The sister of a woman who died suddenly has hit out at anti-vaccination and far-right activists for lying about the cause of her death. Deb Cahill, whose sister Nicole passed away in March, told Joe Duffy on Liveline today that nobody has contacted the family to ask how Nicole died. But this has not stopped Gemma O’Doherty and Dolores Webster from claiming that Nicole died as a result of the COVID-19 vaccination.
“Bodysnatchers”
Nicole died suddenly earlier this year at the age of 22. Although her family has yet to receive the postmortem results, she had underlying health issues since the age of six according to her sister Nicole.
During the interview with Duffy she revealed that the first posts attempting to link her sister’s death to the COVID vaccination came less than two days after she passed away. She told listeners it “wasn’t the case” that the vaccine had caused her sister’s death. People posting and sharing that information were lying or misinformed and “None of them have ever actually contacted the family to see was it the vaccine that killed Nicole”. Going on, she said that these people are “not thinking of the family and what they’re being put through by all of this”. Breaking down in tears she said her sister’s death is “still raw”.
But this hasn’t stopped anti-vaccination and far-right activists from lying about her sister’s death. Although there’s no evidence that the vaccine caused Nicole’s death, Deb disclosed that these activists are accusing her and her family of being murderers because Nicole received the COVID vaccine.
Duffy argued that the likes of Gemma O’Doherty and Dolores Webster “are just bodysnatching the remains of Nicole” for their own purposes. He also pointed out that although some maintain it’s best not to confront them as they thrive on publicity, “It has to stop somewhere”.
Therese Cahill, a contributor to The Beacon, phoned Liveline to express her solidarity with Deb and her family. Ms. Cahill told us she “had to phone in” after hearing Deb speak about what her family has been through. She also praised Duffy for his handling of the issue. The comedienne said “Joe handled it beautifully and with great compassion”. And, what’s more, Ms. Cahill pointed out that he “was also one of the first RTÉ stars to name those responsible — Gemma O’Doherty and Dee Wall — two of the most notorious peddlers of baseless lies”.
Targeting vaccination centres
This comes as a report in the Irish Mirror revealed that the head of the Garda National Crime & Security Intelligence Service has warned of potential attacks on vaccination centres. In a memo sent to the entire force it was stated there’s a chance of anti-vaccination and far-right activists taking “direct action” against vaccination centres. The memo also contained a warning that attacks on 5G masts were also a possibility.
The Beacon contacted the Garda Press Office for comment. In response it said “An Garda Síochána does not comment on operational matters”.
During a livestream posted on Facebook three months ago far-right figurehead Rowan Croft, aka Grand Torino, called for politicians who recommend vaccinating children against COVID-19 to be “hung by the neck”. In the same livestream he advocated attacks against vaccination centres to disrupt the COVID-19 vaccination programme.
Facebook later removed the livestream for violating its policies around violence and misinformation.
Featured image via Youtube – Screenshot
