Dear fellow CLRG Registrants,
I received a letter from the Solicitor for CLRG, Dermot Hewson, on December 13th, 2022, regarding the initiation of an investigation into the incidents that I allege took place at Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne in Glasgow (2002) and London (2014) - the hiring of male prostitutes by senior members of CLRG, damage to hotels and financial restitution paid by CLRG. You will recall that An Coiste Faire was aware of the Glasgow 2002 incident at the time but did not order an investigation into the matter, despite the seriousness of the allegations.
We then received the synopsis of the December meeting of CLRG (December 16th, 2022), which stated:“Investigations are continuing with a rise in cases being recommended to formal disciplinary procedures. The CLRG solicitor is currently sourcing independent people with legal and HR experience to sit on disciplinary panels. The solicitor has also sourced and instructed an independent Investigation Company to carry out investigations into historic allegations made by a registrant.”
With this statement in the synopsis, along with the letter I had received from Mr. Hewson, I was heartened and hopeful that the new year would, truly, bring transparency and accountability to the organization.
On January 5th, 2023, I received an e-mail from retired Detective Superintendent Gabriel O’Gara requesting a Zoom interview. We, the registrants, had been informed by CLRG that current practice dictates that any evidence received will be passed by An Coiste Faire directly to Mr. Justice Michael Peart for review. I replied to Mr. O’Gara on January 12th, acknowledging my desire to cooperate with the investigation and seeking clarification on a few issues, one of which was how any evidence I provided would be handled.
Contrary to the stated CLRG policy of passing all evidence of wrongdoing to Mr. Justice Michael Peart for review, Mr. O’Gara replied that any evidence I provided would be given directly to Mr. Hewson, solicitor for CLRG. As it is the role of An Coiste Faire to oversee the handling of wrongdoings within the organization, I reached out to them on January 18th for some clarification.
In my communication, I referred to section 3.2, subsection 1, ofAn Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha DisciplineProcedureswhich states: “Normally an investigation will take place after a complaint has been received, usually in written format, signed by the complainant.However, there may be instances where a written complaint is not possible. This may not necessarily prevent an investigation from taking place.” In light of this last sentence, I expressed my surprised that An Coiste Faire did not immediately instigate an investigation into the allegations I had made. I also expressed my disappointment that An Coiste Faire were not directed to do so by An Cathaoirleach and/or Rúnaí, given the statement they made to Registrants on November 14th, 2022 in which they claimed that “formally addressing any wrongdoings” was a priority and that “no Member – including Officers and Council of Management Members - is above investigation and reproach, where necessary”.
I asked the following questions:
Per CLRG Discipline Procedures, is this investigation Informal (3.1) or Formal (3.2)?
Why has Mr. O’Gara been instructed by CLRG to present the report of his findings to Machales Solicitors, as opposed to An Coiste Faire?
If Mr. O’Gara’s report finds that there is credible evidence to support the allegations, will it, along with all supporting evidence, be submitted by Coiste Faire to Mr. Justice Michael Peart for review?
Will any member of CLRG, other than members of An Coiste Faire, be privy to my evidence prior to it being passed to Mr. Justice Michael Peart for review?
You should note that the allegations I made were regarding senior members of CLRG, and, yet, it would seem that the “investigation” into the allegations is being instructed by senior members via Dermot Hewson, solicitor, andNOTAn Coiste Faire, as required by CLRG Discipline Procedures.
It will probably come as no surprise that, despite sending a follow up e-mail to An Coiste Faire on January 27th, I have yet to receive a response. The questions I asked, with the possible exception of number 2, were all quite straightforward and should not have required any great deliberation on the part of An Coiste Faire, specifically it’s chairperson, to answer.
I naively thought that when I first wrote of the allegations, those involved would do the right thing and resign. This did not happen. I then replied to Dermot Hewson, solicitor, naming senior members with whom I had conversed about the allegations. Again, those implicated chose not to exercise the “get out of jail free card” they had been presented. An Cathaoirleach and An Rúnai wrote to the Registrants on November 14th, 2022, in form of a response to me, stating they were “hindered” by my “ongoing hostility towards individual Members” and “constant vitriol levelled against individual Members”. Although I have not yet named the currently serving senior members of CLRG that I believe were involved in the incidents (that is evidence which will be provided during the investigation), it would seem that An Cathaoirleach and An Rúnaí believe I have attacked specific senior members. Given that they have not refuted the allegations, it would seem that both An Cathaoirleach and An Rúnaí are not only aware of the incidents I believe occurred in 2002 and 2014; it would also seem that they are familiar with which senior members were involved.
I will say that despite the apparent desire of some of the most senior members not to follow the Discipline Procedures or their expressed intention of formally addressing any wrongdoings, the Outreach and Development Committee are doing Trojan work to ensure the mandate for review, following the passing of motion 2 at the EGM, is delivered. They have set up a steering committee of knowledgeable and experienced registrants to oversee the tendering process and are pursuing an ambitious timeline for the review. This has given me great hope that meaningful change will, eventually, come to CLRG.
In the meantime, I will continue to ask questions, to raise awareness of issues that serve only to bring the organization into further disrepute and to hold those in positions of responsibility within the organisation to account. Despite the voluntary nature of the positions held by CLRG members, they are obligated to carry out their accepted roles with honesty and integrity, and to act, at all times, in the best interests of the organization. Concealing wrongdoings is never the proper course of action and the truth will always out. As former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright once said: “the cover-up, more than the initial wrongdoing, is what is most likely to bring you down”. Perhaps those with knowledge of the incidents I have alleged should consider this. They may not have been part of the incidents, but their efforts to cover up make them equally complicit in the further erosion of both public and Registrant trust in CLRG.
Is mise le meas,
Ronan McCormack ADCRG BG
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Replies:
- Thank goodness someone is not letting this be brushed under the rug (NT) -- Do the crime do the time, 16:18:22 02/07/23 Tue
- Yet his marks at all Ireland are disgraceful (NT) -- As bad as the rest of them, 17:50:32 02/17/23 Fri
- Actions speak louder than words (NT) -- Shame on you Ronan !!, 14:19:04 02/18/23 Sat
- I really thought Ronan was on the side -- So disappointed, 00:51:30 02/19/23 Sun
