Sharon Keogan: Calls for Action After Scarlett Faulkner Attack
Sharon Keogan addressed the Chamber about the vicious attack on Scarlett Faulkner in Birdhill, Tipperary last weekend, condemning the violence and urging prayers for her recovery. She highlighted John Connors' decision to speak out and called for the travelling community and wider Irish society to confront an 'honour culture' and the culture of silence that allows violence to continue.
Immediate condemnation:
Keogan describes the footage and accounts of the attack as harrowing and confirms Miss Faulkner is now in hospital fighting for her life. She offers the Chamber's thoughts and prayers and stresses the need for collective reflection on the state of the travelling community and Ireland.
Community response and voices:
Keogan praises John Connors, a traveller advocate and actor, for speaking with honesty and integrity against the incident and the so-called honour culture that fuels such violence. She also notes the support of many decent members of the travelling community who reject abuse.
Culture of silence:
Keogan warns of a broader problem: a culture of silence that pretends there is no issue and allows violence to carry on. She calls on people within the community to join Connors in breaking that silence and ending the cycle of abuse.
Appeal and reflection:
Keogan speaks personally of attending the house of a local traveller, referencing Tom Mahon, and urges all to pray for Scarlett Faulkner's recovery. Her address blends condemnation, community appeal and a call for moral courage to confront violence.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
So, I want to speak to the Chamber on the vicious and horrific attack of Scarlett Faulkner, a young woman and mother from the travelling community in Bardhill, Tipperary, last weekend. The footage and descriptions that have emerged are absolutely harrowing and worse still is the result that Miss Faulkner is now in hospital fighting for her life. I believe I can speak for everybody here in this Chamber in saying that all our thoughts and prayers are with Scarlett and that we hope with the help of the doctors and with the help of God that she will pull through this. I believe this appalling attack merits being mentioned today as it should give us all a moment for reflection on the current state not just of the travelling community but of Ireland as a whole. But I would like us not just to condemn the violence but also to focus our attention on a glimmer of hope because recently yesterday I saw John Connors, a traveller advocate, a great actor and a member of that community who put himself forward with commendable honesty and integrity to speak out against the incident and the so-called honour culture that fuels it. This so-called honour culture has created a vicious cycle of violence. As Connor himself says, there's not an hour's look in it. And as those of us who know the travelling community often hear there's a greater problem of a culture of silence on this issue, of pretending there's no issue at all and just letting the violence carry on. But I believe Connors is showing us all what a real honour culture looks like by speaking up and calling for an end to the beatings, to the videos, to the fuels that keep it all going. We all know that the majority of the travelling community are good, hard-working and honourable men and women. In fact I was in the house last night of a local traveller who's known as the king of the travellers in our area, Tom Mahon, who has been buried this morning. And there's so many decent travelling community out there that will support the words that I am speaking here this morning and will support John Connors' words. So I call on them to join John Connors in speaking out against the fuels and I call on us all to pray for the life and safety of Sarah Scarlett Faulkner. Go raibh maith agat.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
