former student of Niall

Firstly Bock, I am very impressed with your article. You say some powerful things and they need to be echo’d throughout the entire media world, although most specifically, Ireland’s.

The Independent IS shit. They screwed up many things in their writing, even so simple as suggesting Niall has a 5 yr old Daughter. It’s too bad HIS name is Conor.

In regards to the Waterford issues, I find it frustrating these have resurfaced. Dr. McElwee used legal pictures of horrific images on child protection matters, which did offend some. As it should. That’s the point. Isn’t it better to weed out those that can’t handle it then, rather than when they are faced with dealing with the strong issues first hand, in real time?! Then people complained that Dr. McElwee had been given too many promotions in too short of time?! I agree, it is irrelevant the sex of the complainants. Why punish someone with drive, enthusiasm, effort and skill?

Those issues are mute. What happened in Holland is different. I, again, agree with you Bock, we need to know more. I’ve known this man for 7 years and I truly respect him. I will stand by him.

He made a mistake, which is appearing to be a rather large mistake. I don’t like what I am hearing and I don’t like that type of behaviour, but I really don’t like media and other bigots jumping to slander the name of a person that has hard earned a reputation built from the ground.

If he’s guilty, he’s guilty and he will serve the consequences, as anyone should. But this man has pushed Ireland’s Childcare sector into new, very positive and needed, directions from years back. Helping Irish Childcare become so much more effecient and stable than it ever was. He is respected and should be (for his professional acheivements, professional teachings and his career).

I do agree, that if anyone were to scare my daughter as they say Dr. McElwee did, I would be extremely upset and NOT so passive. But the media is mixing issues, poorly and factually incorrect.

Suzy: If somebody could explain exactly what happened in Waterford, maybe we could make more sense of it. If he was using illegal material, people should say so. If it was simply that some staff members were offended then the story has no substance. People get offended for all sorts of things. It might astonish you to learn that people even get offended by things I say here about tinkers and stuff like that . I know. It’s hard to believe.

One point I would make about the fact that female lecturers raised concerns about McElwee in 2000 is about the nature of gender and power in academia. I get the feeling from my reading of the issues, contacts with some involved by email and personal experience in academia that many feel that there was fast track promotion of a man by other men, and ignorance of concerns of how things were taught and done because it was women making the complaints - in fact anyone who sticks their head up and complains about anything in a third level institution is marked out as trouble - many end up on sick leave or quit their job because they are not taken seriously. And many others don’t bother opening their mouths at all.

What we could be seeing here is years of frustration at irregularities finally being given an opportunity for an outlet - not just a case of a lynch mob.

Suzy

qjs: I believe you’re no stranger to prancing around in your jocks and socks.

Conan: Ridiculous name. Ridiculous man.

Manuel: I didn’t quite know what to make of that video, but I can see where he’s coming from. We live in a new era of denunciation without due process, and that’s what bothers me.

Mr Skinner: I’d feel the same. If anyone did that to a daughter of mine, I’d probably do violence on them. However, I still have a difficulty with people passing judgment before all the facts are available because it isn’t even about this individual: it’s about the way we deal with all these cases. Ultimately, it’s about protecting you and me from the idiot journalists of the Independent and its like.