ANDREW MCGINLEY HAS said that he accepts the Late Late Show’s decision not to include him on an October edition of the show, but that he doesn’t fully understand it.
McGinley was due to go on to launch two charity projects in memory of his children.
Andrew’s wife Deirdre Morley was found not guilty by reason of insanity of the murders of her three children Conor (9), Darragh (7) and Carla (3) earlier this year.
Three projects have been set up by Andrew in his children’s names: a YouTube channel for Conor called ‘Conor’s Clips’, a colouring competition for Carla, and a charity to encourage people to join projects in their communities for Darragh.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio’s News at One today, Andrew McGinley said he received a phone call to say that a letter had been sent in to The Late Late Show to object to his appearance on the programme on 8 October.
Later that day, his appearance was postponed, and the following week he received a phonecall to say it was cancelled, he said.
“The people who had written in had said it would be a painful and traumatic experience for them to hear me talk.”
McGinley was launching a charity raffle in honour of his son Darragh on the programme, which Daniel O’Donnell was to do a concert in aid of. A snowman colouring competition in honour of Carla was also to be launched on the programme.
“For a new charity that has received such magnificent support… it was going to be a fantastic opportunity for a new charity to be able to thank them all, and to launch.
“It was going to be an absolutely fantastic opportunity for us and it would help us to help so many projects across the country in Darragh’s name. And that’s really all I want to spend the rest of my days doing – is to say that Conor, Darragh and Carla existed.”
Andrew wrote a letter to the programme after his appearance was cancelled, and RTÉ responded with a statement, some of which was read out on air today. It said that such an interview “would be too painful an experience for some of the wider family”, and that RTÉ had reflected on these views.
McGinley said he received letters from Deirdre’s wider family in support of what he is doing, and said he was upset that the issue had caused a split in Deirdre’s family.
“I accept the Late Late Show decision, but I don’t fully understand it because I’ve received messages from Deirdre’s wider family in support of what I’m doing.
“I was being invited on to talk about the love that I have for these projects which reflect the love that I have for the children. I wouldn’t have talked about anything painful, and I would have hoped that the Late Late Show – being an entertainment show – wouldn’t have intended to speak about anything that would cause distress or pain.”
RTÉ said in a statement to the programme: “We understand the immense grief of Mr McGinley and the sensitivities around this tragedy. RTÉ is obliged to adhere to BAI [Broadcast Authority of Ireland] codes when dealing with such sensitive issues.
“We have not commended on the specifics of our contacts with Mr McGinley, we have also respected the confidentiality of the representations we have received from other family members. RTÉ gave due considerations to all of this and understand it is extremely sensitive.”
McGinley said in response to this: “I honestly cannot understand how the launch of a charity and the launch of a colouring competition can be seen as sensitive material. I honestly don’t understand that,” he said, adding that he was tired of grief-filled conversations, and wanted to have love-filled conversations about his children.
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