UPDATED: According to Paddy Cosgrave (using a Twitter account that should be verified), Brian Flanagan has been allowed entry to Ireland.
Shamrock Shakes all around!
Previously on this blog, I wrote a short piece that was viewed by more than 100 people on three continents within an hour of its posting:
BRIAN FLANAGAN, a tech innovator with jobs open to Irish developers, was refused entry to Ireland today by Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) Officer Michael Lally. This puts Ireland front-and-centre during on international business pages with a bemused reaction at best.
I have been inside Dublin Airport's holding cell, before it was given its fresh coat of paint. I've a passport that certifies me with a "refused leave to land" stamp. I returned to Ireland with that stamp a week after I was punted out of the country in 2002.
Back then, I owned a home, had a mortgage, held a full-time pensionable position paid by the Minister for Education, cared for two dogs, two cats and a very upset partner. I learned my lesson then--when you're refused to land you don't exist. And you're in a place under very limited jurisdiction. It's like your feet haven't touched Irish soil. You have no status when refused leave to land. Except young Brian Flanagan--too young to be serious about actually hiring 15 Irish developers--has street cred in the special space of innovation and jobs.
So maybe the Irish tech community should call the Minister for Jobs and Innovation, @seansherlocktd? I wouldn't do that. Maybe ring up the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter? Perhaps. But it's a weekend and a sunny one at that.
Having been through what Brian Flanagan is experiencing, I would chance my arm, land in the States, and board a flight back to London. There's a different crew of people in that immigration station. They will look at the case, ring back to Dublin, and sort out the facts. If the Brits believe Flanagan's story, they will verbally instruct him, with a nod and a wink, to be careful in his travels. And wish him Godspeed, like they did for me when I returned to mow my lawn and prep my lecture notes at home in Ireland.
Brian Flangan works for http://www.newcontext.com/. Michael G. Lally works for the GNIB. Guess who is on Twitter. Speaking of Twitter, I'm very interested in the causal link between Paddy Cosgrave's tweets, some well-placed phone calls, and the eventual resolution of this case.
