentioned any opposition to a home of the kind proposed. It was Slí Eile, not the idea of such a home, that the residents did not want.

The facts are these. I did wear a hat on going to Pike Farm on 8 May because Slí Eile thought the protestors would be further inflamed, were I recognised. However, within 20 minutes of arriving there, I introduced myself to the protestors and asked to speak with them. I interviewed members of the residents' association for over an hour and reported in Village and elsewhere that I had had such an interview. In addition, I went to every reasonable length to ensure that I fairly reported the perspective of the residents. I emailed the residents a draft of the article I had written for Village. I discussed that draft with Robert Fitzpatrick, chairman of the residents' association. I incorporated, I believe, all of the observations he made on the article. Subsequently I talked to his wife, Fiona Fitzgerald, and incorporated points made by her. I offered to incorporate points submitted to us by email, but regrettably the email arrived too late for this to be possible. Nevertheless, I believe that I had covered all the major issues with Robert and Fiona Fitzpatrick.

Whereas I had emailed an earlier draft of the article to Slí Eile, I did not email them the revised draft following discussions with Robert and Fiona Fitzpatrick. Thus, at least in that respect, I afforded the residents a more favourable input into the article than I did Slí Eile.

I do not pretend I am neutral between the two sides in this dispute, neither did I feign neutrality when I met the residents. I told them at the outset that I had known Joan Hamilton, the main sponsor of Slí Eile, for some time and that I had found their (the residents') behaviour shocking. I did acknowledge that on the basis of the information, which they had supplied and which I fully accepted, that Slí Eile had mishandled the situation initially but, as I told them face to face, I did not think this in any way justified the actions they had taken.

Finally, while I disagree strongly with what the residents have done, I do not believe they are disreputable or unworthy people. I think they have been backed into a corner (mainly by themselves, I should add, but also by misinformation and the initial mishandling of the situation by Slí Eile) in which many of them feel uncomfortable.

I strongly urged the residents to talk directly with Slí Eile but they kept repeating "too little, too late". I arranged for Joan Hamilton to apologise directly to Robert Fitzpatrick for mistakes made initially by Slí Eile. This she graciously did and he graciously accepted the apology, but other residents objected to his talking to Joan Hamilton.

I did not report the remark of an exasperated director of Slí Eile, who said they did not need the support of the residents, because I thought it inconsequential. Perhaps wrongly.

The columns of Village remain open to the Pike Farm residents to present their case.