Category Archives: Blasphemy

Peter O’Hara of Mid-west Humanists talks about the Blasphemy Law

By Ygern | Published: June 10, 2010

You can find out more about Mid-west Humanists on their website here

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Paul Gill to finish 25-day blasphemy walk today

By Atheist Ireland | Published: May 31, 2010

Today, Monday May 31st, Paul Gill of Atheist Ireland will finish his 25-day walk the length of Ireland to raise support for the promised blasphemy referendum. Please send him a text now to congratulate him at +35386 7325365.

Also, if you are in Ireland today, why not join Paul on the last leg of his epic walk? You can meet him at the Malin Hotel, Malin between 3:30-4:00pm on Monday 31st May. Malin to Malin Head is a 12km walk so should take about 2 & 1/2hrs to complete. If you can’t make it then he’ll see you at Sandino’s Bar, Derry at 8:30pm.

Throughout the length of Ireland from Cork to Donegal, Paul has failed to find a single person who supports the blasphemy law. On one occasion, he thought he had found one person who wanted blasphemy outlawed, but it turned out that person had got blasphemy mixed up with bigamy!

People all along the west coast have been incredibly supportive. Many people have refused to take payment for meals and staying at campsites, and comedian Tommy Tiernan met Paul to express his support. And you can give him a boost by joining him today, either on the final leg of the walk or later in Sandino’s bar, or else by texting him a message of congratulations to +35386 7325365.

The first few daily videos of his walk are online on the Atheist Ireland YouTube channel. Tom Kennedy,who travelled with paul to video the walk, will gradually put the rest of the daily videos online over the coming weeks.

Posted in Blasphemy | 3 Comments

Update from the Long and Winding Road

By Ygern | Published: May 14, 2010

PGill

More pictures and contact details are on the walk’s Facebook page

Also posted in Politics, Uncategorized, Video | 1 Comment

25-day walk for Irish blasphemy referendum

By Atheist Ireland | Published: May 6, 2010

NEW: You can send Paul a message of support on 086-732-5365

Starting today, Thursday May 6th, Atheist Ireland member Paul Gill will walk the length of Ireland, from Mizen Head in Cork to Malin Head in Donegal, to highlight the need to vote Yes in the coming Irish blasphemy referendum.

On January 1st, the day Ireland’s new blasphemy law became operational, Atheist Ireland published 25 blasphemous statements on our website. We continued lobbying at home and at European Parliament level. We also supported two blasphemy-themed art exhibitions in Dublin.

In March Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said he will propose a referendum later this year, along with other referendums, to remove the reference to blasphemy from the Constitution. Paul’s walk will encourage people to campaign for, and vote yes in, this referendum.

Appropriately, Paul’s walk started on May 6th, which is International Day of Reason. And to mark the start of Paul’s walk, we now publish 25 quotes on the Irish blasphemy referendum and the right to freedom of expression.

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Also posted in News, Politics | 3 Comments

Paul launches blasphemy protest

By Ygern | Published: April 29, 2010

Paul sets off at 10am from Mizen Head on Thursday 6 May

From BBC News

Blasphemy man begins long protest

An atheist is to walk the length of Ireland to protest against the Republic’s new blasphemy law.
Paul Gill, a former social worker from Donegal will set off on his 625km trek on Wednesday.
He is protesting against a new clause in the Defamation Act 2009 that makes blasphemy a crime punishable by a fine of up to 25,000 euros. He said: “Theological thought crimes are draconian and dangerous, they belong in the past.”

Mr Gill told BBC News he wants to use the walk to create a platform for debate, and promote the idea of a secular constitution in Ireland.
He said: “In a historical context protest walks have been an effective way of demonstrating your beliefs, rights, concerns to the public at large in the hope of generating action.
“I believe a vigorous walk in the countryside beats any religion or superstition.”

More here

From The Derry Journal

A Buncrana man who is enraged that a blasphemy law has been introduced in Ireland says he’ll walk the length and breadth of the country in protest to it.

Paul Gill, originally from Manchester, but who has roots in Buncrana, plans on pounding the pavements from Mizen Head to Malin Head in a bid to generate awareness of the law he says ‘criminalises people’s freedom of speech’.

Also posted in News, Politics | 3 Comments

New blasphemous art exhibition opens in Dublin

By Atheist Ireland | Published: April 5, 2010

A new art exhibition titled Blasphemous opened (appropriately) on Good Friday in the Irish Museum of Contemporary Art (IMOCA) in Lad Lane, off Baggott Street, Dublin 2. It’s the second art exhibition to highlight and challenge the new Irish blasphemy law, which became active on 1st January 2010.

Since then, the Irish Justice Minister has responded to the campaign against the law by saying that he will propose a referendum, later this year, to remove the reference to blasphemy from the Irish Constitution, thus enabling the blasphemy law to be repealed.

This makes the new exhibition in IMOCA not just a challenge to the blasphemy law, but also a celebration of artistic freedom, and freedom of expression generally. The exhibition runs until 25 April and is open from 12 noon to 5 pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, or by appointment through contacting IMOCA.

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A celebration of artistic freedom and intellectual discourse at IMOCA

By Ygern | Published: April 1, 2010

The Irish Museum of Contemporary Art, Dublin is hosting the exhibition “Blasphemous” from 2nd April.

“Perhaps the most blasphemous notion to any religion is the existence and practice of all others, and so keeping that in mind we applaud the diversity of the artists’ practices, if only to present a tableau for debate.”

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Also posted in Politics, Religion | 1 Comment

Ahern proposes Autumn referendum on blasphemy

By Atheist Ireland | Published: March 14, 2010

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 “I was only doing my duty” in bringing in the new blasphemy law, and that “there was an incredibly sophisticated campaign [against me], mainly on the internet.”

Atheist Ireland thanks everyone who has helped to make the campaign against this new law as effective as it has been to date. It is now important we maintain the pressure on this issue to ensure that the referendum happens as proposed and, more importantly, that it is won.

We reiterate our position that this law is both silly and dangerous: silly because it is introducing medieval canon law offence into a modern plularist republic; and dangerous because it incentives religious outrage and because its wording has already been adopted by Islamic States as part of their campaign to make blasphemy a crime internationally.

The following is the text of the article in today’s Sunday Times:

Read More »

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Visit the blasphemy exhibition in the Oonagh Young Gallery

By Atheist Ireland | Published: February 8, 2010

The blasphemy exhibition in the Oonagh Young Gallery continues until Saturday 27 February, and is open from 12 to 6pm every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It’s a fascinating show, and well worth a visit.

This Wednesday at 7pm there is a special screening of Rocky Road to Dublin and The Making of Rocky Road to Dublin, which should be watched by anyone interested in secularism and censorship in Ireland.

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PZ Myers in Dublin promotes Atheist Ireland

By Atheist Ireland | Published: February 3, 2010

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