'Dehumanising' - Offaly councillor under fire for offensive Facebook post

'Dehumanising and not funny' - That's how the director of the Irish Network Against Racism has described a resurfaced Facebook post from Offaly county councillor Ken Smollen. 

Cllr Smollen posted an image of a Muslim woman and child next to two black bin bags in 2012 before he was an elected representative in the county. He captioned the post: "I think I recognise the one of the left." He further commented, "I think the two on the right are twins," referring to what appears to be a Muslim child in a burqa and a black bin bag. 

PICTURED: The post as it appeared on Ken Smollen's Facebook page in 2012

Cllr Smollen was running a local food appeal for families living in poverty at the time and had a large following on social media. He continues to run the KS Food Appeal. He was elected to Offaly County Council in 2019. He failed to win a seat in the general election earlier this year in the Laois-Offaly constituency. 

Asked by the Offaly Express why he posted the above image in 2012, Cllr Smollen said: "The post was certainly not meant to cause offence to anyone or to any race, religion or community. At the time of posting it, I simply found it amusing and nothing else. However, eight years is a long time ago and I wouldn’t post it now because times have changed and what was once amusing is now seen as not being politically correct and may cause offence where there would be none intended."

He furthered that view when posting the screenshot of his original post to his Facebook page at the weekend, saying: "The attached image was posted by me in June 2012 as it appeared amusing at the time, just like funny images of Leprechauns being used when referring to Irish people or jokes about ‘Paddies’ or ‘Biffos’."

"As time passes we all learn, grow and become more aware of what is or is not acceptable now, and if some people feel offended by the post, then I apologise as no offence was ever intended," he continued on the same forum.

Reacting to the 2012 post, the director of the Irish Network Against Racism, Shane O'Curry said: "These comments aren't funny and they aren't worthy of a public representative. The effect of this post is to dehumanise a group of people who already face marginalisation and discrimination.

"Mocking Muslims, and especially Muslim women, in this fashion leaves them open to more hostility than they already face. These actions create an atmosphere in which individuals may believe they have community backing for acts of open hatred and violence against minorities," he added.

"Our data shows that hostility and violence against Muslim women in Ireland are not uncommon, with devastating consequences for them, their children and families. It also undermines community relations by fostering divisions between people, something which runs contrary to the principles of our Republic which endeavours to cherish us all equally.”

“However I understand that these comments were made in 2012 and were taken down some years ago, prior to Cllr Smollen being elected, and prior to him signing our anti-racism election protocol.

“In circumstances where someone were to make such comments using a public platform such as elected office, such comments would amount to Incitement to Hatred, which is prosecutable under the 1989 Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act."

"We ask all political candidates to keep public and political discourse clean about minorities, by asking them to sign the anti-racism election protocol and undertake not to use racist language or in any other way denigrate minorities. We are also pushing for improvement in hate crime legislation and the 1989 Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act," Mr O'Curry added.

When asked about the posting of such material online by the Offaly Express, Pippa Woolnough, Communications and Advocacy Manager of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, said: "Since its foundation 19 years ago, the Immigrant Council of Ireland has been aware that racism exists in Ireland and we know from our support services and community engagement work, too many people face the brunt of the abuse daily.

"While research has shown the Irish are a largely welcoming and tolerant society, a small minority focus on projecting hate and driving divide. Too often we see appalling abuse online, where it is easier to hide. But now is the time to take action and it is welcome to see the promise of effective hate crime legislation in the new Programme for Government. 

"Recent events stemming from the Black Lives Matter movement have brought the issue of racism in Ireland to the fore and it is an opportunity for us to listen and really hear these difficult and often harrowing experiences and check ourselves and our behaviour - both in person and online. It is not enough to be quietly non-racist, to be effective allies and build the Ireland we want to live in, we must be actively anti-racist. Those who choose to be our elected representatives have a particular responsibility to educate themselves and ensure they do not spread hate." Ms Woolnouggh did not offer comment specifically on the material posted by Cllr Smollen. 

Cllr Smollen explained to us that he deleted the post in question prior to running in the 2019 local elections but that a screenshot had been taken by one individual. "I actually deleted this post a few years ago when a member of my family brought my attention to it fearing that it could be used by others who might want to blacken my name when I entered the political world," Cllr Smollen admitted.

The image has since resurfaced on a number of occasions, including last weekend when it was brought to the attention of the Offaly Express. 

"I was surprised when I discovered that a certain person had obviously trawled through my page and discovered that post from June 2012. Not only did he copy the post but he’s been sharing it on his own Facebook page and on other public pages in order to smear my name," Cllr Smollen claimed.

"As I deleted the photo from my page, I have not given permission to anyone to share it." Cllr Smollen posted the image again publicly on his Facebook profile via a screenshot on Saturday, June 20, 2020.

"I have no idea why this person and a very small group of people have targeted me as I don’t know any of them personally. Neither have I ever had dealings with any of them. Shamefully, in what appears to be an orchestrated campaign they have also been targeting members of my family and none of us know the reason why," he continued.

Cllr Smollen, who is the leader of the Irish Democratic Party, further defended himself by saying, "I fully believe that we are all created equal and my track record speaks for itself. For a number of years, I have been supporting families at the repossession courts not only in Tullamore and Portlaoise but in many locations throughout the country where families feel alone in what to almost all of them feels like a never-ending nightmare and a very uphill battle against the banks and their legal representatives in order to keep the roof over their heads.

"Many of the families I’ve supported and got to know were non-native Irish families. I have no idea whether they are Muslim, Christian, Hindu or any other religion as it doesn’t matter to me. All that does concern me is their physical and mental wellbeing and that’s why I point them in the direction to where they can get help for free in their constant struggle against the banks that we were all forced to help bail out after the banking collapse of a decade ago.

"On many occasions after appearances in these repossession courts, I referred people of many nationalities to SOSAD, a suicide prevention and awareness charity in Tullamore which has now sadly closed its doors. Thankfully, we now have ACT (Accessible Counselling Tullamore) to fill the gap in mental health services."

He went on to say: "Since being elected as a County Councillor in Offaly in May 2019 I have engaged with the travelling community and am proud to say that I was successful in having a fresh water connection installed for them in an ‘unauthorised’ site while they await being housed. 

"Running water is something they didn’t have there for about 20 years. I am still fighting to have electricity installed as many families with children reside in them. If we are to think of ourselves as decent people we cannot ignore the needs of travellers and their children and we cannot continue to ignore the inequalities that they suffer on a daily basis. Children deserve to have an education and without electricity or running water how can we expect them to achieve anything."

Cllr Smollen also said he has "fought for the rights of refugees through the fact that I was the only councillor that demanded access to The Marian Hostel Direct Provision Centre before they arrived. When that invitation was not forthcoming, I was again the only councillor that pursued the matter until we were allowed in to inspect the facilities and ensure they were of the highest standard."

Referring to his ongoing food appeal initiative, Cllr Smollen said: "Every day for the last few years I have been visiting families with food supplies in Offaly and all of our seven surrounding counties plus Co Longford. Some of these families are not of Irish origin and are of very many different races, religions and nationalities. I have received great support from hundreds of people and businesses in Offaly, Westmeath, Laois, Tipperary, Kildare and Longford and I’m proud and grateful that I’ve received a lot of help from organisations in the non-white community."

He went on to claim that "a small group of people are now involved in what appears to be an orchestrated campaign of intimidation and abuse" against him, his family and those who support and help him.

"It’s obvious that they are intent on smearing my name and causing damage to my reputation," he said, adding that he also now believes some in local mainstream media outlets have also targeted him unfairly with "only two of them being in any way interested in helping to highlight the awful food poverty crisis that exists in Ireland. He claims one reporter called him 'Hitler' at a gathering after his election to the council in 2019.

Cllr Smollen even cited the recent #BeKind campaign in his statement: "Recently, we have had the #BeKind campaign but it does not apply if you have the temerity to voice an opinion that does not fall in line. I will continue to highlight injustice wherever and whenever it is brought to my attention – this being the reason that the people of the Tullamore Municipal District placed their trust in me by giving me their vote," he concluded.