Celia, Bertie & Gerry

[Leo]

The late Gerry Brennan was Bertie's friend.
He acted as Solicitor for Bertie in his matrimonial case and then, according to Bertie, went about telling others that Bertie couldn't pay his legal fees and organised a whip round for him.
Does anyone see a problem of professional ethics there?
He acted as Solicitor for both Bertie & M Wall in the Bizarre Beresford transaction. Hmmmmm....
He acted for Celia in the even stranger purchase of the house for her elderly aunts that just happens to be in her name.
He was a member of the supposed "Building Trust" account (that was in the sole name of Bertie's friend Tim Collins and was never designated Building Trust until January of this year)  that, according to Bertie, gave Celia £30,000 of Fianna Fail money to buy this house.
Despite being such a Trustee and also Solicitor he did not get Celia to execute any deed of mortgage or trust declaration to protect this so-called FF money.
No loan agreement was drawn up and NOTHING was done about this "loan" for 18 years until the Tribunal came knocking!!!
Celia was Bertie's "life partner" all this time but Bertie knew nothing about this "loan" at the time. What does this say about Mr Brennan's fitness to act as a Trustee and conflict of interest issues in his role as solicitor?

The house was registered in April 1983 so presumably the deal was hatched in the early part of that year, but Bertie, poor ignorant Bertie, was in the dark about the BT money being improperly used in this way - despite being Chairman of the constituency committee for 6 years up to and including 1982 and its leading TD and Minister and FF party Treasurer and ..........

Lets look again at the BT account:
Nobody knows where much of the money came from that went into this account..
The sole name on the account was Bertie's pal T Collins (he of the Boyne site windfall but that's another story) ....
The account was named "B T" and all statements sent to the local branch of the bank....So a FF constituency account, as we are told, was kept in the dark from the FF office ...
Bertie says BT  means "Building Trust" and was set up for repair of St Luke's, so he knows plenty about the purpose of the account but not its workings apparently...
The account has been dormant for many years with a healthy balance in it while in the meantime money for St Lukes has had to be obtained from elsewhere ....
The bank records do not disclose who the Trustees are but we are told (by Bertie, so it must be true) that they include Joe Burke, Des Richardson, Tim Collins (all a surprise) and others who are now deceased (shades of Des Traynor) including Gerry Brennan ....

Ah hold on, this is getting a bit unbelievable and we know it must be true so we'll not go into these connections any further.

Just to say how gallant it was of Celia to come forward at the early stages of Bertie's Tribunal evidence and let him know that he should declare this "house loan" to the Tribunal so as to eliminate it from any possible Owen O'Callaghan connection.
Oh she didn't do that?
Now that is strange.

I wonder was is Celia who Bertie entrusted with the huge stash of cash that he wanted changed into sterling around that time - you know the cash that no bank has a record of changing and that no-one can remember carrying around for Bertie, the misunderstood, befuddled and forgetful Minister for Finance and FF party Treasurer?

Finally, that house cost £40,000. Do you know where it is? Do you think that YOU could have bought it for £40,000 at that time? Was it a market value transaction?
Ignore the fact that it is now worth €700,000 - that, as Bertie would say, is none of your business.

[Declan]

Follow the money - Isn't that what the tribunal is supposed to do? Oh no sorry its not, its a personal witch hunt against the greatest leader the country has seen

Amazing how dead people can't give evidence

[Zapatista]

In Aherns defence this seems like "smoke and daggers" Leo.

Edit - I fcukd up first time

[Billys Boots]

Where are the 'smoke and daggers' Zapatista, looks like pretty straightforward obfuscation and embezzlement to me?

[Zapatista]

My point is that there is no defence. Highlighted by using one of Aherns own ridiculous defence quotes which totally irrelevant to anything and makes absolutely no sense. as his defence usually is.

[gerrykeegan]

Billy
"obfuscation"  now that is a good word and the word of the day in my office!

[Zapatista]

ob·fus·cate       Pronunciation
–verb (used with object), -cat·ed, -cat·ing. 1. to confuse, bewilder, or stupefy. 
2. to make obscure or unclear: to obfuscate a problem with extraneous information. 
3. to darken. 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

—Related forms
ob·fus·ca·tion, noun
ob·fus·ca·to·ry      Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation, adjective


—Synonyms 1. muddle, perplex. 2. cloud.
—Antonyms 1. clarify

[Billys Boots]

I get you now Z.

Can he possibly 'recover' from this?

[passedit]

straightforward obfuscation?

[Zapatista]

straightforward obfuscation?

No he can't recover. At best he can avoid prison.

[rosnarun]

Ignore the fact that it is now worth €700,000 - that, as Bertie would say, is none of your business.

and it is none of our business. stange as it was FF a private organization gave a loan to celia larkin that is private business. wheyer bertie knew about it or not is irrelevant. that fact that you belive he knew about it and denies it could well alter your opiion of him but it is not a criminal act. just dont vote for him next time.
neither is it any business of the tribunal, what is the accusation against bertie? that he took money from Owen O'Callaghan in return for favours . what were the favours . the only evidence that has com forward is from cocaine head eamioonn dunphy which in reality said  you could give bertie all the money you want but hell do his own thing any way.
Hardly damming.
what were the challanges facing bertie when he took over as taoiseach.
Stop immigartion  - done
peace in the north  - done
solve unemployment - done
it time we grew up stopped scring around in shit  and honoured a great man

[Zapatista]

Ignore the fact that it is now worth €700,000 - that, as Bertie would say, is none of your business.

and it is none of our business. stange as it was FF a private organization gave a loan to celia larkin that is private business. wheyer bertie knew about it or not is irrelevant. that fact that you belive he knew about it and denies it could well alter your opiion of him but it is not a criminal act. just dont vote for him next time.
neither is it any business of the tribunal, what is the accusation against bertie? that he took money from Owen O'Callaghan in return for favours . what were the favours . the only evidence that has com forward is from cocaine head eamioonn dunphy which in reality said  you could give bertie all the money you want but hell do his own thing any way.
Hardly damming.
what were the challanges facing bertie when he took over as taoiseach.
Stop immigartion  - done
peace in the north  - done
solve unemployment - done
it time we grew up stopped scring around in shit  and honoured a great man

Denial

Denial is a defense mechanism in which a person is faced with a fact that is too painful to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence-

Read more here -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial

[Bogball XV]

Ignore the fact that it is now worth €700,000 - that, as Bertie would say, is none of your business.

and it is none of our business. stange as it was FF a private organization gave a loan to celia larkin that is private business. wheyer bertie knew about it or not is irrelevant. that fact that you belive he knew about it and denies it could well alter your opiion of him but it is not a criminal act. just dont vote for him next time.
neither is it any business of the tribunal, what is the accusation against bertie? that he took money from Owen O'Callaghan in return for favours . what were the favours . the only evidence that has com forward is from cocaine head eamioonn dunphy which in reality said  you could give bertie all the money you want but hell do his own thing any way.
Hardly damming.
what were the challanges facing bertie when he took over as taoiseach.
Stop immigartion  - done
peace in the north  - done
solve unemployment - done
it time we grew up stopped scring around in shit  and honoured a great man

Brilliant

[GY Joe]

Ignore the fact that it is now worth €700,000 - that, as Bertie would say, is none of your business.

and it is none of our business. stange as it was FF a private organization gave a loan to celia larkin that is private business. wheyer bertie knew about it or not is irrelevant. that fact that you belive he knew about it and denies it could well alter your opiion of him but it is not a criminal act. just dont vote for him next time.
neither is it any business of the tribunal, what is the accusation against bertie? that he took money from Owen O'Callaghan in return for favours . what were the favours . the only evidence that has com forward is from cocaine head eamioonn dunphy which in reality said  you could give bertie all the money you want but hell do his own thing any way.
Hardly damming.
what were the challanges facing bertie when he took over as taoiseach.
Stop immigartion  - done
peace in the north  - done
solve unemployment - done
it time we grew up stopped scring around in shit  and honoured a great man

Inbred - A class of folks who will support the local strongman no matter who he f.u.c.k.s over.

Otherwise known as Feena Fallers.

Gullible - See above except believe the local strogman no matter what he says.

[rosnarun]

the definition of denial is not in question
what is in question is whether Mr Ahearn behaved in an improper or illegal manner . i have yet to see any evidence of that less yet  that he compounded this harming the state by his actions . and it is this last point which should be of the greatest concern. not did anyone piss about with money and try to be berties pall and act the big man at manure games after all his so called biggest contributer did not live nor had any financial interest in Ireland.
in short where the beef,