Tuam Court ‘knackers' storm resulted from ‘lift' by national newspaper

Byâ€Ë†tony galvin THE storm over the use of the term 'knackers' by Judge Geoffrey Browne at Tuam Court has been described as an over-reaction by some local observers, caused principally by a national newspaper copying the Court report and sensationalising the version it published. The Irish Traveller Movement and Pavee Point have both issued statements of condemnation based on the version of events at Tuam Court published in last Friday's edition of the Irish Independent and picked up by several other media outlets.[private] The misunderstanding arose as a result of the Irish Independent lifting the Court report without permission and publishing it in a manner which sensationalised the reference. The West of Ireland Branch of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has lodged a protest with the journalist responsible and is considering whether further action is necessary. The correct and in-context version of the comment as published in last Wednesday's edition of The Tuam Herald is as follows: 'He (Judge Browne) handed down what he said were the maximum sentences he could to two defendants who were convicted of breaking in to the Derreen Inn, Abbeyknockmoy and told the Court he wished he could impose more and referred to those who carried out such attacks as â€Ëœknackers'.' Travellers not mentioned Several people who, unlike the Independent reporter were actually present at Tuam Court when the case in question was heard, have pointed out that at no stage in the proceedings was it stated or made known in any way to the Court that the defendants convicted of burglarising the Derreen Inn were members of the Travelling community. 'Judge Browne's comments appeared to have been made out of exasperation at the nature of the activity engaged in by the individuals involved, and I don't think anyone present would have taken it as a slight on the Travelling community. 'Knacker' is a common term of derision levelled at those who engage in anti-social behaviour of all kinds and the term is not exclusive to Travellers. It is widely used and the Judge could just as easily have used the word thug or blackguard. There has been a total over-reaction in this case,' one man who was present in the Court told The Herald. In a statement the Irish Traveller Movement said: 'The Irish Traveller Movement is deeply concerned following reports of the use of inflammatory and derogatory language by Judge Geoffrey Browne. Judge Browne reportedly used the word â€ËœKnacker' when sentencing two members of the Traveller community for burglary. 'The Irish Traveller Movement condemns all forms of criminality and in particular sympathises with the Masterson family for what must have been a terrifying experience for them. However, we would like to remind Judge Geoffrey Browne and other members of the judiciary that the courts of justice should not be fora for the use of hate speech and derogatory or offensive language. 'It was unnecessary to refer in a derogative manner to the ethnicity of the defendants. His offensive language has achieved nothing other than to further stigmatise one of Ireland's most marginalised communities. 'We are calling on Judge Browne to retract his statement and apologise to the Traveller community. We would like to urge Minister Shatter for the establishment of a Judicial Council on a statutory footing, with the powers to discipline and censure Judges making racist and inflammatory comments from the bench.'[/private]