Media embargoes – Dos and don’ts.

Media embargoes – what are they? How do I use them? Dos and dont’s.

This is a brilliant animation on a discussion between a PR and a journalist in relation to an embargo on the launch of a product.

As the media changes, becomes more electronic and instant, and as newspapers compete for a skrinking share of the market, there is becoming less of a place for embargoes and they are becoming less relevant and more risky for companies to do, due to the fact that there is a higher risk that they can often broken and a story come out to early. Embargoes are generally used where a company is making a large announcement on a deal or in the run up to a launch.

An embargo, if agreed to by the journalist, allows them to be briefed in advance of the launch, but with the proviso that they don’t publish anything until the actual launch day. This can be very helpful to newspapers in particular as it means they can often run the story on the day of the launch. Often the more sensitive details are kept aside for the launch itself,  thus allowing the papers to give an overview and a teaser, thereby actually encouraging attendance. This can be very beneficial to a newspaper or journalist, but where papers believe they are competing on the story there is an chance that they can break the embargo in order to be first to the market.

My rule of thumb is to use embargoes sparingly. Where you do use them only approach those media contacts you have a good, preferably long term relationship with, and who you know will not break the embargo. Ideally they should be given an ‘exclusive’ with it being made clear to the journalist that they have an exclusive and, therefore, no one else will be competing with them to get the story out. This way they do not feel under pressure to beat the competition to print. It must be indicated clearly that the embargo applies to all forms of media, such as the website, because rival newspaper will often use their website to publish a spoiler story, that is, release a story on-line to scupper an article being run in print by a rival.

The types of media titles most likely  likely to break an embargo are local papers,  those printed in the afternoon or evening or trade magazines. These titles often have the most to gain from breaking the embargo because they need to fight their corner for market share and exposure when competing against national daily newspapers with bigger circulation. For a local paper or trade magazine, to be seen to be breaking a big story can give them huge kudos, often way outside their circulation area. They can also get a lot of bylines, for example when I worked in property PR in London the trade magazine Property Week, which is published on a Friday, often breaks big property stories, which means they get can a mention in the Sunday papers. With a regional paper, a PR based in the capital city can often not be dealing with the titles on a daily basis so the newspaper has less to lose in terms of the relationship with the PR and their client, so they can often risk breaking the embargo. However, at the end of the day this is rare, journalists are professionals and most often will adhere to an embargo if the need for it is explained to them correctly and the benefits outlined.

Here’s a recent example of a project I was launching: I worked with a trade magazine on a very large launch last year and it worked quite well. The trade magazine publishes on the Friday and my launch was on the Thursday, but the deadline for when the trade magazine was ‘put to bed’ i.e. went to print, was Monday. I agreed with the editor of the magazine that they could have the details of the launch on Monday so that they could run with it in that week’s edition, but with the proviso that they didn’t print anything on their website or send out any news alerts before the launch. This was agreed and it worked well for both us.

Meanwhile, the weekend before, a Sunday paper carried an exclusive feature on the people behind the project, the first time they had been interviewed in Ireland, and outlined very general details on the launch. But, in order to secure this, the journalist was given a full off-the-record preview of the project with the proviso that the embargo was adhered too. We both benefited because by the time he would have printed his next issue, the Sunday after the launch, it would’ve been old news, which is a big problem for a Sunday newspapers. This way he got an exclusive on the people behind the project and was able to inform his readers of the upcoming launch. This is was great for my client because we were able to promote key individuals and give a teaser to people before the launch. Though it still made for restless night sleep the Saturday night before it appeared.

On the other side of coin a trade magazine once agreed to the embargo for that week’s print issue, but proceeded to publish day early, which was my day of the launch. This was a clever way to get around breaking the embargo by a few hours and simply blamed the publishers for getting the magazine out early. It was ‘squeaky bum time’ for me that morning because I feared the cat was out of the bag and attendance at the launch would be down. Thankfully it worked quite well in the end as it boosted exposure on the day of the event and made it a high profile launch that those in the sector couldn’t miss. I’m convinced this ‘convenient accident’ by the publishers to print a day early was planned, as it is something I would do myself if I thought I could get away with it.

My first ever boss in PR said that “in this game you need ‘peasant cunning’” and how right he was, although it is only in the last few years that I’ve come to appreciate what he meant. But this was the first time I’d experience this happening, so it is something to be checked when agreeing the embargo, to ensure that the journalist knows that you know all the tricks and state implicitly that this includes any ‘accidents’ such as early printing.

So, use embargoes sparingly and if you do use them, then do so selectively.  Where possible use them exclusively and selectively to contacts that you trust. If you are worried about being broken then never ever use them as you could be jeopardising the whole PR programme if it goes wrong and frankly you’ll look like a muppet. Always think worse case scenario – that way you can’t got wrong.

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Funding shortfall hits IT market

The problems with FAS are well documented but what people don’t realise is that now, when the economy is on its knees, is when FAS are need most.

Okay, so a book could be written on the mismanagement at the state training agency but, this does not mean we still don’t need it, FAS still has a role in helping important sectors, such as IT. And we need it to fulfill its duties to those who are out of work and whom need retraining in order that the country has a skilled workforce that is needed to attract the right and retain the IT companies that our economy needs.

In the article below, which was printed in the Sunday Business Post yesterday, Cathal Grogan of Verify Recruitment talks about how the problems with FAS are affecting the IT sector. I have pasted the article in below, but here is a link to article: http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=RECRUITMENT-qqqs=themarket-qqqid=47332-qqqx=1.asp

Funding shortfall hits IT market (article from The Sunday Business Post)

Sunday, February 14, 2010

With scandals at Fás still fresh in people’s minds, the effects have reverberated across the wider economy and unemployed IT contractors are the latest to feel the effects.

Unable to meet the high cost of private training courses in skills such as project management, contractors would ordinarily turn to the state training agency for assistance. However, Fás is no longer funding courses in areas like Princ€2 or IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL). For job-seekers, the problem is that more employers are seeking candidates with these qualifications.

‘‘Our candidates are typically people with lots of experience and who find themselves between jobs,” said Cathal Grogan, managing director of Verify Recruitment. ‘‘They are applying for positions and employers are not only looking for experience, but also some sort of accreditation for their skills.”

Clara Gough, IT consultant with Robert Walters Recruitment Agency, said the requirement was also being applied to broader IT skills such as Microsoft certification.

‘‘Where the hiring manager feels there is a good pool of candidates in the market, they use this as a filter,” she said.

However, job-seekers looking to take some of the higher level Fás courses are faced with long waiting lists. Moreover, there are no clear guidelines as to whether IT contractors, who are often self-employed, qualify to receive funding.

‘‘It’s a grey area as to whether or not they are eligible,” said Grogan. ‘‘That has led to a lot of candidates coming to us and asking us for Princ€2 or ITIL courses, but those can cost anything from €1,200 to a couple of thousand euro.”

Jim Friars, chief executive of the Irish Computer Society, said he was disappointed at the Fás decision. He said training and certification in professional skills were ‘‘essential’’ to economic recovery. Such skills include not only project management, but also data protection.

‘‘We believe that the government needs to strike a balance and to assign a high priority to professional-level skills,” Friars said.

While some third level, government funded initiatives facilitate unemployed people taking part in degree programmes, Friars said industry driven programmes were necessary.

He said that courses like the Data Protection Practitioner’s Certificate and European Certificate of Informatics Professionals (EUCIP), certified by the ICS should receive the same government support as university courses.

Some training firms have responded by dropping prices to fill the gap left by Fás. Last month, IT service management specialist ESMI developed a Princ€2 Practitioner certification course for an offer rate of €795.These courses keep costs low by combining self-study with instructor-led tuition.

Verify is offering the same course at €695 as part of its Upskill Programme of professional development courses.

The full price would normally be more than €1,100.

A spokesperson for Clear Learning, formerly known as Calyx Training, said it had also reduced its prices by up to 30 per cent to allow out-of-work IT professionals to attend courses.

Friars welcomed these moves, but said they would not be enough.

“An IT professional, who is between jobs, still requires support to ensure that they are quickly returned to the workforce and continue to contribute their skills and expertise, so we would call on Fás to reinstate a funding programme for professional level courses as soon as possible,” he said.

Dr Bryan Fields, director of training services with Fás, said its change in strategy to focus on the long-term unemployed meant that self-employed IT contractors were not a priority group.

Around two thirds of Fás’s 600 free training courses cover IT subjects. The agency also operates a technical employment support grant (TESG) to fund people taking courses that aren’t available from Fás.

‘‘Some 11,000 people availed of this last year,” said Fields.

He also said Fás was addressing high-level skills and was in the process of developing a blended learning course in project management. Initially, this will be aimed at former Dell employees in Limerick who were made redundant last year.

The course will be free of charge to those still unemployed, but will not be exclusive to ex-Dell workers.

‘‘If we get a lot of interest, we would look at extending it,” said Fields.

He said Fás wanted to work with IT professionals who have recently been laid off.

‘‘If you have been let go from a company and haven’t had work for four or five months, we would be anxious to get you into a training course or night course,” he said.

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Funds secured for new Cork hospital

I posted a recent media release about Sheehan Medical’s new private hospital in Chicago here http://www.republicpr.ie/2010/02/07/sheehan-family-launches-50m-clinic-partnership-loyola-university/ last week on the day the story appeared in The Sunday Times. Here is another article on the project that also covers their new Irish project in Cork. The article appeared yesterday in The Sunday Business Post. I have copied the article in below, but a link to the original source is here:http://www.sbpost.ie/news/ireland/funds-secured-for-new-cork-hospital-47396.html

THE SUNDAY BUSINESS POST - Funds secured for new Cork hospital

14 February 2010 By Susan Mitchell

The developer of a new private hospital in Cork has secured loans of €30 million to complete the fit-out of the project. Bank of Ireland provided most of the funding to Cleary Developments, which is building the facility at the City Gate Medical campus in Mahon. It will be operated by Sheehan Medical, the hospital operator which has interests in the Blackrock and Galway clinics.

James Sheehan, chief executive of Sheehan Medical, said the banks had been encouraged by the number of doctors that had invested in the Cork hospital.

He said that 12 doctors have taken equity in the project, and another 40 doctors had signed contracts to take suites. Sheehan said that there had been a lot of interest from Irish doctors living overseas who wanted to return home but could not get public consultancy posts. He said that he expected the hospital to stimulate competition in the south of the country, where its main rival is the Bon Secours.

Sheehan Medical planned to undercut prices at the Bon Secours by 10-15 per cent, said Sheehan. A recent decision by the Health Service Executive to close 1,000 beds would also have a direct impact on the private sector, he said.

‘‘Many of those patients will feed into the private sector. You can not stop the flow of patients,” Sheehan said. He said he was not concerned about the impact that lower reimbursement rates from health insurer VHI would have on the hospital’s business model.

‘‘I think the VHI will welcome our arrival. We haven’t begun negotiations with them, but the net effect will be a reduction in the cost of healthcare in the south,” he said.

Sheehan said the cost of the Cork project had dropped from a projected €90 million to €75 million due to a fall in fit-out costs.

The hospital will have 75 in-patient beds, 20 out-patient beds, four operating theatres and a day surgery centre. More than 350 jobs will be created to run the hospital, and Sheehan Medical has a deal with Loyola University Health System, which will manage a number of services at the hospital. Sheehan Medical is also developing a $50 million (€36.8 million) hospital in Chicago in conjunction with Loyola.

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Getting to know you – Cathal Grogan

The Pocket Watch column in the Sunday Business Post is a great way of raising the profile of specific individuals and letting people get a flavour of their personality. It is one of the most read columns in the Sunday Business Post because it is quite a personal column and, basically, we are all inherently nosy and want to know anything we can about people.

Here is Cathal Grogan’s that appeared yesterday. http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2010/02/07/story47186.asp which I have also copied in below.

Sunday Business Post – Pocket Watch

Sunday, February 07, 2010 -

Cathal Grogan has 20 years’ experience in the IT industry and is managing director of Verify Recruitment, an IT recruitment consultancy that he set up last May. The 41year-old lives in Greystones in Co Wicklow with his wife Susan and their four children.

What’s the best investment you ever made?

Taking control of my pension was definitely my best move. I’ve made more managing it myself over the past year – investing it in currency – than I made in the 15 years that my pension company was managing it.

What was the worst investment you ever made?

Not taking control of my own pension earlier, and making voluntary contributory payments into my pension since I started work 20 years ago.

Even with my top-up payment s , my employer’s payments and the tax breaks, my pension was worth less than I put in. I could have made more by just shoving it in a savings account.

Which investment options do you favour?

Currency, which is an asset class that is easy to understand and relate to. Plus, it is affected by international economics, which makes it easier to monitor and judge possible trends.

Do you own your own home or other investment property?

I own my home. Thankfully, I sold my investment property before the recession. I made a 30 per cent profit on my two bedroom apartment in Waterford.

What type of car do you have?

I drive a ‘classic’ Saab 900. I’m quite old school when it comes to buying cars.

What was the best financial advice you ever received?

When we had Grogan child number four, I almost paid €45,000 for a seven-seater people carrier.

A friend said: ‘‘Why bother, when the depreciation on new cars is so high?” He was right. It would’ve been a big waste of money, so I bought a secondhand Escape for €16,000.

What financial advice would you give to someone starting in a career?

Buy what you need, not what you think you need. Make saving a habit and closely manage your credit. If you can, work abroad.

When you started your career, if you had the financial knowledge you now have, would you have done things differently?

I would have saved more from an earlier age. People should get into the habit of saving early, even if it is just a small amount each month, because the benefits of compound interest will soon become apparent.

Do you invest in equities or equity-based funds?

I have now split my pension between equity-based funds and currency, with an option to invest some in equities.

Did you open an SSIA? If so, what did you do with the proceeds?

My wife and I both took out SSIAs. With the proceeds, we took our children inter-railing for a month last summer. We got engaged while inter-railing in 1994 and promised the kids we would take them one day. For my 40th birthday, we went from Finland to Zurich.

Are you a saver or a spender?

Definitely a saver, but I am prone to the odd splurge.

What’s your top financial priority?

To ensure my family’s financial security and manage our spending, so we don’t touch our nest egg.

How would you describe your attitude to your personal finances?

Very vigilant – and my wife hates me for it.

Have you made any changes to your personal spending habits as a result of the downturn?

Absolutely, who hasn’t? I now know the price of everything, from sugar to bread.

If you were the Minister for Finance for a day and could change one thing, what would it be?

I’d overhaul the pensions industry. I wouldn’t allow this situation to continue, where people have to pay for bad financial management. Pension companies are artificially supported by tax policy. Even though I manage my own pension, I still have to pay a ‘management fee’ to the pension company. It’s a disgrace.

If you had all the money you could wish for, what three things would you buy?

I’d buy property. At the moment it’s cheap and you get to enjoy your investment. I’d pay off my mortgage and then buy a place in Barcelona. I might throw in tickets to all Grand Slam tennis tournaments.

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Sheehan Family Launches New $50m US Clinic in Partnership with Loyola University

Ground broken this week on new 100,000 sq ft facility in Chicago

7^th February, 2010, Cork Ireland: Irish private hospital operator, Sheehan Medical, has today announced their latest international project, a $50m 100,000 sq ft new hospital in the prestigious Burr Ridge area of Chicago.

The ground was broken this week on the latest facility, which is being developed in conjunction with the renowned Loyola University Health System and marks a strengthening of the close working relationship between the two organisations.

Due to open in 2011, the Loyola Centre of Health at Burr Ridge is only 12 miles from the Loyola University Health System’s main medical centre campus.  It is one of only a handful of new projects that have secured finance in Chicago in the past year and is the only new development to have broken ground in recent months.

The hospital’s anchor services will provide world leading orthopaedic and neuroscience treatments. It will include the world’s first ‘Centre for the Senses’, which will encompass otolaryngology, ophthalmology, audiology as well as an optical shop and hearing centre. Also on offer will be an immediate care centre, and special complementary services in the fields of sports medicine, occupational and speech therapy and many rehabilitation services.

Joseph Sheehan, Chairman of Sheehan Medical, says: “We have a long standing relationship with the Loyola University Health System both in the US and at our Galway Clinic. We are honoured that we have been able to cement this with a partnership at the Loyola Centre for Health at Burr Ridge. And, we hope to be working closely together on further projects in the future, such as the Cork Medical Centre.”

Local links already exist within the staff of Loyola, Dr Paul Whelton, the President and Chief Executive is originally from Cork. He says “We are delighted to be working with the Sheehan’s again to develop this new US facility. We already exchange expertise and best-practice techniques with their Irish clinics in Galway; and this is something we intend to develop further in order to ensure their new hospital in Cork has access to the latest technology and procedures.”

Sheehan Medical have continued to expand during the economic slowdown, their next hospital opening be the Cork Medical Centre, which is fully funded and nearing completion of its fit out. The 135,000 sq ft facility in Mahon is due to open in the summer; it is the first private hospital in the Cork to open in thirty years. The 5 star facility will have 75 single in-patient bedrooms; four operating theatres; and, a same day surgery centre with 20 out-patient beds.

Launched in June 2009, it is already providing a huge boost to the local economy: 150 people are currently employed during the fit out, whilst 350 new positions will be created to run the hospital, which will also have 75 doctors on site with 100 ancillary staff.

For further information please contact: Simon Palmer, at Republic on + 353 (0) 851 341 761 or email: simon@republicpr.ie

NOTES TO EDITORS

Background to Sheehan Medical

Sheehan Medical was set up to operate private hospitals in the UK, Britain and mainland Europe. The company is operated by Chief Executive, James Sheehan, and his father Dr Joseph Sheehan C.M., who is Chairman.

Sheehan Medical’s aim is to bring best practice in US medical techniques and standards to Ireland. The company prides itself in combining the operation of first class medical facilities with a successful business model. The unique share holding structure allows doctors and consultants to buy into the ownership of their hospitals and share in the financial success.

Chairman, Dr Joseph Sheehan, along with his brother Dr Jimmy Sheehan, both Dublin natives, were two of the founders of the Blackrock Clinic in Dublin, which opened in 1984. In January 2006, he was part of a small group that purchased the controlling interest in the Blackrock Clinic from BUPA. An €80m expansion project is currently underway.

In 2004 he again partnered with his brother Jimmy to open the Galway Clinic, which received international recognition and re-established Dr. Sheehan’s commitment to raising healthcare standards through dedication to quality improvement and technological advances.

An active surgeon for over 35 years, Dr. Sheehan was the Chairman of Orthopedics at Central Dupage Hospital from 2004- 2006 , which he led to be recognised as one of the top 50 Orthopaedics Departments in the US for 2007 and 2008 (US News and World Report). During his tenure the hospital implemented the most cutting – edge medical treatments in the world, including the Interventional Radiology Stroke Department and the Proton Treatment Cancer Centre (one of only 7 in the world for treating patients)

He is now an Associate Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at Loyola University Medical School in Illinois, USA. Joseph is also currently in private practice in Chicago where he performs general orthopaedics and specialises in joint replacement and reconstruction.

Chief Executive, James Sheehan, specialises in the administration of medical care from the science to the management side. A native of Chicago he moved to Ireland in 2002 to step into his father’s role as project manager and co-developer of the Galway Clinic (that had started in 2001) in addition to taking over his role as Director of the Blackrock Clinic.

He remains a director of the Blackrock Clinic and Galway Clinic.

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Rebel cleric’s gay marriage will ‘infuriate’ church heads

I love this story. It appeared in the Sunday Tribune yesterday and relates to Bishop Pat Buckley from Co Antrim. He has not only overturned his vow of celibacy but is openly gay, whilst still practising as priest. He is due to marry his Filipino lover in a civil partnership. Here is the link to the story on the Sunday Tribune’s website, but I have copied in the full article below the post:

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2010/jan/31/rebel-clerics-gay-marriage-will-infuriate-church-h/

It takes balls to take on the Catholic Church and it’s about time more members of the clergy did. I think the issue of celibacy is the root of a lot of the problems associated with the Catholic Church; I doubt a lot of child abuse cases would have happened if the clergy were able to openly have sex lives.

I appreciate I used the word ‘marry’ to describe the civil partnership that they are having, and this is a bit of misnomer because homosexuals are still discriminated against in Ireland and gay marriage remains illegal. However, the legality of civil partnerships will address the legal problems associated with gay cohabitation when the Civil Partnership Bill is finally passed (it is currently going through the Dail).

[We're sorry but the information relation to gay wedding planner's The Finishing Touch has been removed due to non-payment of their fees]

Unbelievably a lot of wedding planners in Ireland will not cater for gay clients and refuse to help plan their weddings. This type of discrimination is unbelievable and unacceptable in 2010, but it still happens. “Who raises these people?” you might ask, who indeed, presumably the same people who brought in the new blasphemy law. If you forget the issue of homophobia for a second, the fact that they cut themselves off from an affluent sector of society is madness from a business perspective.

The great thing about Bishop Buckley is that he is putting his foot down and refusing to leave his vocation. He believes, very rightly, that his religion does not contradict his sexuality – good for him. Presumably his parishioners feel the same, and so they should. They should be proud to have such as forward thinking priest in their midst.

If there is one thing that irritates me about modern Ireland is how backward and conservative it can be at time. It holds the country back and reflects very badly on Ireland internationally, particularly when we consider how modern and forward thinking most of Continental Europe is. I’m open minded and I don’t judge people, if they want to live their life the way they want, then so be it. It’s their life, their choice, and they have every right to be happy in the way they choose to be – I, for one, am happy for them.

Just for one minute put yourself in the Bishop’s situation. Not enough people in life stop and think about what it is like to be in someone else’s shoe. Now think about what Bishop Buckley has been through. The decisions he has had to make. The sleepless nights he will have endured. The burden he has carried.

It must be hard enough for anyone coming to terms with their homosexuality and telling their family and friends. Think what it must have been like for priest to go through, the dilemma he has faced. Having to come to terms with the effect his sexuality will have on his life, and the whirlwind that he would have to go through to just be happy in the way that most people take for granted. That is one hard road to travel. It is something that will also probably not get easier. Let’s just hope people accept him for what he his, ensure he is protected and can keep his position in the community.

There must be thousands of priests in similar situations, in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships, who don’t have the courage to do what Bishop Buckley has done. Let’s hope this move gives them the courage to do the something about it.

Best of luck to Bishop Pat and his Fiance Eduardo, in their ‘nuptials’. I believe Max Clifford is handling the PR (Max mate I’m happy to help south of the border) so he should make a few bob from his bold move – fair play to him.

Here’s the article from the The Sunday Tribune on 31st January, 2010:

Rebel cleric’s gay marriage will ‘infuriate’ church heads

Pat Buckley vows to continue in ministry after ‘groundbreaking’ nuptials with Filipino lover

Suzanne Breen, Northern Editor

Bishop Pat Buckley with Susan Elliot and Jeanette McGeown after their wedding ceremony at which he officiated: ‘I’ve been battling against the Catholic church for 25 years’

Bishop Pat Buckley is to marry his Filipino boyfriend next week, becoming the first Catholic cleric in the world to enter a civil partnership and continue practising as a priest.

Buckley said he was deeply in love with chef Eduardo Yango (32) and saw no contradiction between their partnership and his faith. The priest, who is originally from Tullamore, Co Offaly, now conducts an independent ministry in Co Antrim.

Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Tribune, Buckley (57) said his marriage in Larne would infuriate the Catholic hierarchy. “There is no conflict between my love for Eduardo and my faith. Both are equally important to me.

“But this is groundbreaking territory. Other priests have married women or entered civil partnerships with men. But they’d all left the church beforehand – none continued with their ministry.

“Eduardo and I have the courage to nail our colours to the mast and hopefully we will encourage thousands of others to do the same. I’ve been battling against the Catholic church as an institution for 25 years. I’m old and wise enough not to lose sleep worrying over what the hierarchy thinks.”

Buckley met Yango three years ago when the Filipino, who has worked on cruise ships, was visiting Ireland. “It wasn’t a wild, love-at-first-sight thing. It’s a meeting of soulmates and companionship. It’s rooted in deeper things than physical attraction alone,” he said.

The couple will marry at a civil ceremony in Larne on Monday week. Buckley said that, apart from two witnesses, the wedding would be private, but the newlyweds would throw a party later.

“We will have family, friends and members of my congregation around for a night of Filipino celebration. Eduardo will cook a Filipino meal and we will enjoy some liquor of course.”

Buckley said his family were “100%” behind him, but Eduardo’s family didn’t know about their partnership. “The Philippines is where Ireland was decades ago – homosexuality is seen as virtually requiring execution,” Buckley said.

While Buckley spoke exclusively to the Sunday Tribune, other media have been referred to Max Clifford, who is handling publicity surrounding the nuptials. Ordained in Waterford, Buckley first clashed with the hierarchy while based on Belfast’s Falls Road when he challenged the late Cardinal Cathal Daly to “live with the poor as would Christ”.

Further clashes with Daly, after Buckley was transferred to Larne, led to the priest’s suspension, but he refused to leave the oratory from where he still conducts his ministry to “the disaffected and alienated”, saying mass twice a week. He was ordained bishop in 1998 by independent Catholic bishop Michael Cox.

When asked how his marriage would be viewed in loyalist Larne, Buckley said: “Larne is 83% Protestant, and has a fair share of Free Presbyterians. But I’ve lived here 25 years and served on the council, so I suppose I’ve become part of the furniture.

“The Iris Robinson story shows that too many people in the North pretend to be something they’re not and lead hidden lives. If what Eduardo and I are doing moves the North a little bit further towards respecting tolerance and diversity, it will be a step in the right direction.”

January 31, 2010

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