What’s the story with Rory?

A closer look at Ireland’s latest state sanctioned ‘expert’.

I recently came across an article in The Guardian written by an Irish academic, which attempted to address the housing crisis that Ireland is currently experiencing.  It had a particularly divisive headline, but I decided to read on nonetheless, just to see was there any merit or substance beyond the clear and open anti-working class sentiment.  Rory Hearne is a lecturer in Social Policy at Maynooth University and like much of Ireland’s academia, he appears to be an outspoken apologist for unlimited and undocumented immigration and is also a zero carbon/climate action advocate.  How those two things reconcile is anyone’s guess.  More people means more carbon.  It must be the fault of the cows or diesel engines somehow.

Much like his colleague Barry Cannon, he also appears to be an outspoken critic of the phantom menace of the ‘far right’.  Cannon even compiled a dossier on this shady group with the highly imaginative title ’StopFarRight’.  The artistry and creativity of these people is unrivalled.  I meant to get around to reading it but time is precious and I’d rather not waste it.  Hearne also has strong views on social housing, some of which I happen to agree with him on in principle, if not methodology.  Vacant homes - at least to him it seems - should be the state’s property to redistribute as they see fit (for the common good of course).  ‘Housing Stock’ is one of his favoured go to buzzwords which appears in several of his other articles.  He also wrote a book called ‘Gaffs’ (he speaks in the common vernacular too you know, no limit to his talents), in which he claims to have the solution to the housing crisis.  I haven’t read the book but the final paragraph of the Guardian article in question, provides us with a not so subtle hint of what that ‘solution’ might be.  What’s presented as a footnote, I believe is the bigger picture.

It seems nowadays one of the main conditions of university tenureship is that you adopt a hard left dogmatism (if you weren’t already predisposed) and incorporate it into your teachings.  The article - which is being held up by left wing commentators as some sort of triumph of literature - was so full of inaccuracies and lazy tropes, that I felt a counter argument needed to be made.  If you are still using the term ‘far right’ in a pejorative manner at this stage you are not on the side of the people.  Anyone still using this term is either an establishment insider with an agenda, or a grossly misinformed, blissfully unaware, politically illiterate member of the public, who lives on a diet of Newstalk for breakfast and RTÉ for dinner, that is when they have crawled out from whatever rock they’ve been under for the past number of years.

There are some reasonable points made by him in the article that would be more in line with ’old left’, pre-woke thinking to be fair, however the overall tone of the piece is unfortunately predicated by a litany of falsehoods and half truths.  The type of condescension and prejudice the working class have become accustomed to from these establishment socialists (who’ve never set foot on a factory floor) is found throughout the article, with the implication made abundantly clear that unless you nod your head in obedient agreement with his educated words and opinions, you might just be ‘far right’.  Since these people are above the reach of mere mortals and will not engage in debate, I will do a breakdown and critique of the article which Hearne is quite welcome to respond to if he so wishes.  I will only address the sections that I deem questionable, so this is not an even longer read than necessary.  I will link the full article below so you can make up your own mind regarding its entirety.

I also wish to encourage other independent writers to critique the work of these people in order to force the marginalised voices into the discussion, since RTÉ or any of the rest won’t platform anyone who may make sensible counter arguments.  By analysing and providing opposing commentary on these pieces we can bypass the censorship and present both opposing viewpoints to the people directly, who are more than capable of coming to their own conclusions, which argument best represents the reality they are observing on the ground, despite what the new censorship apparatus might think.

The opening paragraph sets the tone for the usual tired old clichés that may have flown in 2022, to once more be rolled out, but the problem gatekeepers like Hearne are now facing, is that they are dealing with an increasingly well informed public, who can now spot their gaslighting a mile away.  They can see the formulaic language patterns that are present all across the NGO sector and media.  The same hollow, blithering buzzwords that come out of the mouths of politicians.  It’s all just become so predictable and lazy, that they are the ones who now find themselves in the echo chamber.

The people are no longer interested in what you have to say.  The homeless, masked up migrant in the tent as the chosen photo to run with?  Really Rory?  Really?  The Musa Dogan scam was busted nearly a year ago, slightly behind the curve aren’t we?  The man in the tent would likely have skipped the housing list anyway, with the help of an NGO.  The term ‘Toxic masculinity’ makes an appearance also.  A concept completely contrived and perpetuated by leftist men with perhaps lower testosterone levels than the average man.  They use this slur as a virtuous, sophisticated cloak to hide behind.  It’s a nice catchphrase for them to rally around so they can all feel better about themselves.  What we have in fact is a crisis of masculinity and men who use this term are more often than not, the main culprits.

The paragraph above is a real gem.  The riots did not surprise any of us either chief.  Particularly since many of us have been warning about the high chance of civil unrest, should the inevitable occur here in Ireland, just like it did last year in a French playground.  That of course being, the stabbing of a child by a Syrian migrant, (an incident Hearne completely omits from the article of course - didn’t happen).  He mentions a rise in racist sentiment but of course fails to elaborate by giving any specific examples.  The racists in his eyes are obviously the concerned residents of working class areas who want women and children to be able to walk the streets of their communities safely.  How selfish.  These are the people who have been ignored by all in official Ireland.  The decent mothers and fathers of the nation, who smoked salmon socialists like this man condescend to.

Disgracefully smeared without a shred of evidence, so their concerns appear unfounded to the majority.  He proclaims ‘the truth’ that the housing shortage is not caused by ‘refugees’.  Thanks for putting us straight, we needed guidance to come to that conclusion.  The real truth is that nobody is actually making those claims, it’s just more disingenuous nonsense and hot air.  What is true is that real refugees flee war.  There are a whole variety of nationalities coming here without documents claiming asylum, originating from countries not at war, so these are not refugees in the true sense.  That’s more what people are saying.  They are not playing your word game.  They refuse to call them what you insist on dishonestly calling them.  Twisting definitions doesn’t equate to ‘truth’.

One wonders just how many of those 75,000 he alludes to are ‘white Irish’ (as these woke types like to selectively highlight skin colour and nationality when referring to one group only, I will momentarily speak in their native tongue).  His ‘detailed’ research stopped short of going beyond the figures to delve deeper into the demography, which is - despite what our learned professor friends tell us - entirely relevant when you consider the existence of groups such as Tuath Housing, who are actively helping migrants skip housing queues.  The Irish Independent ran a story about a 63 year old Irishman, John O’Donnell who lived in a freezing abandoned slaughterhouse for 7 years.  It presents a situation that is an absolute disgrace, as some sort of Christmas miracle.  A feel good story fashioned from a shameful situation.  He’s not the only one living in the type of conditions he’s had to endure for the best part of a decade.  There are others even worse off.  Roderic O’Gorman tweeting out to the world to prospective migrants that they will have their own front door key within 4 months, is not only a hugely ambitious promise, it’s more like a crime when you look at the homeless population.  A crime our protagonist clearly doesn’t have a problem with.  Remember migrants have no impact on the housing crisis.  None.  Repeat after Rory.

Saying ‘refugees’ didn’t cause the housing crisis, is nothing more than an emotive call to arms, rallying the support of those who espouse similar political leanings.  You can almost hear the mechanical noise of their heads nodding in agreement as they read.  It is an empty, unsubstantiated statement.  A group hug between open borders advocates.  People are not blaming foreigners, they are blaming government policy, which the ‘opposition’ wholeheartedly supports.  If only one migrant comes into the country and takes the only house available, leaving an Irish person homeless, then how can you say it’s not a contributing factor to the housing and homelessness problem?  Scale that concept up and you will get a clearer understanding of precisely what is happening.  Are we expected to believe that the thousands of migrants coming into the country on a weekly basis will have to wait 7 years to be housed like John who we mentioned above?  It’s just blatant gaslighting.  Not only is migration one of the main causes of the crisis, it’s being used as a weapon to disenfranchise.  Outsiders are being given pieces of paper and called Irish, they are then being prioritised over the real Irish exacerbating a problem that’s already out of control.

If anyone is being discriminated against and can claim to be victims of racism it’s our own people, who should always be prioritised before any foreign person even enters the country.  This is just common sense.  Of course we would like to help those in need from other countries, but the existence of Irish homeless is clear evidence that we are not equipped.  Every counter point to this fact is simply virtue signalling.  Liberals don’t really care about any of these people.  Certainly not as much as they care about how wonderfully compassionate they appear in the eyes of the rest of the world.  But of course our resident expert Hearne and his ilk would no doubt scoff at such preposterous notions.  Claiming migration has no impact on housing, is no different to saying something as ridiculous as the floor is flooded because the bath is overflowing, but it’s not because somebody left the tap on.  It appears Dr. Hearne has factored in every variable and given us figures and statistics to bolster his argument, but has selectively chosen to bizarrely ignore migration altogether.  As I was writing this paragraph, an incredible synchronicity occurred.  I was sent an extremely funny meme of Hearne with some other colleague, depicting the very bathroom analogy I used above.

He was also on the Tonight Show on Virgin Media , stating in a tepid debate with Barry Cowen, that the housing supply was the ‘wrong supply’ as it was not affordable.  A regular Sherlock Holmes we have on our hands here.  I happen to agree with him completely in principle (so does the dog on the street), however, the market dictates this and if you increase the demand, that will automatically increase competition in the marketplace, resulting in greater options for investors and landlords.

https://x.com/roryhearnegaffs/status/1735237550686523739?s=46

This is hardly revelatory information, it is common knowledge that the housing being built is not affordable.  Large investment funds will naturally swoop in and occupy that space.  They have the type of capital required to purchase in bulk, making an almost instant return on their investment by charging huge rents.  The government are actually encouraging this by granting tenants HAP, which on the face of it looks like it’s giving people a leg up, when in reality it’s encouraging continued tenancy within a toxic, overly inflated market.  The utterances of generic universal truths like “the housing is not affordable”, is where the viewer is being encouraged to side with the trendy, dynamic young academic over the outdated politician, with unimaginative, non-progressive ideas, who is set in his ways.  Time for modern thinking, a new approach.  Your trust needs to be gained over time before the radical sales pitch is finally delivered.  It’s time for new radical thinking and solutions.  The young guy, in the ‘Housing Rights’ t-shirt underneath the blazer, saying the emotive things people want to hear in his loudest voice, as he whispers the details, represents that new radical thinking.

Much like Luke O’Neill strumming his guitar, they will promote this guy to the hilt and the average middle class social climber will find him relatable.  The trimmed beard, fun dads and yummy mummies of middle Ireland will lap this fella up just like they did with O’Neill.  The same ones who fell for Uncle Luke’s charms will follow suit once more, most probably.  This is the demographic whose hearts and minds are needed for the ‘solution’.  The very section of society who are also in the gunsights.  In the clip above on the Six O’Clock Show, he explains to the viewer (in his very concerned, compassionate voice) that three quarters of 20-29 year olds are living with their parents.  A truly appalling situation and one which cannot possibly continue.  Listen to the tone in his voice, it’s over the top, unnatural and forced.  This is the appeal to compassion, the tug at the heartstrings that is designed to curry favour with the viewer who he is trying to soften up (because he’s a nice guy) before he presents the solution.

He presents himself as on the side of this couch surfing demographic and against government policy.  However, he is only against it in execution.  On the topic of immigration for instance, he is fully on board with the influx of young men from countries such as Algeria and Albania (one more time - countries not at war, therefore not refugees as he falsely claims in his article).  The introduction of more people into the country actually increases profits for the very investment funds he is claiming to be against.  Surely a university lecturer in the field of Social Policy would be aware of the basic concept of supply and demand?

Like the usual left wing commentators he decries vulture funds and big investment groups buying up properties, yet when this phenomenon intersects with migration on the other set of the Venn diagram he and others like him are strangely silent.  When the East Wall community went after slum landlord, Mel Sutcliffe and his investment firm Quanta there wasn’t a whisper from this individual.  When Giles Sarson, Ed Strover and Paul Cuthburt Brown, through their holding company Brava Capital earmarked the Belbulbin Court apartment complex in Sligo for International Protection applicants - which was originally to house ATU students (being a college lecturer he should have been up in arms) - he was again completely mute.

These apartments are empty since the end of June. The 12 month rule that was implemented by the government, states that student accommodation can only be transformed into a provision centre, if left empty for 12 months. These apartments currently lie empty while (according to Dr. Rory’s research) 75,000 people are homeless.  Students attending the university are faced with an accommodation crisis, having to make alternative arrangements, with some even dropping out.  All while these properties are being land banked, to hold out for the more profitable payoff of housing the UN’s nomads, further enriching the very predator capitalists Hearne is claiming to be an opponent of.  The silence is deafening.

Yet Hearne is still beginning to pop up on a lot of Bauer media mainstream platforms of late as an expert on housing.  So much so, that I’m getting the impression he is going to be the equivalent of the aforementioned Professor Luke O’Neill for housing.  The selected, go to expert who fits the profile and is on board with the overall goal when it comes to housing.  Someone who will cherry pick the data that suits while completely ignoring other variables driving the crisis, in order to steer the narrative in the establishment’s favour.  Someone with credentials who is an expert in the field.  His voice will be the most important one in all debates, he will be depicted as the sensible voice of reason, a great progressive thinker and will no doubt enjoy a completely unchallenged platform, so the public get pulled along with him.  Their blueprint is laughably predictable at this stage.

So who exactly is Rory Hearne? And why is he suddenly on our television screens and writing mainstream articles?  Is he an independent commentator without motive or does he have political connections?  Has he got ideological skin in the game?  Taking a closer look, there are a few very noticeable familiar patterns to his back story.  You only have to delve a tiny bit below the surface to find out that he is anything but an impartial voice.  He is not by any means an entirely independent observer.  What we have here is a salesman.  The product he is flogging?  The failing, much maligned 39th Amendment to the constitution, or the Right to Housing Bill.  Like many if not all of the state sanctioned experts who appear on our television screens attempting to shape our opinions, he came through the central indoctrination camp of Trinity College.  He was even Student Union President.

He is so much a child of the NGO/Think Tank globalist model, that he is almost a walking cliché.  Like most self styled socialists, he’s a posh boy who has never put his theories into practice.  His resumé proves this.  A perennial student, whose only other ventures outside the gilded campus walls regarding work experience, were not out in industry.  No, it was the equally insular, virtual reality of the NGO racket.  So he’s hardly someone who can relate to the lives of ordinary people.  A cynic may even deduce that he has been groomed for this new showbiz role.  His spell as Student Union President might have given him an interest in pursuing a political career.  He did run in the 2007 general election for the activist/protest wing of the establishment, People Before Profit, in the Dublin South East constituency.

The Right to Housing Bill, presented by his former PBP associates Richard Boyd Barrett, Paul Murphy, Bríd Smith, Gino Kenny and Mick Barry has been pummelled relentlessly by the independent media, due to the fact there are no protections whatsoever for the family home written into the bill.  I do wonder is the hero of our story still in regular contact with his former comrades?  One does wonder very much indeed…

The Bill:

“The State, in particular, recognises the common good as including the right to secure, affordable, dignified housing, appropriate to need, for all the residents of Ireland and shall guarantee this right through its laws, policies and the prioritisation of resources.

The State, accordingly, shall delimit the right to private property where it is necessary to ensure the common good and to vindicate the said right to housing for all residents of Ireland”.

I and others have written at length about the dangers that this bill represents for homeowners and property/privacy rights in general.  The vulture funds will be used as an excuse to pursue this, however if there are no protections laid out in law, there is nothing to stop them first coming after second homes and eventually the family home, with the ‘common good’ as ever, the excuse.  Factoring in the paucity of housing in the market, combined with the state pouring petrol on the fire by letting in unlimited amounts of migrants (who have no impact on housing remember), is it not plausible this could be deemed a workable solution for the ‘common good’?

Ex-PBP socialist activist and commentator, Peter Dooley attempted to sell the right to housing to the public on the Niall Boylan Show and failed miserably.  He came up against a formidable opponent in the shape of our very own Stephen J. Delaney, who took his argument to pieces point by point.  Members of the public even began to ring in to the show, unanimously opposing Dooley’s position.  It was a PR disaster, they may be hoping Rory Hearne is more polished.  I would imagine he will also be a designated ‘safe zone’.  Given a debate exemption outside of the morning couch where it will be nothing more than, “what shall we do Rory?”

If you want to hear why you should vote NO to the right to housing in any upcoming referendum, please read and listen:

The 39th Amendment: A Rare Interaction Between Opposing sides

He is also a climate change activist (aren’t they all) and wants all the unlimited new builds he envisions to be up to all the current regulatory standards and requirements - while at the same time bemoaning how unaffordable housing is, would extra features not make these houses cost even more?  It’s all very confusing but then again I’m not an expert.  Homes that don’t retrofit and install the likes of solar panels or other mod cons to comply with these inevitable, weather fixing regulations, may find themselves a target for repossession.  Their property to be acquired by the state should the owner not be able to afford the undertaking.  Good luck getting it back if you are - as stated in the bill - to be housed according to your needs.  All for the common good of course.  Hearne would most likely look you straight in the eye at present and dismiss these concerns as nonsense.  But remember how he is treating your current concerns about migration.  Him and others like him will likely be on daytime television in 2-3 years time pushing for this.  Be under no illusion.  People may even by then agree.  That’s the reality of the country we live in.

The Red C poll conducted a few months back by the Business Post, showed a bigger percentage than the 61% of people he references here, are now what he would consider to be ‘far right’.  Migration is now the main issue on everyone’s lips.  Are we all racist now?  Shall we henceforth refer to the grannies in Turnapin as the Far Right, Blue Rinse Brigade?  A whopping 75% majority are not satisfied with the government’s policy in migration.  People who you also falsely consider to be ‘refugees’ being smuggled into local communities by nightfall, is not proving to be very popular with the vast majority of Irish people, yet that’s a statistical anomaly that seems to escape you.  Ignoring such an overwhelming chasm in public opinion can only mean there is an agenda at play and the lovely Rory is on board.  It’s not very believable that someone so learned and good at number crunching, who references statistical analysis and data with ease, would be unaware of this particular poll.

And finally here it is.  The piece de resistance.  More or less an admission.  The above paragraph confirming for me that the delectable Dr. Hearne is to indeed be the man to soften up the public for the YES vote in the upcoming referendum - the result the entire establishment so dearly desires.  Do not be fooled by this snake oil salesman.  This wolf in sheep’s clothing.  He may say some of the right things, but behind the inoffensive facade, this is an enemy combatant.  We are engaged in class warfare like never before.  Make no mistake.  These times are unprecedented.  This man is not on the side of the Irish people.  He makes no secret of his links to anti-Irish NGO’s by citing the ‘Housing for All’ establishment parades as a sign of ‘hope’.  Housing for ‘All’ as we have already seen means, foreigners first and Paddy last.

With all this being said, the music is gradually beginning to change now in Ireland.  We are entering the punk rock era, while people like Rory Hearne are trotting out the same old tired boring ballads which no longer capture the imagination.  The working class have found their voice and are taking action all across the land.  They will no longer be patronised by these individuals who feel they have the right to be their spokesperson.  They are now highly educated and are demanding answers.  When the establishment and academic class use the term ‘social media conspiracy theories’ what they really mean is information beyond the fabricated mainstream bubble that the peasants are not supposed to know about.  It’s a bitter pill for them to swallow when the proletariat go off script and see through their word spells.  They now have a deep understanding of their nations affairs and that will only increase as reality continues to affirm their conclusions.  It certainly won’t be suppressed or subdued by empty rhetoric or word salad.  Those days are over.  It kills them that they can now no longer patronise the people and lead them around by the nose so they change tactics by insulting them instead.  Portraying them as undesirables.  Hilary Clinton’s ‘basket of deplorables’.

The people have begun to notice how much their country, is changing/has changed and are now demanding answers.  Telling them their concerns are not warranted and calling them ‘far right’ for daring to have an opinion is only going to increase the levels of anger out there.  Tone deaf commentators like Rory Hearne, who don’t particularly care about the concerns of regular people will only pour fuel on an already tense, potentially explosive situation.  It’s time for an honest discussion and open debate, scolding people will not work any longer.  It’s time you all caught up.  Not only that, it’s also time you grew up and stopped insulting people’s intelligence.

Full Guardian article:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/11/ireland-housing-crisis-far-right-europe-refugees