Taking a stand: Six Irish whistleblowers reveal the enormous personal cost of speaking out
The consequences of revealing wrongdoing can be personally, professionally and financially ruinous, and while Irish legislation on protecting whistleblowers was recently updated, concerns remain that we need a change in cultural attitudes via education rather than law
In the 1882 play An Enemy of the People, Dr Thomas Stockmann resists pressure by the local townspeople to conceal evidence that the lucrative town spa baths have become contaminated with dangerous bacteria.
At its climax, the town rounds on Stockmann, calling him “an enemy of the people”. He loses friends, his profession, and ultimately his reputation, all because of his insistence on telling the truth.
Pitching the value of truth against loyalty to one’s community, it is a story that has been adapted many times over, most famously in the film Jaws. But it is also a story that would be instantly recognised by many whistleblowers today.
