Upcoming Interview with Joe Duffy/Liveline

 

Great news everyone - someone forwarded my story to the Joe Duffy team on Radio 1 and they absolutely loved it and can't wait to get me on to talk about it!

Thanks Richie (Joe Duffy's producer) - your words of support mean a lot to me!

And for all those of you haven't read my story yet and don't know what I'm talking about just go here: Family Farm Survivor by David Lynch (cregane1.blogspot.com)

I also received a lovely surprise phone call from the same guy before I even got the email. Always a shock to see the "RTE" ID pop up on your phone out of the blue. He was genuinely impressed that I even managed to get it published at all and full of enthusiasm for my story. He even talked about putting me on the air there and then with just a few hours' notice. Yikes! Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed to give us both more time to prepare for the interview.

Having my sad little story recognized/praised/endorsed by such an august institution as RTE really does mean the world to me!

The reach and audience size of Liveline all over the world is truly incredible. I think this could be a real turning point in Ireland for this issue. It could well open the flood-gates about what really goes on behind the scenes of our supposedly cosy and wholesome "family farms". Too many of our young people are having their lives and sanity put at risk in order to serve an exploitative and dangerous system that does them no favours whatsoever!

What happened to this family makes me sick to my stomach! I don't EVER want to read another story like this as long as I live. For all our sakes, no matter how uncomfortable it might be for all involved these issues NEED to be talked about openly and honestly right now!

Joe is a trusted and respected journalist who has always been a great friend and supporter of the Irish farming community. As such his show is the perfect place for me to tell my story. Irish farmers deserve to hear the truth about the huge toll that "family farming" often takes on the children who have no choice but to be involved in it.

The short story I wrote in "Voices from the Land" was just the tip of the iceberg. I welcome the opportunity to discuss my story on-air in a much more in-depth way. 

It's always best to hear the hard truths from a good friend. Joe is a master at discussing the hardest topics with the lightest touch! Thanks again Joe for helping to give me my voice back and save my story from the total erasure that my own family tried so tirelessly to inflict on it!

My family gets a right to reply?

How nice for them. I wish they had extended that same courtesy to me even one time back when they were gleefully driving me into the depths of despair because if they had then the whole sorry episode could have been avoided completely and there would be no story to tell. But hey, we've got to give abusers their rights, right? Because heaven forbid that we should ever treat them with the same contempt that they have treated others.

In order to help prepare for my interview I've been listening back to a lot of recent episodes of Liveline. What struck me the most in listening to the 20 or so different victims of abuse at the hands of "The Spiritans" that he spoke with over the course of several episodes was how much I have in common with them. Although my abuse was "only" psychological/emotional in nature the long-term after-effects are identical.

Namely shame, isolation, anxiety, fear, anger, despair, feeling alienated and estranged from the world, low self-esteem, difficulty moving on, difficulty with relationships due to trust issues etc. I may not have felt them with the same intensity as these poor guys did, but I definitely have struggled with them all from a young age as a direct result of my family's treatment of me.

Actually, I found their openness and honesty about what happened to them to be quite inspiring. It encourages me to dig just as deep and be equally open and honest about what happened to me without fear or shame when I get my turn. Thanks guys - your courage means a lot to me and indeed to all survivors of childhood abuse no matter what form it takes!

Family Farm Survivor, by David Lynch - YouTube

Friends in high places!

Thanks for the support, Senator!

Mind you neither my father nor my brother ever seemed to care all that much about being "at peace". Rather they were always chiefly concerned with simply getting their own way at all costs. First my dad screwed over all his siblings, then he did the same to all his kids. It's basically a family tradition at this point. Where the hell does all this abuse end? How many more innocent lives have to be destroyed in order to preserve the glory of "Cregane"?

God help all the poor kids who are forced to endure the brutal legacy of this place!

It's a terrible burden for anyone to have to carry through life!

The truth always comes out in the end though!

Stay tuned for more details of when the interview is happening!

And for anyone who misses it don't worry because I'll post the link to the podcast here as soon as its done!

Truth be told Joe won't even be the first radio interview I've done about this. I also did a pre-record with Prendeville which will be going out soon and have more interviews with various radio stations, podcasts and print media in the pipeline. 

This is an issue I feel VERY strongly about and one that I have no intention of shutting up about anytime soon no matter who it causes trouble for. My "family" certainly never had any compunction about causing MASSIVE life-long troubles for me whenever it suited them. In any case this issue is far larger and more important than the petty concerns of any one family.