Clive Sulish
(Reading time: 4 mins.)
Racist Graham Carey, unfortunately familiar to many for his posted videos of himself in a vehicle or in his bedroom, ranting about various things, in particular during the Covid epidemic in Ireland, has ended up in court for his virulent racist posts.
In common with most racists, he posted lies that he invented himself or parroted those invented by others. He’d been doing that for a long time but what got him into trouble with the Law was his role in mobilising people for an attack on Finglas Garda Station back in January 2023.
A woman had reportedly been attacked in the area and the rumour quickly spread that a migrant had been responsible. Of course Irish people can and do attack women but that wouldn’t be reason for a riot – but a migrant suspected? Obviously Irish warrior Carey would have to do something!
And so did other ‘Irish Warriors’ who quickly gathered and threatened the Garda station because allegedly ‘they weren’t doing anything about it’. The Gardaí went so far as to state that the alleged assailant was Irish but of course, to Carey and Co., that was obviously a cover-up.
Carey first came to the attention of the suffering public on social media when he was screaming on his video about Covid conspiracies, ‘unreasonable’ mask-wearing requirements and travel restrictions of the time but he quickly enough progressed to rabid racism.
Carey tended to be a solo video warrior and on at least one occasion in a larger gathering, possibly with Irish Yellow Vests1 on Custom House Quay, could be seen on video making threatening moves towards a few counter-protesters but moved away when they stood their ground.
His public defiance melted quickly when arrested over the Finglas incident and social media posts, apologised to Gardaí for being in error and in his first court appearance meekly offered the judge to have his bail on condition imposed he refrain from posting any more rants on social media.
In court more recently, with a pack in the courtroom to give him immoral support, he’s got some of his spine back as one can tell from this unusually detailed report on his court hearing.2
Carey claimed he had been ‘tried by media’ and accused the Garda witness, Detective Inspector Gavin Ross of not doing his job and said “there was never a rape in Finglas, they set it up to get me” and claimed he was “a political prisoner”.
He’s also claimed in the past that MI5 were stirring up other well-known fascists and racists against him.
Antifascist counter protesters have observed on many occasions how lenient the Gardaí have been towards fascists and other racists in general but leading a mob invading a Garda station and threatening the Gardaí presumably tends to remove some of that tolerance.3
Charged with using words that were threatening, abusive or insulting and intended to or likely to stir up hatred and distribution of a recording of images or sound likely to stir up hatred, both charges which he denied, Carey was found guilty by a unanimous jury last April.
The quoted statements from a transcript of his livestream produced in court were typical Carey style: the Government is “rewarding evil” by allowing “rape-ugees” into the country “in order that they can rape our people” and this is “putting your daughters on the fucking menu for them”.
The virulent and lying content continued: “we’re here because women are being raped, Facebook want your children raped. If we don’t see this as a war, then we are going to lose the war.”
“Our own people are going to be raped by them. These are not refugees. We are going to get these fucking rapists out of here.”
“Get back to where yiz (sic) came from. Get the fuck out of here before you die on this island. If you refuse to get the fuck out of here you’re going to die on the island and we’ll fuck your bleeding corpse into the sea.”
“We are going back to the law of the land. We have enough local lads to do what has to be done.”
Carey certainly knows how to stir up some people’s fears though otherwise his level of intelligence may be in question .
When he claimed that he had not been in Finglas but rather in ‘Northern Ireland’ (sic) when he recorded his 30-minute ranting video, Carey might not have been aware that the lorry he was driving would prove he had been driving in the State jurisdiction, which it did.
More to the point, perhaps, it seems he was actually on video leading a mob into the Garda station.
The offences come with a maximum penalty of a fine of €10,000 or two years imprisonment. The court was told Carey has previous convictions for careless driving, driving while over the limit, intoxication in a public place and threatening and abusive behaviour and two speeding offences.
The intoxication while driving might well assist in producing the volume and vitriol of some of his driving cab videos.
Carey chose to defend himself but wanted legal representation when found guilty as he could be facing a prison sentence. Of course, solicitors currently are engaged in industrial action in protest at the recent flat-rate one-off payment to lawyers representing clients granted legal aid.
He has been granted three adjournments to facilitate finding legal representation but apparently continues to be unsuccessful.
It would be a pity were this rabid racist ranter able, whatever the sentence, to claim unfair treatment due to lack of legal representation. But what could a lawyer actually do to help him? Ask for mercy (in front of his support pack)? Claim a difficult childhood? Mental illness? Substance abuse?
End.
SOURCES:
1An Irish initiative piggy-backing on the French movement of the same name, it attracted a wide support until it became clear that the leadership were Islamophobic, homophobic and with racist threads within the movement.
2https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/graham-carey-to-be-sentenced-for-incitement-to-hatred-offences-1931021.html
3 The Garda witness said that Carey stated that “if gardaí don’t get out, he wasn’t responsible for what happened in the Garda station.”
