Comments on: Cathal Ó Searcaigh

By: a bit of bonhomie

a bit of bonhomie — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 03:01:54 +0000

Cathal Ó Searcaigh and the Late Late Show…

Cathal Ó Searcaigh was invited to appear on the Late Late Show tonight. However, this morning they appeared to get cold feet about allowing him to speak live, and, perhaps under legal pressure from Vinegar Hill, the production company behind the cont…

By: lorraine dockery

lorraine dockery — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:15:01 +0000

The clergy circled the wagons and closed ranks to protect itself when the sex abuse scandals broke; now we have the artistic community and, to my great disappointment, David Norris, a man whose intelligence and integrity I have always respected, doing likewise, even going so far as to advocate censorship and shamlessly playing the homophobic card to protect one of its members who was patently engaging in the exploitation of vulnerable young men. In doing so they show themselves to be just as deluded as Cathal Ó Searcaigh who, it must be said willingly allowed himself to be filmed and indeed appeared to revel in the adulation as he strutted around the streets surrounded by his adoring acolytes. Watching the film it was obvious that, like Michael Jackson, he needs psychiatric help because his sexuality is in some way warped and stunted. Incidentally, why was it always boys that he helped? Are there no poor Nepalese girls in need of education? The whole thing was creepy in the extreme. Somehow I doubt if he would get very far in a western country buying sexual favours from seventeen year olds who would soon tell him what he could do with his bicycles and ice-cream cones.

By: Damien Mulley » Blog Archive » Cathal Ó Searcaigh - Remove his poetry from the syllabus

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 01:28:08 +0000

[...] gay so maybe not, they were paedophiles, whereas Cathal Ó Searcaigh isn’t. See you’re not a paedophile once the boys are past puberty, then you’re a pederast. As sure that’s ok then. From his article: The answer may be [...]

By: John Meany

John Meany — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:11:37 +0000

Don’t shoot the messenger! Having finally seen the documentary, I can see where the accusations of bias come from but I don’t think they outweigh the ‘Fair Trade Sex Tourism’ of the poet. He was extremely naive to allow the film makers to film him in potentially incriminating situations and not to ask to see the film before it was produced and approve it.

By: Sally Clements

Sally Clements — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:47:25 +0000

After watching the programme last night, I think the issue is clear. Cathal Ó Searcaigh exploited a great many innocent, naive boys (it would have been no different if they were girls!). Although the boys featured in the programme were 16 or over, they obviously were more innocent than their european counterparts, and in many cases he took their virginity. Having sex with a prostitute who understands and consents the sexual bargain in exchange for money (or bikes) is one thing, Having sex with 50-60 children and destroying their innocence is the behaviour of a sexual predator.

By: Maman Poulet » Fairytale of Kathmandu

Maman Poulet » Fairytale of Kathmandu — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 01:19:00 +0000

[...] promised Dermod posted his column originally published in Hot Press a few weeks ago. He also has a summary of [...]

By: Noreen Harrington

Noreen Harrington — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:00:40 +0000

As a regular visitor to Asia, I am disgusted with Cathal Ó Searcaigh. These people are extremely poor, innocent & in awe of the educated wealthy westerner. Mr Ó Searcaigh took full advantage of this. I wonder would he be doing “so much good” for the people of Nepal if he hadn’t found it so easy to have sex with the vulnerable young boys there. In my opinion, he’s no better than the likes of Gary Glitter, albeit more educated & cunning. Lock him up and throw away the key I say! And for all those people who are supporting him and saying he has done no wrong – they are just as bad.

By: Dermod

Dermod — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:08:09 +0000

Hm. I’ve never been to Nepal.

By: Peter

Peter — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 16:29:51 +0000

Dermod,
my commiseration. I feel a little bit sorry for anybody whose case is taken up by Eoghan Harris (today in the Sunday Independent, http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/trial-by-media-mob-fails-to-address–every-moral-issue-1291219.html). In a typical “look at me, I am the greatest” article by Eoghan, brimming with self-righteous stupidity, Harris fore-mostly elevates himself to be the courageous defender of the innocent mob victim Searcaigh. Your argument, about the film maker missing the “sexual nuances” was just too sweet not to be taken aboard by Harris:

“Dermod Moore of Hotpress has seen the film, however, and he subjects it to a severe critique in the current issue. Moore believes Neasa Ni Chianain has no feel for the sexual nuances of the issues involved and uses the word “honeytrap” to describe how O Searcaigh is depicted.
Furthermore, having been to that city, Moore makes it clear that, contrary to most media reports –which also maliciously keep driving the ages of the young men downwards — Kathmandu is not some kind of innocent version of Kinnegad in the 1950s.”

By: Robert Synnott

Robert Synnott — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:55:32 +0000

Justin: Whatever about the Ó Searcaigh issue, it is ENTIRELY reasonable not to publish the article online until after it’s been published in the magazine. This is standard practice. Every author who duplicates their articles in their blog that I can think of does it (offhand, Stephen Fry, Ben Goldacre, Daniel Rutter).