PhotoDude.com

Mon. Aug 30, 2004

Defrocked Priest Gets Pseudo-Justice

Sometimes “swift justice” is more the former than the latter:

An Athens court on Monday slapped a 3,000-euro fine on the Irish-born former priest who disrupted the Olympic men’s marathon by pushing the race leader into the crowd.

The flagrant crimes court convening in Athens also barred Cornelius Horan, 57, from attending any sport events in Greece for three months.

A 12-month prison sentence against Horan was suspended for three years. He paid the fine and was released.

Horan told the court he wanted to announce the Second Coming of Jesus and did not intend to obstruct the marathon’s Brazilian race leader Vanderlei de Lima.

The Irishman, who now lives in London and has staged a number of demonstrations at high profile events, apologised for the incident and said he would not repeat it again.

Sunday Times: Irishman fined for marathon stunt

I hate to say this even about a former priest, but that’s a sack of lies. Or perhaps more properly, delusions.

If he claims he “did not intend to obstruct … de Lima,” then what exactly did he intend to do dressed like an Irish dancer with signs containing strange religious statements? Why did his arms appear to wrap around de Lima and push him into the crowd? Did Mr. Horan have a sudden epileptic seizure, or was he simply momentarily possessed by demons? Because the obvious answer I saw in that race does not jibe with the one Horan gave in court.

But the biggest lie is his claim he will not repeat such an act. Because it’s a lie he’s made before (emphasis mine):

The 56-year-old former priest who ran on to the track at this season’s British Grand Prix has walked free from jail, insisting he has no regrets over his actions.

Cornelius Horan left court after being given a two-month jail sentence for aggravated trespass at Silverstone. He had served more than two-thirds of the sentence on remand.

Millions of television viewers world-wide saw Horan breach security and get in front of cars wearing a tam-o’shanter and kilt and carrying religious-themed placards.

“It was done on the spur of the moment. I didn’t come up intending on going on to the track.”

He said he was not planning any more stunts and would not break the law again.

BBC: ”’No regrets’ for Grand Prix protester”

Less than one year later, Horan hopped on a flight to Athens that arrived at 4:40am the morning of the marathon. With clear premeditation, he committed another “stunt,” and broke the law again.

The man does not need the slap on the wrist of a suspended sentence, a fine, and a laughable three month ban from Greek sporting events. He needs psychiatric care. He has a behavior pattern that is escalating. If the “justice system” gives such token attention to his obvious problem, we should hardly be surprised when we see his name in the news again. And next time, someone may really get hurt.

Thankfully, part of his behavior pattern seems to be that wacky getup. I hate to encourage profiling, but I’m afraid Irish dancers are going to get some extra scrutiny at future sporting events. People are going to want to look up their kilts, for sure.

Previously: “The End (of the marathon) Is Near”