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Dublin: 8 °C Thursday 23 May, 2013

GALLERY: At least 5,000 attend rally supporting Quinn family in Co Cavan

The Concerned Irish Citizens group is demanding “natural justice for the Quinn family and the citizens of Ireland”.

Seán Quinn becomes emotional during today's march in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan.
Seán Quinn becomes emotional during today's march in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan.
Image: Niall Carson/PA Wire

OVER 5,000 PEOPLE – and possibly as many as 10,000 – are reported to have turned out for a rally in support of Seán Quinn and his family in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan this afternoon.

Quinn and his wife Patricia led a march in the town, alongside with several of their children.

Ciara Quinn told the crowd that she and her siblings were the ‘true and rightful owners’ of the Quinn companies, some of which have been sold off by administrators while others have been put into liquidation.

“This is a war,” Ciara Quinn said, according to tweets from reporters at the event. “We will not go quietly into the night.”

Irish Times reporter Áine McMahon tweeted that the rally was also addressed by Donegal Gaelic football selector and former Cavan player Rory Gallagher, Tyrone manager Mickey Harte, and businessman George Emerson.

The Garda press office declined to give an estimate of the numbers present, but RTÉ News cited local Gardaí as saying ‘at least 5,000′ people had shown up for the event. Reporters at the scene later put the estimate at closer to 10,000.

GALLERY: At least 5,000 attend rally supporting Quinn family in Co Cavan
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  • Sean Quinn becomes emotional

    Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire
  • Sean and Patricia Quinn

    Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire
  • Rally supporting Quinn family

    Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire
  • Rally supporting Quinn family

    Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire
  • Rally supporting Quinn family

    Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire
  • Rally supporting Quinn family

    Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire
  • Rally supporting Quinn family

    Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire
  • Sean Quinn's brother, former GAA president Peter Quinn

    Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire
  • Donegal football selector Rory Gallagher

    Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire
  • Quinn's daughter-in-law Karen Woods, and daughters Brenda and Colette

    Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire
  • Sean Quinn, his wife Patricia and daughter Aoife

    Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Concerned Irish Citizens, a group organising the rally, says the event is seeking “natural justice for the Quinn family and the citizens of Ireland”.

The group says claims the vast majority of the €2.3 billion that the Quinns are said to owe IBRC, formerly Anglo Irish Bank, was illegally loaned and the family cannot be held responsible for its recovery.

The rally comes five days before Seán Quinn senior, who was found in contempt of court earlier this year, is due back at the High Court for a further hearing.

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Comments (105 Comments)

  • March for M Wallace next sat, one for Bertie Sunday ,, my be a march for all the bankers the weekend after next

    • Sure why don’t we have a march for Martin Cahill while were at it? He had a good few lads working for him

    • Finbar,

      I already dared you to come out from behind your computer and try saying that to their faces but you shyed away…

      Oh, and Mr. Quinn isn’t part of the Bankers you silly boy – he is standing up to the Bankers. DUH.

  • This QuinnSpin is sickening, they knew precisely what they were doing, I’d join a Concerned Irish Taxpayer march as we’ve been saddled with billions thanks to these muppets

  • It’s so pathetic. Lowry hoisted on shoulders and re elected in Tipperary, marches of support for this lot. Shame on the lot of ye. Deluded bordering on treacherous.

  • Are these people out of there minds.I am paying big hike on my insurance because of the Quinns greed and so is the rest of the country,jail the lot of them.

  • The Quinns didnt know what they were signing. Maybe they didnt know what they were marching for…..

    • THEY KNOW MORE THAN YOU EVER WILL.

    • @ Mark

      CLEARLY you know little also.

      ——————————————–

      Sean Quinn broke the law before the bank even moved in

      Sean Quinn was removed from his insurance business by the regulator because he had broken the law.
      He had used funds from his insurance business to prop up other parts of the group. It was a serious offence.
      The regulator eventually put the entire business into administration because he found the Quinn management were still breaking the rules and there was a massive black hole in the finances. This happened a year before Anglo moved to take control of the rest of the empire.

      Sean Quinn now accepts that the actions of the regulator were “right and proper”.

      Meanwhile all insurance policies in the Republic are now subject to a 2% levy indefinitely to fill the financial hole found in Quinn Insurance.

      ———————————————-

      Sean Quinn didn’t just “frustrate” the bank
      The reason Sean Quinn, his son and nephew, are guilty of contempt is because they took actions to interfere with the business and shift assets after Anglo had taken control last April and in breach of specific court injunctions obtained in June.

      These actions include Sean Quinn falsifying documents in July (three months after he was ousted) to take control of a Moscow office block worth 180m euros and put it into an offshore company in Belize.

      He falsified the documents to make it look like it was done while he was still in charge, but in fact he was a bogus director using fake documents to move very real and valuable assets beyond the reach of the taxpayer-owned bank.

      Far from going to court and owning up to this course of action, as Sean Quinn has recently suggested he did, he denied all this in court.

      He merely admitted taking steps to frustrate the bank while he was still in charge of the company. The judge didn’t believe him.

      Sean Quinn isn’t defying Anglo alone
      He’s defying the Irish courts.

      It is the courts – not Anglo – that have found him in contempt.

      Judge Kelly described the scheme he authorised as one of “mesmeric complexity” that “reeked of dishonesty and sharp practice”. It is the courts that have ruled that the debt must be honoured.

      The legitimacy of the disputed loans will be determined
      There is a case that will be heard over the legitimacy of the disputed 2.3bn euros loans.

      But in the meantime the Quinns are legally bound to honour the court rulings.

      If, ultimately, the 2.3bn euros is ruled illegal and unenforceable then they will be due compensation.

      Supporters say this must be determined first, and it is right to hide assets in the meantime.

      They say the actions taken to date are an attempt to bankrupt the Quinn family so they can’t fight that other case.

      But it is contradictory to ignore current court orders on the basis that you believe a future court decision will go your way. That suggests you only obey the law when it obeys you. It also ignores the undisputed 455m euros of debt the family have always agreed is owed.

      Judge Elizabeth Dunne summarised this key argument in her contempt judgement: “Instead of trying to repay the admitted debt due, the Quinn family and in particular the respondents have taken every step possible to make it as difficult as can be to recover any amount due.

      “They have engaged in a complex, complicated and, no doubt, costly, series of steps designed to put the assets of the IPG (International Property Group) beyond the reach of Anglo, in a blatant, dishonest and deceitful manner.

      “They have consciously misled courts here and elsewhere. They have sought to deprive Anglo of the assets which would go some way to Facts discharging an admitted indebtedness.

      “The behaviour of the respondents outlined in evidence before me is as far as removed from the concept of honour and respectability as it is possible to be.”

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19063419

  • This is ridiculous! Absolutely absurd. I literally cant get my head around it. Quinn broke the law and has defied court orders flippantly with two fingers to the taxpayers of this country at every opportunity.

    Interviewed last week by Financial times, insists he doesn’t owe us an apology. He doesn’t, he owes us 2.3 BILLION Euro.

    It despise this cure hoor gombeen businessman ‘ah sure didnt I keep the jobs in Cavan and Fermanagh, how could I do anything wrong’ attitude and personally will laugh till my face goes numb the day this scrote spends as many nights in Mountjoy as we can possibly throw at him.

  • What is the word that describes beyond ‘deluded’

    As an Irishman,I have nothing in common with these people.

    • Paul 14/10/12 #

      Deranged?

    • Di*kheads?

    • They are Not deluded. They are correct to support Mr Quinn. He is a hero who is standing up to the Bankers.

      DIRECT YOUR ANGER TOWARDS FIANNA FAIL’S BRIAN LENIHAN FOR GUARANTEEING THE BANKS.

    • The Mark man is calling people cowards for criticising them, and he’s attacking a dead man. He’s as grotesque as that whole freak show that took place up there.

    • A hero? How is he a hero matt?

      Fact is he took a chance with the money, that failed and now he is trying everything he can do to not have to cough up or pay for it.

      And as for the claims that they didn’t know what they were siging for when dealing with the banks, thats a pile of crap.

      People like the Quinns dont get where they are and make that kind of money but being stupid enough not to read ANYTHING before they sign. People like the Quinn’s make damn sure they know what they are getting into before they sign anything especially when dealing with the amount of money being dealt with.

      And if they so innocent and have no problem standing up to the bankers, why all the secrecy, hiding all their money in different countries, laundering money through different companies and out of the reach of everyone? Why all the lies and deceit in front of the courts? Why has one of them decided to run outside of Irish jurisdiction instead of doing time he was given in court?

      Doesn’t sound like the actions of innocent people, or actions of heros to me.

    • But sure doesn’t he love the GAA be-gora….

      If the Quinns were from Dublin these 5000 loopers would be trying to lynch them.

  • The shocking part is, 5000 people are matching for a cause that added to the countries problems but we wouldn’t see 500 marching for ways to save it. No wonder we’re on a expressway to total failure.

  • So if you sign any loan documents you should be forgiven the loan when claiming that years later you didn’t know what you’re signing. Lets forgot your family flee the state to avoid the courts despite you expecting the same courts to act fairly, lets forget you think the most devious way to keep your assets away from the Irish taxpayer, lets forget that you got yourself into this position because you tried to buy a bank without anyone knowing about it for financial gain, lets forget that you’re giving out about the system you used and when it went wrong and you call it a swindle, let’s forget that you risked the livelihoods of thousands of the families of your employees by trying to get even more money when youre one of the most richest men in the world, the hypocrisy in this is staggering and frankly beyond belief.

    The fact that 5000 people marched today tells why the country is fundamentality in trouble and until it learns from its history nothing will change.

  • Ive heard the crowd numbers are now estimated to be around 2.8bn now ….

  • the concerned Irish citizens group unfortunately concerned only with their own narrow selfish interests and really needing to learn what the concept of natural justice means

  • Good people of cavan licking the boot that kicks it

  • mike 14/10/12 #

    illegally loaned.. Quinn knew exactly what he was doing when be borrowed that money to gamble on CFD shares in Anglo. He looses the gamble and he wants the people of Ireland to pay off his 2.3 billion debt. If the gamble had worked would he have given the winnings to us…Not a chance in hell..

  • If the Quinns still have 100s of millions hidden aboard…would they cough up 500k to help out that family of the disabled child that loss that court case..the Quinns paying 100k for a wedding cake…astonishing looney stuff.

    • snooch 14/10/12 #

      You’d wanna be careful commenting on Cavan related stories with a monetary value in your name

    • And Sean’s sister going on Primetime saying to Miriam the 100k for the wedding cake should be put in perspective and she went on to say her family were making a million euro a week…ok so, she is saying that 100k is nothing…WOW I would love to be able to say that about 100k….

  • Sean Quinn I am a tax payer. I want my money back.

  • HE FIXED THE ROAD

  • 5,000+ eejits in the one place. Remarkable.

  • I don’t understand these people at all ! Have they not read the facts, do they think all the courts have been wrong. Can they not just ask themselves why the Quinns signed for the loan & said nothing if it was an unlawfull loan. Do they think that if the Quinns somehow riggle out of this that it will all go back the way it was? They don’t understand that it is their money that the Quinns are hiding & that the king has no clothes in fact everyone of them is stark naked.

  • Ireland’s a mad place!

    In contrast, the Spanish know what they should be protesting:

    “We don’t owe, we don’t pay”: 1000s of Spain citizens protest their illegitimate debt:

    http://is.gd/NKX4w0

  • They need to start following the news up there.

  • Thousands march for Quinn’s as Thousands Are Sailing away to foreign lands to find work.
    You people in Cavan marching today should be ashamed of yourselves!

    As the years go by, I get more and more disillusioned & disturbed by the mindset of Irish people.

  • It was like a Pat Shortt sketch only it was real. Is there any way we can persuade the international press that it was all a joke so as to save us even more embarrassment.

  • I think the judge may take a poor view of this public display of defiance when Sean appears before her this coming week.
    The idea that morality is on the side of the Quinn’s because the Bank shouldn’t have provided the funds is a gross distortion of their grasp on either logic or decency.
    He has to go to jail for contempt now.

  • 5000 idiots supporting people who do not give a shit about them. I bet you not get 5000 of these people to protest against cuts on child care and cut on education. I suppose thats why the likes of Haughey could rob the country for years and still get voted….

  • As if the people if Cavan dont have a poor reputation already! Could it be arranged that they pay extra tax and double the insurance levy of everyone else to cover Quinns folly? That would test their blind loyalty!!

  • A ship of fools.

  • Natural justice hahaha are u f in serious

    Where was the natural justice when they were ripping people off by the 1000,s

  • I’m out of this country, can’t deal with paying for someone else’s loan. Heyy I’ve 2 years on a car loan to go, would anyone like to pay it for me. What a load of balls.

    • Even better Wayne, just find some greedy arsehole from Cavan to buy a useless bank off you without doing any research for 2.3 Billion EUR. You can use that to pay off the car and away you go. Seems pretty easy to do.

  • The Gombeens are revolting

  • Baaaaaa Baaaaaa Baaaaaaa, good little sheep. Blest for the Quinn’s. MORONS

  • You have to wonder at the mindset of these people. 5,000 of them see no wrong in what the Quinns did. So what, you have to wonder, would they do to make a quick buck….

  • Would that get them into the Guinness book of records? 5000 clowns in the one place.

  • Absolute joke

    • Unfortunately, if it’s a joke, the joke’s on the taypayers and insured of Ireland who have to underwrite the ?1.6billion stolen by the Quinns. “Sure we’ll be paying it out of our pensions, so we will.”
      These people in Cavan are poor deluded sheep. If I weren’t so cross I might feel sorry for them.

  • The fact that Sean Quinnand family entertain these ‘marches’ and walk along at the front tells you a lot about the man and his ego!!

    Ok, if we are to have this ‘new republic’, Ballyconnell is defo not to be included!!! If it is, its ‘same republic’ and I will not tolerate sharing this once great island with those 5000 gombeens any longer!

  • Shame on them. They are a disgrace

  • Micheal jackeens,,, give us a break they will blame everyone but the quinns , what you are saying is called passing the buck onto others heard it all before .Sean Quinn should get a big mirror in the hall of his mansion and look in it every morning

  • Have any of these people walking with quinn today, asked him why his daughter was sitting behind the reception desk, with a ton of money in her bank accounts, stopping a young person in their town from gaining employment? Selfish bloody horrible grabbing family.

    If there are good, hard working people left in Cavan, which I feel there are, will you stand up and be counted.

  • I’d say there is a direct similarity in the numbers attending that today and Dana’s poll vote number in the recent Presidential elections . Bless them all .

  • Shane , there are 24 other county’s other than Cavan & Dublin , the majority of ppl in this country what Sean Quinn behind bars 5000 ppl out of nearly 4.5 million .are the 5000 thousand going to the four courts next week I don’t think so!!!!!!

    • Guess you wernt top of the class last time i checked there was 32 counties in ireland & we would go to dublin no problem going to dublin but we are working class people we cant afford to be hanging around courts & give me a reason why sean quinn should go to jail

  • totally totally amazes me, really i mean is there something in the water there that they go out to support a man that is costing the country a fortune for his own bad business practices. I read today that JP mcmanus and his wife bought property in upmarket Dublin and fair play to him because he ran a tight ship and still does, did not endanger his business or manipulate the books like the quinns so more power to JP i’d buy him a pint any day.

    but look at the poor people of priory court. I commit now if they do another protest march in support of their genuine cause i will go when its advertised to stand with them but where are peoples priorities. I’m simply shocked and actually very ashamed that fell irish people would go out and support crooks.

  • 5000 fools following another deep pocketed liar,will it ever stop. not until we stop them all.

  • A confederacy of dunces. They should all be ashamed of themselves.

  • Mark 14/10/12 #

    My comment was removed! Maybe it was a bit offensive in fairness.

    This is sickening. Speechless. There must be something in the water up there for people to believe this.

  • A collection of village idiots.

  • Guess now we know how easy it is to brainwash people. Absolute ignorant idiots.

  • Sheep… Baaah….

  • I bet one of the Quinns will run for Dáil in 2016 and really f*ck is over! :-/

  • It’s beyond belief that a bunch of business people that made greed and corruption fashionable could manipulate so many people.

  • Any way of removing Cavan from the republic? We deserve better than these fools.

  • 32 countys think you better look that one up ,, il wait and see if they turn up at the courts but I won’t hold my breath

  • I’m really impressed… It must be tough to find 5,000 idiots in Cavan, though I suspect they may have bussed in idiots from other counties and billed it to the company as office furniture or printing supplies…

  • Jesus wept…where are these people living, do they not read the newspaper, court reports…oh sorry they live in Cavan, enough said! It’s actually embarrassing to think these gombeens still exist!

  • Reminds me of the church pressuring voters in referendums of years past…….ye’ll all burn if ye don’t get out and march…..will be an interesting study in years to come.

  • snooch 14/10/12 #

    Cars parked along the roads three miles outside the town because they’re all too tight to pay the parking charges/

  • @Mark Bolt: We ordinary citizens are delegating that to the High Court – who seem to be doing an adequate job of that to the Quinn family so far!

  • Because he broke the law plain and simple , or do cavan people come irish law or under British law see I was not the top of my class my be you can help me with a answer ?

  • Anybody spot that other famous cheat Lance up there with the clowns?

  • Snooch, you’re little cavan people not paying for parking joke has fallen a bit flat. Parking in ballyconnell is free! I’m by no means a Quinn supporter and think that marching in support of what he did is at best ill advised. But last time i checked we lived in a country where there is freedom of movement and association. You can protest about anything you want as long as you don’t break the law while doing so. So if 5000 or so people want to demonstrate on behalf of Quinn and his family, they are perfectly entitled to in this country. You can disagree with them if you so wish but demonising them in the manner some of the commenters here is reprehensible. They just are espousing their views and good on them for doing so. If any of the above commenters want to protest against quinn, anglo etc then they should organise a rally to do so. And that rally would more than likely get my support if it ever happened.

  • The Quins deserve some sympathy, they created a lot of employment in the BMW area at a time when there was nothing there! I wonder how many jobs were created by the posters here? Yes they were greedy, yes they made mistakes and yes they are being demonised for the failures of the central bank, the dept of finance, anglo irish bank, and associated politicians most of whom are still sitting pretty in cushy jobs or retired on fat pensions and who havent a clue about job creation.

  • Y.F. 14/10/12 #

    I’m just back from the Rally. ( Myself and an estimated 10,000) others. It was fantastic to hear the truth for once, and not what Anglo et al tell us is the truth. Peter Quinn told it as it is, whilst Mickey Harte showed his unwavering support to the Quinn family. Fantastic so see that Anglo’s PR campaign hasn’t worked on us all. Some of us listen to all the facts and make up our own minds…

    • Peter Quinn the fugitive? must arrange a rendition flight for that snake!

    • BAAAAA BAAAAAA BAAAAAAA

    • Y.F. 14/10/12 #

      I hear you Mick….but i’m not the one making the sheep noises I’m afraid….

    • What are you smoking?

    • 5000 was the attendance according to all media, not 10000 as suggested in your comment. Then again we should expect poor accountancy from that part of the country.

    • Ok Y.F , I will engage with you without any name calling and with full respect.
      Im not an apologist for Anglo..An organisation rotten to the core without doubt, however 2 wrongs do not make a right!
      What do you think of the millions of salaries that the quinn family are trying to hide in ukranian firms? When you say you heard the truth today, this was from a man who is on the run from the law of the land-right? What do you think of the Billion and more of deficits that Quinn Direct has left on the burden of the state and for which all of us real Irish Citizens are paying for already through levies on our policies? You really think the Quinns didnt know what they were signing for multi-billion loans!?

  • Typical media playing it down as usual More like 10000 people including myself where there & we are all cant be wrong idiots culties & whatever else yous wana call us
    All the quins & concerned irish citizens wants is justice & our questions answered we are proud of sean quinn & his family for what they have done for this area more than the corrupt goverment& corrupt bankers who arein the process in ruining
    everthing they built
    These are the people yous are supporting when yous are putting up these invalid comments with nothing to back them up other than what the mafia media publish from dirt & made up stories leaked from angelo toxic bank & yous sitting in your comfy homes with nothin else to do but slate a decent family
    Isuppose if it doesnt happen in dublin its noy worth knowing
    Ive got news for yous us culties are the back bone of this country & di yourselfs a favour stop & take a llok at the way this country is being run into the ground

    • Don’t you dare think you speak for culchies! I’m as big a culchie as anyone and I couldn’t disagree more with you. This poor decent family are completely responsible for their actions and are utterly entwined with everything that happened with Anglo-Irish. You lot in that area are treating this like a GAA match and this is your team and you’ll support them no matter what.
      What kind of a decent family wastes 100 grand on a bloody cake? What about the one on the run from the law? Decent family my hole.

    • Y.F. 14/10/12 #

      Pat,
      I’m sure Quinn knows he is responsible for his own actions…but he is not responsible for the corrupt actions of Anglo, nor was he responsible for the decision that Lenihan and Cowen made to nationalise a bank that would burden the tax-payer with 33+ billion in debt. Quinn is being scape -goated and Anglo/ our Government are only delighted to hide behind him and let him take the heat.

  • Afraid I do not agree with most of the comments. You jackeens made a balls of Anglo and tried and succeeded in seducing the Quinns. Now you think you can manage their businesses. You never cared for the folk up in that part of the country

    • Are you sure your name isn’t Michael Quinn?

    • Fail Michael! Most of those involved were not jackeens.

    • This fake urban/rural divide has been fostered by the Quinns and their disciples. Shame on them.

    • Well i find the excuses that they didn’t know what they were signing a complete and utter lie.

      They made their money by knowing EXACTLY what they were doing and who they were doing business with.

      Fact is they got their fingers burned like everyone else, but don’t want to pay the price.

    • People all over Ireland are united in disbelief at the stupidity of you and other apologists for the Quinns. It actually saddens me to read such blinkered rubbish and to see so many people supporting those cheats. Think about what they did to the whole country, not just your parish. Small-minded idiots.

    • Hope you didn’t get piddled on too much today Michael. I would of been there supporting only I do not have any vested interest in Quinn gangsterism……… sent from iPhone near Ballyconnell, Co.Cavan.