A few days ago, his most arseholey eminence Cardinal Brady offered his resignation to the big papa priest in Rome. Survivors of sexual abuse urged a speedy acceptance but we’re still left waiting for the pope’s sign off. Frustrated with waiting, Paul Doyle turned his imagination to the contents of Brady’s resignation letter. Dear Pope, It is with deep regret and a heavy heart that I must today request that you … Read More
Abortion Ship Doctor Slams Irish Policy.
News broke over the weekend that a woman was forced to bear her rapist’s child having been denied an abortion after going on hunger strike. Tracy Brown Hamilton chatted to Rebecca Gomperts of Woman On Waves about how Ireland’s laws are failing women. Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, 47, is the founder and director of Women on Waves, an organization that, among other things sails a ship to countries where pregnancy termination is prohibited and offers … Read More
Take The Boat.
Back in May two French film makers started a Touscoprod project to raise dosh to cover the production of a documentary on the lack of access to abortion in Ireland. Camille Hamet studied at the Sorbonne and in NYC before becoming a journalist, while Séréna Robin became a script writer after travelling. Their project has the working title of “Take The Boat” and with 158 backers it raised €10,080. The pair … Read More
Humiliating Turnout for Youth Defence in Belfast.
Youth Defence are on the move. Not too far unfortunately. Oireachtas Retort has a look at their day out. Back in 2012, our intrepid photographer had great fun outside the Dáil I have never been challenged so often at any demonstration as this evening as to whom I ‘represent’, which paper, and do I know the truth about the story. While being herded around the big screens carrying a … Read More
Dent Pride: Fears Father Dougal’s Brother Intends To Picket Dublin Pride.
An ultra-conservative Christian organisation called The American Society for Defense of Tradition, Family and Property are in Dublin this week and there are fears they plan to picket the Dublin Pride Festival. (apologies for the Dougal quotes, we couldn’t resist). The organisation appears to be the parent body of an Irish group named Irish Society for Christian Civilisation. The ISFCC promotes rosaries against abortion and seems to be heavily invested in the … Read More
The Iona Mind
Are we living in an Ireland of two halves? One looking towards a future of equal rights for all, free from the clutches of a church bathed in controversy, the other with more of a medieval take on things: anti-women, anti-LGBT, anti-choice. Oireachtas Retort investigates the proportions and finds that it appears to be the minority making the most noise. It would be easy to think of the Iona … Read More
Yanking For Jesus
So it’s marching season once again. The Vigil 4 Life is taking place tomorrow at Merrion Square albeit with less hype than previous years. We thought we’d have a quick look at the support online and it’s surprisingly non-native! The official Twitter account is @NatVigil4Life and has been quiet for almost a year. It cranked up again 9 days ago with a few tweets about free buses for the elderly … Read More
David Quinn’s Short Memory
It has been two months since Michelle Hennessy at The Journal started reporting on sex, lies and sellotape. At this stage we almost have the full set with Youth Defence caught claiming ‘women have a way of shutting it down’, the Precious Life ‘Guide to Sex’ and more recently Prolife Campaign are in on the act with ‘Lifeworks’ and Ronan Mullen promising “accurate, balanced and reliable information on pregnancy, adoption, … Read More
Life Goes On: Youth Defence Haven’t Gone Away You Know.
Youth Defence. Remember them? At last weekend’s poorly attended ‘Convention for Life’ Niamh Ui Bhriain & Bernadette Smyth outlined future plans. Oireachtas Retort sits through some crappy speeches. First off they are keen to emphasise the importance of ‘voting pro-life’. May elections will be the first concrete look at party standing since 2011 and anti-choice groups will be quick to claim the inevitable drop in government support. Niamh alleges she … Read More
Irish Far-Right Targets Pro-Choice Supporters
Reports of far-right involvement in last year’s two ‘Rally for Life’ events have proven to be correct. Here we document some disturbing online evidence (see gallery) of far-right nationalists identifying, tracking and indirectly threatening pro-choice activists. “People from all walks of life attended the Rally for Life in Dublin. A path to a better Ireland, national reconstruction.” This video of the Rally For Life is published by someone calling … Read More