Jim Walsh Fails to Apologise for Dail Speech.

Fine Fail senator Jim Walsh has stated that he does not intend to apologise for his speech in the Seanad. Personally, I find myself remiss to call this speech as part of an argument. Instead, it was a speech endemic to this man’s failure to understand the meaning of the word “Argument”. It was a speech of directed shame; full of grisly details and fury but with no significant information. Now in his defence of his speech on The Irish Times, he digs himself deeper. Not only does he fail to apologise for this inexcusable speech, but he attempts to justify it as an attempt to “Show the Truth” of abortion. 

It brings light to Walsh’s many failings, not just as a politician but as a human being. Firstly, he used this description because he thinks that he’s the only one to understand what abortion is. Walsh is a man who will stand up before the Seanad and lecture not only the women present, but the women who may well have been watching the speech online, and may well have even had an abortion, what an abortion is. This is an extremely condescending stance to take. The members of the house and the women of Ireland know much better than Walsh on this matter, and this speech displayed his arrogance.

Secondly, Walsh believes the only way to communicate a message of import is to resort to what has been described by other members of the house as mere “Oral pornography”. To think that the Fine Fail government would put forward a politician that does not understand the need for political formality reflects badly upon the whole institution. The Senators wear formal clothes, formal shoes and use formal language for a reason – Without formality, there can be no respect. In short, the very nature of the speech was as disrespectful as it was condescending.

Finally, Walsh asserted in his apology for the speech that there is not enough of this kind of language in the media, and that it never sees air. He has the nerve to say this not even one month after the infamous Pro-Life billboard driven right up to the door of the Rape Crisis Centre or even one year since the Pro-Life campaign’s “Abortion Tears Her Life Apart” billboard campaign. There is already an incredible amount of this description of abortion in the media, and Jim Walsh is convinced that it doesn’t exist. One can only postulate two theories for this – Either he knows it exists and is lying, or he is so embarrassingly out of touch that he is not even aware of the Rape Crisis Centre incident. 

So in summary, what was wrong with the manner in which Walsh addressed the Seanad that morning? Absolutely nothing – Once he forgives himself for the fact it was condescending, disrespectful, and mostly not even correct. Perhaps I will ironically draw criticism for being too direct in my own criticism. It doesn’t matter. I will reserve my political correctness until such time as Walsh grows up and becomes a politician and becomes correct about something.

(Opinion Piece by J.Nolan, photo from The Journal)