Donal Moloney has spoken to ‘Martin’ again
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November 26, 2013 at 6:12pm
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I knew you were right. I am getting the impression that he doesn’t particularly like talking about Malta.
[Daphne – That’s it. He got a sudden coughing fit when the Mediterranean was mentioned, and became flustered when Malta was.]
Yes, even the first time he was interviewed he steered clear of being specific about anything.
In fact, I think he doesn’t want to be found out, and would rather stay put where he is.
If he did spend time in America, why doesn’t he have an American accent?
He did admit living in Malta though. When Donal asked him if he had heared about St. Edward’s, did he say “Not recently”? I’m not sure I heared him correctly as the sound quality is not that good.
How intriguing. I wonder why he is so reluctant to talk about his connection with the island.
[Daphne – To put it plainly, I wouldn’t either, when faced with questions from a complete stranger, in whatever circumstances. In this world of people using Facebook like a public diary, we tend to forget that the standard training among a certain stratum of people was to never talk about yourself or what you do and to deflect direct personal questions politely.]
I suppose you’re right, however I thought his reaction at Malta being mentioned did imply something more than a simple reluctance to open up to a stranger.
It’s almost as if he’s running away from something. That was my impression, anyway.
“Have you ever heard of St. Edward’s College in Malta?”
“No, not RECENTLY.”
To me, this sounds like ‘Martin’ has his lucid moments, politely skirting lines of questioning he doesn’t want deepened.
Truth be told, most of what he says is lucid. I correct myself.
He really does sound like he’s consciously suppressing the Malta connection.
Yes, I think so, too. I think he’s pretty much aware of what he is saying, and that his answers are quite “controlled” and calculated, so to speak.
Yes, the Malta connection is there. Daphne was right.
I suppose that with a bit of expert guidance, and without too much invasion, ‘Martin’ can be helped to reconstruct his history and where he belongs to.
Donal: ‘Have ever heard of St Edward’s college in Malta?’
Martin: ‘No, not recently.’
Hedging an answer with provisos: the ‘not recently’ qualifier is rather telling that something is afoot – you may well be on the right track.
Best of luck with the forensics.
Definitely a Maltese accent
Unless this guy is a criminal I don’t think we should peruse this poor man. His family and close friends now know exactly where to find him. Selfishly I want to read and hear more, I’m fascinated. I hope we’re not making this into a reality tv show at this poor man or poor man’s family expense.
around 3:40
Q Have you ever heard of St. Edward’s College in Malta?
A No, not recently.
Not recently?
No, not recently. He’s well into late middle-age.
It now hit me that what we’re doing (me included) is quite rude. The guy wants to be alone. If he gets to know that he is on Malta’s newspapers, being discussed online and, basically, all over the place in a country which surely left a mark on him (and it’s not just the accent) he would probably try to do what he has avoided doing all along. I think it’s good that his family in Malta (if there is anyone) now know about his whereabouts. But he should be let free to live how he likes to live, away from all the attention.
The thing is, his family in Malta might not yet have made the link. Even if they read other headlines.
The markers Daphne has identified are pretty specific, and these are the ones that would need to be picked-up by any family remaining in Malta.
It may be the case that cousins remain unaware of his existence, therefore they wouldn’t realise that the context of the information could impact them differently.
It would only be a direct brother or sister of the mother, if these are still alive, that would recognise the markers and they may not necessarily be reading Daphne but simply listening to television headline news that doesn’t expose these specific markers.
The newspapers could mention specifically: accent definitely pin-points to Stella Maris Parish area or the equivalent connection; he is about 59 (I am not doubting him); he has travelled extensively (important to put list of countries he mentioned); he was born in Dallas, Texas because his mother was there; his mother may have left Malta to give birth in Dallas, Texas.
If the family know, all well and good. But if they remain unaware, that’s another thing entirely.
What seems most obvious to some is not always obvious to everybody.
The only time he played with words and did not give short, direct, polite answers was when he was asked about Malta.
The item was mentioned on in the 8.00pm news on TVM but although they said that discussion igs going on online they never mentioened that you started it Daphne.
3.12 – he refers to Malta as his “hard life”
Hello Daphne,
I’ve written on here a few times before. The crucial thing is that it’s approaching freezing at night here and something ought to be done to make sure this man is given shelter.
I don’t know where he is but judging by the fact that the train is heard braking as it’s going over the bridge, my guess is that he must be either outside Drumcondra, Tara street or Conolly stations.
I’d say the last two would be more probable than the first although I must confess going past there often and never having seen him. I’ll actually go and try and look for him and see if I can put him in touch with the St Vincent de Paule people. That’s assuming he wants to be helped in the first place.
Regards
Jeff
Jeff, I may be totally wrong but the column bases topped by red bricks, and the black metal bars make me think of Pearse station.
I’ve checked some pics and at first view the architecture seems to match.
Under the Youtube video below, Mr. Mononey (who should be thanked for all this) writes that “This guy frequently beds down under the railway bridge at Westland Row.”
Westland Row is now Pearse Station. So Alexia is right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xd2w62aclM
Please leave him alone. I am well on top of this situation and I’ve spoken to a lot of people with better knowledge of situations like this than I have.
At the moment he is quite happy and although I give him breakfast occasionally others also give him food. I spoke with him about a shelter and he seems to be happy where he is and unwilling to change his routine.
I really don’t want people tormenting him as it could scare him and he could move to another location and be difficult to find.
Trust me, I’m well in top of this situation and only interested in his welfare.
Donal Moloney
There might be some ‘British accent’ in there somewhere, could be mixed parents or close relatives?
Are we STILL bickering over accents, for Clapton’s sake?
[Daphne – Yes, Neil, this is Malta, land of the people who can’t accept certain things, like the fact that the correct word is rikotta and that there is an accent used only by 2% of the population, and interpret any such suggestion as a major assault on their honour by people who have no right to live and how dare they think they are ‘something’.]
What we have for sure now are two quite lengthy interviews.
The accent is definitely Maltese St Edward’s or St Chrisostomos’.
The poor guy is somewhere between fifty and sixty and he obviously suffers from a mental illness.
His reply to the question about St Edward’s is indeed very telling.
His family were either aware of his predicament before or, if not, they must be aware now.
Let’s give them time to sort it out.
In the meantime I,personally, would value immensely the opinion of a few expert clinical psychologists who I am sure must be following this.
Please go ahead. Let us know what you think.
[Daphne – Perhaps you had better explain that you work/ed in medicine yourself. That way they’ll take your request more seriously.]
Any clinical psychologist worth his salt would know exactly what I am after.
While I appreciate all efforts that are being done to help this man, I don’t think it’s prudent to make a psychological assessment over two videos.
I too think he has some psychiatric illness, but I think we should stop there and focus more on helping the man find a stable and secure environment, as well as receive any medical help he may require.
I feel that anything more than that is plain prying. After all, he’s just a private citizen in need of help.
What is revealing is the “all right” repeated in rapid succession at the end of the interview when Donal asked Martin if he wouldn’t mind him passing round again.
I’d say his interest and curiosity are likewise aroused. I’m sure he needs time to let this pointed locational interest sink in, whatever his experience with Malta.
I wonder how computer literate Martin is?
Well, literate he most certainly is. He is also intelligent – if a bit off the rails – because he seems to steer clear of giving pointed answers without being rude to the gentleman speaking to him. There also seems to be a kind of wit in his replies.
I cannot agree more.
For instance on being asked whether there are any particular subjects he’s interested in reading, Martin, wittily, but politely replied “any subject which I can get any information from.”
I got the impression that there too, he was being reluctant to divulge more about this particular subject.
That’s why I went on to computer literate. He also seems quite well organised: Shirt change. Collar decent. Pullover with shape.
Much more to him than he gives away, evidently.
I would say he is computer literate and is probably following everything that’s being discussed about him. He frequents the library where internet access is at your disposal in most parts of the world.
Still not convinced, his thought that Malta was in Italy..
[Daphne – No, he didn’t. Listen again.]
Is ‘when I was small’ proper English or something we say locally?
[Daphne – Yes, it is. “When I was small, and Christmas trees were tall…”.]
Well-meaning Donal may well drive him into deeper caginess relaying these queries or even to find another spot.
Conversation ends with the intention of a third visit. Why is Donal Maloney so interested in Martin? I get the impression Martin wants to be left alone but is too polite to say so.
[Daphne – He is interested in Martin because we are. Our interest has given him an identity and he is no longer one of the many people sleeping rough who are invisible and ignored. Yes, of course he wants to be left alone. He has several of the symptoms of what looks to me – not an expert, but you would be surprised how relatively common it is – of schizophrenia. In situations where you have no family network to keep you in check and ensure that you are receiving treatment (some try to escape it) you end up just like that: on the streets.]
Again, let’s focus on helping the man first. It’s really unfair to label someone as having schizophrenia over two videos, and it’s not our business anyway.
I think the photographer and Daphne are doing a good job to make sure this man gets help. Let’s leave it at that. Diagnosis and medical help comes later.
If the concern is that he might be psychotic, he needs assessment by a psychiatrist not a psychologist.
He has a right to privacy and autonomy but he also has a right to be treated if ill.
If it turns out he is ill, and his illness is effectively treated with medication, he might make very different choices to the ones he is making now.
At the moment it is unclear whether he is making active informed choices or whether he is disabled by what are sometimes called negative symptoms. Negative symptoms include the symptom of avolition. This may be an explanation for his current presentation.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2833114/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avolition
[Daphne – I agree with you, JH. I absolutely detest this ‘they want to be left alone’ business, precisely because of what you say. Nobody wants to be ‘left alone’ to freeze, go hungry and unwashed on the streets in the driving rain and freezing temperatures, and if they do that is because they are by definition mentally ill and incapable of making decisions. People with very serious depression want to be left alone, too, don’t they, but we don’t exactly leave them to it until they top themselves, on the grounds that this is what they want. Refusing life-saving treatment for, say, cancer is another matter, because the person is fully compos mentis and that is a clear decision.]
I totally agree.
I find it very hard to accept that such a well-mannered and intelligent gentleman would end up in this situation by choice, unless he was suffering from a mental illness; and it is the severe mental illnesses, if untreated, which would lead to this situation.
There is no evidence to suggest alcohol or drug abuse from these videos, and Mr Moloney says as much himself.
As JH rightly explained, ‘negative symptoms’ follow psychosis, leaving a person with deficits in motivation, emotions, social interaction, speech and movement.
He does have the right to privacy and autonomy, but if his decisions are being taken within this context, he will definitely need psychiatric help and treatment.
I know you are convinced that Martin is a Maltese man from Sliema, and I do not wish for a moment to put in doubt your ability to recognise his accent as your own, but for my part I think it is extremely unlikely that he is Maltese. It’s all about probabilities.
You say he sounds just like the 2% of the population inhabiting a particular part of Sliema, and from a very particular social class. What are we talking about here? A total of 8,000 people? That’s 4,000 extant males, give or take a few.
I will not go looking up the population pyramid on the NSO website, but how many extant males aged 50 to 60 are we talking about? How about 800, piu` o meno.
I would say that, given the way our brain operates, it is unlikely even to find any Maltese male, of any social background, homeless in Dublin.
But the probability that one male out of 800, and of said privileged social extraction, perhaps even an Old Edwardian, ends up homeless in the streets of Dublin? I would say next to zero.
But well, of course it can never be zero, granted.
But what is the probability that one male out of 800, of said privileged social extraction, perhaps even an Old Edwardian, one that has ended up homeless in the streets of Dublin, and whose face, voice and circumstances have been blazoned all over the Maltese media for 36 hours, goes unrecognised by someone out there?
Well, you tell me.
[Daphne – You are assessing the wrong probability, Mr Attard: the probability of a Maltese man of that age and background being on the streets of Dublin. The probability you should assess (the one I did) is this: the probability of somebody with that accent, inflection and intonation being anything other than 1. Maltese; 2. from background X. That probability is next to zero. THAT is rational thinking.]
Well, he’s another scenario, Mr Attard.
What is the probability of a young woman found wandering homeless and disoriented on the streets of Dublin turning out to be Australian with a Maltese surname, and a fraudster with more than 40 aliases? And yet, it happened only a few weeks ago. It was all over the news.
Martin comes across as somebody who does not want to talk about his origins, or even talk at all – or at least, not to a total stranger who turned up with a cup of coffee, breakfast and a lot of questions.
He is polite in his replies but evasive.
Wrong reasoning. There must be hundreds of thousands of young Australian women with Maltese surnames. Granted that the fact that she is a fraudster makes her belong to a very exclusive cohort, but could her vagrant nature and the 40 aliases be related? Probably.
My reasoning still does not yield “zero” probability, but take a cohort of 800 men from a highly privileged social background (actually many less because the whereabouts of the vast majority are known), think of a proportion of these gentlemen who might end up losing all ties with family and friends and develop a propensity for homelessness, then dilute that over the whole population of the entire anglophone world, and you will see how improbable it is for one of them to end up in Dublin.
In any case, Martin himself has said that he is not Maltese, and I believe him. Don’t you?
[Daphne – He did not say he is not Maltese. Where did you hear that? And as I explained earlier, you are assessing the wrong probability and would consequently make a lousy police detective, who would first look at his accent and place it.]
Considering the accent, the fact that he actually admits having lived in Malta and considering the way in which he reacted at the mention of Malta, the probability of him having at the very least a deep connection to Malta is overwhelming.
I only go so far as saying “a deep connection” rather than simply saying outright that he’s Maltese purely for the fact that twice he says that he was born in Dallas, Texas.
He might be fibbing, about that, of course, but even if he’s not, his parents could easily have been, and probably were Maltese.
[Daphne – Have you any idea how many Maltese people of my generation were not born in Malta? You can’t tell because they look and sound like everyone else. The figure is even higher for those born in the 1950s. My best friend as a child was born in England in 1964 to 100% Maltese parents who were there at the time. One of the people I work with most closely was born in England too, to 100% Maltese parents, and brought back when she was primary-school age. People really moved around then: work, training, the military, official postings.
And you are forgetting one crucial thing, perhaps because you are younger than I am, and you had no direct experience of it so it is hard to picture now or even to imagine what it was like. The Malta I knew as a child was a massive military base, with military compounds, teeming barracks, married quarters, Grand Harbour packed with ships, an air base. The place was full of soldiers, sailors and airmen. Their wives ran households in the married quarters compounds or in flats rented outside them. Their children had their own schools at Tal-Handaq and St Andrew’s, or sat in class with us at our private schools if their parents preferred that.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of Maltese women married British or American servicemen over the years, or just got pregnant by them and were whisked off to have the baby elsewhere. Texas may tell you ‘oil’, but to the pre-Dallas (1980s TV show) it said ‘military base’. Texas has five military bases and Fort Worth is just next to Dallas.
I think what we are looking at here is the child of a Maltese woman and an American serviceman who may or may not have been married to each other. If a Maltese woman of X background (since we are apparently not permitted to talk about what sort of background that is so as not to upset others) became pregnant by accident outside marriage, she would at the time have been whisked away from Malta to have the baby out of sight. She may have followed the father to Fort Worth. Dallas is just next door.
What interests me about all this is that Martin repeatedly refers to himself at the age of five or six. He was with Mother Theresa when he was five. He was in Malta when he was five. “When I was small”, “when I was about this high”. It is as though something happened at around that age which changed the shape of his life.]
I also suspect that Martin moved around because of the military postings of his father. He mentioned Canada at some point.
Perhaps, when he was six, there was some kind of rupture.
I sincerely hope that this story ends well for Martin – he deserves some semblance of peace rather than simply resignation. At least, Mr Moloney is a source of warmth and kindness.
Yes I noticed that he always refers to anything in his past as having happened at around that age. I also thought it curious.
I completely agree with what you said above regarding his birth. All I meant to say was that even if he were born in Dallas, and hence strictly speaking an American, he would still be of Maltese extraction.
A serviceman father had also crossed my mind. Having a father in military service would also mean frequent relocations and would easily explain his travels.
I don’t think he means Mother Theresa the nun. In the 1950s and 60s she was practically unknown. And her order ran hospitals for incurables in India, not orphanages. This sounds like an in-joke – either his mother was called Theresa, or he was parked with a foster mother called Theresa, or an aunt perhaps. At a stretch, and I doubt it, perhaps the nun who ran the Ursuline creche in Sliema at the time was called Theresa?
[Daphne – Mother Theresa visited Malta in 1967. She was not at all unknown. And more so, she had a strong Malta connection: her righthand woman, Sister Douglas, formerly in charge of the boarders at St Joseph’s Convent in Sliema, was Maltese. Her sister Doris Hamilton nee Douglas was Norman Hamilton’s mother.]
Probability is a mathematical function. It can be bigger or smaller, and can go from zero to infinity. It can never be “right” or “wrong”.
[Daphne – Right in the sense of appropriate to the ‘investigation’, Mr Attard. Think of it as scientific research. Which probability should you assess as a priority: the probability of a Maltese man of X background being on the streets of Dublin, or the probability of somebody who speaks that way not being Maltese? The second, of course.]
There is one very important difference between your reasoning and mine. Mine is purely objective as I have invoked only actual numbers, i.e. irrefutable population statistics. Yours is based on an your own assessment of the person’s accent, inflection and intonation, and that is necessarily subjective.
In any case, YOUR probability is still not “zero”.
[Daphne – Sorry, I tend to forget how difficult it is to persuade people to think rationally in Malta. Here’s another probability for you to assess: what is the probability that I am better placed to know that way of speaking than you are? What is the probability that he is not giving anything away precisely because he knows, as I know, that his way of speaking marks him out?]
Simply excellent.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131126/opinion/Dalli-s-Mater-Dolorosa.496292#.UpWWj9I3uSq
I don’t want to be facetious, but this episode brings to mind ‘The disappearance of Mr Davenheim’ …
Why not summon a Maltese speaker living in Dublin to speak to Martin? His reaction will be a pretty good indication as to whether he has any ties to Malta. Amateurish I know but worth a try.
One must be tactful in such situations. I think it would be unfair on Martin to ‘surprise’ him with a Maltese speaker, especially since he doesn’t seem too comfortable with divulging much information about his origins.
@ Malteser I’m a Maltese living in Ireland and Donal has my contact details and if he needs me he will call me like he did yesterday.
Let us all give Donal the space and time that he needs.
Why do I get the feeling that his real name might probably not be Martin and he may have made a very conscious decision long ago to cut off all contacts with his “mother” country, family and any friends in order to live a completely anonymous life? And this is the way he wants it to be? And I won’t be surprised if he soon disappears once again?
[Daphne – Lots of people do that, Toni, but they do it under a roof, and with access to food and at least the most basic comforts. You don’t have to live on the streets of a wet and freezing city to cut off contact and be anonymous. Where did this idea come from that people actually WANT to be homeless and hungry and that it is a lifestyle choice? Do you honestly think there is anybody sane who, offered the choice between food, comfort and shelter, and sleeping in a train station in temperatures below zero, would choose the latter? Of course not. I have read some ridiculous comments elsewhere on the internet, about people choosing to live as vagrants because it is “less stressful” than living in a house with a job and bills. For a start, not all people who live in houses have a job, as we know only too well, and secondly, how ever is it less stressful to live in those conditions, wondering every day how you are going to get through to the next, and in such atrocious conditions?]
It s just a hunch, but I get the feeling it goes deeper than that, such as something society may have done to him (or indeed vice versa) to make someone of this person’s social and intellectual background turn Maslow ‘s pyramid upside down and put himself at the lowest level of existence. And that it’s a mental thing, not a physical one. And yes, notwithstanding the atrocious conditions.
[Daphne – No, because the need for food and shelter is fundamental. When people want to get away, what they do is seek food and shelter in another city or country, and not live on the streets. People live on the streets because they have to or because they think they have no choice, not because they want to. Think of anyone you might know who has ever suffered from a serious mental illness like clinical depression, psychosis or whatever form, bipolarity, schizophrenia, and then ask yourself what would have happened to them if they were hived off, or hived themselves off, from their support network. Very often they end up in disaster even with a support network in a small island like Malta – let alone when they are deprived of it completely in a space where they are unknown and have no networks. Read about that man of 35 from Tigne suffering from acute bipolar disorder, in the law report in Times of Malta today – the prosecuting officer himself literally begged the court to order that he gets treatment. Now imagine that same man somehow leaves Malta and tries to survive elsewhere. What do you think is going to happen?]
Daphne’s assessment above is spot on.
I have never been close to my family and am quite a solitary person who enjoys life as a recluse of sorts. Yet the loneliness and emotional vacuum experienced as an expat were all-consuming and totally unbearable.
There is no safety net for expats and when mental illness takes hold, you become a danger to yourself – not as many people would think because you entertain thoughts of suicide, but more likely because you cut yourself off from reality, isolate yourself and end up living in your head.
To the untrained eye it may appear as lack of focus or absent-mindedness that can sadly put your life in danger as you become unable to take care of yourself or even to see to your basic needs.
This man needs help. An unwillingness to open up to others is not only a character trait but more crucially it may be a sign of mental illness, where the sufferer is able to come across as social and polite but really has reached the point of losing interest in social contact.
He might be in good hands. The photographer’s approach despite the actually invasive questions is somewhat kind and subtle. Coercion is not likely to work but gentle persuasion may.
He’s definitely not aware of the furore that surrounds him at the moment. I think it’s time to step back a little. I will continue to visit him and maybe update everyone in another week or two.
If he convinces me that he’s Maltese, I’ll chat again with the Embassy and see if anything needs to be done. We are both in agreement that a softly softly approach is best. Once I’m happy he’s healthy, I’d be very reluctant to do anything.
Update: I visited Martin again this morning with breakfast. We had a great chat and he now instantly recognized me.
I hope people leave him alone as I’m gaining his trust. It’s extremely difficult to work out the fiction from the non-fiction and the Maltese question is still not conclusive by any means. It may take me a while before I can make serious headway.
I will continue to visit him but for now he seems quite content.
If anything important arises I will put it up on my page http://www.facebook.com/donalmoloneyphotography
[Daphne – I agree with you, Donal, that he should not be pestered and that it would be a great thing for you to build a relationship based on trust. But really, it is not for you to judge whether he is Maltese or not, as you are not best placed to do that and it is not something he is going to talk about. He most definitely is Maltese, and with an accent that allows me (and others) to pinpoint even his background precisely. Listening to you speak leaves no doubt that you are Irish. It’s the same situation with Martin. Listening to him speak leaves me – and others like me who speak in the same way – in no doubt at all that he is Maltese. The Maltese people who say that they are unsure about his accent are unsure because it is not an accent with which they are familiar. If they were to hear me speak, they would probably say the same thing of me. I think I even have a fair idea of who he might be, but that requires discretion.]
Not to gainsay because you sound quite certain, but somebody mentioned Gibraltar; and has anybody heard a Bahamian accent? I’m glad, for Martin’s sake, Donal is taking a step back from the questioning.
[Daphne – I am certain. I grew up with that accent all around. I don’t suppose it occurs to many people reading this website that they have never actually heard me speak – not English, anyway.]
We’ll await the pleasure when you go to podcast then.
[Daphne – It’s never going to happen, Eric. I’d like to keep the little bit of privacy I have left.]
The Gibraltarian accent is uncannily similar to the Maltese. That is to say, to someone whose mother tongue is Maltese speaking perfect English. It is just too correct in that way that immediately identifies non-UK speakers, and then there are the vowel sounds.
I suppose it could well be genetics at work, since the timbre of a voice depends on the structure of the larynx, and the Maltese resonate their sounds way back in the larynx, not around the front of the jaw, as in received pronunciation.
See this for an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XlGgN7JL-4
[Daphne – Oh no, no, I don’t agree at all. I would never have said those men are Maltese, and in any case, what is the point here? This is the situation: everybody who grew up where and as I did instantly recognised the intonation, inflection and accent of the Dublin vagrant as being not only Maltese but actually ‘home’, while everybody else did not. So what does that tell you? Occam’s Razor.]
The point is nothing to do with Martin’s story. Just an academic debate on accents.
[Daphne – Yes, but I quite like to stay focussed. The issue here is not what other people’s accents are like. The issue is this:
1. everybody from X segment of the population, who heard that man speak, has recognised his way of speaking – for accent does not quite cover it – instantly and beyond doubt, as ‘down home’;
2. everybody who is speculating about the nature of his accent and whether he is Maltese or not does not come from that X segment of the population and does not have ears attuned to it.
Deploy logic to reach your answer. ]
Oh but there’s no doubt that Martin (if that’s his real name) is Maltese. I’m focussed. There’s very little that I can do, but I’m focussed.
[Daphne – OK thanks, then please say it loud and clear because there are some people round here who respect H.P. Baxxter’s statements more than they do mine.]
All right, chaps: Martin The Pigeon Man is Maltese.
I didn’t wish to comment on his story. Having lived for many years always one termination away from penury, I see tramps in terms of “There but for the grace of God goes Baxxter”.
It’s like looking into the abyss and seeing your own face staring back at you. Many are those who have slipped through the cracks of our cut-throat, money-worshipping system. Tramps are but one example.
There’s nothing more sobering than being asked for spare change and refusing it because you can’t spare any, even if you have a job and the bearded fellow doesn’t. That’s the sort of world we live in, folks.
If not English, what?
[Daphne – Maltese, obviously.]
Hmmm …
[Daphne – Hmmm nothing, my Maltese is better than that of a lot of people who speak nothing else but, for the simple reason that I actually know how to structure sentences. If you know the importance of grammar in one language, you know the importance of grammar in another. Most of the people giving replies in vox pops on Republic Street are completely inarticulate in the one language they know. Stupid of you to think that somebody who can master the myriad mysteries of one of the world’s most complex languages can’t get to grips with a language as simple and basic, and with such limited vocabulary, as Maltese.]
Daphne, why did you delete my last comment?
[Daphne – Because you uploaded the same comment twice and I had already uploaded it once. I even answered you at length.]
Daphne… You seem 100% sure he’s Maltese. I spoke with him again this morning for about 20minutes and I still have a very open mind to his nationality. The only thing that I know is 100% sure is that he hasn’t said anything to convince me yet. I’m now going to ease off on the questions and speak to him like I would a buddy. By gaining his respect and trust I may eventually get to the bottom of this. My curiousity is like most people here but I now have a connection with him and it’s his wishes that are most important in the short term.
[Daphne – Yes, Donal, I’m sure. And so is everyone else who grew up attuned to that accent and intonation, which is only around 1% of the Maltese population. If you’re getting floods of Maltese people telling you they’re not sure about his accent, it’s because they don’t belong to that 1%, are not familiar with the accent and intonation, and so their ears are not attuned to picking up what is obvious to the 1,000 or so people who speak exactly like that and the 3,000 or so people who live with them. It’s very particular. There is absolutely no mistaking it if you live with it. What you’re picking up as the Irish lilt is actually part of it. Usually I’m asked if the peculiar intonation is Welsh. And I think you are taking the right approach.]
Hi Donal – apologies if I’m repeating what others have said, but it’s important to clarify a Maltese linguistic trait that must be pretty much unique to this little island. Many of the locals like to think they are more English than the English themselves, hence the exhausting stream of expert opinions, when it comes to Martin’s utterances. They’re all, largely trying to be better than everyone else here. It’s important to them.
(I’m English but have lived in Malta for many years, incidentally.)
Back on subject and, to be fair, Martin’s accent would be instantly, widely accepted as ‘posh English’ by almost all English speaking people, be they English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish…you get the picture.
But as Daphne keeps stressing (don’t know where she gets the patience from, I know that the pettiness of their pointless squabbling has almost put me off the story altogether unfortunately), the man’s accent is SO unmistakably that of the tiny Maltese socio-educational group that she tirelessly keeps pointing us to, here in Malta, that it is like a birthmark or label tattooed on his forehead. She is correct to force her point home against the deluge of mindless contradiction, because she is right! Simple as that.
If you had the benefit of spending a few years living and working here, mixing with the locals and even learning Maltese, you’d better understand the crux of the argument when it comes to this whole pronunciation/accent issue.
Such a shame that the big story, as far as this notebook is concerned, is now Martin’s accent, rather than his predicament, unfortunate as it may, or may not be.
[Daphne – Thank you, Neil. The pettiness of the naysayers is not only exhausting and off-putting, it is actually insulting, arrogant and stupid. These are people who know NOTHING about the people I am talking about, whereas I actually AM one of them, and yet they presume to set me straight on whether I can recognise the ‘tattoo mark’ voice and accent by which I was literally surrounded for most of my life. It’s the equivalent of me going up to a Yorkshireman and telling him ‘You say that’s a Geordie accent, but you know, I have my doubts.’ It’s just unbelievable. What is more unbelievable is how a relatively tiny group of people with their own peculiar way of speaking can pass completely undetected through life in a small island, with others unable to differentiate between this accent and what they think is tal-pepe: ‘u ejja maaa, how stupid, come on, ta’. And it is as though some people here are actually hoping he isn’t Maltese, so that they don’t have to bother about the story.]
Daphne, I am really curious how you ‘found’ Martin in the first place.
I live in Gozo so I could’ve never been able to connect his accent to any social group from Sliema’s core.
My first impression was that he is very well mannered, educated and wise.
I cannot imagine myself answering to a journalist or whoever so politely when I am thirsty, hungry, freezing and just woke up after such cold nights on the concrete floor.
[Daphne – Yes, my point exactly. It’s not only the accent you have to be looking at. It’s his entire manner and his education. As for the accents, when it comes down to narrowing within a broad category, those who are in it know it. I can’t tell the different Gozo accents apart. I didn’t find him. An Irish friend in Dublin read the article and listened to the interview first uploaded on an Irish site by Donol Moloney, and instantly recognised his speech as 100% Maltese. So he sent it to me. I find it really weird that an Irishman who spent just three years in Malta – albeit mainly among people who speak like that – should recognise the man instantly as Maltese, while so many Maltese people do not. It just highlights what separation there is between different groups of people in Malta.]
Actually the comment I posted at circa 3.50pm was not the same as the earlier post, but no worries.
[Daphne – Yes, it was a cut and paste repetition.]
The picture of Martin at 4.06 definitely reminds me of someone from years back. His name was XXXXX and his background matches that of Martin’s.
I’m not so sure about the Dallas, Mother Theresa, etc connection.
[Daphne – Would you please email me at [email protected]?]
To be honest I cannot sense any Irish lilt in his accent or Welsh for that matter. Anyway, it will still need a lot more evidence to convince me that he’s Maltese. Only time will tell.
[Daphne – How many Maltese people do you know, Donal? I have never met you, but I can tell from your voice that you are Irish. In the same way, I can tell from his voice that he is Maltese. You probably make the mistake of thinking that all Maltese are standard, stereotypical ‘Mediterraneans’: short, dark, swarthy, with a coarse voice and very rough. If that is so, you couldn’t be more wrong. There are plenty of Maltese who look more Irish than the Irish, for example.]
Mr Moloney, I have to agree 100% with what Daphne is saying here. I am Anglo-Maltese, with an English father and Maltese mother. I spent my formative years (from six to 21) living in Malta and speak both English and Maltese.
When I heard Martin’s voice, it was instantly recognisable as Maltese and from the social background to which Daphne refers.
The physical appearance of the Maltese can vary quite a bit depending on their ancestry. Many of my Maltese mother’s family were fair-skinned, blonde and greened-eyed because their ancestors were from northern Spain. Not what you might think of as typical Maltese-looking. My sister and I, because of our genetic background, ended up being tall, thin, fair, blonde and blue-eyed.
I think that it is admirable that you are trying to help Martin. He seems like a nice chap and it is sad that he has fallen on hard times. Have you asked him what his surname is, as that could provide an answer to many of the questions that we all have.
Donal,
Martin’s diction is the same as my father’s (who is Maltese and a generation older than Martin, but from the same area in Sliema that Daphne is talking about).
Albeit there might since have been other influences, nevertheless underneath you can still hear a Maltese voice, pronouncing English words in the correct distinctive fashion he was taught from that time at school and at home.
And like many other Maltese, no matter how well-educated their accent, he slips into ‘tink’ rather than ‘think’ and for me that’s very noticeable too.
Donal, because it’s a small island Maltese people are very good at spotting each other by the accent. Getting on with each other is another issue.
I know more Maltese people now :-). Emails, telephone conversations and even TV phone interviews have taken up far too much if my time in recent days.
I visited Malta many years ago during a World Cup football qualifier. That’s about it. Maybe Martin can teach me more :-).
A few Maltese people also seem to think he’s not Maltese so I could be forgiven for thinking the same.
I am very acquainted with many well educated British individuals who have very similar accents. I am also aware of a few well educated Irish people with very similar tones and I doubt most non-Irish would recognize them as being Irish. I’m keeping an open mind for the time being.
I’ll be in touch as soon as I discover anything significant.
[Daphne – Donal, this all VERY trying. The man is Maltese. Nobody in Britain has a similar accent unless they are also of Maltese origin. That is a 100% Maltese accent with absolutely no British in it. There are different kinds of Maltese accents and that is one of them.
It sounds British to you because the vowel-sounds and inflection are close to that of a well-educated British accent, however it is clearly distinct from a British accent and anyone who truly has a well-educated British accent will recognise this accent as completely different. Similarly, most Maltese who have an accent like Martin’s can – because of their background – distinguish between different types of British accents better than most British or Irish can and will never mistake this accent for British.
99% of Maltese do not speak anything like Martin does and have rarely encountered somebody who does. That is why so many of them think he is not Maltese. But when you grew up hearing that accent all the time, as I and many others reading this website did, you recognise it as Maltese.
It is a safe bet for me that none of the Maltese who told you that he does not sound Maltese sounded anything like him. That alone should tell you that they haven’t a clue what they are talking about. I’m sorry to press this point home, but there really are no ifs and buts about it: that is a Maltese man. Definitely.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. And here you have a situation where every single Maltese person who sounds exactly like Martin knows that Martin is Maltese, and the only people who are doubtful are non-Maltese and the Maltese who don’t sound like Martin and who never had access to people who do.
That is NOT a British accent. That is Maltese.]
Less of the CAPITALS please Daphne :-). What’s “VERY trying” is the real work I am putting into this. I shall be in touch as soon as I have some REAL evidence :-).
[Daphne – My apologies, Donal, and I really do admire what you’re doing. If it were not for you, nobody would have known this at all. My point is merely that keeping an open mind just takes you down various routes in vain. You’d be quicker working on the assumption that he is Maltese, and then discounting that if necessary. Though of course, it won’t be necessary. Sorry, but I had to say that…Best of luck and keep in touch, please.]
I speak English in an unmistakeably British accent. I won’t say where from, but it’s one of the most unmistakeable and instantly identifiable accents.
I am half Maltese and lived in Malta and used to regularly get hassled by Maltese people who thought I was tal-pepe.
It happened so regularly I was uncomfortable catching buses and things like that when I was with friends.
It always amazed me that they couldn’t differentiate between these and other accents. So I wouldn’t read too much into the fact that many Maltese people don’t recognise this accent, Donal.
It’s a thorny issue, many people are blinded by prejudices related to accents and English-speaking people in Malta. Also, some people just aren’t that observant, quite frankly.
Linda, I have asked him his surname and he has told me. I have passed it on to the embassy and they are checking it out although they didn’t seem to recognise it. It’s a reasonably popular English name.
Sorry but there’s far too much speculation surrounding this man and I’ve even had one individual in Australia telling me a friend of hers knows who it is. Again, I do not want to say anything until I have conclusive evidence.
I don’t want to say it in public because I want everything to check out 100%. My gut feeling is that Martin may not even be his name and that he has lived with this pseudonym for many years to protect himself.
This whole thing is taking is far too much of my time so for now I’m just going to keep it between me and Martin unless he gives me something I believe to be concrete.
So for now I’m stepping back from this blog. Thank you all.
Has it crossed someone’s mind that this person may not wish to be identified, and through this, involve relatives of his who have a certain standing in Malta?
Perhaps we should write less about this unfortunate person and let those who are close to him now gain his confidence more.