Atheist Ireland

Atheist Ireland

23 February 2017

Atheist Ireland paper on abortion rights for Citizens Assembly presentation

Atheist Ireland will be addressing the Citizens Assembly on abortion rights on 5th March. As part of the process, we have submitted this paper today to the Assembly for circulation among its members. As well as the overall Atheist Ireland case for respecting individual conscience,...

22 February 2017

Atheist Ireland asks Citizens Assembly to invite Termination For Medical Reasons

Ashling O’Brien of Atheist Ireland will be addressing the Citizens Assembly on 5th March on the question of abortion. Yesterday some people questioned why the Assembly did not invite Termination For Medical Reasons along with the seventeen representative and advocacy groups that it did invite....

14 February 2017

Atheist Ireland to address Citizens Assembly on abortion rights and respecting individual conscience

Atheist Ireland will address the Citizens Assembly on abortion rights on Sunday 5th March, along with other advocacy groups and representative bodies. Unlike previous weekends of the Assembly, which only ran until 1pm, this meeting will continue into the afternoon in order to allow for...

8 February 2017

Atheist Ireland asks IHREC to investigate human rights breaches in Community National Schools

Atheist Ireland has sent the following letter to the Irish Human Rights & Equality Commission, asking it to investigate human rights breaches in Community National Schools. RE: ETB / Community National Schools / Section 42 (1) IHREC Act 2014 Dear Irish Human Rights & Equality...

3 February 2017

ETBI/CNS now using new phrase “belief nurturing” to hide reality of faith formation during school day

It has become clear over the last week that the Minister for Education is supporting ETB Community National Schools. We are very concerned about the establishment of Community National Schools at primary level, given the record of ETBs in relation to the teaching religion at...

30 January 2017

Now Minister Bruton wants to pay Catholic Church for Christian ETB schools to use their buildings

The Minister for Education has announced yet another consultation process in relation to religion and education. This time he hopes to pay the Catholic Church rent for school buildings, if they agree to a different Patron body running a small number of schools, while the...

29 January 2017

Template to help you make a short submission to Minister for Education’s consultation process

The Minister for Education, Richard Bruton, has formally launched his four-week consultation process on his plans to address the role of religion in school admissions. Please make a submission, however futile you may feel it to be. Atheist Ireland has prepared the template below for...

29 January 2017

Minister Bruton is wrong – Community National Schools are not based on international best practice

In a speech last week at the IPPN Conference, the Minister for Education said Community National Schools reflect international best practice in the area of faith and belief nurturing. He is wrong. He says that international best practice encourages schools to celebrate religious festivals and...

25 January 2017

The world has lost a strong human rights advocate with the death of Sir Nigel Rodley

We at Atheist Ireland are sad to hear of the death of Sir Nigel Rodley, former Chairperson of the UN Human Rights Committee, a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists, a trustee of Freedom from Torture, and UN Special Rapporteur on torture. He was...

16 January 2017

Equate gives TV3 ultimatum to remove Jane Donnelly of Atheist Ireland from interview

TV3’s Ireland AM has invited and then removed Jane Donnelly, Human Rights Officer of Atheist Ireland, from an interview this Tuesday morning about the Baptism rule in Irish schools. TV3 told Atheist Ireland that Michael Barron of Equate had issued TV3 with an ultimatum that...