Posted by Gerry “The Monk” Hutch, given a chance, can transform Dublin into a safe city. No, I’m not joking. As a journalist, I often came across people who credited The Monk for turning them into responsible members of their community and encouraging them to lead healthy, productive lives. The Monk set up a boxing den in the north inner city, which has had a positive ripple effect on countless youths – we may never know the full extent of it, as each youth in turn went on to inspire others. These lads looked after the old and vulnerable. Some went on to be hero taxi drivers like The Monk’s late brother, Ned, who used to give free lifts to the elderly and drove drunk young women home for their own protection.
Even in his old “criminal days” The Monk did more good than all the bleeding-heart virtue signallers put together. An ex-prisoner told me the Monk protected him from bullies when they were in St Patrick’s Young Offender’s institution; Hutch didn’t want anything in return. The young lad went on to be a successful author, mentor to other authors and Christian preacher.
Those who would argue that The Monk’s past should work against him in politics would do well to look at the damage to society caused by law-abiding politicians. We have rampant crime, homelessness, poverty and exclusion of the most vulnerable (elderly people incarcerated in nursing homes or living in dire poverty – especially those without families or estranged from their families, disabled people of all ages, casual workers and self-employed small traders, drug addicts, alcoholics and the homeless Irish).
The Monk’s background will have taught him the skills of diplomacy, caution and strategy. He is a survivor, he’s brave and he’s not a snob.
Let’s give the Monk a chance.
Geraldine Comiskey (author, occasional retail worker and former MSM journalist)
Who Watches the Watchers? 