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FRENCH PRESIDENT FRANCOIS Hollande has declared a state of emergency after a night of terror in Paris, as the city was hit by a series of explosions and shootings.
The worst carnage was at a concert hall hosting a US rock band, where scores of people were held hostage and attackers ended the standoff by detonating explosive belts.
What we know so far:
The Department of Foreign Affairs has set up a phone line at 01-408-2000 for anyone worried about relatives or friends who are not yet accounted for in Paris.
Any Irish in Paris can also contact the Embassy on +33144176700.
It’s now around five hours since the last of the terror attacks in Paris.
We’ll have updates here all day at TheJournal.ie.
The attacks – targeting young concert-goers, soccer fans and Parisians enjoying a Friday night out at popular nightspots – killed at least 120 people in the deadliest violence to strike France since World War II.
President Francois Hollande condemned it as terrorism and pledged that France will stand firm against its enemies.
After initial reports that the death toll could reach up to 160, that is now being revised down.
The Press Association is still reporting that more than 140 could have been killed. Associated Press reports ‘at least 120′ and the latest update from the Paris prosecutor’s office – shortly before – 4.30am also gave the death toll at around 120.
Reuters is reporting that the death toll at the Bataclan venue – where the Eagles of Death Metal were playing a show – could now be 87. It was previously reported as many as 120 people were dead at that location.
This is the latest from Reuters on the concert venue attack:
A Paris city hall official said four gunmen systematically slaughtered at least 87 young people attending a rock concert at the Bataclan music hall. Anti-terrorist commandos eventually launched an assault on the building. The gunmen detonated explosive belts and dozens of shocked survivors were rescued.
This was foreign affairs minister Charlie Flanagan’s statement on the attacks, issued shortly after midnight:
“It was with deep shock and dismay that I learned of this evening’s terrible events in Paris.
“I have just spoken with France’s Ambassador to Ireland, H.E. Jean-Pierre Thébault, and conveyed to him, on behalf of the people of Ireland, deepest condolences and sympathy on this appalling tragedy.
“I told him that we stand with the people of France at this time of great difficulty and that Ireland will assist in any way possible.
“Our Embassy in Paris is on stand-by to offer assistance to any Irish people affected by these events and the staff of the Embassy are on duty and monitoring the situation closely.”
Once again, concerned families with loved ones in Paris who may be unaccounted for can call the Department of Foreign Affairs helpline any time at 01 408 2000.
Any Irish in Paris can also contact the Embassy on +33144176700.
The Department of Foreign Affairs travel advice for Irish citizens has been updated this morning – with people being told to “exercise extreme caution”.
Here’s the full advice:
“A state of emergency has been declared in Paris following multiple events on Friday evening. Citizens in Paris should exercise extreme caution and follow the instructions of the local authorities, who are advising people to stay indoors. Irish citizens in Paris should make contact to reassure their family at home as to their safety.
“Airports remain operational but Irish citizens in or travelling to France should expect additional security and possible travel disruptions. Anyone intending to travel to Paris should contact their airline or tour operator for further information.”
This graphic shows the locations of the attacks and the death toll at each site (which could change over the coming hours):
President Barack Obama has spoken by phone to French President Francois Hollande to offer the condolences of the American people.
The White House said in a statement that Obama had reiterated the United States’ steadfast, unwavering support for the people of France, calling the nation America’s oldest ally and friend.
Obama also has reaffirmed the offer of any necessary support to the French investigation.
The White House says the two leaders have pledged to work together, and with nations around the world, to defeat the scourge of terrorism.
Friends and relatives have been using social media to search for loved ones feared to have been at the sites of the attacks.
People have been taking to Twitter to appeal for information on loved ones believed to have been at the Bataclan concert.
“We are looking for Marie, who was at the Bataclan, we have no news from her. If you see her, please contact me #Bataclan”, the tweet below reads…
“If you have news of Christophe aka @MokeComputer he was at Bataclan tonight and we need to hear from him,” another Twitter user wrote:
Irish Facebook users have also been using the ‘Safety Check’ feature which allows anyone in Paris to mark themselves as safe…
You can find the Safety Check here.
Earlier in the evening, Parisians used the hashtag #portesouvertes, or “open doors,” to offer a place to stay for people who were evacuated from the sites of the attacks…
More details coming in on the attack at the Bataclan theatre. You’ll find a separate report on that here.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has canceled trips to France and Italy in the wake of the terror attacks.
The state-run IRNA news agency quoted him as saying that Iran “itself has been a victim of the scourge of terrorism” and the fight against terrorism must go on.
France was one of the world powers involved in recent negotiations with the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme.
Hossein Jaber Ansari, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, also was quoted as saying:
“Those terrorist groups that committed the Paris crimes do not believe in ethical principles and they are not loyal to any type of divine religions — including Islam.”
British Prime Minister is set to hold a meeting of the UK’s emergency committee Cobra this morning.
Morning Ireland will be going on air with a special edition of the programme at 8am.
Police in France are hunting for possible accomplices of the eight assailants who carried out the attacks last night.
Here’s the latest update on that manhunt and general developments this morning, just filed by Associated Press:
French police are hunting possible accomplices of eight assailants who terrorised Paris concert-goers, cafe diners and soccer fans in this country’s deadliest peacetime attacks, a succession of explosions and shootings that cast a dark shadow over this luminous tourist destination.
Parisians who went to sleep in horror at initial news of the attacks woke Saturday to learn that at least 120 people were killed and scores wounded. World leaders joined together in sympathy and indignation, New York police increased security measures, and people around the world reached out to friends and loved ones in France.
The perpetrators remained a mystery — their nationalities, their motives, even their exact number. Suspicion turned to Islamic extremists, who are angry at France’s military operations against the Islamic State group and al-Qaida affiliates, and who targeted satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo this year and have hit Jewish and other sites in France in the past.
French President Francois Hollande convened a special security meeting Saturday morning. He vowed to be “merciless” with the nation’s foes following what he called unprecedented terrorist attacks.
In a new development for France, seven attackers died in suicide bombings, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. Another was killed by police, and prosecutor’s office spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said authorities can’t rule out that other attackers are at large. Investigators are also looking for possible accomplices.
The attacks, on at least six sites, were near-simultaneous.
The Vatican has condemned “in the most radical way” the terror attacks in Paris.
The Rev. Federico Lombardi said in a statement early that the violence was “an attack on peace for all humanity”.
He said it requires “a decisive, supportive response on the part of all of us as we counter the spread of homicidal hatred in all of its forms”.
Lombardi said the Vatican was praying for the victims and the wounded “and for all the French people”.
Buildings around the world are being lit up in solidarity with the people of France.
U2 has postponed its planned concert in Paris tonight in light of the deadly attacks across the city.
The Dublin band said in a statement that it would go ahead with the concert “at an appropriate time”.
The members said they watched in shock and disbelief at the unfolding events, and were devastated by the loss of life at the Eagles of Death Metal concert.
They added:
“We hope and pray that all of our fans in Paris are safe.”
Speaking on Morning Ireland, the Taoiseach said his thoughts and sympathies were with the French people.
For now the immediate priority is to find out how the attacks were planned and coordinated, Kenny said.
Stephen Carroll, an Irish reporter with France 24, has been speaking to Morning Ireland about his experience in Paris last night.
He was at a comedy gig when news of the attacks began to come in, he said.
Carroll later went down to the scene at the Bataclan…
Higgins had called to express “his very sad feelings” and those of the people of Ireland, he said.
Thébault said it was a very strong sign of the massive support for the French people from the people of Ireland.
Angela Merkel has said she will meet with her ministers to discuss the Paris attacks. The German Chancellor pledged to “do everything” her country could to help France fight against terrorists.
We will do everything to help in the hunt for the perpetrators and instigators, and to carry out the fight together against these terrorists.
The latest death toll – as reported by Reuters citing French officials – is now at 128.
The critically injured list has reached 99 people, with another 80 reported injured.
Who is responsible?
That’s the question in Paris, right now.
Unusually, no group has taken responsibility for the attacks yet.
Reports from the city indicate that the acts of terror were carried out by at least eight militants, all wearing suicide vests.
The suspects so far include ISIS and al Qaeda. Security experts are saying that the coordinated attacks show a level of sophistication not seen since the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India. During that horrific day, 166 people died in multiple sites.
In fact, yesterday’s reign of terror may have been too sophisticated for a group such as ISIS to have carried it out.
There is also the possibility that the atrocity was the work of a group of people in France working independently of any global terror group.
This video is getting shared a lot today. It shows defiant French people singing La Marseillaise as they leave the Stade de France, the site of two suicide bombs during a friendly match between France and Germany.
Flights between Ireland and Paris ARE operating today but Aer Lingus are offering full refunds to people who do not wish to travel.
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs has urged Irish citizens in Paris to exercise extreme caution and to follow the instructions of local officials.
More details on travel and transport arrangements can be found here.
We’ve all heard and read reports of ‘carnage’ at the Bataclan last night but a picture is worth a thousand words…
A couple comfort each other outside the venue:
A survivor makes an important phone call as she walks away from the venue:
Investigators inspect a lifeless body outside the Bataclan:
Some more detail on Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s comments to Morning Ireland earlier…
“I was reading some material when I saw the newsflash, the same as citizens all around the world,” he told host Cathal Mac Coille
“It’s the blackest of black days for Paris, for France and its citizens and through them on, the citizens of the free world.”
He said it was an “appalling and horrendous attack on the free world”.
“Obviously this was coordinated, at six different locations. 120 people dead, 200 injured.”
“My thoughts and sympathies are with the bereaved, the French people. The second time in ten months… I recall specifically walking down the streets of Paris with all the leaders of the European Union and other countries linked arm in arm in solidarity and against evil which is what this is.”
The Taoiseach said authorities in France were trying to determine who was responsible, and how the attacks were planned and coordinated.
He noted that some 200 world delegations were due in the city at the end of the month for the COP21 Paris climate conference, but stressed that the priority was to express the sympathies of the world to the French people.
“We hope and pray that those others who planned this will be brought to justice in the shortest possible time.”
Sky News has been speaking to a number of survivors to the attacks across the city through translators.
One man who was at the Bataclan told the broadcaster that the concert had started about 30 minutes before the attack started.
“We heard firecracker noises and we turned around and saw two young people – well we were a bit far away – with machine guns firing into the crowd.
So we all laid on the ground. There was panic, screams, shots continued to be fired. At the right of the stage, a door opened and we all rushed there.
“Stuck there. It was leading to a staircase. We got stuck in a staircase for five to 10 minutes.
“People were trying to force some doors open but they only led to dressing rooms and green rooms so it didn’t lead to anything.
“Someone managed to open a door that led to the roof. We got up to the rooftop. We waited for a while and there was a man who had an apartment with a window that opened onto a rooftop. He opened the window and let us into his apartment. We stayed the whole time at his place.
“We could hear gunshots, explosions, screams. We didn’t know what was going on really.”
You have, no doubt, seen this image countless times since last night.
DailyEdge.ie writes: One artist’s poignant response to the tragedy has struck a chord with many. Jean Jullien, a French graphic designer based in London, shared a powerful image entitled Peace For Paris on his Instagram last night.
The moving twist on the peace icon has resonated with the masses – Boing Boing has even hailed it as “the internet’s official response” to the atrocities.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed it is providing assistance on one injured Irish citizen in Paris.
Another witness spoke to Sky News about how his neighbourhood restaurants were hit in the wave of attacks.
“I heard some noise when I was at the bistro which is where I work. I got out and started running. I was looking for where the sound was coming from.
I figured out it was coming from… I arrived at the scene and there were lots of dead bodies on the ground. Lots of dead bodies.
“At that moment, you can’t tell if this is real or fiction, a movie. Whatever the case, a lot of people are dead.”
President Francois Hollande has said that the attacks last night were “an act of war” in a televised address this morning.
He blamed the Islamic State group for the terrorist attacks.
During his speech this morning, Hollande announced that France will hold three days of mourning.
He said that last night’s atrocities were planned carefully from outside France with coordination inside the country.
President Hollande also put the death toll at 127.
He told his citizens that France is strong and that she will always win against tyranny.
In blaming the so-called Islamic State group, he referred to them as the Daech terrorist army.
More from President Hollande’s defiant address this morning:
“We’re protecting the citizens and the country in this state of emergency. I pay homage to the country’s forces who fought the terrorists yesterday.
“Everyone has given the utmost. Everyone will put in the maximum effort in the coming days. France was attacked in a cowardly way, violently.
“France will be unbreakable in the face of these attacks. All possible measures will be taken.
We will work alongside our allies to fight this terrorist menace in this most serious, unhappy and uncertain time in this country.
“I call for unity, courage and I will address the parliament, united at Versailles on Monday, to work out how to battle this.
France is strong and even if she is wounded, she will get up always and nothing can hold her down even if we are feeling the grief now.
“France is solid. She is active. She is vigilant. And she will triumph.
My dear compatriots, we will defend ourselves. It is our country – and more than that. It is about humanity.
“Everyone must remember their unity. Long live France.”
Live footage on rolling news stations are showing small crowds gathering around restaurants where people were killed last night.
Police have not cordoned off the area. People are able to walk close to the buildings where militants opened fire last night.
The scenes are quiet with Sky News reporting that there are queues in the area of people willing to give blood.
More breaking news from Paris…
Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin will say a Mass at St Mary’s Pro Cathedral this morning at 11am to remember the victims of last night’s tragedies.
In a statement, he warned about the dangers of fundamentalism and said the events were an example of what happens when religion is distorted for ideological reasons.
The Islamic State group, after being blamed by French president Francois Hollande, admits it was behind last night’s attacks which left 127 people dead in Paris.
Meanwhile, Russia has spoken with its Foreign Minister saying the attacks “justify” a stronger fight against radical jihadists in Syria.
Islamic State has said that France will remain a ‘top target’ as long as continues its current policies.
It said it carefully studied the locations for the attacks.
The statement they issued is in French but we’re hoping to have an English translation soon.
In a separate development, a terminal at Gatwick Airport has been evacuated because of a suspect package.
Syria’s embattled president Bashar al-Assad has come out to condemn Friday’s attacks, speaking to Lebanese TV.
He said:
What France suffered from savage terror is what the Syrian people have been enduring for over five years.
We mentioned earlier people were queuing up to give blood. Here’s photographic evidence of that.
Here’s more from that statement from Islamic State in which they say France continues to be a target:
“Eight brothers carrying explosive belts and guns targeted areas in the heart of the French capital that were specifically chosen in advance: the Stade de France during a match against Germany which that imbecile François Hollande was attending; the Bataclan where hundreds of idolaters were together in a party of perversity as well as other targets in the 10th, 11th and 18th arrondissement…”
France and those who follow its path must know that they remain the principal targets of the Islamic State.
(This is the statement, in French)
A timeline of terror…
We’ve compiled a quick look at exactly how events unfolded last night from 9.25pm local time.
Le Monde has published an extremely distressing video, taken by one of its journalists, of the back door of the Bataclan as concertgoers tried to escape the four terrorists who had opened fire on the crowd.
A man and a woman can be seen dangling from second and third storey windows, while there are a number of bodies lying outside the entrance.
People can be seen dragging injured people away from the deadly scene, while others hobble away from the area.
Gunshots can be heard continuously in the background, as well as shouts from a man looking for somebody called Oscar.
There is a lot of talk right now about whether or not Islamic State is responsible – or if they are merely ‘taking credit’.
The Guardian has spotted what it calls a ‘key mistake’ in the statement.
The statement mentions an attack in the 18th district but there was no attack there. The Stade du France is in the Saint-Denis area.
According to the newspaper, “It is possible the group has mixed these places up, although it does mention that attack earlier in the sentence.”
BREAKING
A man was arrested in Germany last week and there are now thought to be clear links between him and the Paris attacks.
Here is what AFP has to say on the matter:
Bavaria’s state premier Horst Seehofer said that there was “reason to believe” that a man arrested last week with several weapons in southern Germany was linked to attackers who killed more than 128 people in Paris.
“There is reason to believe that this is possibly linked” to the attacks, Seehofer told a party conference.
Police had confirmed the arrest on 5 November during a routine check on a motorway, saying “many machine guns, revolvers and explosives” were found in the suspect’s vehicle.
Meanwhile, David Cameron has told the UK that it must be “prepared for a number of British casualties”.
In an extremely strongly worded statement, he called the “sickening” terrorist attacks the worst acts of violence in Paris since WWII.
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland has said that they are providing help to one Irish person injured in the attacks. They have been give no further indications that there were any more Irish citizens caught up in the attacks.
U2′s Bono has been chatting to Dave Fanning on 2fm about cancelling their two imminent Paris gigs.
He said their “first thoughts are with Eagles (of Death Metal) fans”.
The majority of victims last night are music fans…this is the first direct hit on music that we’ve had in this so-called war on terror… Whatever its called… It’s very upsetting… These are our people.
The band had been tweeting from Paris before the tragic events unfolded.
Some poignant shots from outside the French Embassy in Dublin this morning.
Police in Paris have asked people not to spread incorrect information. This comes after rumours of a car chase and gunshots in Bagnolet were spread across social media.
There was no truth to the rumours.
Our columnist Tom Clonan warns that more attacks in Paris could be imminent. He writes:
The attacks were also carefully timed to diffuse and dilute the French security response. To allow a greater amount of time in the ‘kill zone’. Hence the unusually high death toll. To kill so many people, so deliberately, in such a short time speaks of a level of determination and training associated with a terrorist organisation growing in strength and confidence.
As a consequence, this will not be the last such attack in France or elsewhere in the EU.
Islamic State and their affiliates have shown a fast learning curve in mounting such attacks. They will see this operation in Paris as a stellar success and will be emboldened to repeat the exercise. It will also encourage copy-cat attacks elsewhere.
Ireland is among those states that needs to sit up and take notice of the lessons learned by all sides in Friday’s horrific killings. Terrorism is here to stay.
The Elysèe palace tweeted this Vine earlier.
This man appeared at the Bataclan this afternoon on his bike. He had a piano with him, played a rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine and left.
Let’s return to the statement David Cameron gave to British television earlier. It can easily be labelled as ‘fighting talk’.
They also not-so-subtly suggest a culture divide between the victims and the terrorists.
Here are his words, in full:
“The events in Paris are the worst act of violence in France since the Second World War. The worst terrorist attack in Europe for a decade. A horrifying and sickening attack.
Our hearts go out to the French people, and to all those who lost loved ones. Today the British and French people stand together, as we have so often before in our history when confronted by evil.
“Shocked, but resolute. In sorrow, but unbowed. My message to the French people is simple: Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. We stand with you. United.
While the full picture of what happened is still emerging, we know that there were multiple terror incidents across Paris and over 120 people are feared dead with many more injured.
“We must be prepared for a number of British casualties, and we are doing all we can to help those caught up in the attack.
These were innocent victims enjoying a Friday night out with friends and family, no doubt at the end of a hard week.
“They were not seeking to harm anyone. They were simply going about their way of life – our way of life.
And they were killed and injured by brutal, callous murderers who want to destroy everything our two countries stand for. Peace. Tolerance. Liberty. But we will not let them.
“We will redouble our efforts to wipe out this poisonous extremist ideology and, together with the French and our allies around the world, stand up for all we believe in.
“I have just chaired a meeting of COBR to review the security situation here in the UK. The threat level is already at severe, which means an attack is highly likely, and will remain so.
“Our police and intelligence agencies work round the clock to do all they can to keep us safe. Ever since the co-ordinated firearms attacks in Mumbai in 2008, we have all been working together to ensure we could respond to such an attack.
This summer police and other emergency services carried out a major exercise to test our response for multiple firearms attacks. And in light of last night’s attacks, we will of course review our plans and make sure we learn any appropriate lessons.
“It is clear that the threat from ISIL is evolving. Last night’s attack suggests a new degree of planning and coordination and a greater ambition for mass casualty attacks.
“And we must recognise that however strong we are, however much we prepare, we in the UK face the same threat. That’s why we continue to encourage the public to remain vigilant.
“And we will do all we can to support our police and intelligence agencies with the resources and the capabilities they need.
The terrorist aim is clear. It is to divide us and to destroy our way of life. So more than ever we must come together and stand united. And carry on with the way of life that we love, and that we know, and that will never be moved off.
“I hope to speak to President Hollande later today and I’ll make clear that we will do whatever we can to help.
Your values are our values. Your pain is our pain. Your fight is our fight. And together, we will defeat these terrorists.
The Sydney Opera House is the latest iconic landmark to turn blue, white and red in solidarity with Paris.
Identifying victims is a slow task at the moment as the focus was on getting survivors from the Bataclan to hospital last night.
Many bodies remained in the venue overnight.
French media outlet Libération also says that many of those who were at the concert lost wallets and IDs or left them in bags and coats.
The Eiffel Tower turns off its lights every morning at 1am. But overnight, other landmark buildings across the world turned theirs on.
The Eiffel Tower and other attractions in France, including Disneyland Paris, are closed today.
It is reportedly the first time EuroDisney has closed for a day since it opened its magical gates in 1992.
A statement on its website reads:
More on the closure of the Eiffel Tower.
Management has told AFP it will remain closed “indefinitely” after the attacks.
There was a lot of chat and criticism last night about a tweet Wexford TD Mick Wallace sent from his account.
He defended the remarks on this afternoon, saying he does not condone terrorism.
“I don’t say things lightly. I feel very strongly about [the issue],” he told RTÉ’s Saturday with Claire Byrne show.
Wallace said he was shocked by last night’s attacks, calling them “completely unjustifiable”.
It was an inhumane act… It’s too bad for words. Under no circumstances do I condone the likes of Isis.
“It’s just horrific. It hardly bears thinking about… And all the people that died are so innocent of anything that’s going on.”
Here’s another look at the unnamed man with the portable piano who played a version of Imagine outside the Bataclan today.
People continue to gather around the six locations where people lost their lives last night, leaving tributes, flowers and other gestures of solidarity.
Sand was laid to cover blood stains outside the restaurants where the first attacks happened last night.
The French Football Federation has confirmed that a friendly match between France and England due to be played on Tuesday in Wembley will go ahead.
This tweet from a 19-year-old student in Chelsea has been retweeted more than 63,000 times as a debate about the refugee and migrant crisis swirls around social media in the wake of the Paris attacks.
JUST IN FROM PARIS…
One of the terrorists who wreaked havoc at the Bataclan last night was a Frenchman known to police, AFP has learned.
Another journalist, who works for Liberation, said police identified him by his fingerprints.
There are also reports of a Syrian passport being found near the body another militant. But he has yet to be formally identified.
The US State Department has confirmed that an unknown number of Americans were injured in the attacks.
A statement from deputy spokesman Mark Toner read:
The United States Embassy in Paris is working round the clock to assist American citizens affected by this tragedy. The US government is working closely with French authorities to identify American victims. We are aware there are Americans among the injured, and are offering them the full range of consular assistance.
Here are the latest figures from Paris:
128 people have died
300 people are in hospital
80 people are in a ‘critical condition’
53 people have been discharged from hospital
Like many of us, Stephen Colbert did not know what to say last night when closing out The Late Show.
Devastating images are still emerging of survivors in Paris. These men were pictured outside the city morgue this morning.
Such a heartbreaking contrast to new images just found of Eagles of Death Metal playing to an engaged crowd moments before the venue was attacked.
In the chaos of the Bataclan last night, many people left behind belongings – clothes, wallets, shoes and jewellery which are still strewn across the streets.
Little signs of a normal Friday night gone horrifically wrong.
As information slowly emerges about some of those killed in last night’s attacks, officials have confirmed that at least three foreign nationals – two Belgians and a Portuguese man – are among the dead.
David Cameron has also warned of the possibility of “a number” of British victims.
The Paris attacks are the deadliest in Europe since the Madrid train bombings of March 2004, as this AFP graphic shows.
The Dáil is to hold a minute’s silence in memory of the Paris victims on Tuesday.
The mark of respect will be followed by statements to express sympathy and solidarity with the French people, Government Chief Whip Paul Kehoe said.
BREAKING: Dutch police say a France-bound plane has been evacuated at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport following “threats” posted on Twitter.
“We always take threats very seriously and we decided here to evacuate the passengers and to search the aircraft,” a police spokesperson told AFP.
Thousands of people are marching through Dublin this lunchtime in a show of solidarity with the victims of last night’s attacks.
In Cork, two tricolours fly over City Hall:
At Gatwick Airport, a 41-year-old Frenchman is being questioned over ”what appears to be a firearm”, Sussex Police say.
The London School of Economics has named anti-corruption lawyer Valentin Ribet as a victim of the attack. He is the first person named.
More on the incident at Gatwick Airport.
Sussex Police say that the North Terminal is now open.
A statement says the man is being interviewed:
Police were called at around 9.30am following suspicious actions by a man who discarded an item in a bin at the airport. Explosive Ordnance Disposal specialists were called to the airport to investigate the item and carried out a small controlled explosion.
Personal items and what appears to be a firearm were recovered and have been removed for forensic examination. However, the viability of the weapon has yet to be established.
A 41-year-old man from Vendôme in France was arrested at the scene at the time of the report on suspicion of firearms offences. He was ‘landside’ at the airport and had not checked in or passed through any passport or security checks.
Palestinian Islamist groups have condemned last night’s attacks.
Senior figures in Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip but is considered by the US and EU to be a terrorist group, and Islamic Jihad criticised the killings that rocked the French capital.
Nafez Azzam, a member of Islamic Jihad’s political bureau, told AFP: “We condemn this crime in Paris against innocent people, this message of hatred.”
“Islam rejects indiscriminate killing,” he added.
One of those apparently responsible for the attacks, found with a Syrian passport, entered Europe through Greece last month, a Greek minister says.
Belgian police have raided a neighbourhood of the capital Brussels in connection with the deadly attacks in Paris, local TV station RTBF reported.
The network quoted an unidentified source as saying up to three raids were being carried out in the Molenbeek district in connection with the Paris attacks but police were not immediately available for comment.
One man has been arrested.
In Paris, several witness reported that some of the attackers arrived in a vehicle with Belgian license plates.
These are just some of the faces of loved ones still missing in Paris.
London’s Tower Bridge has lit up in support of the people of Paris.
The US Army’s American football team took the field for their game with Tulane today carrying US and French flags.
Many on Twitter are sharing the words of then-London mayor Ken Livingstone in the wake of the 7/7 bombings a decade ago.
Livingstone’s words closed with a message directly to the perpetrators.
Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has postponed his trip to Europe, condemning what he called “crimes against humanity”.
Rouhani had been due to hold talks in Rome today with Pope Francis as well as Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi before travelling on to the French capital.
Rouhani sent a message of condolence to French President Francois Hollande on the shootings.
Thousands of Irish and French marched side-by-side this afternoon in a sombre solidarity march to remember those who died in last night’s terror attack in Paris.
“I just moved to Dublin from Paris six weeks ago, after six years. So I feel like Paris is kind of my home.”
“I got on the bus and people were just chatting normally, it was just so so strange. Some people didn’t know. It was just like, why has everything not stopped? Why has the world not stopped?”
Among the thousands marching in Dublin, many French people struggled for words to describe their feelings:
“I don’t know, I don’t have any feeling today, ” Alex says with his country’s flag draped over his shoulders. “I just now want to be with my family in France.”
Ireland’s flag will fly at half-mast tomorrow on State buildings.
The wife of Eagles of Death Metal drummer Julian Dorio struggles with last night’s events after the band survived among the scores murdered in the Bataclan theatre.
French international footballer Lassana Diarra has confirmed that his cousin was killed in one of last night’s attacks.
Diarra was playing for his country in the Stade De France when his cousin was killed.
Several people have now been arrested in Brussels during police raids connected to the attacks in Paris.
Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens said on RTBF television that these arrests in the capital’s Molenbeek neighbourhood “can be seen in connection with a grey Polo car rented in Belgium” found near the concert hall in the French capital where scores of people were killed.
Parking tickets from Molenbeek were found inside the car with Belgian license plates, Belgian media said.
The media reported that at least five people were arrested during the raids, but the number was not confirmed officially.
In Paris, several witnesses reported that some of the attackers arrived in a vehicle with Belgian license plates.
Another person has died following yesterday’s attack. Almost 500 people have either died or been injured.
The UK’s Foreign Office has confirmed that at least one Briton is among the dead.
Prime Minister David Cameron had earlier warned of the possibility of “a number” of British victims.
The Paris prosecutor has said that yesterday’s coordinated terror attack was carried out by three separate teams working together.
Vigils were held in Dublin, Galway and Cork today for those who died.
There were some emotional scenes:
Greek media are reporting that two of the suspected Paris attackers entered Europe through the Greek island of Leros. One in August and the other in October.
Parisians who live near the Le Carillon café where 14 people were gunned down last night describe their horror and fear after finding out what happened.
One says that going out for a Coca-cola and a chat are parts of everyday life in Paris.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins has given some more details of the current state of the investigation.
He says that seven terrorists carried out the attack and that a passport found near one of the suicide bombers says that he was a 25-year-old Syrian national.
Molins said the attackers had worked in three teams, striking seven times in quick succession on Friday night.
“A Syrian passport in the name of a person born in Syria in September 1990 was found near a suicide bomber who blew himself up at the Stade de France,” Molins told a press conference.
The family of British citizen Nick Alexander have released a statement after his death in last night’s terror attack was confirmed.
Alexander was working in the Bataclan theatre when the two gunman stormed the concert and began murdering those in attendance.
His family say that he was ‘generous, funny and fiercely loyal’.
Tomorrow’s Sunday papers are also likely to be dominated by the horrors of Paris. The Independent on Sunday says they’re standing in defiance.
All four members of U2 lay flowers at the site of the last night’s deadly concert attack.
The band were supposed to play in the French capital this evening but their gig was cancelled.
Some of the survivors of the attack on the Bataclan theatre have been telling AFP how they escaped the slaughter.
Loic Wiels said he could feel the bodies hitting the floor around him at the Paris music hall where team of assailants opened fire.
The bullets whizzed so close, he was hit by the wood splinters they sent flying. And under his feet he could feel the blood that had poured out of the wounded and the dead.
In the packed hall, which can hold up to 1,500 spectators, the rock group had been playing for about 45 minutes when the explosions rang out.
Someone in the audience joked: “It’s firecrackers.”
“I turn around and I see two guys with Kalashnikovs. They were dressed normally: jeans and sneakers. At first I thought they were shooting in the air. Then I saw people falling over,” said Sylvain Raballant, 42.
Everyone that was in the pit, like Wiels and Raballant, hit the floor.
“I saw three attackers, two of them clearly. One looked like a young guy, with a three-day beard. The other was closely shaved, wearing small eye glasses and some kind of yellow beret. He was also wearing what I took for a bullet-proof vest. It was actually an explosive vest,” said Wiels.
Belgian police guard a street in Brussels on Saturday where arrests were made linked to the attacks in Paris.
A spokesperson for Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office says the arrests came after a car with Belgian license plates was seen close to the Bataclan theatre.
Several reports of police activity in Paris tonight.
More reports from the scene of the Pullman Hotel where a police operation is apparently ongoing.
A police operation underway at the Parisian hotel has led to the evacuation of the Eiffel Tower area which is just several hundred metres from hotel.
France’s Interior Ministry has said that the police operation near the Eiffel Tower has been ruled as a ‘false alarm’.
The city is on high alert tonight.
Britain stands with its nearest neighbour.
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The comments of this ignorant fool were not capable of misinterpretation. They were clear and explicit. All Dublin people are parasites and anyone who disagrees with his obnoxious government is a terrorist. He can withdraw what he likes, such idiotic views cannot be forgotten or forgiven.
He will have plenty of time to ponder his own words after the next election when he is officially twiddling his thumbs on the dole.
Kenny will probably promote him to Minister of Communication.
On December the tenth we should wear our county colours to show fine gale how many people from counties all over the country are opposed to water charges.
On the dole?? You mean on a fat pension paid for by us or in a nice little quango or a cushy EU job. Being incompetent only yields bad things when you are not a politician.
Over and over again chant two words on the 10-10-14
“General Election”
Yeah Rob your right sorry ! Politicians should have their pension cut by ten per cent every time they say something stupid . That would all of them would be without a pension inside the first month of being elected .
Pol (sorry don’t know how to do a fada) I was thinking the same thing last night. RTE will have a hard time editing out 200000 people calling for a general election
Funnyman, good call on the jerseys. There is a movement happening in the country, first time in my lifetime that I can finally see a serious concerted protest, and a refusal to take the government seriously anymore. Civil servants and policy makers next then!
Paul you can use Ctrl + Alt + The letter you want to add a fada, that or if your keyboard has it Alt Gr + the letter.
And yeah, it’ll be fun to see how both RTÉ and Hugh O’Connell spin that protest “A few rapscallions were mildly displeased by something to do with water, but enough of that, aren’t the government lovely, carry on chaps.”
-Seán ;)
Blueshirt Minister of indoctrination!!!
Nah Derek. We don’t want satellite dishes banned for fear we get ideas from the Disney channel.
I can’t remember seeing so much unrest and determination to see a government thrown out, yet these guys are still in power, RTE and those rags of national newspapers are to blame, they won’t report any negativity around this bunch of criminals. Previous governments were ousted for less with a lot of media pressure. As of this week i have stopped watching rte and buying any national newspapers, and will continue until they start reporting for the people who keep them in business. And will not be paying a tv licence until this happens. This government has not listened, and has to go now! Not paying any more austerity taxes/charges
Hi Paul, to do a fada press: The Alt Gr key + the vowel you want…For uppercase it’s Shift + AltGr + the vowel.
(Alt gr key is to the right of space bar if you have a European key board)
Catherine,
Your plan would leave all of them getting nothing at all , Its a great idea
What grinds my gears is that he says something along the lines of “we hear the people” insinuating that they hear people say that their starting a terrorist group. Every good terrorist group starts with a water balloon and some chanting haha. They obviously didn’t hear the true message of people who have had enough! Stayed in out homeland through tough times but simply cant take more hardship and austerity. Should I start a petition to default on the bail out debts? Their not our fault and we cant afford them
His speech can only reasonably be compared to Mussolini ordering the Italian army to invade Ethiopia.
#DotheNoelonIt
Just another YES man and as much use to our country as a WET fart ……resign you fool of fools and stop wasting the Irish people’s time for god’s sake.
Here “we have to nip this talk” of Fadas, RTE bias and Blueshirt-ism in bud. It could be construed as Islamic Extremism by the government. Along with eating, breathing, sleeping.
The sheer irony of this bloated, blowhard bumpkin labelling anyone as a parasite when it most likely ‘returned’ to the gravy train with transfers from his ‘estranged’ coontsituency carver-upper, Mick ‘The Leech’ Lowry!!
Yes. Please start the petition. I will sign.
he withdrew remarks but no apology – but if you read his Newstalk interview, his views have not really changed
– should be kicked out of the Dail. In Britain Maggie Thatcher got bully boys to infiltrate peaceful protests during the poll tax marches to make sure there was trouble and then banned them. Maybe FG doing the same also applies with the SO Called death threats – just a thought
Here the petintion Damien. Please sign it and share everybody. 10/12/14 #revolution
As a true Dub I’m sick of the country/city divide. We should all stick together to get rid of the toxic Quango that is Irish Water. Yes, some of you may have your own wells or pay into a group scheme but before long this Quango will come after you for payment. Nothing surer. Although Dublin is only 1/3rd of the population we need our country cousins to help us beat this Quango. I, for one, thank you and hope to see you taking part in these anti water protests. What a horrible person this TD Coonan is. I’m a legit protestor. Sick of all this austerity where I’m practically working to pay overinflated salaries, exps and bonuses for those who feel entitled to rip us off. enough is enough!
Well said, they’ll try every option to try split us. One voice, against this incompetent bunch of liars and cowards.
Its gone past the toxic Quango for myself…Its all about having the virus of stupidity eradicated from Leinster House. This mans comments are enough to call a GE in my opinion trying to cause divide and dishing out quite offensive insults. How these lads manage to get out of bed let alone a country is beyond my reasoning.
*run a country
I can’t remember seeing so much unrest and determination to see a government thrown out, yet these guys are still in power, RTE and those rags of national newspapers are to blame, they won’t report any negativity around this bunch of criminals. Previous governments were ousted for less with a lot of media pressure. As of this week i have stopped watching rte and buying any national newspapers, and will continue until they start reporting for the people who keep them in business. And will not be paying a tv licence until this happens. This government has not listened, and has to go now! Not paying any more austerity taxes/charges!!
Its gone past IW or another GE election now. FG have shown they are capable of anything to force their agenda through against the wishes of the country, nothing short of complete political reformation, a new constitution, an independent investigation into the conduct of politicians past and present, and a review of politicians wages and pensions should be the very least we demand for future generations.
A member so the shadow cabinet of the British Labour party resigned today for posting a single picture of a working class home with a white van and two English flags hanging out the window. Suggesting they were chavs or low class with no taste. But our Far Right FG TD’s can insult the every single citizen of the capital city who peacefully protested for weeks and months as savage terrorists who behead innocent people, and will he even think of resigning …we all know the answer to that. This government have no mandate to govern us every day they remain in power is an insult to us all.
I hate the way we can’t edit out typos on the journal like you can on other social media.
@Maire Ben.. Don’t worry neighbour.. they(government)are trying to pit us all against each other but it won’t work.. We will all stick together and that’s the way it should be and I also think that it water issue has actually brought people together in some way..united us so to speak..
Why do Dubs think that Ireland is split into two parts: 1. Dublin 2. The Country?
Coonan the Barbarian
What are the bets that his ‘death threat’ came directly from Enda Kenny
We don’t Johnny. But it is fun to extract the Michael. When the red necks are claim we dubs are all arrogant ********.
Enda: If ya ever do that again ya likkle b*llix I’ll fcukin strangle ya.
Nice to know how easy it is to create a media storm though.Congrats to all who forwarded and reposted this idiots comments.
Buzz, Enda said it’s the last big ask of the public. He is holding back on other plans until tjis is through, such as the broadcasting tax, universal health insurance that’s taken from wages & mandatory pension contributions also taken from wages..
The media know of this, why the silence?
Also media silence on Irelands exemption from water charges under article 9.4 of the EU s water directive is immensely important, but was buried with more LIES, LIES ON EVERYTHING.Right from the election campaigns to this very day.
They need to go or be pushed.
Johnney2004.
They dont. Politicians and unprofessional media hype this supposed divide. Yes, there are issues that mostly concern one or other more but that doesnot make a division. Regional variation has always enriched our society. Of cource such is not acceptable to those who prefere ireland inc. instead of Muintir na hÉireann.
This country cousin is happy to back you Máire. We both know who the parasites are.
I must b a mongrel. Born and bred dub living in the sticks of Wexford and I love it here. But will b in Dublin on 10/12
I can’t see the connection between anarchists and the peaceful protest, Mr Coonan perhaps should meet some real anarchists before he uses that term.
Quango is what it is . Enda said he was going to sort out all these quangos what does he do make a massive one . this is the straw that has broken the camels our backs roll on dec 10 peaceful march they dont like that ,
I am not number I am a free man!!!
What a fkn idiot
He’s a parasite. What an idiot.
Too late, it’s said now, and it’s further insight into their ignorance and total disrespect towards us. Not Paying!
Did ya hear the one about the guy who stood up in the dail and called 100,000 Dubliners parasites?
It must be a joke surely?
Mark he called all Dubliners parasites, the irony of those words coming from a politician whose sum contribution is to just vote whatever way he is told.
You’re right Norman, my fault, I was only thinking about the “wealthy socialists”.
If only I had a spare €80million or so, I could have gotten a few “consultants” to do a quick head count for me. They seem to be spot on all the time.
From a country person to all Dubs – looking forward to seeing you all again – for yet another massive and United peaceful protest on the 10th.
I know a few old farmers in Tipperary and they are all unbelievably racist in attitude to all Dublin people.i dont understand it because they all did a hell of a lot better out of the system/grants/pensions/children in university/ etc than the unfortunate people they have such ignorant attitude to. They think ,for example, that the sun shines out of Michael Lowry,and that everything connected with the investigations and convictions for tax fraud is, quote “a Dublin plot”??
Hope to see some of that great Dublin wit being used on posters in the march relating to being called “parasites”……How about “Dublin Parasites say NO”……or chant “Parasites…. won’t pay “Parasites… won’t pay” “Parasites….. won’t pay” LOL
@sean.Those few old farmers are becoming fewer and fewer as the years go on.The new generation of farmers are for the most part incredibly well connected to what’s going on in the world.Their lively hoods depend on it.The old days of only getting news through RTE and the newspapers or at the mart once a month are gone.The usual ‘devide and conquer’ politics along the urban/rural divide is ending very quickly.One of the ways we can all speed it up is for both sides to educate themselves about what how the other actually lives and how both rely on the other rather than to assume that the politically manufactured conflict exists.
Fine Gael have back peddled so much now, that they really think we are back in the 50′s.
Fine Gael politicians all have reversing beeps going off about their person just in general these days.
Definite comment of the week Bob!! Just a little more back-peddling from them and they’ll be all encouraging all “right-thinking people” to gather and sail to Spain!
I can’t remember seeing so much unrest and determination to see a government thrown out, yet these guys are still in power, RTE and those rags of national newspapers are to blame, they won’t report any negativity around this bunch of criminals. Previous governments were ousted for less with a lot of media pressure. As of this week i have stopped watching rte and buying any national newspapers, and will continue until they start reporting for the people who keep them in business. And will not be paying a tv licence until this happens. This government has not listened, and has to go now! Not paying any more austerity taxes/charges!
Fintan,
I know what you are up to by not paying your tv licence, You just want to get into jail before the rest of us to get the best room. I’m on to ya ;)
Confirmed on Vincent Brown last night if just 10% refuse to pay water charges then Irish Water collapses.
Excellent, I missed it, don’t have a TV (box) would that be on-line at all?
Padraic I think TV 3 has an online player maybe on that.
Thanks will check it out.
“Ive the upmost respect for the parasites, I mean people of Dublin” what a goon.
That man is an embarrassment!!
The entire Government is an embarrassment…
You could laugh at the clowns if it wasn’t for the unimaginable suffering they have caused…
December 10th independence day!!!!!
He’s a classic example of why cousins shouldn’t marry.
I hope people can see whats going on here. A FG backbencher has been made stick his head out of the foxhole with a bunch of abrasive comments designed to make headlines and split the protesters.
The Dublin ‘parasites’ remark is purely to split people. Ignore it.
If you agree with this flavour of filth politics, make your voice heard. ALL OUT ON THE 10th
i don,t think anyone will take him seriously. its a good sketch for savage eye they make it so easy.
Yes I totally agree
I think you are giving this clown too much credit. he is the kind of imbecile that would feel at home in the Seanad.
Basically all the water protesters got to do is don’t pay then this con trick will fail EU test.
Far too little, far too late.
I have to say, with every headline and story I read about all this, I feel more and more ashamed to be Irish. Then I scroll down and read the opinions of the people and the majority of it not only restores my pride, but strengthens it more and more now in spite of the debacle unfolding before us. Thanks for saying your stuff here, folks.
I never took much of an interest in politics before this and I’m about to name drop probably the first two politicians names I ever made a point to remember for positive reasons but I’d also like to tip my cap to Clare Daly and Stephen Donnelly, the two names standing out most in my head as living up to the title of ‘Representatives’.
I’m nervous about what lays ahead when a government collapses but I’m relieved and excited that it’s happening to this one.
They’re also two out of a handful of politicians that have an IQ above 100. Our political system as it stands attracts the wrong type of people – idiots and sleveens, most of them gifted with both attributes.
I’d like to be optimistic that all that is going to change now that the people are finally sitting up and paying attention. Maybe that will discourage the likes of this cretin and we’ll end up with leaders who genuinely want to improve the system for the country and its people. It will probably take a while for the last few old cronies to fully fade out but… I have higher hopes for 10 years down the road now than I did a few weeks ago
His constituency office employee is his wife, tells you all you want to know really. He was one of the first to employ a family member in the reign of this Government even though we were told that those things were a part of the past.
This is what we have running the country,what a complete moron
Stop with all the death threats, sweet Jesus. How could anyone take anything this balloon has to say seriously.
Funny if it wasn’t so serious.. Send that man to Brussels..
Don’t forget his bonus, he must receive a bonus
Don’t say balloon in front of Joan!! She could have drowned
Few micro millimeters of water can kill you know…
I heard she was almost decapitated
Shes deaf in that ear now
Joan is deaf in both ears when it comes to listening to the people she represents.
Already deaf in both ears?
Didn’t you know…. FG / LAB politicians don’t touch fluoridated water…. its toxic…
I think he should resign for his comments. I don’t like the way he likened Irish people that are literally on the breadline that have taken this governments savage austerity, are like ISIS. ISIS behead people, sexually abuse women and children, destroy religious artifacts/ monuments and convert all to their brand extreme of the muslim faith. Irish people just don’t want to pay anymore for austerity and private banking debts. It doesn’t make us bad people. We are just fed up.
A government politician saying something he didn’t really mean? Shock! Horror!
Too late just go and take, Joan and kenny with u
Jesus if this is what country folk think of us really I’ll have to think again about going for a break down the country with my wife and kids. They seem like a sinister lot down there. Thanks fg for the home truths, looks like it’ll be Spain for us next time.
@Cupid: I’m from Cork, went up to Dublin a few weeks to march, the Dubs I saw and met were fab, a really great bunch. Friendly, humourous, good natured. Not to mention determined. They weren’t just marching for themselves, they were marching for their children too. Something that self serving Blueshirt would never understand.
I know. I love cork. I was down there before with nowhere to stay, met some locals and told them my predicament, needless to say I’d a bed for the night. They brought me to see aslan in the opera house the next night. Good bunch. Thanks from a dub.
Christ … Look what this government has done .. Dubs and Corkonians having a conversation without a even the slightest sarcastic jibe in sight! ;)
I have nothing against this fool..but id be more worried about the fact that people actually voted for this d&#k..now thats whats scaring me
Same people who voted for Michael Lowry
Need to resign now !
Totally agree Liam , he should be sacked and kicked out of politics
COWARD and a FCUKING LIAR!
To put it mildly, he’s a dinosaur .
With him and Enda’s €35,000 a year minimum wage comment. What are these lads on? Are they actually drinking the tap water or something?
Typical of the crap comming from this government eu minister says implementation of water charges will make Ireland fall into more austerity measures time to make them listen
There is a certain irony to this story: “Water protestors are like ISIS!”…receives a death threat…“Erm, water protestors are not like ISIS”.
He is comparing decapitation with a knife to been hit on the head with a water balloon. I rest my case. One more reason never to vote Fine Gael again.
With Joan being kidnapped, Enda concerned about women and children then this clown and ISIS it’s been a week of comedy gold. Haven’t stopped laughing all week
Pity that they did not keep her locked up until she started listening to people. She sat with a smirk on her face all the time. I was not there but I heard that the brick was thrown AFTER she had gone. I dont condone that either way but what a load of crap we have had from the media all week about it.
Heard him on newstalk. What an embarrassment. Didn’t hear about the death threat but he did say that a Dub rang him and when he explained what he meant, the Dub fully agreed with him. Making it up as he goes along. Blamed Paul Murphy for instigating anarchy which would lead to an ISIS situation if it were not for the Gardai. Also accused Murphy of insulting country people Seems as if Murphy is the new Gerry Adams.
According to FG the SP/SF are really The League of Shadows and Paul Murphy is the new Ra’s Al Ghul.
Leo Varadkar is planning to don a green hood and hit the streets armed with a bow and arrow.
Richard bruton can be his red-clad archer sidekick :D
stop your blathering noonan . your comments where not misinterpreted by me or anyone else you showed utter contempt for the people. you can withdraw your remarks if you like i would rather you and your party wuthdraw from the dail permanently.
All this about protesters. Anyone else see whats going on here, 10-20 or even 30 gardai in housing estates in Dublin and Cork in recent times attempting to quell the protests and in some instances arresting protestors for standing on their own stopcock because,’ they’re stopping contractors from doing their job’. Thats fine.
All the while farmers are blockading meat factories around the country in a protest, in doing so stopping hundreds of factory workings from doing their job. Where are the gardai in this instance?
To me this just shows up the government for what they are. Lying s c u m. They are hell bent on getting these meters installed at any cost, using any excuse possible, and abusing power along the way in order to do so.
I dont blame the gardai, theyre following orders just like the many IW contractors and going to where theyre told to go.
looks like someone got an early morning phone call from our illustriuos leader!
You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don’t need you
Don’t got for help…no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold .FZ
Now he needs to withdraw his remark about parachutes in Dublin living off the country people. During the dark says of the seventies and eighties, it was the PAYE workers of Dublin and the other big towns and cites that kept the country afloat, while for a lot if that time most farmers payed zero tax.
Parachutes??! Damn autocorrect.
#parsites
parachutes? they dont just fall from the sky you know, someone has to pay for them !
Every time I try to type parasite Something Happens! :-)
@Dermot. Enda is on to you.Can you hear the distant hum of a Predator drone on a strike run ?!?
Cringeworthy retraction that he was pushed into by Fine Gael FM aka Newstalk.
what Coonan siad was a threat of violence it was him saying the signal had been given to turn a blind eye while gardai deal with these parasites. A death threat will put fear in the few people that received it, Noonans threat from the Dail will affect alot more people.
Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael)
That has turned the tide. I come from Templemore where every garda is trained. The people I have met there and across the country are horrified by what went on. It was a wake-up call for people who are now concerned about elements of the so-called wealthy Socialist Party, led by “the Murph” and company, aided and abetted by extremists among our Sinn Féin colleagues. This must be nipped in the bud and the people have given the signal to us to do that. If not, we are facing what is potentially a Middle East ISIS situation. If those people are allowed to get on with doing what they are doing, God help this country and people realise that. We have to nip that in the bud. From that point of view, yesterday was a great day for democracy.
https://www.kildarestreet.com/debate/?id=2014-11-20a.309
dehumanising people is the first step in ethnic cleasing, thats ISIS like behaviour Mr Coonan
Steve, what this Fine Gael TD has said is nothing short of promoting violence and he should be expelled from the Dail immediately. Who ever is responsible, be it the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Acting Garda Commissioner should also instigate immediate Legal Proceedings against him. He is trying to provoke a reaction that could possibly lead to a Civil War in this country
Jack, a well made point. This was indeed an overt threat of some sort of special measures to be taken against protesters and I view it as a very sinister development. Also who has given him “the signal ” to “nip it in the bud “? And just how does he propose to nip it?
That’s right Sheik, his repeated comment “we must nip this in the bud” is indeed a thinly-veiled threat and you are correct to ask, who gave him the nod to make that threat. What is the talk behind the scenes in FG circles?
Coonan, don’t ever speak again, ever about anything. Just keep your big fat useless mouth shut for the rest of your life you complete and utter gosh*te
Typical out of touch Goon, it is he is the Parasite not the Good people of this country that pay his unearned wages.
It must make them feel very important, getting a “death threat”.
well given his reaction about protesters being like isis. i would say the death threat was from the wife saying ” I’ll kill you embarrassing us on tv like that i bloody kill you when you get home”
Or “I’ll behead you my-feckin-self!”
What a TW@T !
His constituency office received a death threat? Ah that’s not too bad, I though it was himself who’d gotten it. What did it say? You’ve been a very naughty inanimate object and I’m gonna rip your wallpaper off?
Anyway, yeah, sure he did, sure he did. They’re all receiving death threats and being kidnapped these days. Must be ISIS.
Them vs us mentality caused the French Revolution. It could cause the Irish one too.
To be honest I am thinking these so-called death threats are self inflicted wounds …..as in they get someone to ring in a threat and then play the POOR ME to the public……like to know if investigations are under way to find the so-called bomb threat that was rang into Alan Kelly’s office or is it all forgotten now ? who rang in I wonder ?
@jb: For all we know….there were no calls made. Half of them hear voices, i’m convinced.
jb..you are right, there are sly and devious men in this government that will stop at nothing to hold on to power.
For any person thinking of signing up to this think of the life you have right now. A lot of couples can’t get out at the weekends and act like couples because they are shackelled to their debt and bills. Nor can they provide properly for their children so people like this muppet that likened you all to ISIS last night can command a salary that is much higher than his peers in other countries. He gets in the tune of e250k in expenses tax free for his 5 years in office and I am sure he had a very good laugh at you all last night when he thought about his wise butt comments before bed time. This guy is implementing the very policies that are destroying marriages and families up an down the country, keeping children hungry and making sure “your money” goes to the multinationals, the bondholders, EU/IMF etc.
Please wake up Ireland and stop paying further charges and taxes for the wealthiest people in Ireland, Europe and beyond. We have tried austerity and its not working. If we keep going on and on and on down this road we are going to end up back in the 1920s when people had nothing. Stop taking this government’s austerity. Let them keep it. Send a clear message that we have all had enough and force a general election by not complying.
Well said Pól….very well said.
When I first read what he said I was…… Are you for real? To compare Irish to IS. Talk about damaging the party even more and upsetting honest people. The Hungarians marched to rid the Internet tax and they did peacefully & successfully. And that’s the way it should be. Sit down in the street if that’s what it takes no one should be attacked. Violence creates lies. Sometimes the silent treatment works just as well..I can only image what they would be saying if it went the way it did in the Brussels protest a few weeks back. The Belgians tore up the town big time. So if that’s the case what does that make them.
@ Thats: The Gardai had no problem attacking a sit down peaceful protest by students in Dublin a short few years back. That said the Gardai aren’t dealing with scared, frightened teenagers now. But that raises an interesting prospect, imagine if on Dec 10th, thousands, tens of thousands of people simply…….sit down.
Silence is golden. How about turning your back on every politician you meet? I do it all t he time. They pretend that they dont see it but their overinflated egos take a hit. Try it! And when the Jack O’Connor and his ilk start their speeches turn your back on him or walk away. Peaceful protest DO work!
If the clowns can’t get out of Leinster House, muppet Enda Kenny will probably say the whole Government has been kidnapped and call in the army.
He can then come out of the closet and start wearing his military uniform in public!!!
@Grim: Kenny could always get a helicopter from the roof, like Ceaucescu did : ) Maybe Kenny could come out and address us on Dec 10th, maybe something like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6pvMFfQF50
The political class have lived parasitically off the people for generations, this degenerate clown only knows the concept of the hand in the greasy till. A call for dubs to decimate FG in the forthcoming election
What an ar?ehole. Underlines that this place is run by gombeens. Bloody disgrace
“Most unparliamentary language.”
See you all on the 10th can not wait.
This mans verbal opinion is a blaitant insight into how these muppets think about the people of Dublin, and I would suggest it may well also be a reflection on how politicians in the Oireachtas ie fg,ff,labour feel about the rest of us in general.
Sorry a little late. Words that have been said cant cant be unsaid. We need a public apology not one from a newspaper
Everyone on here for once agrees he is an idiot not even any trolls standing up for him
There are no words
Bloody imbecile. I think a full apology in the Dail would be in order.
@Enda: Not just the Dail. The Dail is a joke, a rubber stamp parliament. Let him come out on Dec 10th and address the tens of thousands of us who’ll be marching. Let him stand up on the stage and apologise in full view of every man, woman and child who will be marching to ensure we have access to water based on our needs and not our bank balances.
He looks, and sounds, like he just came from the taxpayer subsidised Dail Bar. There are times when silence is golden , but his mouth , and brain don’t seem to be in sync. FG should give him a PR role. He’s a gift to the opposition. Thought Vincent Browne would be running the video last night. He could have got lots of mileage from it.
Too late now!!
All together now ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫
We’re on the one road
Sharing the one load
We’re on the road to God knows where
We’re on the one road
It may be the wrong road
But we’re together now who cares
North men, South men, comrades all
Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Donegal
We’re on the one road swinging along
Singing a soldier’s song
@Brian: Here’s one I like, it’s in Spanish, “El pueblo unido jamas sera vincido”, it means, “The People United Will Never Be Defeated”.
i like the song thanks
How on earth did this gombeen ever get elected as TD. Back peddling idiot. They’ll try anything to split the nation don’t fall for it
This makes us stronger!!
Let the records show Coonan’s Law was born on this day.
Should give Godwin’s Law a run for it’s money. Nazi’s are like so 20th Century….
This is the caliber of party politics. 2nd Republic please.
Think I might be losing the plot. I thought that clip was from some comedy show on RTE. I now realise its real.
I wonder dose Enda need a new minstrel post. Minister for clowns.
Tool
His comments were misinterpreted, how fairly clear in the video what you said and meant
Id advise everone on here to start a campaign…get ur local FG/LR politican to pull out of the party and government now and you will vote them back in next GE as an independent…What you think people ???
@John: First part is fine but the second part, that doesn’t really work for me. Unless you mean lie? That sounds fairer, they did it and continue to do it to us.
We get this sort of comment as he gives the thumbs up to more austerity been put on us…..please give him a Christmas bonus or something…..coz this is the level of Government we’ve come to know….a bloody laughing stock! He like wi staff has Definetly earned a pay rise
Complete Tit
Sorry, are we to just forget what he said because he withdrew his remarks? Seriously does the government think they are running a crèche or something? We’re not idiots and its high time these morons grew up and started acting like professionals. They run a country, if anyone running a company made those remarks about employees they would find themselves looking for another job. This tool should be removed from office, as it’s clear he doesn’t understand the world in which Ireland operates. Protestors are like ISIS and Dublin people are parasites! Seriously! Get back in your box and shut the fup up until you learn something about the world outside of Limerick
Who would have though labeling the population of an entire county as ‘parasites’ might not go so well? Apparently not Noel Coonan.
It’s funny, the first story on the journal is about British MP Emily Thornberry posting a picture of someone’s house with a flag and she has to resign. Then you scroll down and you have a story about an Irish TD calling 1 million people terrorists and freeloaders and all that happens is that he says he’s sorry for calling them terrorists and calls the anarchists instead.
The man and his awful attitude should be kicked out of the govt. Here’s a guy who’s should represent the entire country and do what best for the entire country. His comments sum up all that is wrong with Irish politics. Politicians don’t do what’s best for the country, they just look after their own back yard.
#frustration
Well said Paul, “sure he did not mean it” attitude is backwards and wrong.
Oh I wonder why?
Maybe sending him to Syria to compare what types of terrorists exist around the world might be a good idea.
Now there’s taxpayers money well spent.
Listen to the newstalk clip, he had to be pushed into apologising for the ISIS comparison. He then continued his idiocy by saying that this group of individuals he refers to, may go on to become like ISIS if not stopped. It sounded like he fully believed in what he said yesterday, but has been forced to go on air an apologise. What a moron! The Fine Gael PR team must spend their day banging their heads against a wall.
Idiot!
NEWS FLASH – FG say something that is over the top extreme and complete lies. I think they are trying to get out of government at this stage
That fine Gentleman from Fg should talk to Leo , the possible future leader of FG
http://leovaradkar.ie/2010/07/dublin-pays-more-than-half-of-all-tax-in-the-country/
He is doing a great diserves to the people of North Tipp…..Shame on him.
So now we’re all anarchists. Me I’m just a human being that’s sick of being treated like crap. Does that make me an anarchist. This guy should just shut up.
What a LANGER
Another example of divide and conquer.
This is the party line lads, not this twit speaking up for his constituents.
He is a total moran and a disgrace perfect example of member of FF oh my bad I ment FG.
10-12-14
Power to the people
He should be sacked
Statements made in the heat of the moment (in this case a Dail debate) usually give a window to the person’s true thinking. G’way with the forced apology and back pedalling, we’ve all seen through it and gotten a great insight as to how government TD’s view the electorate.
Can’t believe this with one on two exceptions nearly everyone is in agreement on the journal.ie
I was just thinking that Thomas, it takes someone pretty special to have such a wide base if people united in their contempt for him, quite an achievement really!!
Just a pity him and his wife will receive such large pensions when their out of jobs next election (or hopefully before that)
We need to be one collective voice. Completely United across the entire country. Getting this shower of treacherous morons should be our biggest priority.
Another fat rich pr##k calling ordinary people names because they wont give him more money they dont have. Im a country person with a well, but still dont believe your lies. Remember they will reverse this position when the upcomming septic tank battle starts. Heres one for you journal! feel free to use it, in fact im sure you will ”Country people poisoning resivours with septic tanks” How much do you wanna bet this will be a tactic??? You will probably hear it from the same person as well. DIvide and conquer needs to be less obvious, FG tds!!! Or people will start to realise what you’re doing!!
He withdrew Isis and replaced it with anarchists
Shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. His comments are all over Facebook/twitter. I just took a walk through town and heard loads of people discussing it.
Fine Gael hang themselves every time they open their mouths.
There’s a lot of people in FG/lab who must fancy early retirement , and sure why wouldn’t they? Massive pension and no accountability for their mistakes.
He will ride off into the sunset at the next election.
Was that some kind of u turn. Once a clown always a clown . The suit fits .
Met some really nice people at the last water protest I was at, Looking forward to meeting you all again on the 10th.
Well done to the peopke in Cork today
What an absolute tool
ah jeysus
Working people will be made pick up the tab for those who don’t pay, same old story.
In the UK a labour MP walked the plank for a lot less , how has this clown not been shown the door for his stupid outburst???
exactly for the reason you have said I’d imagine. Ireland, cowboy politics!
I assume this w*anker will now stand up in the Dail and retract this statement, as it is on the record in the Dail where he made the statement not on Newstalk Breakfast or Tipp FM
Doing well my boy only the one death threat.
Because people are allowed have an opinion in this country (so far) we cannot express it without that slander?? He should step down or be forced out such is the stupidity and naivety of him.
IW is a toxic quango interfering in an already austerity filled state. We need a revolution or we’re fcucked
Wonder if the people who made bomb & murder threats to Minister Kelly are commenting on this? SF trolls are constantly commenting on the Journals aarticles, interesting that they are more outraged by water charges that will be capped at under a euro a day that their own leader lying about not being in the Ira & exiling paedofiles to the Republic. This country is recovering well from the worst recession since 1929.
Catherine
I’m on record in regard to my views on the shinners but to try and portray this ultra right party in a light that’s not true is disgusting
The water charges argument is about a government pushing families into poverty
It’s about their total distaste of the people of Ireland
It’s about their insulting remarks on the people of dublin still shocked!!
It’s about their arrogance
It’s about their cronies
It’s about their inept cronies
It’s about the treatment of the electorate as ignorant
I have been around long enough and I have never ever witnessed the like
Democracy is at the lowest it’s ever been in this country
Hang your head in shame like we do
@catherine where back to the ira now are we, the old isis propaganda didn’t work out to well for you and noonan. as for the water charges it gone beyond that for a lot of people fg never had a vale to be lifted they where always contemptuous. the only people making threats are fg/lab if you phone the guards about a bomb threat the defence force bomb squad is informed you and residence will be evacuated until the building is declared safe this is protocol but this did not happen. unless you think the defence force could not be arse.
Noreen, are u saying the bomb threat didnt happen? Its on the Garda record. Oh & are more outraged by water charges of less than a euro a day like the rest of Europe than paedofiles being sent to the Republic by SF. My comment is only for SF members who are so quick to judge all other politicans except their own leader & the rancid can of worms in their own party.
Does that man really think we believe him when he says he was threatened in his office.
We have suffered a lot as a Nation since 2008 and no one was threatened why now?
I think he has a good point there!
I thought only Dubs say Bud
have your say