Michael Crowe: Marathon Man

dilallio

http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/2875

Galway Advertiser, September 04, 2008.
By Kernan Andrews

Outspoken Fianna Fáil Cllr Michael J Crowe has come out fighting in support of his view that some trees are causing difficulties for residents in the city and defended himself against charges that he is the reincarnation of Oliver Cromwell or an idiot.
A recent story in the Galway Advertiser headlined ‘I’m sick of trees says Crowe’, carried Cllr Crowe’s call for the Galway City Council “to clear away all the trees that surround Galway Hibernians’ pitch in Bohermore”. In the same article Cllr Crowe said: “I am sick of trees all over this city causing annoyance at one level or another for residents.”
“And I am,” the Bohermore based councillor said in a statement to the Galway Advertiser this week. “I speak of trees right outside people’s homes, which residents feel are too big, too tall or too wild. They, like I, don’t want them felled but simply tidied up. It is an ongoing battle with Galway City Council to even get a small job like this done.”
However Cllr Crowe’s views led to a ream of letters from the public condemning his stance and labelling him a “redneck”, an “idiot”, and comparing him to the notorious Oliver Cromwell.
“I have my differences with many political opponents and disagree with people on various issues from time to time,” said Cllr Crowe. “A word for those same letterwriters last week, next time make your point but leave personal insults out of it. Just because you disagree with someone does not necessitate you resorting to name calling such as “Redneck, Idiot and Cromwell”. The sad thing is in this case you simply did not understand the gravity of the problem.”
Cllr Crowe said the best way to describe the problem is as follows:
“Imagine close to your house there is a small forest of trees. They have only been there for about four years. When they were first planted they looked lovely, nice and small and actually added to the amenity value of the area.
“As the years past the situation changed. The tress grew wild and almost out of control. People used the cover of the tress to dump in. This dumping included old washing machines, broken bottles and tin cans, black bags containing food and soiled nappies.
“The council cleaned it up and took away all of these. A few months later it happened again and this time it also attracted a large number of rats. The council came again and cleaned it up. It happened again and again the council cleaned it and again it happened.
“Now imagine all the while your four-year-old is playing ball a few feet from this with his friends. Your mam has to walk by this daily on the way down to the shop. You are worried the rats might get in to your home. It’s gone on so long, what needs to happen, is these trees need to go or else it could have serious health implications for yourself.”
Many letters of support for Cllr Crowe from Bohermore clubs and societies were sent to this newspaper this week for publication on the letters page, but they arrived too late for inclusion.

Malice

:eek: Wow, it's worse than I thought. Thanks for posting that.

Amhran Nua

celty wrote: »

This is the Council which has stumbled through at least two water crises (cryptosporidium and the weeks of shortages last winter) the Eyre Square revamp debacle, the Art House cinema fiasco, and the rezoning of a former Mayor's land, in contravention of their own plans.

If some of the people in the Council were in the private sector, they'd be worried about their jobs.

Seriously, you've no idea. Every one of them should be fired and made to reapply for their jobs, annually.

Malice

Amhran Nua wrote: »

Every one of them should be fired

out of a cannon?

snubbleste

celty

"I'm sick of Crowe" says everyone else

Is that what people elected him for? To try to get the Council to organise a marathon in opposition to two of the best known ultra-runners in Galway?

Guess he'd rather knock down trees than tackle 'real' Council problems, such as traffic congestion, overpriced car parking in the centre, poor provision of cycle lanes, housing need (rather than his own seven he happens to rent out!), the need for more public toilets and litter bins, proper parklands, etc, etc.

"Sure, lads, why sort out the Art house cinema when we could organise our own marathon ... and maybe knock down a few trees!"

dilallio

According to the Galway Advertiser Facebook Page,

The Only Way Is Ethics — Mike Crowe's in the clear over alleged ethics breach raised in the lead-up to the General Election.

snubbleste

dilallio wrote: »

According to the Galway Advertiser Facebook Page,

He is not in the clear. It was found he breached the legislation concerned. It's just he won't be prosecuted for it, according to the DPP and Galway City Council.
Fair play to the citizen who issued the original complaint.

Zzippy

Is it not a breach of ethics that his breach of ethics is investigated by a city manager, who relies on the approval of councillors i.e. votes, including Cllr. Crowe's vote, to get certain issues approved?

Crowe could do a Conneely and make life very awkward for the city manager in council meetings if he wanted to, surely its inappropriate that the manager is the official who can decide whether to prosecute him or not!

dilallio

snubbleste wrote: »

He is not in the clear. It was found he breached the legislation concerned. It's just he won't be prosecuted for it, according to the DPP and Galway City Council.
Fair play to the citizen who issued the original complaint.

I agree snubbleste.
I was only quoting verbatim an earlier post on Facebook by the Galway Advertiser.

Here is their subsequent post:

"Following a complaint received by the Ethics Registrar of Galway City Council dated 28th January 2011 in respect of alleged contraventions of the ethics requirements under the Local Government Act 2001 by Cllr M.J. Crowe, the City Manager, Mr. Joe O'Neill undertook an investigation in accordance with sections of the Act.

The City Manager has completed his investigation into this matter and, having taken advice on this issue, has found that while Cllr Crowe breached Section 171 of the Local Government Act 2001, no prosecution is warranted in this case as Cllr Crowe had acted in good faith in these issues.

The City Manager found that Cllr Crowe breached the provisions of Sections 171 and 177 but that he had acted in good faith in these matters and did not believe that he was required to include contracts he held with Galway City Council in his declaration under Section 171.

Following communication with the Director of Public Prosecutions, the City Manager will not be seeking consent to initiate legal proceedings against Cllr. Crowe. The DPP has advised that in light of the City Manager's finding that Cllr Crowe had acted in good faith that he would also not be intending to prosecute Cllr Crowe.

Cllr Crowe has been advised by the City Manager to seek the advice of the Ethics Registrar in relation to any contracts or business contacts he has with the Council, in advance of making any future declarations, in order to ensure full compliance with the ethics provision."

McTigs

Cllr Crowe told the Sentinel last night that the complaint was “politically motivated” but he added he was very happy that any questions over his integrity have been cleared up due to the City Manager and DPP’s decision not to prosecute.

No sorry so Michael.

Politically motivated my hole! Accept you did wrong and apologise and **** off.

snubbleste

Donovan is now threatening to sue Cllr. Crowe over his remarks which I think were broadcast in print and on the radio.

McTigs

Let's hope so, it wouldn't be the first time.

http://www.galwaynews.ie/18660-galway-runners-defamation-award

scholar007

snubbleste wrote: »

Donovan is now threatening to sue Cllr. Crowe over his remarks which I think were broadcast in print and on the radio.

Not only Crowe but he is also joining the City Council to the action - Wonder who is going to pay for the City Council's defence team? - Oh right, the taxpayer. Wonder who is going to pay any damages, should there be any awarded - Oh right the taxpayer!

Robbo

scholar007 wrote: »

Not only Crowe but he is also joining the City Council to the action - Wonder who is going to pay for the City Council's defence team? - Oh right, the taxpayer. Wonder who is going to pay any damages, should there be any awarded - Oh right the taxpayer!

Interesting. Have you seen the originating Civil Bill?

scholar007

Robbo wrote: »

Interesting. Have you seen the originating Civil Bill?

City Marathon organiser in legal action threat over comments

September 13, 2011 - 7:30am
Demand for retraction and apology from city councillor


By Dara Bradley
The organiser of the Galway City Marathon that was cancelled controversially last month, has threatened to sue a City Councillor and Galway City Council for libel.
Richard Donovan claims Cllr Mike Crowe (FF) made “serious and untrue allegations” against him in media; and the athlete and businessman says he will sue the Fianna Fáil Councillor and the local authority unless he receives a “very speedy and unreserved retraction and apology”.
Mr Donovan made the threat in an email he circulated to City Councillors last Friday. But yesterday a spokesperson for City Hall said: “The first we were made aware of this is when contacted by the Connacht Sentinel.”He had no additional comment to make.
And Cllr Crowe said he has had no contact from Mr Donovan since August and he hasn’t had contact from Mr Donovan’s lawyers.
Cllr Crowe reiterated that it was “unfortunate” that the Galway City Marathon was cancelled. “Any cause of action Mr Donovan decides to take is obviously a matter for himself. As far as I’m concerned the matter is over, and I’ve moved on,” he added.
However, in the email seen by the Sentinel, Mr Donovan says that Cllr Crowe alleged that he had not honoured an ‘agreement’ to give money from the 2010 marathon to various clubs in the City Sports Partnership.
But Mr Donovan claims he actually “gave many multiples of what I said I would give, culminating in close to €30,000 in charitable donations from that event alone”.
Mr Donovan continues in the email to suggest that despite a request, Cllr Crowe “has refused to unreservedly withdraw and apologise for his statements”.
He said the statement made by Cllr Crowe, about donations, is “a particularly damaging and hurtful one, especially given that the ethos of all my business operations is to donate substantial amounts to charity or worthy causes”.
Mr Donovan’s email added: “I must now receive a very speedy and unreserved retraction and apology from Galway City Council in a manner that is acceptable to me or I will be faced with no choice but to join the Council in a libel lawsuit against Cllr Crowe."

See above article from yesterdays Sentinel. I assume that should the council be included in the action and things don't go their way that tax payers money will be spent?

Robbo

There's a huge difference between threatening to sue and actually doing it; according to Crowe, he's received no correspondence so I'd regard this as being an exercise in sabre rattling. Moreover, I can't see how in good faith, the Council can be joined to this in that they aren't responsible in any way for his comments as publisher and I'm pretty sure that privilege doesn't enter into this.

The closest, to my mind, that this can be said to be "the taxpayer on the hook" is that if it does progress, Crowe's income under the RAS scheme may be paying his costs.

snubbleste

Crowe is threatening to withold support for the Council budget next week unless the funding for the 2012 Ironman is maintained.

Cllr Crowe added that he had been a “pivotal cog in the relationship wheel” between the organisors and the city officials

File photo being used again.

?Cee?view

That's his trying to look serious and intelligent look.

Miserable fail.

mikom

churchview wrote: »

That's his trying to look serious and intelligent look.

AKA constipated.

snubbleste

Crowe put down this motion at the last Council meeting.

"That this Council condemns the recent decision by the Labour party Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore to close the Irish Embassy in the Vatican and calls on Taoiseach Enda Kenny to intervene and reverse it". http://www.galwaycity.ie/AllServices/YourCouncil/CouncilMeetings/Agendas/2011/December/051211_01.doc

What's the agenda there

biko

How is that connected to the race?

snubbleste

It's not, it appears to be a random issue put forward by Crowe. I'm just interested to know why he would put down that motion, it's not exactly a local issue.

McTigs

i'm sick of embassies

eire.man

File photo being used again.
[/Quote]

doh!!

eire.man

biko wrote: »

How is that connected to the race?

in fairness it is and it isnt, it involves the gombeen who's ****ed one mans reputation up across the city in the actual paper and around the world permanently on galway advertisers website!!

biko

For general politics discussion please use Politics forum. This is so we don't mix several issues in one thread and things get mixed up.
Let's keep this thread on one single topic, Crowe and the race. Thx

Head The Wall

snubbleste wrote: »

Crowe put down this motion at the last Council meeting.


What's the agenda there

Maybe he's deeply religious?

factual lies

biko wrote: »

For general politics discussion please use Politics forum. This is so we don't mix several issues in one thread and things get mixed up.
Let's keep this thread on one single topic, Crowe and the race. Thx

Excuse the pun but the "marathon man" section of the thread name has run its course. Could we just not rename the thread Michael Crowe ?

biko

Not really as most general politician threads we've had has just been a way for people to vent (which is usually fine) but also get digs in and calls these people names. I understand that some people are angry and want to vent but it can also go too far sometimes.
The thread then gets too risque and difficult to mod.
We have a Politics section and any politician (their politics) can be discussed there.