We Have Failed To Platform Our Candidates
Bigger content creators in Ireland have acted very strangely during this election cycle
We are only one week to go for GE24 and we are in a position where the nationalist candidates in Ireland have been ignored completely by larger content creators on our side. This is something I knew would happen but to see it transpire is truly something else. Gript Media as good as they are, have completely flopped with their election coverage. Instead of attempting a panel show or interviews with candidates, McGuirk and Ryan have continued their “The Week That Really Was” podcast. A weekly helping in a four week election cycle. Although the podcast itself is great, it represents a failure by Gript to plan for this election and offer a platform to those candidates who are being managed out of politics. Gripts approach of letting their competitors go unchallenged is baffling but it makes a whole lot more sense when delve deeper into who funds them and look also to the rest of the field of Irish podcasters and see what they have done to challenge the MSM with election content.
It is no secret that Gript receives funding from the same wealthy families as Peadar Tobin’s Aontu. Peadar Tobin has been platformed adequately by RTE, in fact he has been given disproportionate coverage considering he is the only TD in his Party. With Peadar Tobin being treated as an approved candidate by the establishment and sufficiently exposed to the masses, Gript can carry on with the intermittent commentary happy in the knowledge that as long as they platform nobody, they have treated everyone the same. Meanwhile, Nationalist Ireland has fielded candidates in every county, with favourable independents also throwing their hats in the ring. Gript could have run a panel show every night for the four weeks with all of the candidates that are there. They could have cherry picked the more polished candidates and ran spotlight pieces on them, something, anything to show Ireland we exist but they have chosen instead to allow what we are doing to die on the vine. Aontu must be protected at all costs. This is sickening to me as right now as we speak, hundreds of Gript readers are canvassing the homesteads of Ireland on the same issues that Gript cover, yet to them we are invisible.
Gript are not alone in this endeavour. Niall Boylan has seeming decided to disappear for the election cycle in a very weird way. Our top Radio/podcast voice, in conservative terms, has stated on X that he will not be providing a platform to candidates. He has instead issued a single tweet of support to conservative candidates and announced that he will be back after the election.
Don’t worry lads, I am working on something big, cheeky wink and feet up on the couch. The day after the election this man will be up on his podcast griping about turkeys voting for Christmas. There of course may be personal aggravating circumstances for his disappearance, but he is still very active on Twitter, he is still in high spirits and commentating on global events. At the same time Gript have hit the brakes on nationalist, conservative and libertarian candidates, so too has Niall Boylan right at the very moment we need them. Niall says in his tweet, “I hope RTE and the wider media give all candidates, not just those from the major parties, a fair and balanced platform”. Well Niall, we were kinda hoping you would, ya know?
Further down the ladder we have online commentators and podcasters who talk about the very issues these candidates are campaigning on, completely ignoring the task at hand. I am willing to bet that those of you who are canvassing or supporting candidates feel like Joseph and Mary, knocking on doors to get their baby into the world comfortably. Well let me tell you I have been banging doors down for Luke O’Connor and I am sure you guys have been too for your candidates. All of these online commentators seem to be under some kind of understood but not official agreement to throttle nationalist candidates. “Oh I am not platforming anyone for the election” one of these clowns said to me a day after posting up a video calling out the governments immigration policy. This same individual has been growing a network of normie podcasters that all pop in an out of each other’s episodes saying exactly the same things as the rest of us. These type of content creators gather large followings and sit on them like a hen on an egg. 10% off promo codes must be protected at all costs.
Another example of this is Eddie Hobbs. Recently Eddie Hobbs found the time to platform Alan Shatter for his election bid. Alan Shatter is behind many of the societal ills we face today after his time in government during the last decade but here we are, watching Eddie sell him to us as if we are watching the shopping channel. Eddie has given Malachy Steenson a shot as well as Nick Delahunty to be fair to him but Alan Shatter?! Come on for Christ’s sake. When I asked him to bring Luke on he said he was busy. Grand. No problem Eddie. We will make sure to think of you again in five years time.
Unfortunately, I have to cut close to the bone here too. Here on Substack there seems to be an acute obliviousness to opportunity and duty of an election cycle considering the premise of what Substack is. Substack is financial engine for writers and commentators. All of us here on Irish Substack have benefited financially from talking about the political social and spiritual life of the Irish people. We have played our part in aligning the mindset of Irish activists and commentators alike into a near singular force. Our readership has invested in us not just financially but emotionally. We have connected with them and provided an island of comfort and familiarity during this chaotic time. Some of our readers have become activated because of our words and turned thoughts into action because of our example and leadership. Now activated, these canvassers, candidates and supporters look to us for approval by way of support. The last week on Substack has been a difficult watch in this regard. Article after article has come out from our camp about anything but the election. This represents a lack of respect for the energy and efforts of the people on the ground. We are talking of upwards of a thousand or more patriots nationally, going door to door pleading with their friends and neighbours to change the destiny of this place we call home back in the direction of nationhood. This has not happened in this country like this since the election of 1918, where the Irish people convinced their friends and neighbours to vote the brits out. Even though this is on a smaller scale, the scale itself is being minimised and restricted by sheer ignorance of our own internal news network. If thousands of patriots covering nearly every door in Ireland with our message is not impressive enough for you write about then what is the point? Why are we cultivating audiences on the back of these issues and going cold when the very people who consume your content do something about it?
In case you are wondering, if you think I am talking about you. I am. Even if it’s not you specifically, if your actions or lack thereof match the above description, I am absolutely talking about you. If you are reading this in agreement, get vocal about this issue. Contact your favourite content creators and query why they have not supported our people weathering the storm of the election. Bring into question the reasoning behind the wilful ghosting of the political wing of our movement in their time of need. I hold the opinion that it is unacceptable to cultivate a following off the back of the movement only to pretend like we don’t exist come the time, come the hour. You can cast an argument or a jibe my way on this issue but be warned, I’ve done my homework. I’m ready for that scrap. Just pull your thumb out and tell your followers about the cultural awaking that is happening, leaflet by leaflet, door by door over the next week. As for McGuirk and Boylan, after this election, expect to see a serious challenge from us against your platforms. You have been serial wasters of public attention.
Make of this opinion what you will, Eisreachtach1916.
Having just read your comment, my immediate reaction is ‘See, this is why people don’t speak Irish anymore’. Criticism accompanied by put-downs and nothing positive offered.
I speak the bit of Irish I do because around 30years ago the Gaelinn speakers I worked with for about 3 months, kept telling me to ‘give it a go’ and not to worry about getting it wrong. I was a long time out of school at the time but that was the first time I spoke Irish. And I was terrified at first. They were the first fluent speakers who were realistic in their approach and I am very grateful to them.
I might have kept it up more/started learning proper grammar if I’d stayed in the same place for longer than a couple of years at a time, but I ended up moving around a lot so was unable to build up any Irish-speaking group of friends.
I have self-confidence speaking now in my faltering Irish because of that work I did and I refuse to apologise for trying, even when I get it wrong. Those Irish speakers helped me, corrected me and encouraged me. They never, ever said ‘that’s wrong, you must do/say...’ Instead, they said things like ‘try using this or that phrase, or what do you think of this word to describe....?’ And every single one of them made positive suggestions for further knowledge in an encouraging way.
Criticising anyone who is doing their bit to encourage others is exactly why Irish people are afraid to speak their native language. There is a time and a place, certainly, for getting things exactly right and I imagine that, for those who are fluent in the spoken and written language, attempts by fledgling speakers might feel like nails on chalkboards, but criticism without any help is actively useless and worse, smothers and stifles. Which, is, by the way, exactly what conquerors want.
When I read your comment to Stephen Delaney here, it reminded me of how Donal Lunny was rejected by some traditional musicians because the bazooki wasn’t a traditional instrument. Ditto Gerry O’Connor and his banjo. And I’m sure the same people would be horrified by The Bridies and their version of the ‘4 and 9’, not to mention the various versions of Óró, sé do bheatha 'bhaile currently doing the rounds.
Those changes to our music have kept the music alive. Stagnation leads to death.
The same applies to the language. Every effort is worth encouraging, especially street-efforts, where real life happens, but where spelling and grammar and mispronunciations occur. Languages that don’t evolve on the street level disappear. Look at what’s happened to other languages – the words that no longer exist in dictionaries.
Stephen Delaney wrote an entire article. Your comments focus on only one thing and offer nothing, which begs the question – what exactly are you trying to achieve here? If you were trying to be helpful then you’d say something like ‘next time you write the word Aontu, put a fada on it’ or something like that. You might even say ‘an mhiste leat fada a chur ar an focal ‘Aontu’ led’thol mar.....’
I understood Stephen’s article. I genuinely don’t understand your point unless that point is to belittle or discourage. I certainly got that point, so fair play to you if that was your intention.
The best, and real communicators are those that can make their meaning understood irrespective of grammar or spelling or pronunciation. Scholars write what the people are saying, and put ‘manners’ on the words afterwards.
So, here’s my positive suggestion for you, Eisreacht1916 – Please continue your wonderful work and try to keep in mind that not everyone learns how to spell, use grammar correctly, or can pronounce words in the right way. And every single attempt, with or without fadas, is worthy of encouragement.
You know the reason why I haven’t been writing about it, I’ve been flat out working on something else. I will have a nice Christmas present for all these election candidates in about an hours time should they choose to use it.