Teresa Treacy, 65, to be jailed for standing up to Eirgrid and the ESB

This story has angered me (much more than angry, but I'll stick to the TOS) so much I had to make a thread to get this story out beyond 'local' news.

This woman is 65 years of age, is certainly NOT a hardened criminal and does not belong in prison, however she's willing to go to defend what is rightfully hers. IMO no one should be forced to allow work to be done on THEIR property that causes damage or imposes a health risk, but she's the one deemed to be 'setting herself against the Constitution of Ireland'??? Where are HER constitutional rights?? Yet the corrupt politicians, bankers and developers that are responsible for the disasters of the last 3 years are allowed to roam free. Disgusting!!

GARDAI are expected to arrest and jail a 65-year-old woman after she refused ESB and Eirgrid on to her land to finish building a power line. A High Court judge yesterday heard that Teresa Treacy, of Woodfield House, Clonmore, Tullamore, Co Offaly, was "emotionally attached to her 100 acres of forestry". But Mr Justice Daniel Herbert said his "hand had been forced" before sending her to prison for contempt of court. He told Ms Treacy, who was not legally represented, that he "admired her principles" but did not admire what she was doing. The judge said this was an example of a citizen setting herself against the Constitution of Ireland and against the courts. If this was allowed, he said, "we may as well sink into anarchy". He directed she should remain in custody until she purged her contempt. But Ms Treacy was not immediately jailed and left the court following yesterday's hearing.

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Opinions...

reply to post by HighMaintenance


Explanation: S&F!

Counsel said the ESB and Eirgrid offered to compensate Ms Treacy and had offered to plant new trees to replace any that might be damaged by their work. It added it was not possible to put the wires underground.

They are clearly LYING as I recently checked out the POWER LINES in my local area [in Australia] and I found out that my mains power comes from an UNDERGROUND pipe that then goes up a powerpole and is then distributed by above ground methods!

They just don't want to SPEND the money to do it PROPERLY!

Personal Disclosure: Mr Justice Daniel Herbert ... you just made one of my lists!

Yup the government can do anything it wants to citizens property, its a shame, although she does have 100 acres which is a decent amount of land. But I think anyone that has a problem with the government messing with their property should be allowed to decide what happens.

Despite a long history of rebellion and a seemingly inextinguishable lust for freedom, the Irish people of today are for the most part, an embarrassment to their forebearers who gave everything, including their lives so that Ireland could be a self governing and ultimately a sovereign society, free from the ills of their overlord neighbours.

Modern Irish society is turning into a bad spirit copy of Britains. It is a nation of people who feel the state owes them something. They play up to the most degrading stereotypes of the Irish, ie that of an uneducated alchololic gurrier, with immeasurable pride. They believe they arew the best educated people in Europe, because they don't know the difference between education and training. I could go on and on.

It is hardly surprising that the country has gone this way when its people accept the rescinding of their Lisbon Treaty vote. Lisbon though is a mere symptom. Ireland was only ever a sovereign nation between 1993 and the inception of the Euro. A country that does not control its own money is not sovereign. When the Irish decided to swap sovereignty in exchange for easy cheap sun holidays on the Costa del Crime, they effectively waived their rights to democracy.

The Irish have sold their country out to corporate interests like Shell (because they dont have the wherewithall to exploit their own resources, despite the fact that other nations have been doing it for well over a century). The Irish high street is indistinguishable from Anytown UK, with the same stores selling the same imported junk. Tescos invade and the Irish consumer switches their allegience from local economy to the corporate bilge pump.

This demise is reflected in every facet of Irish life. Irish soccer clubs go bankrupt playing in tiny half empty stadia while the majority of Irish plebians support (financially and morally) Man United. They would go to Manchester to a game and buy the merchandise, but if their local team were playing on TV, they would turn it off an watch British soccer. This can only be the result of an inferiority complex.

Move from sport to the arts and it's more of the same. Ireland is famous for boybands.When this is the zenith of a nations cultural output, I think the writing is on the wall.A lot of blood will have to be spilled before they get back their sovereignty and personally I dont think they have the cahunas for it any more. Back to being the whipping boys of Europe.

And so, Teresa Treacy will most likely be overruled, perhaps even jailed.The ESB will build whatever they like on her land as they and other semistate bodies gear up for the big privitisation sell off. Irish water will be privatised too eventually (should read like the script to Chinatown).

What Miss Treacy has failed to realise is that that is not her land.She is a mere tenant. Much of Ireland is still owned by English aristocrats.Go check the deeds. Many landlords retained their land after 'independence'. They still receive tribute on these holdings.

Its worth noting that ireland gained independence in 1922, not sovereignty.Independence is NOT sovereignty.However the Irish people have happily blurred the lines of distinction and deluded themselves that they were actually free.

Ireland is a slave plantation that got off its leash for 9 years. master has the leash on again now.

reply to post by blah yada


S&F
Well said.
Ireland is morally (as as well as finacially) bankrupt, crime and corruption is spiralling out of control and we are fed lies and rubbish and made up news about how well Europe thinks we are doing.(For the IMF & ECB) This rot is from the top down and I personally see only trouble ahead, I agree wholeheartedly with you on the fact that the Irish see themselves as somehow special and different, and possibly immune to the economic devastation to come.
The architects of our downfall walk away with unimaginable amounts of money while the honest and law abiding citizen is crapped upon and squeezed to within an inch of their lives. Watching Greece, I wish that the Irish people had the foresight to see what is coming whether they want it or not. I despair for this country. But luckily we can sleep in our beds knowing that 65 year old ladies who refuse to be bullied by state agencies are safely behind bars leaving murderous thugs to roam the streets in peace because they can afford the best crooked lawyers that dirty money can buy.

100% behind her. There are no lawful authorities over our head, and the collective acceptance of communal virtues has been violated by these unlawful facists long ago. They broke that contract of trust and accountability with the people and they don't represent or command me. I renounce and denounce them in any capacity in their work, for they and their corporate interests are the dark side, and they serve the king of revelations 9/11, and their job is to repent.

reply to post by blah yada


You've certainly hit the nail on the head and sadly, I have to agree with you but I couldn't have said it as eloquently and unfortunately this does apply to the majority of Irish people. There is a very small minority that do have the cahunas to fight it, but they are very few and far between and their collective voice goes largely unheard or scoffed at by the very people they're fighting for. As for the 'blood being spilt' before any change happens, I don't see it happening, not until the handouts stop, from the politicians to the unemployed. Only when the level of discomfort is bad enough for everyone will the Irish people say 'No more!' and also probably not until we've seen other nations rise up and succeed against their governments, namely the US and the UK and I'm not going to hold my breath for that to happen any time soon!

As for Teresa Treacy, I admire her gumption for standing by her principles. It angers me no end that corporations (not just Irish) can bully and cajole people into doing something they wholeheartedly disagree with. When I do see it happen, I personally boycott those companies, it may not make a blind bit of difference to them, but it makes me feel better. I may not pay my electric bill to the ESB, but like it or not I am dependent on them since they are the ones supplying the company I do use and it's something I can't do without so I can't even boycott them . I don't believe for one second that they cannot place the power lines underground, it does come down to cost. Placing the lines underground costs between 2 and 20 times more than overhead power lines (depending on which source you read) but the maintenance costs of underground lines are far below those of overhead lines. Not to mention the reduction of harm to people and the environment, but then that is quite typical of the Irish government, save a penny today that will cost you an arm and a leg tomorrow.

What to do, what to do??? I'm not Irish, my children are, I love living here but not like this where the ordinary citizen is trampled on by the government and corporations. I'm not prepared to up sticks and move half way across the world again, not just for more of the same.