Last week, the Republic of Ireland held a referendum in which voters stood up for tradition and overwhelmingly rejected an unprecedented change to an important and long-standing institution. The minimum age for candidates for the largely ceremonial Irish presidency will remain 35 years, rather than dropping to a mere 21. However, it has to be… Read more »
Considering that Ireland is a traditionally Catholic and traditionally very musical country, it’s surprising how little the Emerald Isle’s traditional Catholicism has impinged on its traditional music. Having a dollop of Irish ancestry myself, I’ve heard good old Irish songs about drinking, courting, stealing, fighting the English, fighting the neighbours, fighting between Catholics and Protestants,… Read more »
Good humoured one-upmanship is fun and healthy. It helps us laugh at topics we usually take seriously. Canadian secularists and atheists are serious about making the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms a completely secular document because they object to the inclusion of a deity in the Charter’s preamble Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that… Read more »
The New Republic has published Jerry Coyne’s article about an Irish refugee forced to carry the fetus of her rapist called, Ireland Abortion Case Reveals Draconian Horror of Catholic Law. You may remember that Jerry Coyne writes at his own site, Why Evolution Is True and wrote a book by the same name. Take the time to… Read more »
Human justice is not an exact science, we have to try and balance the rights of the alleged victims with those of the accused. And it’s not always easy, but letting a select group of people get away with crimes, be they priests or bankers, or government, is not acceptable. There are no easy answers,… Read more »
St. Patrick’s Day has some religious significance, according to the Catholic Church, but for the vast majority of celebrants it seems to be much more about wearing some green, raising a pint or two of stout to the Emerald Isle, and perhaps listening to a bit of nice traditional(ish) music. I’m between the stout and… Read more »