At a human level, I have sympathy for George Hook. I believe his apology was sincere despite his totally inappropriate and mangled remarks on his radio show regarding the rape of a young woman, which has left his career in tatters.

If there is such a thing as having sympathy for the individual but incomprehension for the remarks, then it applies here. But there for the grace of God go any of us in the media, particularly working on live radio.

That said, I can only imagine how his comments resonated with women who have been and continue to be victims of rape, particularly those who would have gone through the horror of being made feel in some way responsible for this most vile crime that could be visited upon them. It is in a different league to any trauma Mr Hook must be enduring for sure.

But if there has been any good to come out of this for victims of rape and for women everywhere, it’s that his ill-informed comments have managed to serve as a timely reminder to all of us, the reiteration that when it comes to the unspeakable crime of rape, there can be no equivocation. Because, believe it or not, what George Hook had to say does actually have support throughout pockets of society.

“She was asking for it” is a view which, as we know, sadly prevails. It is indeed shocking that anybody could give a shred of credence to that argument, even in the more openly provocative, suggestive and sexualised world we now live in.

I’m sorry but it is a statement that’s completely trumped with the simple one that “rape is rape” no matter the circumstances. It is a solitary fact which should never be open to debate.

I don’t care how a girl or a woman dresses. I don’t care how provocative or flirty or drunk she is. I don’t care that she goes back to a hotel with someone. Yes, you could describe such as reckless. But here is the key point. If she says at any point that she does not want sex, then it’s black and white, and, for me, that’s what consent means and all men should learn to respect this.

There will be argumentative scenarios where it’s his word against hers and there are never winners in such horrible court cases of which there have been sporadic examples over the years. But for the overwhelming majority of us, it is not complicated. Rape is rape. No ifs. No buts.

And if the outrage of the past two weeks has managed to focus our minds and underline the seriousness and life-changing consequences of rape and sexual violence, then it has been worth it. CL

Mayo kicked it away

I’ve never looked forward more to an All-Ireland football final than I did last Sunday. And I was lucky to be there. Dad and I went in early to “soak up the atmosphere” around Jones’s Road. But I couldn’t hang around looking at desperate fans, mainly from Mayo, with signs looking for a ticket. My heart went out to them.

But oh Mayo, Mayo! It wasn’t any curse that bet them last Sunday. It was individual mistakes that were punished by Dublin. They kicked it away. At the final whistle, the atmosphere sank. But that is not Dublin’s fault. People now talk about a four or five in a row for the Dubs. Yet they have won their last five titles by a combined margin of only seven points. And while Dublin enjoys little neutral support, you have to admit they are brilliant lads both on and off the field.