Court 'circus' backfired on the family
Nobody wants a hanging but it would be nice to think that all citizens are treated equally in our courts regardless of their financial status.
In his article on January 22, Brian Carroll asked how many people had heard of Tim Allen prior to the case. This is precisely the point.
Not many people would have heard of him, but following the actions of the Allen family everybody in the country now knows his face.
I live near Ballymaloe and I never knew until the week before last that Darina Allen had four children, but following their stage-managed appearance in Midleton court, everybody now knows their faces as well.
Why didn't Tim Allen walk into court with his solicitor, as is the usual scenario in the district court, face the charges and take the rap like every ordinary citizen? Had he done so, the story would be dead the next day.
But no. The Allen family treated this like another TV production they were calling the shots and they were going to control the outcome.
I have never heard of anybody walking into the district court with one of the leading barristers in the country, a clinical psychologist and a spindoctor. Of course, the punishment handed down was deemed suitable for such important people.
The PR exercise backfired because people were rightly outraged by the circus in Midleton.
The statement made subsequently by the family was obviously a damage limitation exercise as the whole thing was hitting this rich family where it hurts in the pocket.
People like Darina Allen court the media and make their living by exposure, whether in the Irish Examiner or on RTÉ.
It is rather late to complain when a negative story appears, but I do think it was a particularly awful stunt exposing those four young adults to the glare of the cameras in Midleton.
Understand now, Mr Carroll?
Catherine Ahern,
Broomfield East,
Midleton,
Co Cork
