News

question 12 of the 2016 census on the question of religion
29 March 2016

Individual Census Forms

With the census coming up on April 24th next month there are some points not covered in the FAQ on census.ie The census questions are split into two blocks, one for individual questions and one for household questions. Question 12 of the individual block asks...

29 March 2016

Atheist Ireland will brief UN this week on religious discrimination

Atheist Ireland will be in Geneva this week, to brief UN Human Rights Council members, as all UN countries prepare to question Ireland in May about Ireland’s human rights obligations under all UN treaties. This is one of our most important lobbying interventions since we...

27 March 2016

Atheist Ireland declines invitation to State events marking 1916 rising

Atheist Ireland has declined an invitation from the Irish Government to attend today’s State Ceremony at the GPO, and State Reception in Dublin Castle, marking the 100th anniversary of the 1916 rising. We welcome the intention of the Government to be inclusive of people of...

27 March 2016

Nearly 100 years after the rising, agents of a foreign state control our schools

Nearly 100 years after the 1916 rising, which supposedly led to Irish independence, the Vatican-run Catholic Church controls the vast majority of our publicly funded schools at both primary and second level. The Irish State cedes control of education to the interests of Patron bodies....

23 March 2016

Catholic schools will not objectively teach new Religions, Beliefs and Ethics course

The Department of Education is planning a new primary school course of Education about Religions, Beliefs and Ethics. While this sounds good in theory, it will not be delivered objectively in practice. This is because the Irish State cedes control of the ethos of schools...

2 March 2016

Atheist Alliance International publishes Gender Balance Report

In a project instigated by Atheist Ireland, Atheist Alliance International has published a Gender Balance Report. It was coordinated by John Hamill, Atheist Ireland’s representative on the AAI Board, with input from Ashling O’Brien, Atheist Ireland’s Regional Officer, and Professor Sabina Brennan of the School...

23 February 2016

Which Irish political parties have the most secular policies?

How do the political parties in this Friday’s General Election stand on separation of Church and State, with a particular focus on secular education and blasphemy? Atheist Ireland is not asking people to vote for any particular party or candidate. Atheists and secularists are typically...

20 February 2016

Atheist Ireland to host talk by Aron Ra

Atheist Ireland are proud to host a talk by Aron Ra. Well known debater and YouTuber Aron Ra makes videos promoting science education in an area where creationism is often promoted even in public schools. As Texas State Director of American Atheists, he is an...

19 February 2016

Atheist Ireland to address UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March

Atheist Ireland has been selected to speak at a pre-session meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March, as part of the lead-up to the Human Rights Council questioning Ireland about its human rights record in May. During the Pre-session meeting, several...

18 February 2016

Irish Atheists, Evangelicals and Muslims unite for Secularism at Inter Belief Day

Jane Donnelly and Michael Nugent took part in a very positive Inter Belief Dialogue conference in Mary Immaculate College Limerick yesterday. There were representatives from the NCCA, which is currently preparing a State course for primary schools about religion, beliefs and ethics, as well as...