The Irish Independent has reported by far the most serious development in the Garth Brooks concert issue. A citizen has now withdrawn an application to take a High Court case, and he says that he has withdrawn the case after threats were made on his life and his family’s lives.
He told the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke, about the alleged threats, as he says he is afraid that he will be shot if he reports the threats to the police. He is now reported to be in hiding, and the Lord Mayor has pleaded with any individuals making the threats to desist.
The man, Mr Brian Duff, was seeking an injunction to prevent the Garth Brooks concerts going ahead. Asked by the Independent whether he will be reporting the threats to the police, he replied: “You can’t be a squealer in the North Inner City… do you want to get me shot?”
I have no idea how credible these alleged threats were, but the Lord Mayor Christy Burke clearly sees them as credible, and he says that the man involved has had to stay in a B&B because of them.
This concerts issue has now taken a sinister turn, having escalated from financial and political wrangling, intensified by disproportionate media hype, into alleged threats of physical violence and an alleged violent subversion of our legal system.
For some reason, the Irish Independent changed the emphasis of its reporting of this story between yesterday afternoon and this morning.
Yesterday afternoon’s version of the story (see below) was headed: “Garth Brooks injunction man: ‘My family have received death threats over concert fiasco’.” The story began: “A Dublin scaffolder who lodged an injunction against the Garth Brooks concerts has claimed that he and his family have been subject to death threats.”
This morning’s version of essentially the same story (see below) is headed: “Resident was ‘paid €15,000 to help his court case’.” The story now begins: “The man who sought a High Court injunction to prevent Garth Brooks’ performing in Croke Park was allegedly given a suit and €15,000 to fund the case.” In this version, the alleged death threats are not mentioned until the tenth paragraph of the story, although they are then reported on in more detail.
This seems like a strange shift in news priorities. Surely the source of Mr Duff’s funding for his High Court case pales into insignificance, when placed alongside the withdrawal of the case after alleged death threats?