TV3 documentary reveals devastating aftermath for whistleblowers.

TV3 GROUP RELEASE

IMMEDIATE: Friday 27th February, 2015

 

TV3 documentary reveals devastating aftermath for whistleblowers.

 

Former Irish Nationwide employees battle to hold on to their homes.

 

Tom Clonan, a former Army Captain, was attacked in the street by a colleague in front of his young family.

 

Chalkie White describes how friends froze him out after he exposed the widespread abuse of young swimmers at the hands of their coaches.

 

Former Irish Red Cross manager was sacked for speaking out.

 

‘Whistleblowers: Can We Handle the Truth?’ airs this Monday (2nd March) at 10pm on TV3.

 

Interviews are available on request.

 

Video link to view the full programme is available on request.

 

The high price paid by whistleblowers is laid bare in this brand new TV3 documentary that tells the shocking story of what happened to four people who had the courage to speak out.

 

Olivia Greene and Ben Beggan, both former employees of Irish Nationwide Building Society, are unemployed and battling to hold on to their home in County Monaghan. Olivia, a former loans supervisor, went public on what was happening behind the scenes at the now notorious company. She accused former Chief Executive Michael Fingleton of running the firm as a “personal bank” and revealed a number of fast-track loans to well-known public figures, including cabinet ministers.

 

In Whistleblowers: Can We Handle the Truth? Olivia describes how her working life was made “a misery” after she backed a colleague who fought his suspension through the High Court. She eventually settled her own dispute with the firm out of court. Her partner Ben Beggan, a former GAA star who was branch manager in Monaghan town, tells how he believes he was targeted and eventually sacked after Olivia left. Ben subsequently lost his case for unfair dismissal.

 

Former Army Captain, Tom Clonan, blew the whistle on the harassment of female members in the Defence Forces. As a result, he was ostracised by former friends and colleagues, with one colleague even attacking him in the street. Another colleague told him not to “hide behind his fucking handicapped child”.

 

Tom speaks about one appalling case of a female soldier he interviewed, who admitted to having been sexually assaulted in the workplace: “I had one female soldier who had just had a baby, who came back to her desk to find pornographic material left on the desk on her return to work. And the perpetrator, who had left that on her desk, subsequently went on to sexually assault her. And the person within the chain of command to whom she was supposed to report this abuse, was the perpetrator. So it was almost like, for many of these women, it was the perfect storm.”

 

Chalkie White tells the programme how his life fell apart after he was abused by his swimming coach George Gibney. Along with Gary O’Toole, Ireland’s top swimmer at the time, he later helped to lift the lid on what must be the greatest scandal in the history of Irish sport – the widespread abuse of a number of young swimmers at the hands of the people they were supposed to be able to trust; their coaches. Chalkie, a former champion swimmer and national coach himself, was frozen out of Irish swimming and his marriage even broke up. He now prefers to live and work outside of Ireland.

 

Chalkie reveals how he felt after finding out that he wasn’t the only victim that his abuser, George, had molested: “I was shocked. Because I felt that I was the only one. I was the one who had a monopoly on pain and torture. And only to find out that there were 60 more. And I was angry at that. And then as things got out within swimming, people became very anti, saying this is what I was trying to do; bring the guy down [and] move into his position.”

 

Noel Wardick was sacked for exposing what he believed were financial irregularities and corruption at the charity he worked for, The Irish Red Cross. He has struggled since to find employment.

 

Noel admits that a very senior official in the organisation once told him: “Noel I know you think you know how much these people hate you but actually you have no idea how much they hate you.”

 

‘Whistleblowers: Can We Handle the Truth?’ airs this Monday (2nd March) at 10pm on TV3.

 

Images have been sent to your picture desks.  

 

ENDS

 

For further information
Ciara Byrne – Press Officer – 01 419 3329/087 319 9732

Jean O’Donovan – Press & Publicity Assistant – 01 419 3428

Sharon McHugh – Head of Press & Publicity – 087 922 4143

publicity@tv3.ie                        
www.tv3.ie

 

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