Irish university could face prosecution following blasphemous exhibition
By: Daniel O'Carroll | Published Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 2:35 PM | Updated Friday, September 9, 2011, 10:22 PM
University College Cork, the usually quiet Irish university at the centre of an international controversy following a two day exhibition that featured a portrait of the Virgin Mary sporting a bikini, could now face criminal prosecution for allegedly violating recently introduced Irish blasphemy legislation, according to unconfirmed reports from a number of Irish websites.
Although national police (Gardaí) have thusfar declined to offer official confirmation that an investigation into the incident is ongoing (or even for that matter under contemplation), national Dublin-based news website
TheJournal.ie led a story into the incident that prompted a columnist with the UK's
The Guardian newspaper to speculate that the university could now have a "case on its hands" to answer, for having supposedly wilfully violated the provisions of the 2009 Blasphemy Act.
The Irish legislation, introduced amidst considerable controversy at the time, makes it an offence (felony) for a person to "utter" or "publish" anything that is considered "grossly abusive or insulting" to "matters held sacred by" any religion, and which causes "outrage" amongst a "substantial number of the adherents of that religion".
An important pro-viso in the legislation, however, exonerates one accused of the newly created offence if he/she can show that "a reasonable person would find genuine literary, artistic, political, scientific, or academic value in the matters to which the offence relates."
The case has supposedly been submitted by police for consideration to Ireland's national prosecutor, the Director of Public Prosecutions (the 'DPP' for short, current incumbent James Hamilton), although this fact itself rests on the very unshaky foundation of an anonymous blog entry supposedly emanating from the 'Association of Catholic Lawyers in Ireland' which claimed, in turn, that this had been confirmed to it by a Cork-based super-intendent.
What's rather unfortunate about this whole rather strange incident (the offending portrait was a tiny A3 piece of digital art nestled unassumingly amongst a number of other exhibits on display at the college) is that the people of Ireland deserve a definitive answer as to whether or not University College Cork (UCC) is going to be investigated for this exhibition, but such an answer has, now four days after exhibition began, not been forthcoming.
The Guardian's Pádraig Reidy, himself a Corkman, teases the legal implications of the incident out in this excellent columnn entry (namely, issues affecting Irish free speech, artistic expression, and more), but for all the commentary and debate surrounding the tiny exhibit-piece ( - even the 'America Needs Fatima' association led a prominent international e-petition that collected thousands of signatories opposing the display - ), people are still really none the wiser as to what is actually going on.
It was a 'controversy' that pitted figures as varied as the local bishop and politicians against what seemed like a majority in favour of letting it go ahead, but simply because some of the exhibition's most vocal opponents could easily be caricatured as religious fanatics isn't reason enough in itself to completely dismiss the question of the exhibit's legality from public consideration, or brush off as if they didn't exist calls that it should be investigated. The Garda Press Office hasn't even denied that the Catholic Lawyer Association's blog, which states as fact that the incident is to be investigated, is true.
If legislation exists on the Statute Book (compendium of current Irish law) that could make the exhibition illegal, then the Irish policeforce, as the enforcers of the law, should at the very least let people know what, if anything, they're planning to do about it. If some people were so aggrieved by the exhibit that they were willing to stand outside the college gates protesting in the pouring rain for two whole days, then the least they deserve is an answer to this question. Stupefied silence simply isn't good enough.
And legally, given the fact that a "substantial number" of Catholics in this country did indeed feel "outraged" by the exhibit, it really comes down to whether or not the elusive "reasonable person" would have considered the depiction to have enough artistic merit to offset whatever illegality it might otherwise have accrued during the course of its display. It's a legal conundrum that can't easily be answered either way.
Whether or not the exhibit was 'blasphemous' is actually a fairly close call, but one which the Gardaí, at least in the interest of clarifying the highly controversial blasphemy debate, shouldn't simply choose to ignore.
The Danny Boy blog is now also on Twitter! docarroll@irishcentral.com.
12 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.timbobdennehy | Jun 29, 2011, 04:23 PM EDT
another waste of taxpayers money,no-one cares anyone who does needs their head examined.besides which,the law only applies to people and subject matter in Ireland.so Americans have no say.they can have an opinion.and if anyone thinks it represents the virgin Mary,your easily pleased ,i have a bag of potatoes with the image of Jesus inside it.is it also blasphemy to dress up as st Nicholas and put a red hat with a white bobbin on my head and give presents to children from a department store.i will get a response Santa is not real.
jacersagain | Jun 29, 2011, 04:14 PM EDT
Oh I agree eiriamach – the Church does need reforming today. It’s actually being reforming throughout the centuries since Christ’s order to His Apostles to go tell everyone. Did ya not hear of the great leap of reforming that Pope Benedict made this very day? His Holiness twittered.
jacersagain | Jun 29, 2011, 04:01 PM EDT
Great questioning article by Danny Boy, typical of him as usual (will the boss of ICentral give him a raise? He’s one of the best, if not the best, writers on this site, thoughtful too – except for, IMHO, Megan Finnegan who seems to have fallen off the planet since she committed to marrying with her Tim; bring her back w/ her Finnegan’s Awake searching questioning Irish Catholic column please!). Like many Catholics in Ireland, this image displayed at UCC enraged me at first. Then I thought of all the artists who have been commissioned by the Church through the centuries to depict Our Lady as they see her and whose images hang on the walls of churches, museums, in the Vatican’s dusty vaults and elsewhere around the world to this day. This image is certainly distasteful to me but it might not be to others who share of my Catholic faith and beliefs. When people try to re-define ‘Blasphemy’, as the ridiculous Irish law that Danny Boy writes of has attempted to, it becomes prone to further re-definitions and ultimately meaningless (exactly as like a Chrisstian sacramental marriage between gays). Yep, let’s go for it, I’d say; let the wise judges of today’s Supreme Court (SC) of the Irish Republic examine the case and decide if it contravenes the Irish Constitution. ‘Twud be interesting to speculate on, if this case was to have been considered by Irish SC judges of yesteryear, whether they would have agreed between themselves in the same way as today’s SC judges might have to, as the Irish Constitution demands of them... and not as “in vogue” popularity demands.
eiriamach | Jun 29, 2011, 07:06 AM EDT
Is there anyone (except some clergy) in Ireland who thinks that the Catholic Church does NOT need reform? How can you reform a church if you have a law against criticizing it?
casualMBA | Jun 28, 2011, 10:00 PM EDT
if the university's sensitivity or responsiveness to the public is at question, forget about it...I tried to enter Boole 9Cork) Library on a sunday afternoon and security banned me from the library, since i was neither "staff nor student." I tried to explain it was the only day i was able to conduct some research, as a tourist, and, he shrugged and returned to his phone conversation. Sensitivity is not there; nor is a case against ucc, i expect, given law's provisos.
Trealach | Jun 28, 2011, 01:55 PM EDT
Unlike the US Supreme Court, the Irish Supreme Court doesn't make law - it fulfils its sole obligation to determine IF the law is in conflict with the Constitution. This law has already passed that test and is not in conflict. If you don't like it - tough!
CaliforniaShamrock | Jun 28, 2011, 01:22 PM EDT
I wonder if this is more anti-Mexican than anti-religious since the basis of the image is that of Our Lady of Guadalupe?
lokionline | Jun 28, 2011, 12:44 PM EDT
It would be a good thing if this was pursued in court. It would give the Irish Supreme court a chance to rule on this ridiculous law.
cillowen | Jun 28, 2011, 11:11 AM EDT
she looks too young and too white to be jesus' mum.
Porickseantuny | Jun 28, 2011, 10:37 AM EDT
The issue is funding. The University would think twice if its funds for such juvenile nonsense were cut.
Trealach | Jun 28, 2011, 10:30 AM EDT
There is NO uncertainty as to whether the DPP is considering this or not. Once a statement has been made to the Gardai alleging a crime has been committed, then a file is sent to the DPP for a decision on whether to prosecute or not. I personally know a number of people, including myself who made such a statement. It is not the function of the Gardai to make any determination or bring any prosecution without receiving a direction from the DPP. While the Catholic Church as a Christian Church has every right to speak out about this, this issue is bigger than ANY church, and is not exclusive to the Catholic Church. Ireland is a Christian country, whose ethos is embedded in the Preamble of the Constitution. As a Nation, we recognise God and the Most Holy Trinity, and in doing so we recognise the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God. To depict her in such a despicable manner is nothing other than Blasphemous. A minority 'may' see this as 'art', but it offends the majority of the Irish people,The Most Holy Trinity and Our Lady.
SeamusMor | Jun 28, 2011, 10:13 AM EDT
As a Catholic I find this depiction of the Blessed Virgin offensive, but it's up to others to determine if displaying it is an offence.