by Louise Doyle
ONE week ago former RTÉ journalist and campaigner Charlie Bird was remembered as a “hero and legend” who was “brave beyond words” at a service to celebrate his life.
The renowned 74-year-old broadcaster died on Tuesday of last week having been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2021.
Mr Bird didn’t shy away from his diagnosis, and , in fact, used it to focus on charity work and raising awareness of the condition in his typical fearless fashion
A step through the archives of the Derry People Donegal News this week shows the very same tenacity of Mr Bird when he examined illegal gambling claims in Donegal
Our news archives on Friday, March 26, 1999 featured a front page story titled ‘TV report claims illegal gambling in Donegal’.
The report how an anti gaming activist called on gardaí to “act on the illegal gaming in Donegal exposed by RTÉ’s Charlie Bird this week.
A national news report claimed that payments at two amusement arcades in Bundoran “blatantly contravened the law”.
The report states: “The activist, Mr Liam Bradley of Buncrana contacted RTÉ three months ago about the gaming situation in the county, leading to the television crew carrying out an undercover filming operation in two of Bundoran’s gaming arcades last Saturday.
“One of the arcades visited was owned by Buncrana Urban District Councillor Colm O’Donnell who has lobbied for a number of years for the ban on gaming machines in Buncrana to be removed. The second arcade featured on RTÉ was run by Conor McEniff. Conor McEniff told reporter Charlie Bird he had been in the arcade all that afternoon and “nobody had won any money as far as he was concerned”. Mr Bird told Mr McEniff the “evidence was quite clear for both the cameraman and myself to see”.
“The undercover operation claimed bets of more than the legal limit of two and a half pence were being made. It also recorded prizes being paid out in the two arcades exceeding the legal limit of fifty pence.
“A garda spokesman said yesterday there were ten prosecutions before the court and they were expected to come up shortly.”
The television report sparked wider discussion among councils and business proprietors. The archive news report states that the RTÉ report raised fears among some local people in Bundoran that the town could suffer if the Gaming and Lottery Act of 1956 was not updated.
The report states: “Local arcade owner Liam Clancy said the regulations were very outdated and any change to gambling premises in Bundoran could drive the business people away.
Mr Conor McEniff said on Wednesday that it did not make sense to have a law limiting the maximum payout on a slot machine to fifty pence when there was no effective controls on the amount of money people could spend on lottery tickets.
“Chairman of Bundoran UDC Cllr Frankie O’Gorman was happy with the business the amusements brought to the town.
“They bring lots of people into the town and the one year they were closed there was no one in Bundoran. I would be very disappointed if there was any harm done to their trade.”
“Controversy about gaming in Donegal arose in the mid 1980s when the County Council voted to have gaming machines banned in the county council area. In 1986, the ban was put in place with the county’s three urban councils left to decide the issue for their area.
While Letterkenny and Buncrana UDCs enforced the ban, Bundoran UDC voted not to.
“Local councillor Dessie Mulhern was delighted with the RTÉ expose and he claimed gardaí had been told enough times about what was going on.
“Gamblers Anonymous have said that playing slot machines was one of the most addictive forms of gambling but Mr McEniff rejected suggestions that people using his premises could become addicted.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)