Putting aside the rights and wrongs of the planned eviction of Irish travellers at Dale Farm, more than few individuals with addresses at the site have been part of scam operations around the world. Crews of Irish travellers sparked a nationwide alert in Australia in 2008 selling dodgy electrical generators at inflated prices. (Pictured) Trading standards officials discovered a number of the men involved, all Irish travellers, gave Crays Hill and Dale Farm as their address. One group included Danny 'Bishop'O'Brien and Michael Hegarty from Rathkeale, who have since been written to by the Australian authorities warning them not to come back. Back in 2004 James Gammel also gave the Essex site as his address when jailed for cigarette smuggling in Belgium. He was one of three Rathkealers jailed including Richard 'Kerry' O'Brien junior, recently convicted of rhino horn smuggling in the United States. His cousin, also named Richard, has emerged as the only male spokesman for the traveller sat the site, although there has been little mention of his own convictions for tobacco smuggling. Dale Farm has been described to me by Rathkeale travellers as "a come and go place" but the Basildon council have really tied themselves up in an expensive knot on this one.
Is this new news to anyone, I think not. The general public know what Irish travellers are like, the way they live and the upset and chaos they cause to the majority of the British people. It is just the Government and unjust laws of this country that prevent the public having their say or speaking the truth.
ReplyDeleteVanessa Redgrave is not aware of this, nor are the well heeled young toffs who are manning the barricades at Dale Farm.
ReplyDeleteBut there again, they come from the privileged classes and could not therefore be defined as the 'general public'.
Dale Farm described as "a come & go place" I think not. Or our council wouldn't be spending millions of the eviction.
ReplyDeleteGood bit of info, cheers.
I have the misfortune of living just a few short miles from Dale Farm, although not within the borough of Basildon, so I was very interested to find your blog.
ReplyDeleteThis is an ongoing saga (10 years - so far) which has cost Basildon Council a great deal of money and the cost goes up every time the travellers lodge another injunction with the courts.
These so called travellers are not the sort of people you'd want as neighbours and although their eviction is imminent, or so we are told, I do worry about where they spend the next 10 years.
One thing that is obvious from watching the events at dale Farm is the absence of an any traveller menfolk and I have wondered where they were. I knew they travelled into Europe to do their dastardly deeds but I didn't realise they went as far as Australia.
Australia has my sympathies!
Though you might be interested in the latest news on the Dale farm Mob.
ReplyDeleteSeveral of the Dale Farm travellers have been prosecuted for assault and similar.
One was for harrassing a local lady who dared to openly object to the Traveller's activities on TV. One 'gentleman traveller' went to her home and verbally abused her. He was let off without charge, would you believe? Another drove his car at one of the Basildon Council workers who was helping to clear the site and bring it back to Green Belt status again.
Now, they are demanding that the council give them another piece of land in the residential area of Laindon.
It seems to be no 'give' but all 'take' with these people.
Hope they aren't causing too much trouble for you there in the 'land of my Father'!
Dave