Thank you to all who attended our public meeting on Justice Minister Helen McEntee's Hate Speech Bill last night. We filled out the hotel conference hall and nearly ran out of standing space at the back!
Professor Gerard Casey and Mattie McGrath TD were our first two speakers. Casey, a Philosophy academic, criticized the bill for its logical inconsistencies, while McGrath outlined how it may be used to censor political opposition.
Irish Independent columnist Ian O'Doherty lamented how Cancel Culture ended the careers of many of his colleagues in Journalism. He was followed by Senator Sharon Keogan who warned of the "chilling effect" a Hate Speech law would have.
Ed Shanahan, a barrister and law academic, explained the legal reprecussions of a Hate Speech law, and how it may just be the first in a "floatilla" of legislation designed to remove the rights of Irish people.
It was astoundingly successful evening, and hopely the first of many such events we intend to host across the country.