Opinion: Kilkenny's reputation must have maximum care from promoters
Seán Ó hArgáin: Huge questions have been raised following the shut-down of an ‘influencer’ boxing event at the Hub in Cillin Hill
Being of the political left and a supporter of the view that our lives should be seen as part of a society rather than in corporate terms, I’m not a huge fan of terms like Ireland Inc or Kilkenny Inc, writes Seán Ó hArgáin
That said, I grew up in the service and tourism industry, before becoming a proud public servant as a teacher and now as an elected public representative. I know how much the reputation of a city or county matters! It was through both of these lenses that I viewed the happenings in our city last weekend.
Starting on the positive side, the city was packed for the sixteenth year of Kilkenomics. The suite of festivals brought to us by Richard Cooke include this quirky and quite niche festival now headed by economist and author David McWilliams saw our city venues packed to the gills with visitors from all over Ireland and from abroad. It made us laugh, think, argue, debate and consider our futures. The spin-off for our shops, restaurants, pubs and accommodation providers were obvious, as they were on the recent bank holiday weekend for Savour Kilkenny and as they will be again next week for Subtitle.
Along with this, the very cleverly timed Live, Work, Visit, Invest Kilkenny, organised by Kilkenny County Council in St Canice’s Cathedral was hugely well attended on Saturday morning.
Unfortunately, another event organised in the city dominated many of the headlines. Many of us had observed a character called HSTikkyTokky advertising an event held in the Hub venue at Cillín Hill on Saturday night.
It should be put on the record that the Hub has been a superb venue over recent years, adding a performance of regional or national size to attract large acts and events to the city. Some of my own favourite nights include concerts by the late, great Sinéad O’ Connor, the Sharon Shannon Big Band, Christy Moore and the Waterboys. All of these events were exemplary in their organisation and a credit to the venue management.
Back to the weekend’s events, however and the nature of the social media content we saw from the aforementioned social media ‘influencer’. His content last week showed clearly what the intention was.
Desperate to gain attention for his event, he promised to roam the streets of Kilkenny selling tickets and attract a huge crowd. The title of the promotion company said it all. A company called Unhinged Promotions was unlikely to be promoting an uncontroversial event.
A Dublin-based football club, Bluebell United, had cancelled a previous event in September as a result of the organiser’s reputation. He had featured in one of the most noteworthy TV documentaries in recent years, Louis Theroux’s ‘Inside the Manosphere’. In it his clearly misogynistic and homophobic comments clearly show a person intent on winning fame (and considerable money) for himself from platforming his outrageous views.
The so-called weigh-in and press conference on Friday night descended into chaos and should have been warning enough about what would follow. The actual event on Saturday night brought it to another level.
The arrival of the far right influencer, Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Lennon), recently convicted for the harassment causing fear of violence of two journalists, was extraordinary. Robinson is currently on bail, awaiting sentencing. Everywhere he goes, trouble, violence and even rioting seems to follow.
The shutting down of the event when huge trouble had erupted raises many serious questions. Firstly, how were the venue owners and operators not aware of the potential trouble ahead, which had been reported on national and local media? Secondly, why was the event not cancelled after the Friday night press conference fiasco? Finally, what were the security and policing arrangements that allowed one of the most controversial far right leaders with multiple criminal convictions into our country, our area and this venue?
Most importantly, what can be learned from these events? We simply cannot accept that venues can simply accept bookings without due diligence in checking out those making the arrangements. Consultation with an Garda Síochána and other police agencies should be to the fore. Basic research into those behind such events must happen.
As a member until recently of Kilkenny’s Community Safety Partnership, I have written to the chairperson asking that the lessons to be learned from this fiasco be discussed and that plans are made to avoid such events ever happening again.
Finally, we need a real discussion about the poisonous influence of the ‘manosphere’ figures on our young men. The charges pending against Andrew and Tristan Tate and others show that the world is finally taking notice.
In the month when we mark the 25th anniversary of the wonderful Amber Women’s Refuge in our city, we must engage honestly with young men in fighting misogyny, violence and hatred against women.
As parents, friends and people of real influence, we must speak out-and expect local businesses to act with real integrity in supporting these messages. The reputation of our city must be defended at all costs.