Lowry and Moriarity

littlesthobo

Cat Melodeon wrote: »

I'm still waiting for a list of things he has done that have contributed to the betterment of the country or North Tipp because statements like yours truly baffle me.

A list of things were mentioned further up.

Cat Melodeon wrote: »

I know you weren't fully serious

Thank you

Cat Melodeon wrote: »

anyone who knows anything about Nenagh Hospital know that it's the Nenagh Action Group that has lobbied and pressed for the retention of services at Nenagh and which has been much more effective than any of the TDs.

Agreed.

Cat Melodeon wrote: »

TDs get to take it in turns to announce the good news. That's true for all announcements really, you see it in the Tipp Star all the time : Lowry welcomes such and such a thing, Coonan confirms XYZ. It doesn't mean they did a tap to actually contribute to what's being announced, only that they get to be the messenger.

Agree with this, and Lowry got to be the messenger more than most so in the eyes of the public he was seen to be doing more for them and the votes follow

tipptom

What about the money Ben Dunne gave to Lowry for his workers at christmas time,he trousered the lot of it himself,he is a people man alright.

Budgie29

Budgie29 wrote: »

He is a tax cheat, has taken cash from businessmen and has lied to the Dail. North Tipp, the capital of gombeen redneck Ireland. You wont find too many morals down there. No wonder the country is in the state its in.

HE FIXED THE ROADS!!!

Seriously i don't like Lowry as much as anyone but keep the ignorant generalisations out of this thread.

I find it amazing how anyone from a town > 1 square mile have this big notion of their own sophistication that they could make a condescending remark about another area just because it isn't as densely populated or built up as their own.

You wouldn't mind most of the gangsters that was voted in in urban areas over the years in the likes of Dublin and yet you'd swear Lowry was the first.

Whether we like him or not fact is Lowry gets these jobs done for the people no matter how small the requests are and the people are blinded by these things because of the following reasons

1. People are so disillusioned by the political system that this is what they think politics consist of
2. There is no one else in the constituency that will do a tap for them.

But this is the greater state of the voting system in Ireland.

tipptom

I wish he would stop using the phrase,"as long as the people of North Tipperary keep supporting me" in his speeches.The vast majority of people in North Tipperary did not vote for him and most of the people i have been talking to that did not vote for him in North Tipp find him a very unsavoury character to be representing this area.

Vizzy

tipptom wrote: »

The vast majority of people in North Tipperary did not vote for him and most of the people i have been talking to that did not vote for him in North Tipp find him a very unsavoury character to be representing this area.

Agree with you entirely but unfortunately more people voted for him than anyone else -democracy huh.
Anyway you don't have to travel far to see plenty more gombeens being voted in ( Tipp SR or Kerry for example)

tipptom

Vizzy wrote: »

Agree with you entirely but unfortunately more people voted for him than anyone else -democracy huh.
Anyway you don't have to travel far to see plenty more gombeens being voted in ( Tipp SR or Kerry for example)

Definatly,and you only have to look to dublin with bertie ahern,liam lawlor and ray burke,but it does not do N T any favours when you get people who turned up at his PR arranged "homecoming",(you would swear it was somehing to be proud of),telling the RTE interviewer that"sure wasnt it better he gave the licence to an Irishman",and another tell him that he would flatten him against the wall if he mentioned the moriarity report again.Oh and Michael negotiated well for the people of NT when he had the power by getting a plum job for his 24 year old PR woman,where was the interest of NT there.

popebenny16

Oh goodie, a lowry thread!!

when moriarty came out (the report I mean) i had great wars on the twitter machine with the people who urged a boycott of tipperary, and who engaged in talk about rednecks, gombeens, idiots ect. The fact is that 70% of the electorite who voted did not vote for Lowry.

Not that the weekly Lowry aka the Tipperary Star would have you believe that. Take a look at the headines for the two weeks around the publication of the report, they are defesive of him and instead of addressing any of the issues raised in the report it speads out over two pages each week firstly his statement in Thurles and secondly his statement in the Dail. It also said that the people of Tipperary were in "defensive mode" as we were "called idiots and gombeens" and as such we were all rallying around to his cause.

The thing is that Lowry's supporters all cling to the man like a religious idol. Let me give you two examples, spoken to my face.

Firstly, during the election I was told by one Lowry supporter and voter how great he is, all he has done, this that, and then those lousy FF had cut her carers allowance, cut the dole, cut the medical cards. When I told her that Lowey had voted for every single one of those cuts in the Budget and also in the vote on the Social Welfare Bill she called me a FF supporter and just trying to do Lowry down.

Secondly, a few years ago my mother in law, also a big Lowry supporter, told me this one: There was this poor girl, she was flying to New York. Never been on a plane before, never in an airport. Sure didnt she get on the wrong plane!! There she was on her way to south africa!! She arrived at South Africa and in a panic rang her daddy, who didnt know what to do. Sure, I know, he says, I will ring Michael Lowry. "dont you worry, says Michael, I will take care of it" even though it was the middle of the night, the daddy was told Michael will take care of it.
An hour passed. The telephone rang again. "Hello", says the man " my name is Bernie Cahill, and the first thing I have to say to you is that your daughter is safe and sound. We have put her up for the night in a hotal at Are Lingus' exepense. We will get her to New York tomorrow, no expense will be spared"

The daddy had no idea who Bernie Cahill was, untill he explained that he was the chief of Aer Lingus and that Michael Lowry had telephoned him. But he was very thankful for the news and glad that it was all sorted out. Next day that poor lost girl went from South Africa back to New York.

I did try to point out how this could not in anyway shape or form happen, but my MIL has never been to an airport so how would she know? Besides she dismissed me as being from Dublin and again Lowry. There are many like her, they belive that a little girl got lost and Lowry got the sadly deceased Mr Cahill to rescue her. I am sure there are many similar stories spread about the place.

As for what Lowry "does", well, apart from "announcing" and "welcoming" things, he "gets people medical cards" and "stuff", which suggests to me that he can get people who dont deserve medical cards their cards (there is a means test) and likewise stuff regarding council decisions and whatnot.

Funny how, when it comes to decisions not based by public servants within north tipp, his influence suddenly evaporates. Did he stop Kellys of Fantane going bang? Dwans? Erin Foods? Sugar Factory? Has he created one single job in all of this time? What investments can he claim?

In the end it was all summed up by an exchange I had on the twitter machine during the election with a nice enough chap from borrisokane who had a child with Cerebal Palsey. He needed his child to be assessed, and his child was on a waiting list and this was causing him great angst. Fair enough, I am a father too, I would feel the same. But he deciced to try and get Hoctor and Coonan and Lowry on the case. He described Hoctor and Coonan as rubbish in that they could not help him. However, he said that after contacting Lowry wouldnt you know it, an appointment popped in the door for his child and that was why he was going to vote for lowry.

In this instance, I do not believe he was a plant for Lowry spinning a yarn like what was told to my MIL - i belive this happened. What I did not have the heart to say to this man, a well intentioned man, was that the morning he got that letter, another well intentioned man, a father of another child with CP, opened a letter telling him that his child's appointment had been deferred due to unforseen curcumstances. Imagine how that father must have felt, after doing all the waiting, and now his child goes back into the waiting list, all because, somehow, having promised a vote to Lowry, the first mans child got an appointment. And, no, you cannot ram in extra appointments into a day in the hospital, there is a set number in the morning and afternoon.

Of course, all TD's do this, or pretend they can, but when it is as blatent as the example above, maybe then you can see why he gets the vote he gets, as damning an indictment as it is for all concerned.