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As
it became apparent Kathleen had committed plagiarism,
she was asked to write an apology; at this point it
was not known how extensive her plagiarism was. -
Ed.
Mea
culpa, Mea culpa, Mea Maxima culpa.
Imitation
is the highest form of flattery.
When I was writing and thinking about a title for
this article, I thought about the above. To be truthful
the title has been used before by Dolours Price. I
sincerely hope Dolours doesn't mind me borrowing her
title. I received an e mail this morning from Carrie
Twomey and it was an e mail being circulated that
I had borrowed, lifted or for want of a better word
regurgitated an article written some years back. I
am indeed guilty of sticking far too close to my sources
in this instances, but I must tell you that in other
articles I have stuck to my sources also, though not
as closely as I have done in this particular article,
'An Ireland of equals'.
What prompted me to write for the Blanket was an article
written by Anthony McIntyre in which he called a local
Sinn Fein counsellor Tomb Stone Tom. I openly admit
I found the article funny and I wrote a letter in
to the blanket saying so. Then later I wrote another
letter and then another and eventually found the confidence
to write something which they carried. I have very
little formal education. I went back to school in
my late twenties and then on to Queens but I had to
quit a degree course because I have caring responsibilities
which lie outside the norm. Most women at my time
of life have gone back to work, or education, or found
something else with which to occupy themselves after
having raised a family. As a full time carer a lot
of these opportunities have been denied to me. So
when the blanket carried the few pieces I did write
I was pleased to have found an interest.
The article in question, and the sources for it, struck
a cord with me. I found something which helped me
to articulate pieces of my own past and the past of
the community from which I come. I used the article
to openly condemn women like Baibre de Brun and Catriona
Ruaine. My reasons for this are as follows. Firstly
both of these two women are now in elevated positions
within Sinn Fein and I feel they have done nothing
to deserve such elevated posts. Ms de Brun, an unmarried
woman who had the time and freedom to commit to a
career without the caring responsibilities of most
women of my class and background. Some may see that
as sour grapes, most likely it is. My reasons for
this are as I stated in the article, that the women
from the Falls, south Armagh and the rest of staunch
republican areas have now been left behind as careerist
and opportunist figures such as de Brun and Ruaine
have moved in and built political portfolio's on the
backs of these working class women. I condemn the
party of Sinn Fein for this. It is a snub, it is a
slap in the face to all women who worked in any way
for the cause of a United Ireland to have careerists
move in and the movement they worked for settle for
what is an internal settlement.
Unknowingly to me the sender of the e mail which is
now being circulated has had past difficulties either
with the blanket or its sister paper Fourthwrite.
I was totally unaware of any difficulty and as a consequence
find myself between the two. It would have been in
much better taste to have contacted the blanket and
asked for my phone number and spoken to me directly.
Lastly, but not least I would like to thank the blanket
for their encouragement in my endeavours at writing.
My fault at sticking too close to my sources in no
way should reflect either on the management at the
blanket or on any other writer who contributes to
it.
The
following is an edited version of Kathleen's apology.
It was edited prior to the extensive nature of Kathleen's
plagiarism being ascertained. Upon realising how extensive
the plagiarism was, which ranged over a number of
articles and encompassed a variety of sources, the
editor then decided it was inappropriate to carry
either version of the apology in the previous issue,
as they did not address the issue fully, and it was
felt the Blanket could not stand over it given the
gravity of the situation. - Ed.
Open
Apology
Mea culpa, Mea culpa, Mea Maxima culpa
Kathleen O Halloran
When
I was writing and thinking about a title for this
article, I thought about the above. To be truthful,
the title has been used before
by Dolours Price. I sincerely hope Dolours doesn't
mind me borrowing her title. I received an e-mail
this morning from Carrie Twomey and it was an e-mail
being circulated claiming that I had borrowed, lifted
or, for want of a better word, regurgitated an article
written some years back. I am indeed guilty of sticking
far too close to my sources, "The
Women Hunger Strikers of Armagh Prison" by
Dawn Gould in this instance, in my article, 'An
Ireland of Equals'.
What
prompted me to write for the Blanket was an
article written by Anthony McIntyre in which he called
a local Sinn Fein councillor Tomb Stone Tom. I openly
admit I found the article funny and I wrote a letter
in to the Blanket saying so. Then later I wrote
another letter and then another and eventually found
the confidence to write something which they carried.
I have very little formal education. I went back to
school in my late twenties and then on to Queens but
I had to quit a degree course because I have caring
responsibilities which lie outside the norm. Most
women at my time of life have gone back to work, or
education, or found something else with which to occupy
themselves after having raised a family. As a full-time
carer a lot of these opportunities have been denied
to me. So when the Blanket carried the few
pieces I did write, I was pleased to have found an
interest.
The
article in question, and the sources for it, struck
a chord with me. I found something which helped me
to articulate pieces of my own past and the past of
the community from which I come.
However,
I should have acknowledged my sources, and not used
their material in the manner I did without attribution.
I
want to apologise to the author of the original material
that I used, Dawn Gould, whose website is a valuable
resource. She deserves every credit for the work she
has done on it, and I am sorry presenting her work
in the manner I did, without acknowledgement.
Lastly,
but not least I would like to thank the Blanket
for their encouragement in my endeavours at writing.
My fault at sticking too close to my sources in no
way should reflect either on the management at the
Blanket or on any other writer who contributes
to it.
28
August 2004
NOTICE: The Blanket does not condone plagiarism of
any form and any submissions that are known to be
plagiarisms will not be published; articles inadvertently
published that are revealed to be plagiarised will
be removed from the site. Anyone found from today
on using plagiarised material will no longer have
their work carried on this site.
See
also: "Every
Editor's Nightmare"
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