"If we cannot give our opinion we might as well be under Stalin"
Wexford farmer speaks up in defence of Dr Billy Ralph
I wrote about a Wexford farmer that stood to address the Irish Medical Council committee at Billy Ralph’s hearing last week.
He is 71 years old, a life long farmer and married to a retired chief superintendent. He knows the law. More importantly, he knows what is right and wrong.
His name is Paddy Kehoe.
His story struck me because he was near tears when the exchange between himself, Committee Chair Paul Harkin and Senior Counsel Patricia Dillon culminated in his resuming his seat.
It is important to remember, that Billy Ralph’s family were present through the day’s proceedings, when Dr Clare Craig gave her expert evidence in the morning session. During closing statements from the IMC CEO’s barrister Neasa Bird, Billy’s wife Paula took a seat outside the function room.
This sight reminded me of families that have lost loved ones during inquests, who are often invited to sit outside during pathology evidence, because the clinical details of post-mortem can be overwhelming for them.
Billy Ralph isn’t dead thank God, but the calculated attempt to kill off his conscience has continued for five years.
Paddy Kehoe - not an activist, journalist nor expert in anything apart from his farm - captures what’s really at stake here. This isn’t about point scoring, nor issuing judgements or taking sides, it’s beyond that. We have a duty to speak up against the dangerous creep of a totalitarian onslaught that is threatening us literally, to the point of life and death.
I asked Paddy why he felt so strongly about what is happening to Billy Ralph.
“My biggest concern is that if we - any of us, a member of a profession or not - if we cannot give our opinion on a situation, we might as well be under Stalin. That’s how serious this is,” he said.
“We are depending on people like Billy Ralph for guidance and we depend on his feeling free to criticise the government, especially given the seriousness of what was happening in the country at the time.
“Do you remember how dangerous it was at the time? That there was a risk of people being vaccinated against their will? If we are on our own, without people like him, then we are in the dark. It’s that serious,” Paddy said.
The Enniscorthy based farmer is a praying man, his life’s work rooted in the soil. He is someone who likes to probe deeper issues. He said he was disgusted by the things he heard Patricia Dillon SC say in her legal advice to the committee, for how they may find Dr Ralph guilty of professional misconduct without ever harming a patient.
Paddy Kehoe described the legal advice as biased and leading.
“I wasn’t happy with any of it. That barrister was out of order. It’s crazy stuff she was saying.
"She was leading the committee down a narrow path to where the government wants their decision. She was trying to deny the committee the opportunity to decide that Billy Ralph was right,” he said.
“We had two fantastic testimonies that day and I thought it looked very good for Billy. Then the barrister began to speak and gave all these examples of people that had been found guilty of professional misconduct, she gave an example of a doctor who sexually assaulted his daugher - how dare she talk like that? I felt at the time that it was so completely wrong."
“I stood up because none of it makes any sense. Surely Billy Ralph has been proven to be even more right now than he was six years ago?”
“It is the hypocrisy of the whole thing. The chairman set the tone from the start, telling people how to behave when people were objecting because they we were restricted from hearing. He was extraordinarily rude without any good reason. He spoke down to the people that had travelled in there to listen. He just dismissed them. It just set the wrong tone from the start,” he said.
Paddy was referring here to the beginning of last Monday’s session, when members of the public gallery said they couldn’t hear.
The Chairman Paul Harkin responded that if they would be quiet they would hear.
The people responded that the microphones weren’t loud enough.
The Chairman said that was because he could hear voices talking.
“So could you just please show some respect to this Committee,” Mr Harkin said.
Paddy felt that in comparison, the chairman showed great courtesy to Dr Clare Craig for her evidence.
“Clare Craig gave such clear, compelling evidence despite being questioned for hours and he showed such courtesy to her. Was that all a charade?” he asked.
Paddy believes that at the heart of the matter lies the ability to speak one’s mind freely. He sees a bigger picture in the methodology being used to silence doctors and members of other professions.
“This isn’t just about Billy Ralph, it’s about other doctors feeling free to speak up now and in the future, it’s incredibly important,” he said.
“Doctors don’t need to listen to a barrister to know what is right and wrong. God gave us a conscience. We certainly don’t need the government to tell us what is right and wrong. Particularly this government,” he said.
“And it’s not just doctors. We all need to feel we are free to speak what we sincerely believe. If that stops then we are in Stalin territory. It’s that serious. It’s even more serious for doctors, it is more important for a doctor to be able to speak freely than Paddy Kehoe. If you are a trained medical professional and you feel you need to speak for the good of your patients, you have got to be able to speak.”
“You might not be right but it is extraordinarily important that he or she has the right to speak up. If he sincerely feels he needs to speak up, he is taking a risk doing that, because he might not be right. The risk of being wrong should be enough protection. Then it’s up to us as reasonably intelligent people to make the best judgement we can with the information available,” he said.
“That is the way it has always been and it has got to be preserved,” he said.
The Fitness to Practise Committee has set a date of June 5th to return their findings.
Meanwhile, Dr Michael McConville’s IMC hearing begins tomorrow, Tuesday May 26th at the Talbot Hotel in Stillorgan at 10am. He will be joined by Drs Marcus de Brun and Billy Ralph and members of the public are welcome to support.
With thanks to Paddy Kehoe for his candid interview
Thanks to those that support and share this work - much appreciated.
Previously:
Many thanks, Paddy for such honesty and courage, two virtues sadly lacking in our politicians and present society + (again) many thanks to you, Louise for such clear reporting - what a breath of fresh air... Paddy has uplifted my spirits
Thank you so much for your excellent account of the day.
A huge thank you to Paddy too.
Every time one person speaks up with integrity, in the face of the bulwark, it’s a profound moment. 🧡