She shouldn't have called him a paedophile. But then he shouldn't have killed her son
Related Articles
Majella Holohan's blue eyes may widen in disbelief today when she hears of the comments made about her by Mr. Justice Paul Carney. Last night, the measured tones of normal judicial language fell away to reveal how one judge really feels about how some people conduct themselves in court.
Was it appropriate to describe the comments of a mother of a dead 11-year old called Robert as 'scandalous' and 'calculated' when she spoke at her neighbour Wayne O'Donoghue's trial? Was it appropriate to describe her as having acted "under the influence of obsessive grief"? Why did Judge Carney say that only her 'iconic status' kept her from being 'held to account for abuse of process of court'?
In other mouths, the judge's comments - which he later toned down in his speech - might sound as extravagant as the tabloid press Judge Carney then went on to lambast.
All this, because Majella Holohan used her victim impact statement to put on record strands of potential evidence she had expected to hear in court.
Let's recall the way Robert Holohan and his parents came to public attention. A beautiful young boy goes missing in Midleton, Co. Cork. He is vulnerable because he has ADD, and more likely to be bullied.
People are still reeling after the killings of Holly and Jessica in Soham, England. They are horrified at the thought that Robert might be sexually abused.
The community turn out to search for Robert, cutting their way through undergrowth, spending days and nights looking in disused houses, barns, wherever they can. TV news leads on the search every day, showing how the Holohans and the gardai are being supported by their community.
Wayne O'Donoghue appears on camera as though he is one of the chief searchers. Later, the image is shocking in the context of the manslaughter conviction.
Robert's body is found at Inch Strand by fluke, almost. The funeral is harrowing and people's hearts go out to his parents and friends.
But after the body has been buried six feet under, after all the Holohans went through, Wayne O'Donoghue comes forward to admit he was inadvertently responsible for Robert's death.
Betrayal is the context in which Majella spoke to the court. She was the latest in a short tradition, following the impressive Mary Murphy, mother of the late Brian.
The tradition began when Nora Owen, Minister for Justice, decided that victims must have some voice in court, even if it was minor and after the jury had reached a verdict.
Majella brought to public attention the presence of semen on Robert's body. That fact had not been admitted to evidence because of forensic doubts. This is how the law works.
Majella then called her helpful neighbour a paedophile. Judge Carney considers that scandalous and believes it will damage Mr. O'Donoghue's reputation for life.
It is unreasonable to characterise Majella's grief as 'obsessive', to call her words an 'outburst', when they are a direct response to her amazement at how the law works.
She shouldn't have called him a paedophile. He shouldn't have killed her only son. And certainly, the dos and don'ts of victim impact statements need tidying up.
But why such a tone for so tragic and disturbing a case? Why direct them to the victim's mother? Judge Carney blamed the tabloids, as though tabloids are somehow vulgar, lower-class vehicles for imbecile readers, unsuited to the intelligent upper-class world of legal profession.
The Judge reads The Irish Times. In fact, its reporting of a tabloid story about how convicted rapist Adam Keane disrespected his victim as they travelled back to Clare, provoked the Judge into changing the suspended sentence he'd handed down. Keane is currently serving time.
Does it matter which paper you read? Beneath Judge Carney's intemperate words is a crisis of communication between the privileged, elite legal classes and the noisy global media where news travels through phones, webs and TV rather than in a quiet, silver-service filled dining room.
You can't fix the crisis by blaming the other side. And that's the conundrum -- how rules of law are maintained in a fast-changing world.
Mind you, Judge Carney also made allegations about journalists' late-night behaviour, based on hearsay, a method he'd never allow in his court.
