LUKE FLANAGAN

Calahonda52

Whatever you think of him as an MEP. the perp here should have got 10 years: he will probably walk with community service

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/0228/1434841-luke-ming-flanagan/

MrMusician18

10 years?! C'mon.

Even the 1 year the prosecution is seeking is harsh imo.

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121827890#Comment_121827890

Is it? I'm no fan of Flanagan but this man tried to destroy him. He knew the damage that kind of tweet could do. It could have ended his career, his marriage and his standing in the eyes of his children. It was an utterly contemptible thing to do and I think it deserves a custodial sentence.

Princess Calla

I'm thinking an example will be made of him to deter others from doing the same.

My knowledge of politics is pretty embarrassing, however from what I can see we are fairly good at seperating the politician from the person, unlike some other countries.

I think we need to ensure this is preserved.

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121828372#Comment_121828372

It is a gross exaggeration to think that would end his career, marriage or standing in the eyes of his children. For the most part, people didn't believe his denials anyway until an arrest was made 2 years later and his career didn't end or any of the other bad outcomes didn't happen in the meantime.

In fact, there was another politician that liked "milfs" blamed hackers and is still around. Doesn't get much of a mention.

Podge_irl

Mr Flanagan told the court that the hacking of his Twitter account had been a "cold, calculated and skillfully carried out attempt" to destroy him.

He's absolutely correct here. That was done in a very methodical way to the point where most people (myself included) ridiculed his "I was hacked" line. There was thought put into how best to do this.

I think a year is probably overboard, though prosecution over overreach on these things, but I would have no real issue with a custodial sentence.

L.Ball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058338238/luke-flanagan

I could rack up 99 convictions, then crack you across the head and rob you, or vice versa, and neither of us would likely see a day in jail, and you want 10 years for finessing someone's password? you want fries with that as well?

duffysfarm

Part of me thinks the former staff member took one for the team

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121828957#Comment_121828957

It's not a gross exaggeration. Flanagan had done campaigning for Saoirse McHugh when she was running in the Dail elections in early 2020. He had posted pictures of them together on his social media pages. Presumably he had done this because he respected her political views. No doubt a lot of his followers and friends and family would have been aware of this.

Had he really send out that tweet it would have put an entirely different spin on his motives. He would have gone from an experienced politician helping out an up and coming politician to a middle aged man creeping on someone 20 years younger than him.

As for "his career didn't end or any of the other bad outcomes didn't happen in the meantime". Firstly regarding his career: He hasn't been in front of the voters since then. Had this not been resolved it would have been a major cloud hanging over him coming into the next election and could very well have cost him his seat. As for his personal life. Who knows what has gone on there. Just because he didn't get divorced in the meantime doesn't mean that it didn't cause problems with his personal relationships. What we do know is that he said in court that his children were shouted abuse at by strangers and mocked by other children in school.

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121827890#Comment_121827890

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121828957#Comment_121828957

Not really a good look defending hackers and someone trying to ruin a person career and life

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121829668#Comment_121829668

You'll be able to show where I've defended the hacker here then. Oh wait ,no you won't because I didn't.

What I did say was that I thought 10 years is a ridiculous suggestion for a sentence and that 1 year that the prosecution was seeking was harsh.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121827890#Comment_121827890

It is not about Flanagan though, it about spreading false information and misleading the public.... and given the damage that can cause it needs to be a lot more than a year to deter these clowns.

Perhaps you don't know how social media works....

If you are going for a job that includes serious responsibility for example, you can expect your employer will ask a specialist company to do a report on you. Something some vindictive person put up on social media may end up in that report, your employer might decide to dig a bit deeper to check it out or they might take it at face value and it costs you your desired new job.

Like wise banks and other financial institutions run background checks on customers to identify compromised individuals, if a couple of individuals put up stories about you being involved in drug dealing or associating with politically compromised individuals, that might end up and their report, it might be dug into, but then it might not...

And the kicker is no one is going to tell you why you had a negative outcome.

Calahonda52

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121829779#Comment_121829779

Not when you consider the level of premeditation and planning that went into the post, it was not a spur of the moment post.

This sort of sh$t needed to be discouraged and only long custodial sentences will get folks attention

Calahonda52

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121829133#Comment_121829133

Good assessment, knew you were not just for Xmas😀

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121829779#Comment_121829779

Seems very like you are defending the person.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121827890#Comment_121827890

First post saying even 1 year is harsh. That is defending the persons actions and seems to be suggesting it is not even worth a 1 year sentance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121828957#Comment_121828957

Not sure why you think it is ok because people didn't believe him for 2 years till the arrest? this just confirms his reputation was questioned for over 2 years and yet you are saying the hacker shouldn't even get 1 year?

What relevance to the hacker has someone else posting about "milfs", sounds like whataboutery

You can paint it whatever way you want but you are defending the hacker and as I already posted not really a good look.

This clowns need to be shut down, end of story.

foxsake

I recall boards was very unsympathetic to ming when this originally became a story.

I'm unsympathetic to him for helping and being aligned to a nutter like saorise mchugh

Hangdogroad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121829114#Comment_121829114

Can you back up any of this hyperbole with facts?

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058338238/luke-flanagan

Steady on there Judge Dredd.

"Sorry doesn’t add up," he told the court. "This was a cold, calculated and skillfully carried out attempt to destroy me."

He said that he was proud to represent Ireland as an MEP in Brussels. However, he added: "I don’t feel safe if this individual is still in this city. It makes it difficult knowing he's at large when I'm here with my children.

I think Luke needs to calm down a bit, maybe knock the skunk on head for a while.

Your man was a complete bollíx for what he did, but that level of hyperbole will just annoy a Judge.

Wanderer78

good podcast on it....

https://player.fm/series/in-the-news-2930202/the-impulsive-joke-tweet-that-caused-an-irish-mep-three-years-of-torture

padd b1975

Still hilarious.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121831858#Comment_121831858

...not really....

CrazyEric

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/woman-quizzed-over-her-role-in-hate-campaign-against-ex-td/41116941.html

This is a former TD who lost his seat due to someone lying. Just because these people are in the public we consider them fair game for what comes to them. This ex TD was one of Fianna Fails new faces and his life totally ruined by someone being vindictive.

A one year jail term looks ok to me.

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121831889#Comment_121831889

Sinn Fein's Jonathan O'Brien shocked everybody in politics by announcing his retirement prior to the last general election. He's somebody who would almost certainly have been a minister in a future SF government. It subsequently came out that in the years prior to his decision to retire he was absolutely hounded by one individual who made up all sorts of lies about him. She contacted him over 5 thousand times in the space of 6 months using all sorts of different aliases and showed up unannounced at his place of work. She was subsequently convicted and jailed.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/courtandcrime/arid-40904882.html

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121831800#Comment_121831800

Exactly. Saying that you "don't feel safe" because this fella is still about in the community is completely lacking in credibility and is in my view a gross exaggeration of the impact this would have on a reasonable person.

Proportionality is important.

CrazyEric

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121832297#Comment_121832297

Wow. Hadn't seen that one. Nutters everywhere.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121831889#Comment_121831889

As a voter living in Leixlip, I was aware if that story but it isn't why I (and I know of others) did not give my vote to O'Rourke!

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121832297#Comment_121832297

Even worse, she made false rape allegations too (against others):

https://www.rte.ie/news/courts/2023/0517/1384177-sonya-egan/

All seems quite lenient given the horrific damage she did and the possibility of reoffending.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121833772#Comment_121833772

cough Fianna Fail cough

L.Ball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121831513#Comment_121831513

look at the news?

Hangdogroad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121834046#Comment_121834046

Can you link to any cases of someone racking up that amount of convictions, violently assaulting and robbing someone and walking free in this jurisdiction?

L.Ball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121834063#Comment_121834063

are you f**king serious?

buried

That other thread about this case when it broke is a total f**king disgrace, infested with plenty of people up in here who will hop to attack anyone's throat who dare "jump to conclusions" about anything else. That other thread has more jumping than a cliff diving festival.

I wouldn't worry too much about the f**king scumbag who did this, his only problem is he got caught in Belgium. If he got caught here then he'd be hired up straight away as online prop manager for FFG.

He probably still will when he gets out.

CrazyEric

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121833772#Comment_121833772

I realise at the time there was a massive anti Fianna Fail backlash and so that would have been part of it, but an online hate campaign didn't help him, he apparently went to court to get Facebook to reveal ISP and any other details and they had conveniently deleted them. He claims that

"he had commissioned a statistical analysis and discovered his vote dropped by 20pc in Celbridge, Ardclough and Straffan, areas he said were targeted by the smear campaign.

“In all other areas my vote increased, which indicates I was a victim of a focused lying campaign and not the national trend,” he said. “Two different leaflets were dropped in houses the night before voting telling the lies in a summary and longer version.”

Now there may be something that the locals know that the rest of us don't but it looks like he was "nobbled" by fake Facebook accounts. You would definitely want to be squeaky clean going into politics, and even then it may not be enough as this case with Ming shows.

John_Rambo

Can anyone shed any light on Diarmuid Hayes, who he is and why he did this? Thanks.