Tag Archives: Ireland

Ireland’s lower legislative chamber, the Dáil, has just passed a civil partnerships bill. The Dáil has passed without a vote, all stages of the Civil Partnership Bill, giving new legal rights to non-marital couples. Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said ‘it was one of the most important human rights pieces of legislation the House had dealt with.’ Minister Ahern continued ‘to …

Queen Elizabeth II will visit Ireland next year, making her the first British monarch to step foot on the island since it became independent in 1921. Confirmation that the event, long discussed between London and Dublin, will take place next year has come from Ireland’s prime minister, Brian Cowen. It is time for “normal courtesies” to be observed between friendly …

A national poster campaign has been launched in Ireland to promote marriage equality. The posters can be seen on buses in Dublin and have been sent to libraries and community centers nationwide. Ireland does not recognize same-sex unions, but a pending civil partnerships bill would provide some, but not all of the rights of marriage. Orla Howard, Board Member, Marriage …

I prefer the over-the-top cheesy glitz of most Eurovision entries, but as power ballads go, this one is pretty good. (Despite a tiny hint of Titanic-ness.)

“I can’t remember much about the years of physical and emotional abuse my brother Eamon suffered. I was very small. The thing i do remember though, quite literally, is blood on his school shirt when he came home in the afternoon. The beatings and taunting were very frequent for my him and a constant part of his school years. I …

Emperor Palpatine has accepted the resignation of Bishop John Magee over the massive pedophile cover-up scandal that has roiled Ireland. “As I depart, I want to offer once again my sincere apologies to any person who has been abused by any priest of the Diocese of Cloyne during my time as bishop or at any time,” Bishop Magee said in …

Today’s my 3/8ths lucky day. (Tipped by JMG reader Seth)

“A true Christian is someone who, in any given situation, is supposed to ask themselves what would Jesus do, then try to do that. How an organisation which has acted, decade after decade, only to protect its business interests above the interests of children can feel it has the right to dictate to us what Christians should do is beyond …

JMG readers Vivian Cummins and Erney Breytenback write to let us know that their December wedding in South Africa is the first same-sex union ever to be noted in the wedding announcements section of the Irish Times. Published on Saturday: Vivian Cummings and Erney Breytenbach were married at their holiday home in Hermanus, South Africa, by the Reverend Pieter Oberholzer, …

On Friday a new law went into effect in Ireland making it a crime if anyone “publishes or utters matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion.” A blasphemy conviction can result in a fine of up to €25,000. …

Limerick Bishop Donal Murray has resigned in the wake of Ireland’s child molestation scandal. Last month the Irish public was shocked by the revelation that the Catholic Church had covered-up the abuse and molestation of thousands of students at its orphanages and private schools. Murray met with Pope Palpatine all this week and today the Vatican issued a brief email …

Ireland’s civil unions bill is set to sail through with little opposition. Except from some gay activists who says it doesn’t go far enough. Despite the fact that the bill represents a sea-change in Irish attitudes to sexual orientation, many have complained that it still allows some discrimination. “The bill is clearly a stepping stone but does not go far …

BBC radio host and newspaper columnist Father Brian D’Arcy says that the blame for the Catholic Church’s unfolding child molestation cover-up scandal in Dublin goes all the way to Rome. One of Ireland’s best-loved priests, Father Brian D’Arcy, has called for the resignation of clergy who knowingly covered up for child sex-abuse priests. Five bishops who once served in the …

For the second time in a year, evidence has emerged of a massive child molestation cover-up in Ireland’s Catholic Church. Ireland’s Catholic Church apologised Thursday after a damning new report showed it covered up child sex abuse over more than three decades. The Irish government also said sorry for failing to protect children in the wake of the latest report, …

Irish sports hero Donal Og Cusack, who came out yesterday in advance of the publication of his autobiography, today reveals that homophobic abuse from fans in the stands has driven his mother away from attending his matches. Donal Og recalled the moment he was waiting to take a free at a championship game in Semple Stadium, when a man started …

Donal Og Cusack, an Irish national hero in the rough sport of hurling, has come out of the closet in a new autobiography. All-Ireland hurling star Donal Og Cusack has revealed in an explosive autobiography that he has slept with both men and women before realising he is gay. The player has lifted the lid off his bisexual past in …

I think we saw an almost identical ad during Prop 8, but this one from Ireland still gets the point across. (Via – Father Tony)

Amnesty International is issuing a stern condemnation of the Ireland’s plan to offer civil partnerships for gay couples, saying the unions are for “second-class people.” Amnesty International Ireland executive director Colm O’Gorman is to describe civil partnerships as “a second-class form of marriage for what the government clearly feels is a second-class group of people” in a speech tonight in …

Ireland’s minister for justice Dermot Ahern says that he will seek the enactment of a nationwide civil partnerships law for gay couples by the end of 2009. He told the Sunday Business Post that the commitment give state recognition and protection to civil partnerships will be ‘‘implemented in full through the forthcoming Civil Partnership Bill, which I will publish within …

“The proposed Irish civil partnership legislation is a big mistake and an insult to same-sex couples. It is a rejection of marriage equality. Separate laws for gay people are not equal laws. Civil partnerships will reinforce the ban on same-sex marriage and thereby reinforce discrimination. They will extend discrimination by denying heterosexual couples the right to have a civil partnership. …