European Lawyers Oppose Blasphemy Laws
Justice Minister Dermot Ahern says that he is forced to revive the crime of blasphemy because of legal advice from the Attorney General. But independent legal advisors to the Council of Europe have advised that the offence of blasphemy should be abolished throughout Europe, in a report co-written by the ...
General Discussion and Comments Part 2
Discussion is welcome on this website. I’ve moved some discussion-based comments here to separate them from the specific themes of other posts. Please feel free to continue any discussions here that don’t seem to fit in anywhere else.
Public Meeting Next Wednesday in Cork
PUBLIC MEETING - BLASPHEMY IS A VICTIMLESS CRIME VENUE: METROPOLE HOTEL, CORK CITY DATE: WED 3rd JUNE TIME: 7-9pm The Cork meeting is the third of several being held around the country, organised by Atheist Ireland, an advocacy group for an ethical and secular Ireland. Speakers will include Michael Nugent, chair ...
Discussion of Dublin Public Meeting
The Dublin public meeting was a great success. Thanks to everyone who turned up, and apologies to those who could not fit into the room. We agreed to campaign against the new blasphemy law in four areas: Real-life and online lobbying of politicans. Contacting other relevant groups and individuals. Preparing ...
Join the Church of Dermotology
On Wednesday 20 May 2009, speaking at a parliamentary Justice Committee debating his new blasphemy law, Dermot Ahern joked that people were making blasphemous comments about him, and he compared his own purity to that of the baby Jesus. In response, on Monday 25 May 2009, at a crowded public ...
Stewart Lee on Blasphemy
Stewart Lee, co-writer of Jerry Springer The Opera, examines the impact of religious censorship on artistic expression (40-minute video).
Reminder – Public Meeting Today in Dublin
PUBLIC MEETING - BLASPHEMY IS A VICTIMLESS CRIME VENUE: WYNN'S HOTEL, ABBEY STREET, DUBLIN DATE: MONDAY 25th MAY TIME: 8-10pm The Dublin meeting is the second of several to be held around the country, organised by Atheist Ireland, an advocacy group for an ethical and secular Ireland. Speakers will include: ...
Speeches from Waterford Meeting
The first public meeting against the blasphemy law took place on Thursday 21 May 2009 in the Tower Hotel, Waterford. Here are the speeches by Michael Nugent, chair of Atheist Ireland and Barry Grant, Waterford citizen and campaigner. Michael Nugent outlines the context of the proposed law Barry Grant analyses ...
In the News – May 16 to May 22
Warning of blasphemy law's 'chilling effect' on free speech (news item in The Irish Times, May 19) Ireland's religion law flouts freedom of speech - watchdog (news item in The National Post, May 19) OSCE argues against blasphemy law (news item on RTE, May 20) Ahern 'bemused' by criticism (news ...
Submission to Justice Committee
The All-Party Justice Committee is meeting today to discuss the Defamation Bill, and we have arranged to send them a submission which will be circulated to them before they meet. Here is a draft of this submission. Any feedback welcome, before we send it over to the Committee. Update: the submission ...