the Ireland branch--> issues over the years

hi all

the irish branch has had lots of drama over the years from John May in the 1980s to the recent removal of practically all the branch committee in the mid noughties to its being closed down quite recently.

i heard on the grapevine that two of the branch committee had actually come to physical blows and there was blood on the carpet.

also many many witnesses spoke of the totalitarian environment there.

does anyone have anything further to corroborate or add to this?

thanks

WildeLover

thanks for the FYI

Bejayzuz ! Blood on der carpit ! What da feck woz dey up to ?

C'mon you Irish 'pozzies give us da dirt !

They should have moved the brawl to a Pub.

Part of the family comes from County Cork   

I'd love to know.  Any connections I have would NEVER tell me.

I heard it had something to do with the Irish branch committee getting lost in the lingerie section of a department store. As you can imagine, it was very embarrassing for all concerned and chaos ensued. In the aftermath, heads rolled and the committee was eventually dissolved...

Cedars

LOL @ cedars.

This was posted on a FB group recently: http://www.facebook.com/groups/90686115834/permalink/10150546720315835/

I can only pass on rumors, sorry.  I know an Irish brother.

The Watchtower Society is rumored to have several problems in this branch:

Brothers who settle disputes with fists behind the Kingdom Hall. Yup, it happens.  Tradition, I guess.

It's a country with a strong 'pub culture' tradition and that doesn't go away easily.  To explain:  We as Americans have a rather Puritanical background as regards alcohol.  No Other Country Was Nutty Enough to attempt something as Gonzo- Crazy as Prohibition.  Often Irish brothers have no problem with going out and getting 'lit' with their friends. 

The congregations have suffered the same issues with young people in recent years as other nations. Things seemed mostly OK and then you got this massive, often obvious loss or 'fake-a-tude' of young Witnesses in the organization. Tough Luck, Faithful Slave.

Recent economic problems in Ireland make things worse for the Theocratic Thugs in Upstate NY. 

metatron

I could be wrong, I was once, in 1962 if I recall, but that FB story about what the Elders were told in Wexford sounds like pure fiction to me.

and if brothers want anything to get done, they might have to find the local IRA chief.  Kinda like Sicily.

metatron

I still think the lingerie story is the most plausible....

Cedars

Uh uh. I don't think it was the lingerie department incident, cedars. I heard it was because a branch committee member lost a bet and had to kick the District Overseer [quote] up thee arrrse [unquote]. Needless to say, it didn't go down well.

Feck...arrrrse...girrrrls!

Almost all of the high ranking brothers in Ireland aren't Irish.  They are/were British.  There was a big push in the late 80s for British witnesses to "move where the need is greater" - ie. Ireland.  One in particular was a hard-arsed Scot called Ewan Watt (he wrote articles for the Awake magazine - Awake correspondent in Ireland).  I could actually imagine him getting stuck in with his fists.  I know there was a falling out some years ago.  Only 4-5 circuits in Ireland and I think there was a lot of jealousy over who was given which circuit.  I think they created the fifth circuit just for him. 

About 5 years ago they sent in two American brothers to run the branch.  Back then I remember having the feeling that they had been sent in to "sort things out". 

I'm really out of the loop these days.  Been out for almost 4 years.

I believe I read on JWN it was closed due to a widespread cost cutting exercise although no doubt there would be a number of other issues involved such as control. The branch was pretty tiny (effectively a large extended house) with only a dozen or two of live-ins so probably very quick to bring those duties in-house to London bethel.

It certainly would have been perceived as a negative step from the Irish JW's perspective no matter what spin was used.

mmxiv

dozy I can't see you post for some reason. What were you going to say?

I knew a brother in Aberdeen whose brother was on the branch committee. I tried to ask him about the various troubles they had in the Ireland branch over the years, but he wouldn't tell me anything, just retorted that Jehovah always sorts these things out. He was quite old and that was a few years ago now, so don't know if he is still around.

We had friends that went to Ireland I guess in the late '80's, hard to remember.  They had a haaaaard time.  The congregation small, difficult and much fighting amongst themselves.  This was in the country I think, not in the big city.

Still curious. 

Most Irish congregations that are rural are tiny, and the main backbone of the congregations are comprised of special pioneers that are drafted in from abroad, mostly the UK. I once visited a congregation on the west coast that was made up of only 11 publishers, and the majority were either special pioneers or regulars.

It doesn't surprise me that they pulled the plug on the Irish branch, because from a logistical perspective, the numbers just didn't justify it - especially when you have the London branch nextdoor speaking [mostly] the same language with good transport links between the two countries.

Cedars