Ahern proposes Autumn referendum on blasphemy
Atheist Ireland welcomes the statement from Dermot Ahern, the Irish Justice Minister, that he is proposing a referendum this Autumn to remove the offence of blasphemy from the Irish Constitution, along with two other referendums that the government is already committed to. The Minister has told the Sunday Times that ...
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 ...
Justice Minister to Amend New Blasphemy Law
The Minister for Justice is proposing to amend his new blasphemy law by providing, as a defence, that a person accused of blasphemy can “prove that a reasonable person would find genuine literary, artistic, political, scientific, or academic value” in the blasphemous matter. He is not proposing to reduce the ...
Blasphemy Laws Protect Bigots, Not Religions
"A hundred years ago this month, Bernard Shaw’s little play The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet was refused a licence for performance by the English censors... How brilliant of Dermot Ahern to mark this important event in Irish intellectual life by reminding us of the absurdity of blasphemy laws. Does he really ...
In the News – Friday May 1
Position of blasphemy in our Constitution cannot be ignored (opinion piece by Justice Minister Dermot Ahern in the Irish Times) Churches not consulted about blasphemy law proposal (news item by Carol Coulter in the Irish Times) Crime of blasphemy dangerous and silly (opinion piece by John Waters in the Irish ...
In the News – Wed April 29
Crime of blasphemous libel proposed for Defamation Bill (news item by Carol Coulter in the Irish Times) Atheist Ireland responds to proposed law on RTE radio (recording of Liveline, with Michael Nugent of Atheist Ireland) Ahern defends blasphemy changes (news item on Irish Times website) Religion doesn't need protection (opinion ...