A blasphemy art exhibition in Dublin during February is a direct response to the new Irish blasphemy law. It’s a fascinating show, and well worth a visit.
It is on in the Oonagh Young Gallery in James Joyce Street (formerly Corporation Street) off Talbot Street until Saturday 27 February, and is open from 12 to 6pm every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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.
Here is the first of the speeches from the recent Cork meeting against the proposed Irish blasphemy law. We will upload more soon. Thanks to Tom for filming and uploading the videos.
Lothar Luken, Cork poet and member of Humanist Association of Ireland
Here are the speeches from the recent Dublin meeting against the proposed Irish blasphemy law, along with discussion from the floor and responses from the panelists. There are nine videos, covering 80 minutes of the meeting. Thanks to Paul for filming and uploading them.
Introduction by Michael Nugent, writer and chair of Atheist Ireland
(10 mins: introducing the blasphemy law and the Church of Dermotology)
Robbie Bonham, comedian and cartoonist, on artistic expression
(10 mins: includes end of Michael Nugent speech; Robbie Bonham introduced at 0:55)
The first public meeting against the blasphemy law took place on Thursday 21 May 2009 in the Tower Hotel, Waterford. Here are the speeches by Michael Nugent, chair of Atheist Ireland and Barry Grant, Waterford citizen and campaigner.
Michael Nugent outlines the context of the proposed law
Barry Grant analyses the detail of the proposed law
Barry Grant, who will be speaking at the Waterford public meeting this Thursday, being interviewed on Waterford Local Radio news about the proposed blasphemy law.
Six months after the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten printed twelve cartoons of Muhammad in 2005, orchestrated Islamic outrage led to over a hundred people being killed and Danish embassies attacked in Syria, Lebanon and Iran.
The proposed Irish blasphemy law uses religious outrage as one of the triggers for determining whether material is blasphemous. This incentivizes religious outrage, and makes it more likely to happen.
Bloody Cartoons is a BBC documentary in which Danish director Karsten Kjaer examines the controversy and its impact on free speech in a democracy. It is filmed in Europe and the Middle east. Watch this important documentary, and campaign against the Irish blasphemy law.