We must all answer to those we represent

Dear Sir or Madam,
I have been in touch with Mick Waters of "SOCA-UK" over the past month requesting some direct answers to questions about the origins of the organisation he now calls SOCA - UK.

In July this year he told the Ryan Commission on oath that it all started in 1965 when he supposedly founded the so-called Artane Old Boys Support Group in England and he rambled on about writing letters to officials from then on but that they were never answered. He then lied that he held big public meeting in Coventry in September 1998 which he said attracted between 500 and 600 people and he told additional lies about the alleged antiquity of the "old boys group" which he said became SOCA on 19th June 1999. The events of 19th June 1999 are a matter of public record but the garbage about the old-boys is complete fabrication and Waters knows it.

In view of this I wrote inquiring emails to Waters none of which have been answered and this is not surprising because the man who calls himself "the founder of SOCA" is quite a dab hand with a yarn. Waters has had published different accounts of the amount of time he spent in Artane in the 1950's the most recent in an English provincial newspaper - The Coventry Evening Telegraph on 29th July in which he says he spent six long painful years from the age of 10 at Artane. He had obviously forgotten that he told the London Times in October 2000 that he spent four years in Artane and he gave different versions to other journalists over the past five years. All of these versions cannot be right and all may therefore be wrong - but Waters refuses to come clean.

The funny thing about the London Times article of 6th October 2000 is that Waters is referred to in the following terms "For 18 years Mick sought professional help yet never confided the truth about Artane, waking in sweating nightmares" yet at the Sean Ryan Commission on 21st July this year he said in very matter of fact manner that his campaigning group (the Old Boys) had been discussing the abuses and writing letters to officials since 1965.

Both versions cannot be right - indeed it is probable that neither account is truthful given Mr Waters highly evasive and contradictory stories. But you know what they say about lies, that if you are going to tell them, do make sure they are the same ones each and every time. In the case of the so-called "founder of SOCA" poor Mick has gotten into quite a funk, but his consolation is that the Dept of Health and Children have set him up with a little B&B business in Parnell Square - Avoca House.

It would appear that his diversion into the bed and breakfast business is taking up all his time and he can no longer dedicate his efforts to the hate-filled website "Untimatedisposal.com" which is currently closed for ranters.

Anyway, I am attaching my emails sent to Mr Waters over the past three weeks - all unanswered as expected - you can draw your own conclusions.

Yours,
Paddy O

COPY of email sent to spike9w@yahoo.com on 28 November 2004

Dear Mr Waters,
I wrote on 7th and 13th November asking for some information about your old friend whom you say died in 1965 in London. I think it would be a nice mark of remembrance to rename your Dublin property after him, the name Avoca House is a typical B&B "Dunromin" sort of name. However - the name of your inspiration from 1965 would hit the right note, what do you say? A sort of Che Guevara House for old boys!

NO - is that what you say, and why not Mr WATERS!

Is it because the 1965 dead old boy is a figment of your imagination Mr Waters as is the so-called Artane Old Boys Support group you claim existed prior to 1999?

It's clear that if the inspiration is based on the death of an old boy that never happened - then the event (the founding of the Old Boys) is a fraudulent front like everything else.However, a death of an "old pal" in 1965 does not of itself validate the assertion that you founded the so-called "Artane Old Boys Support Group" but you have linked both issues on your website and you ough to name the old-boy for that reason.

Have you given any thought to coming clean on the actual amount of time you spent in Artane Mr Waters because there are various published accounts of the period you spent in Artane. Those accounts were given by yourself to different journalists on various occasions over the past five years.

Clearly with different accounts of your period of detention at Artane along with your own website being deliberately vague on the question with its talk of your being "ultimately disposed of in the late 50's having been incarcerated at the age of 10 years by the Judge" and unusually you claim to being "born in the 1940's in Dublin"

Perhaps you think it's clever to be vague on issues like dates but all that does is create the question - WHY?

Why are you vague and evasive on dates that you say certain things happened to you such as your actual year and month of birth, the actual date of your arrival and discharge from Artane and the name of your "old school pal" whom you say died in London in 1965.

I think you really should try to answer these questions Mr Waters, and soon.

Kindest Regards
Paddy O

COPY.....

13/11/2004 13:40:21 GMT Standard Time

Dear Mr Waters,
I wrote to you last week asking for the name of your 'old school friend' whom you allege died in 1965 and to whom you say you made a pledge to "seek justice for all the terrible abuses, etc...." It's curious you have never mentioned his name in any of your publications/leaflets or memorandums.

Have you forgotten his name Mr Waters, or is it simply this, that you don't have a name to disclose since all that is so much toffee like the so-called 'Artane Old Boys Support Group" from the same year.

By the way Mr Waters, exactly how many years (or months) did you spend at Artane? Wot, you can't quite remember, or dear, well why not take a look at your Order of Detention which will show your date of admission, and "Form D" (D for Discharge) with its talk of "Ultimate Disposal" (after which you have named your website) for your date of Discharge.

There is no rocket science in this Mr Waters, your Order of Detention (on an indictable charge, by the way) plus your Form D data will tell you how long you were actually in Artane. It's not too difficult Mr Waters, so now, and just for the record...HOW LONG WERE YOU IN ARTANE MR WATERS?

Do try to answer these questions soon Mr Waters otherwise I shall think you are not being quite upfront.

Yours
Paddy O

COPY.............

Subject: Old Boy died in 1965?
Date: 07/11/2004 12:39:28 GMT Standard Time

"In 1965 whilst living in London I met up with an old school friend from Artane who was unfortunately by this time what you may call a down-&-out & addicted to alcohol & who did not live to see the end of that year. During his last months we spoke greatly about what happened in Artane & he asked me to make a promise to do my utmost to bring the true events of what happened (& as it eventually turned out were still happening at that time) to all the boys & girls in those god forsaken place's to the public's attention & to seek justice for all the terrible abuses that were occurring there."

Dear Mr Waters,
I have taken the above from your website and would ask you now to mention the name of your "old school friend from Artane" who, you say died in 1965

Since he is long dead there is no harm done by mentioning his name now, is there, and after all, it was a deathbed promise to him that inspired you to start your lifelong campaign, wasn't it?

So lets have his name now please, after all these long years, how about it?

Yours,
Paddy O

COPY....

Subject: Re: Avoca House
Date: 10/09/2004 00:02:12 GMT Daylight Time
From: spike9w@yahoo.com

Hi Paddy,

If you need information on AVOCA HOUSE, Write or phone

SOCA-UK
18 King Edward Road,
Coventry CV1 5BT.

PHONE: 024 76551952.

Kindest regards.

Mick Waters.
Hi Paddy, thanks a million for your email ? I was delighted to get it. Can I put it up on our website voicesemerge.com?

I can fairly easily find out how long Mick was in Artane!

Avoca House is a source of considerable annoyance to a lot of people who feel they?d be excluded because they?re not with SOCA UK. Far better if it were run by an impartial body like NOVA. The truth has been told by many Paddy ? but not the full truth! ? we need people like you (with your persistence ) to keep the pressure on. What?s your connection ? are you a survivor orjust interested in this whole area? Keep in touch, I really enjoyed your email. Can I put it on our website? (without any of your details if you?d like)

Regards

Florence Horsman Hogan
Dear Florence,
Many thanks for coming back so quickly - I would be very pleased for you to put my communication up on your site. I was in Artane for a six years from 1961 having come up through the convent an orphan - unlike Mr Waters and his brother who were quite properly committed by the Courts for various infractions of the law.

A point that one of your contributors has made is that the children from the convents had to cope with the likes of those who were "street wise" and made life unbearable for the majority with their evil ways, etc.

Over the past few years Mr Mick Waters has been attempting to blur the distinction between himself and the majority. But there is no legal or moral equivalence between us and I object to the promotion of Mick Waters (really a family business in Coventry) by the government as somehow being "representative" of the majority of survivors - he is nothing of the sort.

Waters has given contradictory accounts of his time at Artane not to mention some very colourful descriptions of sexual and other abuse there. That is bad enough but he gave an account of his so-called "Old Boys 1965" organisation to the Ryan Commission in July that was so unconvincing I am amazed Ryan didn't throw him into the street...

The Avoca House project is being financed with cash from the Dept of Health and Children and has all the appearance of a State bribe since there is absolutely no rationale for such a project. People who were in institutions do not really want to be housed in a sort of hostel together in central Dublin - we have moved on from all that and after all, the Commission and the Redress Board have agreed to meet all reasonable travel and hotel costs of those who travel to Dublin on the business of those bodies.

My information is that the Legislation Unit of the Department of Health & Children have paid ?65,000 to Waters in connection with Avoca House, but that an additional application for ?150,000 from the departments Lottery allocation is pending approval by Mary Harney and must be signed off by 31st December 2004. There is talk that some of the religious (or bishops) may have paid some sort of contribution to Waters, but that is not so certain.

Waters needs to be placed on the record with regard to his unfounded assertions about his "Old boys of 1965" as well as the various accounts of his actual time at Artane. I believe that he has given perjured accounts of events to the Ryan Commission and that is an outrage.

When asked (under oath) to explain where he gets his finance from last July he said "the Dept of Education and Science" and he refused to discuss amounts, but forgot to mention the ?65k from the Dept of Health or that he had taken possession of Avoca House. He was obliged to give a full account of his finances and failed to do so and he lied about the so-called old-boys which he says became SOCA in June 1999.

Keep up the good work.

Regards
Paddy