I debated the Irish blasphemy law, in light of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, at UCD Law Society yesterday. Above is my contribution, and below is the full debate. The speakers were James Green, Fionnan Long and Adam Boyle for the blasphemy law, and me, Barry Hickey and Julien Mercille against.
Do we give religion too much privilege? I took part yesterday in this Sunday Sequence panel discussion on BBC Radio Ulster, with Usama Hassan of the Quilliam Foundation, Rabbi Jonathan Romain, and Peter Lynas of the Northern Ireland Evangelical Alliance, hosted by Audrey Carville.
Pope Francis yesterday used violent rhetoric about punching a friend if they insulted his mother. While I support the Pope’s right to use such rhetoric, in the context of a discussion about free speech, I disagree with its content. I think that it is unhelpful and irresponsible. I think that such language by a public figure […]
Pope Francis has said that we cannot make fun of faith. I debated this claim with Michael Kelly, editor of the Irish Catholic, on RTE1’s Drivetime hosted by Philip Boucher-Hayes yesterday. See also my analysis of the Pope’s statement here.
Pope Francis has said that there are limits to freedom of expression, that one cannot insult or make fun of faith, and that it would be normal to punch somebody who insulted his mother. I debated this today on RTE Radio with Irish Catholic editor Michael Kelly, and you can listen to that here. But […]
I debated the Charlie Hebdo cartoons with Ali Selim of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland on BBC Radio Ulster’s Talkback with William Crawley yesterday.
We now have three cast members confirmed for the return of the comedy musical I, Keano to the Olympia in Dublin from 28 March to 12 April 2015. The rebellious warrior Keano will be played by Johnny Ward, who has appeared on Fair City, The Centre, and most recently as Paulie in Love/Hate. The beleaguered General […]
I have yet to receive a reply to my email of ten days ago to FreeThought Blogs, in which I asked about the procedures for bringing a complaint about PZ Myers to the attention of their Executive Committee. I have now written a follow-up email. I reproduce both emails below.
Prime Time on RTE 1 broadcast this short history of the Irish blasphemy law yesterday after the Charlie Hebdo shootings. It is introduced by Miriam O’Callaghan, presented by Katie Hannon and features me as well as cartoonist Wendy Shea, Government Minister Aodhain O Riordan and Muslim cleric Ali Salim.
Here are my discussions of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons and Irish blasphemy law today on BBC Radio Ulster’s Talkback with William Crawley, and on Today FM’s The Last Word with Matt Cooper and David Quinn. I also discussed it on RTE’s Prime Time, which will be online later. BBC Radio Ulster with William Crawley Today […]