Irish Senator Defends New Blasphemy Law
Fianna Fail Senator Jim Walsh has become the first Irish Government politician to publicly defend the new blasphemy law since it became operational on 1 January (a spokesperson for the Minister for Justice did tell the Sunday Times that I was “some crackpot sitting in an attic somewhere”, but that ...
Campaign for a Secular Irish Constitution
Today is International Blasphemy Day, administered by the Center For Inquiry as part of its Campaign for Free Expression. Atheist Ireland is an advocacy group for an ethical and secular Ireland: see details in these Irish Times articles on the Irish blasphemy law and our first AGM. Atheist Ireland is ...
Blasphemy law delayed until October
The Defamation Act will probably not become operable until mid to late October, because the rules of court need to be amended to accommodate it. The Law Reform Division of the Department of Justice has confirmed that: "The Act is subject to a commencement order. It is intended to commence ...
Campaign to Repeal the Blasphemy Law
Today the Irish President signed into law the Defamation Act that includes the newly-defined crime of blasphemy. This law will become operable when the Minister for Justice signs an order making it so. Atheist Ireland will now campaign for the repeal of this anachronistic and dangerous blasphemy law, and for ...
Is the Blasphemy Law Unconstitutional?
Atheist Ireland has sent a letter to the President of Ireland, outlining our concerns about the constitutionality of the new blasphemy law, for her to consider before she discusses the issue with the Council of State tomorrow. In our letter we argue the following: The law is contrary to the guarantees ...
Dail Passes Blasphemy Law
The blasphemy law has now been passed in the Dail, as part of Defamation Act, with no debate on the blasphemy amendments. The debate was restricted to an hour (for the full Defamation Bill). Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said that extending time for the blasphemy amendments would just be regurgitating ...
Dail to Vote on Blasphemy Law Tomorrow
The Defamation Bill is scheduled for debate in the Dail tomorrow morning, Wednesday 8 July. The debate for the entire Bill is restricted to one hour or less. This means that there will be little or no time to properly discuss the blasphemy sections. Here is the full wording of ...
In the News – Sunday June 28
Rip it up and start again? (report by Sarah McInerney in the Sunday Times: groups representing gay rights, children’s rights, civil rights, women’s rights, one-parent families, humanists and atheists are all demanding that referenda be held to amend the 72-year-old constitution, the better to reflect the needs of modern Irish ...
Artists to Face Extradition for Blasphemy?
If Ireland revives its blasphemy laws, Irish artists and other citizens could face extradition to States like Greece or Turkey under the terms of the 2004 European Arrest Warrant. This allows one State to issue warrants for the arrest of citizens of another State, if the crime involved is a ...
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 ...