I’m getting emails, phonecalls, texts and IM’s about Ganley – it is amusing and agitating many it seems. This joins the matter of the farce that is the Equality Authority board and resulting machinations in the LGBT sector as items keeping people talking when not concentrating on economic meltdown and mismanagement.
World by Storm indeed enjoyed running over the Roscommon speech and comments this morning on Cedar Lounge.
Patsy McGarry wrote more in the Irish Times today on Ganley’s thoughts on faith and public life. Carl O’Brien writes that Ganley is in court today trying to get the latest edition of Village Magazine banned. This is after yesterday losing his attempt to get that Primetime programme censured. Jamie Smyth runs his eye over the problems that have beset the registration of Libertas as an EU wide political party.
Oh the poor diddums, I almost got dizzy from reading all the stories in todays Irish Times. But there’s more – AUDIO of his speech – handy in case he denies ever saying something – which he’s been known to do!
If people wonder why it’s important to keep an eye to the latest pronouncements from Roscommon well I’ll let one of my readers, AL (one of the many who NEEDS to start blogging!) tell you why it’s important we know what he’s up to.
I see that you are drawing attention on your blog to the Declan Ganley/catholic right love fest that took place in Roscommon recently. This is an important story that needs to be covered widely. Ganley and Libertas have been trying to cynically mislead people into thinking that they are a broad coalition made up of both right and left and whose only concern was the so-called democratic deficit supposedly at the heart of The Lisbon Treaty. Ganley’s remarks at this far right conference and indeed similar comments that have not been as widely reported show that there is a far more sinister agenda at play here. Libertas, along with the usual suspects in Coir/Youth Defence, Human Life International, and The Vatican etc. see the EU as a liberal, anti-religious body determined to bring in progressive social legislation and this is anathema to them. Of course in the case of Ganley you can also throw an extreme neo-con outlook on economic issues into his toxic mix of opposition to the EU.
Ganley’s anti-gay stance needs to be exposed as much as possible. As well as believing that being gay is a choice and a harmful one at that and stressing his opposition to equal marriage to his ideological soul-mates in Roscommon, Ganley has also taken to warning people about the danger the European Court of Justice poses to religious run schools. Apparently Ganley is none too pleased that the right of these schools (unfortunately the vast majority of schools here in Ireland) to fire teachers based on their sexuality or anything else that does not conform to their “ethos” may be construed as discrimination and struck down by the Court. This is the same Court that finally forced Ireland to stop treating gay people as criminals (presumably Ganley would also have been opposed to this example of “meddling” from Europe) and it would be great if they also forced our government to drop the outragious exemption granted to religious bodies in the 1998 Employment Equality Act.
Link to Ganley interview where he refers to religious schools – http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/831/full
Finally, in Ganley’s Hot Press interview that you quoted from on your blog recently, Ganley had the nerve to talk about the wonderful gay people working for Libertas. I agree with you – It does indeed take a certain kind of person to overlook the above and work for such an individual. A bit like the Log Cabin Republicans in America really – a strange group of people who nobody takes seriously and who are widely ridiculed within the LGBT community.
Oh I’m sure we’ll have much more on this strange group of people – queers who work for Ganley and similar groups. Maybe someone can start a support group for them!
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I know I’m quoting not you but your correspondent, but there is a significant error that if repeated could be used to portray those who make it as not actually understanding even the basics about how “Europe” works. The error is here:
“Ganley has also taken to warning people about the danger the European Court of Justice poses to religious run schools.” [...] “This is the same Court that finally forced Ireland to stop treating gay people as criminals (presumably Ganley would also have been opposed to this example of “meddling�? from Europe)”
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) did not force Ireland to stop treating gay people as criminals. The ECJ is an EU institution, which decides on the application of the EU treaties. The Court that dealt with the criminal status of gay sex in Ireland is the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and it is not an EU institution. It is an institution of the Council of Europe, which is a much larger international body than the EU is.
Aaaaggghhh
I mistyped. Can you edit “European Court of Justice (ECtHR)” so it reads “European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)”.
Sorry. (and red-faced)
Are you awaiting your own legal proceedings Maman?
It won’t be long till hatred gets incited from our newest political party – (are they actually fully registered yet?) That’ll make it interesting to watch people justify their employment – the same people and their mates go on looking for gay marriage and equality and ‘normality’ etc while Ganley is now showing his true colours! I don’t think Declan and his pals will end up in a new Masterminds of the Right though!
Correction duly noted Tipster. I think even the most informed politicos among us can get confused with the different layers of law making that exist at European level. Anyway the central point that was being made in the above article is that Ganley is decrying what he regards as outside European interference into areas of domestic law. He mentions specifically how anti-discrimination laws should not impinge on family law. TRANSLATION: Plans to advance recognition of equal marriage and civil partnership across Europe which was recently debated in the European Parliament.
This would be a truly progressive move and is one of the main reasons I am a strong supporter of the EU – its ability to advance enlightened social legislation and insist on the principle of equality being upheld by all member states. Member States should at the very least be forced to recognise same-sex unions performed in other parts of the EU.
In this, Ganley is being true to form by aligning himself with his far right pals in Eastern Europe (a part of the world he seems to be very fond of!) who have fought tooth and nail against accepting the social/anti-discrimination laws of the EU while getting all the economic benefits that come with EU membership. I am of course referring to the likes of Latvia and Poland here.
As others have said, Ganley has shown his true colours and cleared up any doubt that might have existed in some quarters about where he and his misnamed Libertas organisation are coming from. They are an extreme right-wing/nationalistic outfit and claims to be a broad church is absolute nonsense.
I just hope Ganley has the guts to stand himself in the forthcoming European Elections. Apparently a FG poll has him coming last in the North West constituency which ironically contains the most socially conservative areas of the country! I for one would enjoy the spectacle of him being humiliated at the polls. I suspect I wouldn’t be the only one.
AL do you think that is merely a coincidence that Ganley is suddenly appearing at such events and wants to possibly run in “in the North West constituency which ironically contains the most socially conservative areas of the country!”
I’m sure the village is delighted – It’s sales will never have been so high
Oh I’m sure we’ll have much more on this strange group of people – queers who work for Ganley and similar groups. Maybe someone can start a support group for them!
There already was one – the Freedom Institute.
(boom, boom)
And if this “AL” is our once-colleague of the same monker from the late, great FIFieFoeFum, then he has been a blogger of sorts already…
The Life of St Declan « The Clockwork Chartophylax // Feb 11, 2009 at 17:00
[...] man of mystery, Declan Ganley has been in the news quite a bit over the last several days. Maman Poulet covers most of the details, but here’s a [...]