r/irishpolitics • u/lampishthing Social Democrats • 1d ago
Party News Councillor Caroline Dwane-Stanley resigns from Sinn Féin
https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/1227/1488278-sinn-fein-resignation/Wife of TD Brian Stanley
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u/wilililil 1d ago
Surely that was the jump before the push, she actively campaigned against the party - reasonable for her to do it and also reasonable for the party to have to expel her.
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u/lampishthing Social Democrats 1d ago
Did we ever find out what the accusation itself is?
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u/c0mpliant Left wing 1d ago edited 1d ago
Timeline was something like this.
October 2023 - Day 0
Stanley and a former staff member, the complainant, are at an event.
Stanley suggests she stay in his room for the night because she can't get get home.
There are some slightly conflicting stories at this point. Stanley says he slept on the floor, she said they slept in the bed together.
Both have said they didn't sleep together.
Day 0+2
At some point after this, the woman feels uncomfortable with what happened that night. She then tells Stanley that she took a picture of him in his underwear, I'll refer to this as the kompromat. She demands a sum of money to ensure she'll either delete the kompromat or keep it to her self. At some point after this demand is made, she withdraws it. Claiming she was just confused and feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing.
Late July Early August 2024
The complainant, as a SF member, lodges a formal complaint against Stanley with SF, this happens during the nomination period for candidates to be put forward for election. The complaint suggests inappropriate conduct by Stanley. This kicks off a formal investigation process within SF.
This part seemingly takes some time to actually get things going. Probably requiring evidence collection, solicitors being briefed etc.
11 September 2024
Stanley and his solicitors reveal the blackmail attempt during the course of the complaint process. SF say that they advised Stanley to go to the guards at this point, Stanley says he wanted SF to go the guards. SF on their side said they sought additional legal counsel at this point as well.
4 October 2024
Preliminary findings are sent to all parties and their solicitors asking for final comments to be provided, with a deadline of 14 October for those comments to be sent in. Supposedly the initial findings include an allegation of gross misconduct against Stanley, my assumption here putting himself in the room with her and failing to report the blackmail, either to SF or the guards.
12 October 2024
Stanley resigns from the party. This causes the investigation to be suspended indefinitely and no formal findings being made, because he's no longer a member.
Supposedly at this point SF went to the guards about the reported blackmail attempt, but were told by the guards that they have no standing in the event and as such, nothing can happen. Stanley himself would have to go the guards. Something he hasn't done to date.
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u/lampishthing Social Democrats 14h ago
I'd imagine she's alleging more than "they slept in the bed together" if the initial claim was referred to the gardaí? Probably the claim is he was encouraging her to get up to shenanigans and she felt coerced because of his place in the party. But it could easily be milder or worse.
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u/c0mpliant Left wing 11h ago
Believe it or not, the overwhelming majority of sexual harassment within employers remit doesn't get referred to the guards, unless it is sustained over a long period or physical in nature. It's usually resolved through disciplinary processes like the one described above.
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u/ratcubes89 1d ago
The accusation against Stanley was him having spent the night in a hotel room with a SF staff member. He denied anything happened in the room 🤷♂️ and I’m fairly sure she later backed this. But she did try to extort him for 60 grand the day after it happened.
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u/SnooAvocados209 1d ago
She wanted 4 envelopes if I remember the story correctly, 15k in each to forget about the experience of seeing Stanley in his underwear.
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u/bdog1011 1d ago
Actually she was a former member looking for a job. And Stanley kept his jocks on so there was no other member.
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u/lampishthing Social Democrats 1d ago
Times says former staff tbf. Looking for advice re an EU job.
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u/Dry-Communication922 1d ago
I shudder to think of the kind of shit yet to come out. The kind of shite I saw at some party events or night of a party event or heard from other former members makes the whole Stanley episode look mild.
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u/Dorcha1984 1d ago
Not a surprise SF really mishandled this one and have lost the Laois seat, they assumed it was a party seat.
The bigger concern here for them is optics as they and kangaroo courts have a history.
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u/c0mpliant Left wing 1d ago
You're right, a front bench TD not reporting being blackmailed is nothing to be concerned about at all.
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u/Elpeep 11h ago
Dwane-Stanley says she hasn't heard from them in months and when MLMD was interviewed by The Journal earlier in the month she said:
"I haven't had reason to be speaking to her, but we will be in communication with her come the new year".
So let me get this straight, Dwane-Stanley initially remained an SF member after her husband's high profile exit but no reason to speak with her.
She was SF's only councillor in Laois during the General Election which was a controversial constituency for them, but no reason to speak with her.
Dwane-Stanley was appointed by SF to the Committee of Regions as SF's only representative, but again no reason to speak with her.
Burying your head in the sand and ignoring an issue doesn't mean it ceases to exist.
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u/FootballOwn8855 14h ago
I know nothing about this woman and Stanley- It’s between both of them and not the party - she probably was an imposter who cared little about the welfare of other people - she should have refused to share a room with a married man or blackmail him for money. - However Sinn was going to give Councillor Caroline Dwane a position in the EU as a envoy for them - that would be a better paying job than a Co Councillor
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u/Alarmed_Station6185 1d ago
It's a pity cos bryan stanley was a strong td, chaired some important dail dub committees iirc. That woman was probably an establishment plant to harm SF, and it worked
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u/quondam47 1d ago
Bloody deep cover so since she had already worked for the party at that stage according to the papers.
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u/Alarmed_Station6185 1d ago
They'll do whatever it takes to cling to power, sickens me
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u/Life-Pace-4010 23h ago
That's some whacky conspiracy theory. It's probably just some drunk simping on the man's part and the woman saw an opportunity and chanced her arm at extorting money. Even now he is still too much of a simp to go the guards about it.
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u/caitnicrun 19h ago edited 5h ago
The fact she could even take a photo of him in his briefs is a bit dodgy.
Edit: autocorrect
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u/Life-Pace-4010 6h ago
Midlife crisis claims another male victim. What a pathetic sad dork he must be. Still, not half as sad as the SF superfans that think this was all a KGB style honeypot plot cooked up by FFG.
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u/caitnicrun 5h ago
I understand the feeling, but even as someone who generally supports SF , cop on people. All parties have these types of problems. Politics attracts them.
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u/Sad-Orange-5983 1d ago
Sinn Fein gone in Laois so, no TDs or councillors.