This is a fascinating conversation between an Irish TV “journalist” named Ciara Kelly, and a fellow Irishman named John McGuirk, who is the editor of Gript Media.

McGuirk – and by extension his company – have been taking on the increasing state of Irish censorship of news and information. In a situation sadly familiar to all of us, the suspect in the stabbing of three schoolchildren and a teacher last week was referred to only as a “male” or “man” by both media and government sources well into the evening after the horrific attack occurred.

When that happens here in the States, as it sadly often does, spidey senses immediately spring to life, and the question becomes “What aren’t they telling us/don’t they want us to know?” Invariably, the answer is a cherished narrative buster, and the incident is pigeon-holed just as fast as the casualty count allows.

They haven’t been subjected to that on a regular basis in Ireland. In the case of the school stabbings, authorities and media were foiled in their attempt to keep a lid on the information in any event by cell phone cameras at the scene. Grudgingly, in some later reports, the suspect was referred to as an “Algerian,” but holdouts like the BBC continued to insist he was an “Irish citizen,” period, and that assertions he was a “foreign national” were “false.”

The Beeb’s phraseology does some WaPo worthy twisting to achieve that end. You really have to see it to appreciate how far they are willing to go to cover smother the truth…(with a pillow, as Iowahawk says).

McGurik’s Gript has been the polar opposite of Irish and British state media. They’ve published every verified detail they could get their hands on as well as diving into the underpinnings in the deep unhappiness of the Irish working class with the immigration situation. Gript’s articles has taken no prisoners.

WHY ARE POLITICIANS AND THE MEDIA DEFLECTING FROM STABBED CHILDREN?

…Some of the disgusting classism seen on social media this week would suggest that working-class kids are very far down the pecking order amongst the chattering classes: the people who like to signal their virtue regarding their tolerance of immigration while openly sneering at ‘Anto from the flats’.

Are women and children – stabbed and slashed and wounded women and children – now just collateral damage in the determination to never, ever, allow any debate around the disastrous immigration policies that are creating serious problems across this country?

Is that what the explains the deflection? Is that the reason for what seems like an indecent side-lining of what should surely be a priority: showing empathy and sympathy and reassurance and solidarity to a community while a little girl battles to hold on to life, in critical condition in hospital for five long days now.

So many unanswered questions hang over the stabbings.

…Why did this man come to this country and live here and take shelter and support and then become the chief suspect in the attack on these children? Why was he not deported when it was previously ordered? Who helped him stay in the state – the well-funded NGOs who take endless legal cases at the taxpayers cost? How can our children – our 5 year olds – now feel they are safe in school?

Has an Taoiseach been to see the family? Did the Tánaiste go to see the injured in hospital? Did any senior political figure go to speak to parents? We don’t know, because a silence seems to have descended – or is being imposed – on the attack.

…The vast, vast majority of people believe that people who come here to work should be respected and should feel safe and welcome. But the current issue – the issue that should be under discussion – is whether our immigration policies, in particular our disastrous and much-abused asylum system, have a role to play in school children and women being slashed and stabbed.

This deflection tactic is, of course, particularly harmful not just because it supresses debate on the thorny topic of immigration but because it can be used to silence concerns on any issue.

The politicians running Ireland and their media toadies despise him. It was never more obvious than in this interview.

Absolutely brilliant @john_mcguirk from @griptmedia pic.twitter.com/PUYar3ZxbP

— Elaine Mullally ☘️ (@_mullally_el_) November 28, 2023

He is taken to task for the sin of revealing everything he could confirm about the stabbing suspect.

It is both an example of a bald-faced censorship advocate inadvertently revealing how things work during her attack, and a howling freedom fighter forcing her hand while defending truth and the public’s right to hear it.

She is everything our smug, self-satisfied, intellectually and morally superior media is, but she says it out loud.

Ciara: Your website, John McGuirk, has received a lot of criticism for…

McGuirk: For reporting the news.

Ciara: For choosing to highlight the nationality of the suspect in this knife attack at a moment in time when there’s hostilities in the city center. I’m wondering in what way did you feel his nationality had a bearing on this incident.

McGuirk: It was entirely relevant because, as subsequent facts have shown, he was somebody who came here, was granted…was given citizenship after being issued with a deportation order. And has never, according to some [garbled], worked a day in his life. And rather than what happened with Josef Puska*, what happened in Sligo with Yousef Palani**. It is further relevant, I would say…it is fascinating I’m being asked this question because no one is saying the story is untrue. Essentially the story…essentially the position…[interruptions]

Ciara: Is it relevant?

McGuirk: Essentially now the position seems to have gone from we’re worried about mis-information and dis-information to where we can no longer report true information or you’re whipping up fear.

McGuirk goes on to challenge her, journalist to journalist.

“What power do you have to decide what facts the public should or should nor know?”

She sputters about responsibility and inflaming situations. And McGuirk pins her to the wall.

“If YOU decide they can’t handle it,” he finishes for her,

“You don’t give it to them.”

SHE decides what you see. Or Facebook, or the White House, ad nauseum. We just went through what should have been a collusion destroying episode with the Twitter files release, and yet?

Biden is back manipulating information streams again. Fighting “misinformation”…for the public good, of course.

There are so many people, so many media – news or social – organizations, so many in our government working ever so hard to keep the truth from people, for whatever reason suits their purposes – it’s never ours.

Thank goodness for the John McGuirks. The Elon Musks. Being able to read and write somewhere like here at HotAir. These are freedoms and great blessings to defend ferociously.

The truth matters.

* Slovak Romani immigrant Josef Puska stabbed a 23 yr old teacher 11 times in the neck

** Iraqi immigrant Yousef Palani murdered and decapitated two gay men while seriously injuring a third during the attack