JOHN LEE: Politicians love to brag supporting a Free Press, but as this litany of examples shows, only as long as it is not their neck on the line... And one politician above all excels in attacking journalists

Published: 14:28, 8 July 2026 | Updated: 14:35, 8 July 2026 Taoiseach Micheál Martin spoke with emotion and humour about his late friend Veronica Guerin at an event in the National Convention Centre to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the investigative journalist’s murder.  Veteran radio journalist Joe Duffy later made the provocative assertion that gardaí should be permitted to seize mobile phones ‘on a hunch’. But it was a separate statement in the Taoiseach’s speech that pricked my ears. It was his passage on press freedom that caused me and the editor of this newspaper to exchange a brief look across our company’s table. Towards the end of a speech that lauded the political actions taken in the wake of Veronica’s death – principally those actions taken by the FF-led Cabinet that Martin was in, and that took power a year after her death – he turned to the journalist’s work.  He spoke a lot more about Ireland’s vital need for ‘a free, democratic and professional media’. ‘There are societies where increasingly intolerant and authoritarian governments are happy to undermine independent journalism, and their societies have suffered immensely from this,’ he added. Then with words that rang around the cavernous hall in the convention centre he declared: ‘I am determined that this will not happen in Ireland.’ What he didn’t refer to, of course, was his own increasing clashes with independent journalism.  Taoiseach Micheál Martin spoke with emotion and humour about his late friend Veronica Guerin at an event in the National Convention Centre to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the investigative journalist’s murder. That is, journalism that doesn’t take the line given to them by the Government, or journalism that might point out some of the awkward truths like the catastrophic impact his championing of Jim Gavin has had on his political authority. Let’s be clear, it’s not just Martin.  And Ireland is a country which does not have the same challenges for the press as somewhere like Orban’s Hungary had, or Trump’s America has, just yet. But I have been doing this job a while now – I was working at Independent House on Abbey Street in Dublin the day Veronica was shot – and in recent years, I have written about a deeply disturbing trend from emboldened Irish politicians of all parties. Politicians caught on an issue play the man or woman rather than the ball.  They attack the journalist and the journalism, rather than answering the question.  They were at it again this week when the Labour Party, instead of owning up to a significant mistake regarding their Galway by-election candidate Helen Ogbu’s online biography, decided to attack the reporter and media outlet, our sister paper the Irish Daily Mail, who were asking legitimate questions. Those of us on the frontline of investigative journalism in Ireland believe Trumpian tactics have been allowed to take root due to poor examples from the top. Trump has made it so acceptable to abuse, insult and sue journalists – often for billions – that it seems almost trite now to remember what George Orwell said: ‘Journalism is printing something that someone does not want printed. Everything else is public relations.’  It actually started with Leo Varadkar, who, when he didn’t like a story you were pursuing, would churlishly dismiss it.  Then, seeing the politicians get away with it, the civil servants joined in. One of my stories was called ‘fabrication’ by then-CMO Tony Holohan – despite our newspapers track record throughout Covid of both informing the public of what restrictions were coming before they were announced, and holding the Government to account at a time of historic upheaval.  Perhaps the grand Holohan didn’t like the fact I was regularly leaked restrictions– which we then printed – before anybody else, sometimes even the Minister for Health was aware of them.  But this trend is becoming more commonplace, and I believe this is because it is being more frequently used by the Taoiseach himself. Before the FF report of the investigation into the Jim Gavin presidential debacle was published, we scooped it, saying that Martin’s chief aide had been told about Jim Gavin’s issues before FF selected him as a candidate.  We also revealed that Martin’s deputy leader, Jack Chambers, had been informed that Gavin had problems with a tenant – by an FF TD – and if they knew, then Micheál Martin must have known.  This story caused significant backlash against Martin, and forced him into publishing the report in December, which many of his senior colleagues believed he was planning to sit on until after Christmas.  It also led to him lashing out at the journalism. But when the report came out, the press corps shrugged their shoulders given that the report fundamentally backed the story that we had written.  Martin was facing the greatest jeopardy of his 15 years as FF leader last December, and anyone and everyone was going to go under the bus to keep him in power. He continued to flail. He was asked by a female journalist, Louise Burne, about his continued attacks on the press.  Martin was evasive and she politely pushed him for an answer, when he told the young professional woman to have ‘manners’. The clip of the encounter was widely circulated on social media, and was a very bad look (especially when Burne accused Martin of being ‘Trumpian’). THIS grumpy side came to the fore again recently when we reported on Michael Healy-Rae’s resignation.  Again, we followed the story that nobody was telling, that effectively Healy-Rae was pushed by Martin’s operation, who knew his backbenchers wouldn’t allow one Healy-Rae in, and the other out. His reaction to this was once more to question the journalism, which has once more subsequently been backed up (straight from the horse’s mouth, in fact). Again, don’t get me wrong. If this newspaper gets things wrong, and we do, we will correct things.  And, more than most other media outlets in Ireland, we make sure we put everything we are going to write about people to them in advance.  Which brings us back to Labour and Helen Ogbu. The Labour Party attacked the Mail for going to Ms Ogbu’s house, despite the press office failing to acknowledge for three days that they had received a press query. When they finally responded, this was deficient.  It suggested a typo – made by an intern – rather than a significant inaccuracy. And to top it all off, while they tried to create a smoke-screen by referencing abhorrent far-right abuse of the candidate (which is to be totally condemned, by journalism in this paper and many others), they didn’t do what any competent press office should do, and check how far the inaccuracy had actually been disseminated. It turns out that Labour Leader Ivana Bacik herself had sent out a message containing the line that Ms Ogbu had fled Nigeria after the assassination of her husband in 2006, even though he was not killed until 2010.  The Labour Party attacked the Mail for going to Ms Ogbu’s house, despite the press office failing to acknowledge for three days that they had received a press query. Was that message written by the same intern, we wonder? Labour did, however, issue a press statement, making false accusations about our reporter and photographer.  This behaviour is now rampant: Sinn Féin members manhandled one of our reporters trying to question Catherine Connolly, and it wasn’t the first time they laid hands on our reporters.  Heather Humphreys derailed her own presidency bid by telling us to ask her husband a question instead. When the Irish Daily Mail’s Craig Hughes broke the story of Soc Dems’ Eoin Hayes having worked for, and had shares in, Israeli-backed Palantir, despite a very public and very passionate pro-Palestinian position, his colleague Gary Gannon suggested Craig was trying to get himself a job as political adviser.  The Garda Press office have taken to writing letters suggesting we are recklessly blaming gardaí for the death of Evan Fitzgerald, when we raise legitimate questions that former Minister Alan Kelly and Former Tánaiste, Minister for Justice and AG Michael McDowell have echoed.  So excuse us the raised eyebrow or two, when we get told by the politician-du-jour about the challenges the media face.  We are not asking the Taoiseach, or any of the rest of the politicians or parties we have named here, to believe we are perfect.  We don’t believe we are without flaws, nor are we hubristic enough to believe we never make mistakes. But we deal with any complaints professionally. And despite what many may think, our errors are invariably made in good faith.  We are a regulated industry (paid for by ourselves), and operate under what are still some of the most draconian libel laws in Europe. Perhaps I can end with relevant insight from American journalist (and humourist) Finley Peter Dunne, who believed that ‘journalism comforts the afflicted, and afflicts the comfortable’. It is therefore to be expected perhaps, that the comfortable might not enjoy the affliction. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.