SCANNAL (Irish language for Scandal) is a bi-lingual documentary series which looks back at some of the scandals that shocked, outraged, amused & incited the Irish nation. For over 10 years Scannal is broadcast on RTÉ One.
SCANNAL – Death in a Park
In September 1982 a Dublin man was savagely beaten and left for dead in a public park.
Declan Flynn’s name has become shorthand for the intolerance and injustice meted out casually in an Ireland country where homosexuality was still a crime. His killing and the controversy surrounding the criminal trial that followed, sparked a groundswell of support for gay rights which was to become a slow burn over the following 3 decades.
But behind the public outrage lay a very private person. Declan Flynn was a shy 31 year old man from the northside of the city. Socially awkard, with a severe stammer, he was second of nine children & lived at home with his parents. His very public killing was a private tragedy for his family.
SCANNAL looks back at the brutal killing of Declan Flynn, at the social, political and legal context of a different Ireland. We talk to people who knew Declan and who met his killers and to those who remember the atmosphere of fear that prevailed for gay people in 80’s Ireland . For the first time in decades, Declan’s family share their experiences. A deep seated anger still remains at the injustice that Declan suffered. They talk about their brother as they knew and remember him and the family heartbreak that remains to this day.
Reporter: Padraig O’Driscoll
Producer / Director : Kevin Cummins