Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth)/Shell’s Begging Bowl

"The Begging Bowl is feared and loathed by those who know that they have allowed themselves to be used by Shell"

Erris’ – and Ireland’s – Bocca della Verita, in the form of Shell’s Begging Bowl represented by a humdrum toilet bowl, returned to take its place outside Dáil Éireann on 6 December 2011 to mark Budget Day where the script was read by the new Minister for Hardship Michael Noonan, a script of course written by the Troika puppet masters. While the Begging Bowl captured lots of attention and support outside the gates it didn’t thankfully have to capture the buinneach* produced by current and recent government parties within the House. *buinneach,f(gs.-nní), Scour, diarrhoea.ÓDónaill.FoclóirGaeilge-Béarla. AnGúm 1992

The comparison with Bocca della Verita is not over fanciful – the Mouth of Truth is said to bite off the hand of a liar; the Begging Bowl is feared and loathed by those who know that they have allowed themselves to be used by Shell. Conversely, those who continue to fight against the continued giveaway of our oil and gas have no difficulty being seen beside it because its metaphoric use in 2007 can now be seen as prophetic for the country as a whole. The Begging Bowl has its origins in Erris, that area of Ireland which, like Goscinny’s corner of Gaul remains unconquered and indomitable. It had its first public outing at a St Patrick’s Day parade in Pullathomas in 2007 to illustrate figuratively what those who took the $h€££ shilling were willing to do to get a few euro from Royal Dutch Shell plc, which has a market capitalisation many multiples of Ireland’s GNP. The Begging Bowl has had many outings since then.

Occupy Dame St and Shell to Sea

TD Clare Daly (Socialist Party)

TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Sinn Féin)

TD Joan Collins (United Left Alliance)