‘THUGGERY AND INTIMIDATION’ is how deputy leader of the of the Labour Party Joan Burton has described a video that emerged yesterday of a local candidate being confronted in Tallaght in Dublin.
The video shows the candidate canvassing with two of her supporters when they are approached by two people who accuse the candidate of deleting questions on her Facebook page about water charges.
There is an air of hostility from the outset and the video suggests that both parties know each other as they refer to each by name. At two separate points there is physical contact between the male canvasser and the two people accosting him and the candidate.
Genockey is visibly upset and shaken by the confrontation and even says so at one point:
It’s not enough to try and bully me online you have to bully me in person as well. It’s not right to just bully a young woman who’s trying to make a difference in her own community.
Speaking at the launch of the Labour Party’s local and European election campaigns, Burton came strongly to Genockey’s defence, adding that the people “bullying” her are not representative of the people of Tallaght:
By now, most of you here will have seen the bullying ordeal that Martina endured when canvassing earlier this week at the hands of individuals completely unrepresentative of the people of Tallaght. Martina has lived in Jobstown with her family since she was three, and has spent her adult life campaigning for her community – firstly as a reporter for the Tallaght Echo and now as a community development worker.
“I can’t think of a finer example of a candidate who has nothing but the best interests of her community at heart, and will never stop fighting for that community, even when confronted by thuggery and intimidation,” she said.
Genockey is running for election in Tallaght South having previously worked as a reporter with the Tallaght Echo newspaper.
She is also involved with Shamrock Rovers football club and has edited the team’s programme.
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