Darryl Kavanagh of Whitchurch, Cardiff, opens up on his current battle with online trolls, Blackmail, threats of physical violence from people trying too steal his business’s
Darryl Kavanagh has a remarkable entrepreneurial past, starting business in the hospitality trade from a young age whilst working for the family business, he has bucked trends, broken records and has launched businesses in around the world before coming to Cardiff, Wales but since business complications with the likes of the Seafood Shack, people have been ‘Out to get him!’
With an extensive background in the hospitality business. Darryl started out working for the family business from the age of 17. His mother and father had bars and small hotels which they ran themselves. He trained with the world famous Bass Charrington at 19 and travelled for a couple of years through Europe. Completing a business and law degree at just 20.
During the recession in the late 80s Kavanagh’s father wasn’t in good health and he was thrown into the business.
“I took over Fat Sams in Waterford, Ireland. It was our family run bar and rebranded and expanded it. Within 4 years, I had transformed it into Muldoon’s which became the region’s best known landmark bar. I drove turnover to an incredible €7.5m per annum – with the addition of a club and restaurant. In 2004 I sold Muldoon’s.”
We discussed what was currently happening with his businesses in Cardiff with him and his son David Kavanagh:
“I find It extraordinary! I now have to sit down and defend my reputation, to people that I have never met.
All because a someone can make websites ad use social media to attack me and my family with fake claims.”
Stated Darryl.
Mr Kavanagh continued
“I have never committed fraud. Never been charged or investigated for any offence with the exception of a parking fine. My, and my families name has been destroyed by people who wanted to destroy me for their own personal gain.”
”I came to Cardiff five years ago to open restaurant concept called Seafood Shack. Before I came to Wales I contacted someone whom I had met in Ireland as he worked in a popular 5* hotel in Maynooth Co Kildare which was also where I owned a nightclub called Manta. One of the biggest nightclubs in Europe.”
“This turned out to be the worst choice of my life. This is where the online destruction first started.”
“You may ask yourself ‘why have I waited until now to come out and give the details?”, well its very simple. I have other business disagreements with people that I have been involved with since and they have used the whole seafood shack debacle to create more ‘fake news’ on social media about me, I have also been subjected to threats of assault / physical violence on myself, my family here in Cardiff and even family back home in Ireland blackmail and that if I did not do what this individual wanted he would put out a video and statements saying that I was a fraudster, my son David was a fraudster and any companies we were associated were disreputable, which is what has happened”
This hasn’t just effected JR Taverns LTD but has even effects Darryls other businesses such as Emerald Green Group.
Popular Jack Russells bar in Whitchurch was subjected to a hijacking of all its furniture and equipment:
“We went in one day after being closed for several days due to serious concerns in the leadership team to find every bit of indoor and outdoor furniture had been stolen. All the cash registers were gone, as were the manuals for the bar, and various other important items, we found out that a business associate had arrived at the back entrance to the bar at around 4am that morning with two trucks and a handful of people. They removed everything! When we contacted the police they told us that it was a civil matter, so we had to turn to the courts.”
“2 or 3 weeks later destructive, awful slanderous rumors about myself my then pregnant partner and my son David were spread around the area of Whitchurch. The business suffered immeasurably. We had to take a step back from trying to make this fun local community Irish bar idea. It was then rebranded from Jack Russells to ‘Venue’ and wasn’t long before the trouble started again”
“February of this year my son David received an email from an individual whom lives in Spain, He told David that if he did not sign over his shares in the bar in Whitchurch, he would run us into the ground putting up websites for the purpose of blackmailing us. He stated he would release the links through Facebook.”
“Once again, we contacted the South Wales police and told them what was happening. This was taken very seriously and it was also reported to Scotland Yard and the Spanish authorities. Anarrest warrant has been issued for this individual in the UK and Spain. When he found out we had reported the blackmail thats when we recived death threats, including our 4-month-old baby and my Fiancé. We now have a marker against our property and the police patrol our home regularly. We are living in fear”
The problem the Kavanagh’s now face is the long drawn out procedure of having the websites removed. This can often take several months (especially as they were purposely created in countries with less slander laws to help them have these websites removed.)
What is an Internet Troll? (by Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead)
An internet troll refers to someone who deliberately writes and posts offensive and provocative content online with the intention of angering, upsetting or damaging the reputation of the subject of the comments.
If you own a business, an internet troll posting negative comments and remarks about you or your business could have an adverse impact on your business’s reputation.
A study published by the psychology journal Personality and Individual Differences in 2014, found that around five percent of online users who self-identified as trolls had high scores of personality disorders, such as psychopathy, sadism, narcissism and Machiavellianism.
The very nature of search engine rankings and keywords can make trolling especially damaging to a company. This is due to the fact internet trolls tend to use social media, forums and blog sites to publish their defamatory content. Google ranks such platforms highly and consequently, any trolling content that contains your company’s name is likely to be found when someone does an online search of your business.
One high profile case of an internet troll targeting a business owner, involved UK businessman Daniel Hegglin being the victim of ongoing trolling abuse. Hegglin became aware of the attacks in 2011. He discovered 3,600 websites that contained abusive and untrue material about him.
Instead of following the usual course of action reporting the websites to Google to have them removed from its search results, Hegglin took out an injunction against Google. The businessman appealed to the High Court to ensure the defamatory content did not appear in search results for his name.
Why Would Somebody Troll a Small Business?
There are many reasons a person may choose to troll a small business. A troll may be a past employee who wants to take out revenge on their former employer. He or she might be a competitor, looking to damage your reputation in order to get ahead in the market.
A troll could be an upset customer or a resentful supplier with qualms over payment or other issues.
Internet trolling of small businesses ranges from customers placing negative reviews on sites such as TripAdvisor and Yelp, to posting unfounded abuse on social media. For small business owners, having negative comments about their businesses on review sites can have the potential to destroy their business.
One survey about bad reviews and online trolling found that 75 percent of business owners admitted online reviews were important or very important to their financial well-being and reputation; one in six claimed unfair negative posts could destroy their business completely.
It pays to be vigilant about mentions of your business online. Report damaging and defamatory website posts to search engines. Report social media abuses to the management of the site where it appears.. You’ll also want to report reviews of your business you believe to be invalid to the review site where they have been posted.
