Heated scenes at 'Justice for Eamonn Jackson' meeting

There were heated scenes at a public meeting on Wednesday evening in support of country star Eamonn Jackson who it's alleged is the victim of a campaign of abuse stemming from his former links with a dog breeding enterprise.
Puppy farming protestors attended the meeting in the Hotel Kilmore in Cavan Town, which was also attended by politicians, music promoters and supporters of Jackson, whose family name is Mulvaney. Jackson himself did not attend the meeting.
The chairman of the Justice for Eamonn Jackson action committee, Sean Smith from Stragelliff, Cavan, said that he had a letter from the Gardai stating that members of An Garda Siochana were not in a position to attend the meeting because there is a “massive investigation ongoing”.
Smith told those present at the meeting: “These people are sitting behind laptops and making allegations about a man that are not true. It is affecting his livelihood, reputation and also health wise.”
Various speakers outlined their complete support from the floor for Eamonn Jackson and pledged to fight the cyber bullying and hate campaign that they say is being relentlessly waged against him.
Sue Kilbracken, an animal rights welfare campaigner took the microphone and accused county councillors present for not addressing their concerns in repect of the Mulvaney facility and others.
She then targeted Senator Diarmuid Wilson who has spoken in the Seanad in support of Jackson on the issue before organisers tried to take the microphone from her.
The crowd then became very animated as Lorraine O'Neill, a Redhills native and community activisit, who was there in support of Jackson, rounded on Kilbracken while urging her to stay and listen to what was being said.

Here are a few short clips from the exchanges:

The hostility continued towards Kilbracken and others from the animals rights group, and they eventually left.
The meeting then proceeded in relative calm, as the chairman vowed to continue the campaign to highlight what was happening and to get justice for Eamonn Jackson.

Concerns were expressed in 2016 about the dog-breeding establishment in which Jackson was involved but, after a number of improvement notices were served and acted upon, the Council said it was fully compliant with the law.
The Mulvaneys have at all times denied any cruelty to animals in their enterprise.
Jackson has since stepped away from that business to focus on his music career.
However, it’s claimed as a result of online 'trolling' and abuse, targetted at him personally and also venues he has been booked to play, the Redhills man and up to 10 band members are at risk of losing their livelihoods. 

A request from the Celt to speak with Mr Mulvaney directly was declined. However Mr Smith said that the musician has given blessing to those fighting his case, is willing to speak out in future.

Two social media pages have been set up in support of Mr Mulvaney and his attempts to get his career back on track - 'Justice for Eamonn Jackson’ and ‘Stand Up for Eamonn Jackson’.
Yesterday evening's meeting followed representations made towards the end of last year in Seanad Eireann during a debate on Social Media Regulation by Fianna Fáil’s Senator Diarmuid Wilson.
Raising Mr Mulvanny’s plight, Sen Wilson pointed out that the dog breeding establishment, now run by a member of his family, is “properly licensed and regulated”.
He said: “Venues where he was due to play have been contacted by individuals using various forms of social media. They have been intimidated and, in some cases, threatened. This has resulted in hundreds of Mr Jackson’s performances being cancelled at short notice, including a recent tour of the United Kingdom. This has cost Mr Jackson hundreds of thousands of euro and put in jeopardy the livelihoods of the 10 people employed by him in the music business.”
Sen Wilson added that the abusive social media messages he receives almost every day has not only caused financial loss, but “significant mental strain” on the singer also.
While Jackson's supporters have vowed to fight on, so too have the protestors against puppy farming.

 

* For a full report, speakers and photos from the meeting, as well as the latest on the story, see next week's Anglo-Celt.