News

Photo of Leinster House
11 October 2021

The Frontline Workers Public Holiday should not be linked with religion

Atheist Ireland has sent the following letter to the Taoiseach and members of the Cabinet. The purpose of the new public holiday is to mark the efforts of frontline workers during the Covid pandemic. The most obvious way to do that is to call it...

10 October 2021

Secular Sunday #511 – Parents’ rights and attending religious education

This week’s Secular Sunday. To avoid missing out, sign up here to receive Secular Sunday by email   Editorial Parents’ rights and attending religious education   Atheist Ireland wrote this week to the Department of Education asking them to remove a Circular Letter from 2018...

3 October 2021

Secular Sunday #510 – Help to free Iranian blogger Soheil Arabi

This week’s Secular Sunday. To avoid missing out, sign up here to receive Secular Sunday by email *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*   Editorial Help to free Iranian blogger Soheil Arabi   Over 200 secular activists and groups have called for today, Sunday 3 October, to be recognised as...

3 October 2021

Free Iranian blogger Soheil Arabi

Over 200 secular activists and groups have called for today, Sunday 3 October, to be recognised as International #SoheilDay in solidarity with Soheil Arabi, an atheist political prisoner in Iran. The campaign is run by Maryam Namazie and Jimmy Bangash of the Council of Ex-Muslims...

Photo of Leinster House
30 September 2021

The proposed new bank holiday should be inclusive not religious

If the Government is to introduce a new bank holiday, it should not be named after or associated with any religious or atheistic figure or belief. It should simply be an inclusive public holiday for everybody, regardless of their religious beliefs or nonreligious philosophical convictions....

26 September 2021

Secular Sunday #509 – Misuse of public funds for in-service teacher training

This week’s Secular Sunday. To avoid missing out, sign up here to receive Secular Sunday by email *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*   Editorial Misuse of public funds for in-service teacher training   Atheist Ireland wrote a few weeks ago to the Minister for Education, the Oireachtas Education Committee,...

19 September 2021

Secular Sunday #508 – International funding of political campaigns

This week’s Secular Sunday. To avoid missing out, sign up here to receive Secular Sunday by email *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*   Editorial International funding of political campaigns   Millions of euros in international funding, including from America and Russia, are spent within European countries to campaign politically...

19 September 2021

International funding of political campaigns against sexual and reproductive rights

This article covers: Part 1 — Funding of Political Campaigns of Religious Bodies Part 2 — EPF Report on International Funding of Religious Bodies Part 3 — EPF Report on Agenda Europe Discussion Document Part 4 — Protecting Democracy from Big Money Between Elections Part...

Photo of Leinster House
12 September 2021

Secular Sunday #507 – Zappone scandal and political purposes

This week’s Secular Sunday. To avoid missing out, sign up here to receive Secular Sunday by email *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*   Editorial Zappone scandal and political purposes   The Katherine Zappone scandal underlines why it would be bad for democracy to weaken the SIPO laws that regulate...

Photo of Leinster House
8 September 2021

Zappone scandal shows need to protect legal definition of political purposes

The Katherine Zappone scandal shows quite clearly what everybody knows: that most political influence is sought and granted or not between elections, not merely during the few weeks of a formal election or referendum campaign. That is why Atheist Ireland is lobbying to strengthen, not...