{"id":1160355,"date":"2021-12-27T09:34:31","date_gmt":"2021-12-27T14:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1160355"},"modified":"2021-12-27T09:34:34","modified_gmt":"2021-12-27T14:34:34","slug":"banning-church-and-jailing-grandma-stories-from-lockdown-ireland-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/banning-church-and-jailing-grandma-stories-from-lockdown-ireland-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Banning Church and Jailing Grandma: Stories from Lockdown Ireland 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbanning-church-and-jailing-grandma-stories-from-lockdown-ireland-2021%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1160355&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1237357171-e1640301627897-640x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">Between banning church attendance and jailing grandmas, Ireland has had a bizarre time with the Chinese Coronavirus during 2021.<\/p>\n<p>2021 has been a strange year for Ireland.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>The island \u2014 which has&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/news\/ireland\/irish-news\/face-coverings-now-mandatory-in-shops-and-other-indoor-settings-1.4326434?mode=sample&amp;auth-failed=1&amp;pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fireland%2Firish-news%2Fface-coverings-now-mandatory-in-shops-and-other-indoor-settings-1.4326434\">kept<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.ie\/world-news\/coronavirus\/masks-will-still-be-required-in-healthcare-settings-shops-and-public-transport-from-october-22-40805474.html\">a<\/a> stringent mask mandate in place for the entire year \u2014 has gone as far as banning in-person religious gatherings, attempting to censor journalists, and even jailing a grandma.<\/p>\n<p>All this in the name of curtailing the Chinese Coronavirus.<\/p>\n<p>Despite implementing harsh restrictions, however, there were multiple times during the year where rules were bent, if not outright broken, by those with political and social power in the country.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>With this in mind, here are a few stories you may have missed from the Emerald Isle\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Irish Government Renders Church Going Illegal:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For slightly over a third of 2021, if you went to church on Sunday in Ireland, you were breaking the law.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ie\/en\/press-release\/a1f21-ireland-placed-on-level-5-restrictions-of-the-plan-for-living-with-covid-19-with-a-number-of-specific-adjustments\/\">Starting<\/a> in late 2020, a ban on in-person religious worship was in place in Ireland, with all ceremonies being mandated to take place online only.<\/p>\n<p>Although exceptions were offered for weddings and funerals, the ban on regular worship persisted right through until <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ie\/en\/publication\/a8ae5-briefing-on-government-measures-in-response-to-covid-19-friday-7-may-2021\/\">May<\/a>&nbsp;this year, despite widespread <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/faith\/2021\/04\/05\/irish-bishops-protest-government-ban-public-worship\/\">criticism<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>At one stage, even meeting a priest outdoors for the Catholic sacrament of confession was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/health\/2021\/04\/23\/irish-law-criminalizes-outdoor-confession-priest\/\">rendered illegal<\/a>, despite a contemporary&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2021\/04\/09\/only-0-1-per-cent-irish-coronavirus-cases-outdoor-exposure\/\">report<\/a>&nbsp;at the time claiming that only 0.1 per cent of Irish COVID cases were linked to outdoor exposure.<\/p>\n<p>The ban on religious gatherings culminated with Garda\u00ed breaking up a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westmeathindependent.ie\/2021\/04\/27\/gardai-break-up-gathering-for-mass-in-athlone\/\">Latin Mass<\/a> in County Westmeath, with video of the incident gaining hundreds of thousands of views shortly before the ban was lifted.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Gardai storming a Catholic Church today in Athlone. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Lb8CHHm6sl\">pic.twitter.com\/Lb8CHHm6sl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Catholic Arena (@CatholicArena) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CatholicArena\/status\/1386338349154291720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 25, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The ban did not go unopposed.<\/p>\n<p>Irish entrepreneur Declan Ganley took a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.ie\/irish-news\/courts\/businessman-declan-ganley-in-challenge-to-ban-on-public-masses-39717075.html\">case<\/a> to the High Court late in 2020 in the hopes of challenging a similar ban on in-person services that was put in place earlier that year.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cBased on HSE data, our client does not believe that public masses are associated with any greater risk of Covid-19 infection than other important activities, including schooling and childcare, which are permitted under current regulations,\u201d a statement issued by Ganley\u2019s solicitor read.<\/p>\n<p>After being deferred a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.ie\/news\/businessman-declan-ganleys-challenge-to-level-5-restrictions-on-religious-services-adjourned-40028271.html\">number<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishcatholic.com\/declan-ganleys-mass-ban-case-now-moot-says-judge\/\">times<\/a>, Ganley\u2019s challenge was eventually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.ie\/irish-news\/judge-dismisses-as-moot-businessman-declan-ganleys-challenge-to-legality-of-religious-worship-ban-during-covid-restrictions-41168205.html\">thrown out<\/a>&nbsp;of the High Court earlier this month, the judge ruling that Ganley\u2019s case was \u201cmoot\u201d as the ban on in-person religious worship was no longer in place.<\/p>\n<p>This is despite the fact that the ban, as previously, has come and gone before.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Protests Also Bad\u2026:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Irish government also stringently opposed acts of protest during this year.<\/p>\n<p>While never <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawsociety.ie\/gazette\/top-stories\/peaceful-protest-is-legitimate-reason-to-leave-home-says-iccl\">technically<\/a> illegal to protest in the country, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iccl.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ICCL-letter-to-Justice-re-far-right-protests.pdf\">criticised<\/a> the lack of clarity and guidelines for how protests could be safely and legally organised early in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Although the status of protesting remained&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/spunout.ie\/news\/covid-19\/a-guide-to-protesting-during-covid-19\">ambiguous<\/a>&nbsp;in Ireland at times during the pandemic, the view of politicians regarding anti-lockdown and other anti-government protests remained crystal clear.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">More video from yesterday\u2019s Anti-Lockdown protest on Grafton Street.A number of rockets were fired at Garda leaving one in hospital. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/n4qUnEJFrU\">pic.twitter.com\/n4qUnEJFrU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Padraig O&#8217;Reilly Photographer (@padraig_reilly) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/padraig_reilly\/status\/1366022203171561474?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 28, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>After one anti-lockdown protest in February resulted in a number of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/feb\/27\/hundreds-of-anti-lockdown-protesters-clash-with-police-in-dublin\">clashes<\/a> with police, politicians were quick to condemn protesters regarding the effect they would have on the spread of COVID.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe large gathering, in the face of ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, showed a complete lack of respect to the people who have made huge sacrifices during this pandemic,\u201d said Ireland\u2019s Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Miche\u00e1l Martin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHorrified to see this on our streets. Irish people have spent last year fighting Covid. There is no excuse for violence to Garda\u00ed or anyone,\u201d wrote Deputy PM (T\u00e1naiste) Leo Varadkar online. \u201cThis behaviour on Grafton St by a selfish few undermines sacrifices that millions have made in the last 12 months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Varadkar was also later <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/leo-varadkar-letter-facebook-twitter-anti-lockdown-protest-5450665-May2021\/\">revealed<\/a>&nbsp;to have written to social media companies in order to ask them to take steps to prevent protests from being organised.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis behaviour by a selfish few undermines the sacrifices that millions have made in the last 12 months,\u201d Varadkar wrote in a letter sent to internet giants Facebook, Twitter, Google and Tiktok. \u201cI\u2019m writing to see how you can help prevent the promotion of such gatherings in future, to minimise the risk to public health and to prevent the spread of false information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One member of parliament even suggest a future protest be banned because of the day\u2019s events.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is clear that subversive elements used the opportunity presented by this protest to spread their far-right propaganda, dangerous anti-science rhetoric and ultimately attack our Garda\u00ed,\u201d&nbsp;Neale Richmond TD <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.ie\/irish-news\/fine-gael-td-calls-for-cork-anti-lockdown-protest-to-be-banned-40141112.html\">said<\/a>. \u201cThe consequences for attending protests can be damaging not just because they are super spreader events but because they can quickly descend into illegal chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2026but Not Always:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While anti-lockdown protests were repeatedly frowned upon, especially during the beginning of the year, not all protests during periods of intense lockdown were treated with the same level of ire.<\/p>\n<p>After George Nkencho \u2014 a black man \u2014 was shot dead by Irish police in the dying days of 2020, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2021\/01\/03\/brother-black-male-shot-police-tells-protest-he-wants-officer-terminated-finished\/\">violent protests<\/a> erupted in parts of Dublin, with projectiles being thrown at local law enforcement.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Frontline Garda\u00ed have a lot to put up with, unfortunately. Here&#8217;s a clip of some of the violence directed at them during what the media described as peaceful protests in Blanchardstown, early January 2021. During a pandemic. In level 5. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qvMXuE9Fg8\">pic.twitter.com\/qvMXuE9Fg8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 243Cal  (@243_cal) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/243_cal\/status\/1365710885365424130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 27, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Despite the violence occurring during a period of intense lockdown \u2014 in-person religious gatherings were banned at this point in time \u2014&nbsp; little-to-no condemnation of violence during the protests, or even comments regarding the spread of COVID at the protests, arose out of Irish politicians.<\/p>\n<p>This mirrors the reactions of those in government to Black Lives Matter protests that took place in June 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Despite lockdown restrictions being in place at the time of one&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishcentral.com\/news\/leo-varadkar-racism\">5,000<\/a> man march protesting the death of George Floyd \u2014 again, including a ban on in-person religious services \u2014 not only did the then PM (Taoiseach) Leo Varadkar not condemn the demonstration on COVID grounds, but instead posted online a day after the protest that \u201cracism&nbsp;is a virus that we have been fighting for millennia\u201d, in what some have <a href=\"https:\/\/gript.ie\/taoiseach-endorses-massive-lockdown-breach\/\">called<\/a> an implicit approval.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Racism is a virus that we have been fighting for millennia.&nbsp; Despite the progress we have made, it is no less&nbsp;virulent today and no less dangerous.&nbsp; We need to show solidarity as people of all races &amp; backgrounds around the world come together to stop its spread and defeat it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LeoVaradkar\/status\/1267567877282058242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Unvaccinated banned from indoor dining:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While the ban on religious service was criticised by many, one thing that could be said is that it applied to all equally.<\/p>\n<p>Not so for the government\u2019s implementation of COVID passes.<\/p>\n<p>After a long period of absence, indoor dining for bars and restaurants finally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/indoor-dining-is-back-5506368-Jul2021\/\">reopened<\/a> in Ireland on June 26th, but only for those who had a COVID pass.<\/p>\n<p>While most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2021\/12\/16\/three-jab-world-boosterless-french-over-65s-see-covid-passes-disabled\/\">European<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2021\/12\/13\/uk-health-secretary-covid-passes-will-be-cancelled-unless-you-get-a-booster-jab\/\">countries<\/a> allowed unvaccinated people to show proof of a negative test in order to gain a temporary pass, Ireland never allowed this option, restricting indoor dining to vaccinated and recently recovered individuals only.<\/p>\n<p>For context, a similar requirement in the German region of Lower Saxony was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stern.de\/politik\/deutschland\/niedersachsen--gericht-setzt-2g-regel-fuer-einzelhandel-aus-31430024.html\">shot down<\/a>&nbsp;recently by the region\u2019s&nbsp;Higher Administrative Court for not being compatible with the general principle of equality.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, while the internal use of COVID certs was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2021\/11\/25\/watch-get-vax-if-you-want-to-participate-in-society-senator-tells-ireland\/\">meant<\/a> to expire on October 9th, allowing unvaccinated individuals once again to access indoor dining, this deadline was later extended to October 22nd, and once more again after that, this time with no set end date.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, areas requiring the pass have since been expanded to include nursing homes,&nbsp;cinemas, theatres, nightclubs, as well as a host of other events, none of which could ever be accessed with a negative COVID test.<\/p>\n<p>Some politicians however feel like these restrictions have not been enough, with one Irish Senator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2021\/11\/25\/watch-get-vax-if-you-want-to-participate-in-society-senator-tells-ireland\/\">calling<\/a> for vaccination to be a requirement in order to participate in society at all.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you want to participate in society, you need to be vaccinated,\u201d&nbsp; Senator&nbsp;Gerry Horkan stated, saying that those who do not want to participate should stay at home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re putting the rest of us at risk, and you\u2019re putting the economy at risk,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sen Gerry Horkan (FF) on vaccine apartheid:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Why not supermarkets? Why not public transport? I know it is difficult to police some of these things, but really, if you want to participate in society, you need to be vaccinated.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kWkN9wS2tL\">pic.twitter.com\/kWkN9wS2tL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 JRD (@JRD0000) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JRD0000\/status\/1463221410474733576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 23, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>#Merriongate:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While the Irish government has repeatedly imposed draconian restrictions on the public, they themselves sometimes have difficulties following their own rules.<\/p>\n<p>This became apparent back in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Early on during the pandemic, then-PM (Taoiseach) Leo Varadkar was forced to deny breaking lockdown rules after he was caught attending a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2020\/05\/27\/irish-pm-denies-breaking-lockdown-having-topless-bbq-park\/\">barbeque, while topless,<\/a> in a park in Dublin.<\/p>\n<p>Although Varadkar may not have broken any rules, he seems to have made the decision to go barbequing \u2014 topless \u2014 despite the advice that was given at the time by the assistant secretary of the Department of the Taoiseach, which was to avoid staying too long at public amenities or having picnics.<\/p>\n<p>Another major event was the so-called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2020\/08\/21\/one-rule-me-irish-politicians-caught-party-breaking-lockdown-rules\/\">#GolfGate<\/a> scandal of 2020, during which a number of senior politicians, judges, and other high profile Irish figures were caught attending an over 80 person party in the west of Ireland, despite a strict lockdown being in place at the time.<\/p>\n<p>The scandal resulted in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-europe-53923052\">resignation<\/a> of then-European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan over his attendance.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">EU Trade Commissioner Under Pressure to Resign After Golf Party Which Broke Lockdown Rules <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QljtZVIsnK\">https:\/\/t.co\/QljtZVIsnK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartLondon\/status\/1297548043819130880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 23, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Perhaps an even greater scandal in the context of Irish politics occurred in 2021 however.<\/p>\n<p>Dubbed #MerrionGate, the scandal revolved around a party organised by former Cabinet Minister Catherine Zappone.<\/p>\n<p>Held at the Merrion Hotel in Dublin, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.ie\/irish-news\/news\/katherine-zappone-assured-by-hotel-that-party-with-50-friends-including-tanaiste-was-in-line-with-covid-19-restrictions-40717044.html\">party<\/a> \u2014 which was being held to celebrate Zappone\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/special-envoy-roles-micheal-martin-katherine-zappone-5541807-Sep2021\/\">questionable<\/a> appointment to a lucrative government \u201cspecial envoy\u201d position \u2014 was attended by around 50 guests.<\/p>\n<p>This is despite health guidelines at the time saying that \u201corganised events, indoor and outdoor, are not permitted,\u201d according to the Irish Hotels Federation\u2019s understanding of official rules set out by Ireland\u2019s National Tourism Development Authority.<\/p>\n<p>Regarding the event, Deputy PM (T\u00e1n\u00e1iste) Leo Varadkar said that there was \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rte.ie\/news\/2021\/0806\/1239461-varadkar-covid-latest\/\">probably<\/a>\u2018 no breach of guidelines in place a the time.<\/p>\n<p>The guidelines themselves were later <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/katherine-zappone-outdoor-gathering-guidelines-5516444-Aug2021\/\">updated<\/a> to reflect a clarification that up to 200 people had been permitted to attend outdoor gatherings by the guidelines the entire time, despite the Irish Hotels Federation\u2019s previous interpretation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kinzen and Ireland\u2019s reporting of \u201charmful misinformation\u201d:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The government\u2019s lockdown efforts haven\u2019t always been limited to the island of Ireland however.<\/p>\n<p>Ireland\u2019s socialised healthcare service, the HSE, has had a policy of reporting misinformation online regarding the pandemic to social media companies.<\/p>\n<p>However, according to an investigation by Gript Media, Ireland\u2019s Health Service went beyond just that.<\/p>\n<p>The conservative publication found that the HSE had <a href=\"https:\/\/gript.ie\/exclusive-the-hse-has-gone-far-beyond-reporting-misinformation\/\">flagged<\/a>&nbsp;as misinformation posts by mainstream media outlets such as the<em> New York Times.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Also flagged were two&nbsp;videos of parliamentarians speaking in their respective parliaments, neither of which contained any medical misinformation, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p>The health service had also been flagging as disinformation early reports that the&nbsp;AstraZeneca and J&amp;J vaccines could be linked to blood clots.<\/p>\n<p>Further investigation revealed that a significant proportion of the flagged material had been brought to the attention of the health service by an anti-disinformation firm called Kinzen.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">EXCLUSIVE: We&#8217;ve published the full text of every &#8220;Disinformation Digest&#8221; Kinzen sent to the Department of Health over the last 5 months.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cRqBG80r9e\">https:\/\/t.co\/cRqBG80r9e<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 gript (@griptmedia) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/griptmedia\/status\/1459510568604377089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 13, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Co-founded by Mark Little, a former journalist for Ireland\u2019s state-owned broadcaster RT\u00c9, Kinzen received nearly \u20ac110,000 over a nine-month period for the work they performed for the Department of Health.<\/p>\n<p>The department <a href=\"https:\/\/gript.ie\/department-of-health-no-longer-working-with-kinzen\/\">cut ties<\/a> with the company without explanation shortly after Gript\u2019s expos\u00e9.<\/p>\n<p>Gript also went on to report that emails seen by the publication show Kinzen <a href=\"https:\/\/gript.ie\/kinzen-asked-department-of-health-for-help-keeping-kinzens-work-secret\/\">asking<\/a> department officials not to mention the firm\u2019s work publicly.<\/p>\n<p>The publication has also since&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/gript.ie\/the-department-of-health-say-all-records-of-the-contracts-they-signed-with-kinzen-have-been-lost\/\">reported<\/a> that the Department of Health has claimed that all records of contracts signed with the firm have been lost, along with any record of negotiations with the company that led to the signing of any contract, as well as all records of discussions the department had with Kinzen before ending its relationship with the firm.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to Breitbart London on the expos\u00e9, Gript Media journalist Gary Kavanagh said the following:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKinzen and the HSE went way beyond just reporting on misinformation, and we were able to show that the misinformation reporting programme was actively reporting purely political messages, like promotional material for anti-lockdown rallies, as misinformation,\u201d Kavanagh said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt shows the dangers of these programmes, and it shows that neither the state, nor third-parties such as Kinzen, should be trusted to control what people see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jailing Grandmas:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nothing betrays how extreme the Irish lockdown experience has been than the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2021\/12\/19\/irish-grandma-who-violated-mask-mandate-spend-christmas-behind-bars\/\">story<\/a> of&nbsp;Margaret Buttimer.<\/p>\n<p>Despite having no criminal convictions before the start of the COVID pandemic, the Irish grandmother has since been jailed twice for disobeying public health guidelines.<\/p>\n<p>As a result of the judge refusing to hand down community service \u2014 claiming that the woman was engaging in \u201cpersistent community disservice\u201d \u2014 Buttimer\u2019s most recent conviction in December resulted in her being handed a one year sentence, with six months being suspended.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, the grandmother spent Christmas behind bars.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Grandmother Who Violated Mask Mandate to Spend Christmas Behind Bars <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VjOGi6Bo4v\">https:\/\/t.co\/VjOGi6Bo4v<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartLondon\/status\/1472525869692428288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 19, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Between banning church attendance and jailing grandmas, Ireland has had a bizarre time with the Chinese Coronavirus during 2021. 2021 has been a strange year for Ireland.  The &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":297,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1160355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1160355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/297"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1160355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1160355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1160355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1160355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1160355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}