HOME ABOUT » CONTACT » BOOKS » BOSTON COLLEGE CASE » ARCHIVE: 1995-2000 » 55 HOURS » Search Subscribe THE WEIRD WORLD OF AN IRISH NEWS JOURNALIST SHARE WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 07, 2013 AM 46 COMMENTS Follow Tonight The Pensive Quill carries an opinion piece by Guest Writer Paul Campbell on journalists and online shenanigans Add Recent Index Archives The Weird World of an Irish News Journalist Paul Campbell MOST RECENT ARTICLES SUPPORT Stand Up Against The Irish News Censorship Irish News journalist Allison Morris is some chancer. While having a brass neck is no bad of The Pensive Quill thing for a journalist, Allison’s professional practices would make even the most unscrupulous tabloid hack blush. Orange Order Need to Rediscover its Political Direction Click the button to Jonathan Sperber's "Karl Marx": donate. This week Allison appeared at the West Belfast Festival waxing lyrical at an Amnesty International NOT CENSORED BY THE IRISH NEWS Do you like reading The event about threats to journalists. What was Pensive Quill? Donations This & That: Take 23 welcome. Thank you. omitted in her address was that her partner, Ardoyne man Fernando Murphy, has been involved Getting a Dog MAILING LIST in a campaign of intimidation against one of Lebanon Offers Palestinians Syria Ramadan Allison’s journalist colleagues. Greetings Enter your email The (d)Evolution of Revolution address: Sunday World journalist Hugh Jordan has been told by police that his life is in danger. The warning came amidst a tirade of online abuse from republican dissidents and others In what direction might a new DUP leadership take the party? including Fernando Murphy. Reporting to London The threats follow articles Jordan wrote about the late Martin Meehan senior and the Interned at 63 Years of Age Delivered by FeedBurner dissident republican paramilitary group Oglaigh na hEireann (ONH). Martin Meehan’s son, End Israel’s Abuse of Palestinian Children and Martin og Meehan, took umbrage with both articles. Free Those Imprisoned by Israel. No Facilities For Ardoyne! Martin og Meehan is a prominent member of ONH’s political wing, the Republican Network for Unity (RNU). Fernando Murphy, Allison Morris’s partner, joined a chorus of vicious Forcing Obama into a Prolonged Syrian War harassment and intimidation of Jordan on Martin og’s Facebook page. Invertebrate Journalism Without any foundation whatsoever the journalist was called “an MI5 mouthpiece”, a “vermin Violent Policing bastard”, a “Brit agent”, “scum” and “a piece of shit”. He was ludicrously even accused of Seven Of Syria’s Thirteen Palestinian Camps being a child abuser. Now Controlled By Salafi- Jihadists Addressing the Concept of Armed Struggle The vitriol unleashed against Jordan clearly created an environment in which he could be Looking into the Coffins of Children physically attacked. One dissident republican actually wrote, “somebody should target him”. A Silent Other World ANTHONY MCINTYRE Another person noted the exact day and time that Jordan could be found in certain Belfast city centre premises. Allison Morris’s partner, Fernando Murphy, wrote: “Safe to say Hugh Jordan won’t be welcome at Cliftonville in the coming years.” Jordan, an ardent Celtic fan, had recently attended the Cliftonville-Celtic match at Solitude. The Sunday World journalist took Fernando Murphy’s internet comments as a threat. Jordan told The Pensive Quill: “Who is this man to decide in which football ground I’ll be made welcome? I was a guest of the Celtic board at Solitude recently. I attended the ground last year when the Celtic youth team played a friendly against Cliftonville – again, I was made welcome. Former IRA volunteer and ex-prisoner, spent 18 “For this man to tell me I won’t be welcome at a sporting event smacks of fascism.” The years in Long Kesh, 4 years on the blanket and no-wash/no work protests which led to the PSNI is investigating the online intimidation. hunger strikes of the 80s. Completed PhD at Queens upon release from prison. Left the LINKS Fernando Murphy is a youth leader in Ardoyne and describes himself as a coach at Republican Movement at the endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement, and went on to become Cliftonville Olympic. It is totally inappropriate that an individual who works with young people a journalist. Co-founder of The Blanket, an Boston College and in the sporting arena is warning someone that they won’t be welcome at a football online magazine that critically analyzed the Irish Subpoena News ground. peace process. The Irish Republican Movement Collection It is also highly questionable that someone in his position should be joining in a chorus of COMMENTS Newshound harassment led by supporters of a paramilitary organisation. Mick Hall Fernando Murphy added his comment AFTER ONH’s political wing, RNU, stated on the John Murphy same Facebook page that it would support threatening newsagents who sold Sunday Maryam Namazie World. Workers Republic blog An RNU spokesperson Ed Moloney wrote that they couldn’t Rushlight Magazine disagree with those supporting “an all-out July 1981 campaign of intimidation Vol Joe O'Connor - Ten against newsagents who still Years On peddle this rag”. The group Good Friday: The Death added menacingly: “In the of Irish Republicanism past republicans have taken The Blanket delivery vans and burnt the offending articles.” WATCHING This real and imminent threat did not feature in Allison Morris’s speech on journalistic threats at Feile an Phobail. Nor did her partner’s verbal thuggery towards Hugh Jordan get Sopranos Series 2 a mention. Banshee Jordan has every reason to take Fernando Murphy’s comments seriously. In 2006, Murphy Jo was convicted of attempted GBH, riotous behaviour, and possessing a claw hammer during Top of the Lake rioting in Ardoyne. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. Luther: Series 3 Murphy joined in the internet The Americans assault on Jordan AFTER the journalist had been The White Queen subjected to vicious abuse Saving Private Ryan from Ciaran Murphy of RNU, ONH’s political wing. Referring to Jordan, Ciaran Murphy Enemy of the State wrote: “Fuck him, MI5 bastard.” The RNU member then made malicious and totally false claims about Jordan’s personal life and made untrue and malicious remarks about a member To The Top of the Mountain of the Rape Crisis Centre. Europa Blues Ciaran Murphy – who also uses the name Ciaran Many Waters Cunningham – is hardly someone in whose online Bad Blood footsteps most sane people would want to follow. He was arrested in 2011 at a protest in which The Blinded man protesters barricaded themselves inside Alliance Party headquarters; in a later protest, excrement READING was smeared on the door and windows of Alliance Party headquarters. Battle At Oldbridge, Beano Niblock Intimidation from Ciaran Murphy/Cunningham must be taken seriously. Just like Fernando Ardoyne Republican wrote... A Guide to the Silence Murphy he has a conviction. In 2004, he was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for Notice my name has been mentioned a few times of the Irish Other World, collecting information – in the Royal Victoria Hospital on police, prison officers and loyalists on TPQ a few times in this debate/discussion a Sean Mac Eachaidh chairde....I don't wish to become involved in – which was likely to be useful to terrorists. this... Heart Shaped Box, Joe Continue >> Hill It is highly inappropriate that, as the partner of a journalist, Fernando Murphy is joining Alfie Gallagher wrote... Cruel Britannia, Ian supporters of a paramilitary group currently waging an armed campaign, in their frenzy of It is troubling that a major Northern newspaper is Cobain hatred against another journalist. desperately trying to stifle reasoned scrutiny of the outrageous behaviour of one of its... The Wrong Man, Danny Continue >> Morrison Murphy has not even been content at targeting Hugh Jordan online. Another NUJ member, larry hughes wrote... ex-IRA prisoner and writer Anthony McIntyre, has also been in his line of fire. In The Footsteps of Journalism, or what passes for it today enables Anne the 'west' to tell the world black is white and to be amazed when people begin to The Pensive Quill has carried articles critical of Allison Morris’s professional practices. Her Legion Of The see through... Rearguard, Martyn partner has rushed to her defence but hardly in a manner becoming to the Irish News’ image Continue >> Frampton of Allison as a serious, senior impartial journalist in Northern Ireland. Fionnuala Perry wrote... The Beginning Of All Mackers,It still must stick in your claw. All you Things, Hans Kung Rounding on McIntyre and elevating himself into some sort of super republican judge of all have came through and been up against and you have to entertain this dribble. Depressing! things republican, Murphy wrote in the public comment section of The Pensive Quill: “You The IRA and Armed AM wrote... Struggle, Rogelio met with Owen Patterson to grovel about your case – to the secretary of state of united Nuala, you can only be guided by what you Alonso kingdom – that’s republican?” believe in. And for you that has been a mainstay. Ray of Hope, Andrew Abuse goes with the turf. Lees & Ray Kennedy Murphy evidently felt that by raising the Boston College tapes case with the Northern Ireland Fionnuala Perry wrote... Secretary of State, McIntyre was somehow betraying republicanism. Mackers,Sad to say I have to agree. But we are what we are and we will continue to be that LISTENING inspite of the mud slingers from whichever circle. In case his ‘you’re no republican’ claims weren’t AM wrote... T Rex fully understood, Murphy repeated them again – in Nuala,the circle that can be ruled out is the circle capital letters – adding “REPUBLICAN MY BALLS”.