Brave man how he spoke up for the victims. Rest in peace Micheal
His speech on prime time was fierce powerful.
To have spent all those years in shame, then to have the stones to stand up to those bastards on live national tv.
Fair play to him.
That speech was so powerful, I still get goosebumps every time I listen to it. RIP
A brave and honorable man.
May he rest in peace.
Rest in peace
Can still hear the tremble and anger in his voice during that airing
RIP
Wow, the fact he died the same week as the pope. What a man, his speech on Primetime never fails to make me cry. Hope he has peace now
An incredibly brave man
Lasting impact from him will be felt for generations. May he rest in peace.
I’ll never forget that video
What a man. RIP.
For those who haven’t seen his contribution on Questions and Answers, please watch it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iQGczIx6Sg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iQGczIx6Sg)
Some man for one man. I don’t think anyone who saw him speak on Questions & Answers could ever forget it. RIP.
Rest in peace sir. You are one brave man. My condolences to the family
We can all hope to be half as strong as he was.
Oh wow! RIP and prayers to his family 🙏🏽
One of the most powerful speeches I’ve ever heard.
No matter how many times I watch it, it still makes the hairs on my neck stand up and fills me with rage at what he, and all those victims, were subjected to.
RIP & thank you for standing up.
May he rip now. He truly was a very brave man to speak out and tell his story. I cried that night on air listening to him.
His speech, & bravery, was incredibly moving….
I will never forget this man’s speech.
The full unimaginable horror of what was actually happening to defenceless young children up and down the country was laid bare.
No decent person could not feel this terror in the pit of their stomach. None of these poor children stood a chance.
A church admitting nothing, teams of lawyers from both government and church dragging victims through another hell.
May this poor man rest in peace.
Unfortunately, after handing over a pittance, the state is left to pay most compensations since ever.
To this day, don’t mind charges, the Catholic Church have to be compelled to pay for their subhuman treatment of little children.
A very courageous man. The strength he displayed confronting them like that. May he rest in peace.
A brave man. It was a tough watch, he spoke very passionately. I hope he rests in peace.
I hope he enjoys the peace he deserves. A bed in heaven to him.
One of the most heartbreaking and powerful speeches I’ve ever seen on national television.
Incredible bravery.
He spoke with such eloquent, controlled rage that you couldn’t help but feel it as well. The injustice of it. I think this was a turning point in the public at large’s perception of what went on. RIP.
This is a complete aside but this is so strange because yesterday at dinner I randomly got the phrase ‘mealy mouthed’ stuck in my head just how he said it in his video and now I see this today, he was the only person I ever heard use that phrase and I haven’t seen that video in years. Weird coincidence.
Proper brave man. Rip
This man. 2009 and I’ve never forgotten him. Possibly cause of the tipp link too I guess but god he was brave. He reminded me of my dad age and accent wise, that generation were so dignified and proud.
I could feel how much that speech on tv hurt him and how hard it was to open up his past to strangers. Rest in peace brave Michael.
May he rest in peace.
RIP Micheal
To this day people still let their kids go through communion and confirmation. You ask why and a common response is, “Ah! Sure, it’s just a day out for the kids.” FFS!! The church needs to be eviscerated from our society like the malignant, cancerous tumour that it is. No more excuses. No more blind tradition. It’s long past time for real reckoning.
I’m disappointed that I actually hadn’t seen that clip until now. I would’ve been young when it aired, but I still feel like it’s something everyone should see.
And at the end of the day, this country has failed survivors like Michael O’Brien more than once. He did the most astoundingly courageous thing possible by speaking out about what had been done to himself and so many others, only for the government to side with the Church to attempt to discredit these witnesses and make the financial impact on the Church as negligible as possible once they knew the game was up.
His speech was made in 2009, and what has really changed for these survivors? Any hopes of justice were secretly signed away in a clandestine meeting on the final day of a caretaker government, seven years before this hero even had the chance to vent his frustrations. Those responsible were shielded from responsibility, and still maintain ownership of the vast majority of our primary schools. Any impact felt by the Church is only a slightly increased decline in patronage, and the party responsible for betraying these survivors is in government once again.
We like to scoff at the US, thinking we’re oh so enlightened compared to their politics and social issues. But they at least put some proper effort into prosecuting those responsible. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been paid out by the Church in the US. Like Michael said in his speech; “it’s not about the money” for the survivors. But in the absense of any punishment, significant financial reparations would be better than the paltry attempts of appeasement we’ve seen in our country.
I personally think the people of Ireland have guilt to bear for not doing more for these survivors, yet I don’t think Michael would’ve even wanted people to feel that anyone not directly involved felt any guilt. The fact that the most the Church suffered was a slow decline in membership is appaling. This should’ve been a death knell for an organisation that has consistently and repeatedly shown to be corrupt and downright dangerous for the most vulnerable in our society.
Rest in Peace, an incredibly brave man. That video always stays with me.
I didn’t see it live, as just had a baby who was in the NICU. When I watched it, floods of tears, still upsetting now to watch the pain he had to endure. Victims don’t get treated well. That NICU baby is doing a history project on the stardust, another diabolical mistreatment.
May he RIP, and I hope he slept easier as he got older. Brave man, braver than the spineless worms in government.
May he RIP, and I hope he slept easier as he got older. Brave man, braver than the spineless worms in government.
39 comments
Brave man how he spoke up for the victims. Rest in peace Micheal
His speech on prime time was fierce powerful.
To have spent all those years in shame, then to have the stones to stand up to those bastards on live national tv.
Fair play to him.
That speech was so powerful, I still get goosebumps every time I listen to it. RIP
A brave and honorable man.
May he rest in peace.
Rest in peace
Can still hear the tremble and anger in his voice during that airing
RIP
Wow, the fact he died the same week as the pope. What a man, his speech on Primetime never fails to make me cry. Hope he has peace now
An incredibly brave man
Lasting impact from him will be felt for generations. May he rest in peace.
I’ll never forget that video
What a man. RIP.
For those who haven’t seen his contribution on Questions and Answers, please watch it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iQGczIx6Sg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iQGczIx6Sg)
Here’s a link to the Ryan Commission report, which is what this segment was about: [https://childabusecommission.ie/?page_id=241](https://childabusecommission.ie/?page_id=241)
May he finally be at peace.
A hero.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam 🕊️💚
Some man for one man. I don’t think anyone who saw him speak on Questions & Answers could ever forget it. RIP.
Rest in peace sir. You are one brave man. My condolences to the family
We can all hope to be half as strong as he was.
Oh wow! RIP and prayers to his family 🙏🏽
One of the most powerful speeches I’ve ever heard.
No matter how many times I watch it, it still makes the hairs on my neck stand up and fills me with rage at what he, and all those victims, were subjected to.
RIP & thank you for standing up.
May he rip now. He truly was a very brave man to speak out and tell his story. I cried that night on air listening to him.
His speech, & bravery, was incredibly moving….
I will never forget this man’s speech.
The full unimaginable horror of what was actually happening to defenceless young children up and down the country was laid bare.
No decent person could not feel this terror in the pit of their stomach. None of these poor children stood a chance.
A church admitting nothing, teams of lawyers from both government and church dragging victims through another hell.
May this poor man rest in peace.
Unfortunately, after handing over a pittance, the state is left to pay most compensations since ever.
To this day, don’t mind charges, the Catholic Church have to be compelled to pay for their subhuman treatment of little children.
A very courageous man. The strength he displayed confronting them like that. May he rest in peace.
A brave man. It was a tough watch, he spoke very passionately. I hope he rests in peace.
I hope he enjoys the peace he deserves. A bed in heaven to him.
One of the most heartbreaking and powerful speeches I’ve ever seen on national television.
Incredible bravery.
He spoke with such eloquent, controlled rage that you couldn’t help but feel it as well. The injustice of it. I think this was a turning point in the public at large’s perception of what went on. RIP.
This is a complete aside but this is so strange because yesterday at dinner I randomly got the phrase ‘mealy mouthed’ stuck in my head just how he said it in his video and now I see this today, he was the only person I ever heard use that phrase and I haven’t seen that video in years. Weird coincidence.
Proper brave man. Rip
This man. 2009 and I’ve never forgotten him. Possibly cause of the tipp link too I guess but god he was brave. He reminded me of my dad age and accent wise, that generation were so dignified and proud.
I could feel how much that speech on tv hurt him and how hard it was to open up his past to strangers. Rest in peace brave Michael.
May he rest in peace.
RIP Micheal
To this day people still let their kids go through communion and confirmation. You ask why and a common response is, “Ah! Sure, it’s just a day out for the kids.” FFS!! The church needs to be eviscerated from our society like the malignant, cancerous tumour that it is. No more excuses. No more blind tradition. It’s long past time for real reckoning.
I’m disappointed that I actually hadn’t seen that clip until now. I would’ve been young when it aired, but I still feel like it’s something everyone should see.
And at the end of the day, this country has failed survivors like Michael O’Brien more than once. He did the most astoundingly courageous thing possible by speaking out about what had been done to himself and so many others, only for the government to side with the Church to attempt to discredit these witnesses and make the financial impact on the Church as negligible as possible once they knew the game was up.
His speech was made in 2009, and what has really changed for these survivors? Any hopes of justice were secretly signed away in a clandestine meeting on the final day of a caretaker government, seven years before this hero even had the chance to vent his frustrations. Those responsible were shielded from responsibility, and still maintain ownership of the vast majority of our primary schools. Any impact felt by the Church is only a slightly increased decline in patronage, and the party responsible for betraying these survivors is in government once again.
We like to scoff at the US, thinking we’re oh so enlightened compared to their politics and social issues. But they at least put some proper effort into prosecuting those responsible. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been paid out by the Church in the US. Like Michael said in his speech; “it’s not about the money” for the survivors. But in the absense of any punishment, significant financial reparations would be better than the paltry attempts of appeasement we’ve seen in our country.
I personally think the people of Ireland have guilt to bear for not doing more for these survivors, yet I don’t think Michael would’ve even wanted people to feel that anyone not directly involved felt any guilt. The fact that the most the Church suffered was a slow decline in membership is appaling. This should’ve been a death knell for an organisation that has consistently and repeatedly shown to be corrupt and downright dangerous for the most vulnerable in our society.
Rest in Peace, an incredibly brave man. That video always stays with me.
I didn’t see it live, as just had a baby who was in the NICU. When I watched it, floods of tears, still upsetting now to watch the pain he had to endure. Victims don’t get treated well. That NICU baby is doing a history project on the stardust, another diabolical mistreatment.
May he RIP, and I hope he slept easier as he got older. Brave man, braver than the spineless worms in government.
May he RIP, and I hope he slept easier as he got older. Brave man, braver than the spineless worms in government.
Comments are closed.