14 OBE for Br Brian


NUJ life member Fr Brian D’Arcy was presented with an OBE at a private ceremony hosted by Prince William in London recently. The OBE was awarded in


acknowledgement of his contribution to cross- community relations in Northern Ireland. A member of Dublin


freelance branch, Fr Brian was the first ordained priest to join the NUJ. He applied on joining the newly published Sunday World as a columnist. His application was supported by then Irish Organiser Jim Eadie and received considerable publicity at the time. Jim commented that he was


sure vows of poverty would be no barrier to paying his subs and his confidence was fully justified!


Incoming GPC elected


The incoming Irish Executive Council elected a new General Purposes Committee 2019 – 2021 at its first meeting in January. There is one seat still vacant, to be elected from nominees from the broadcasting sector. The new GPC includes Anton


McCabe/ Ciarán Ó Maoláin (JS); Bernie Mullen/Gerry Carson (JS); Carol Byrne/ Norma Prendiville (JS); Carolyn Farrar; Cearbhall Ó Síocháin; Dara Bradley/Siobhan Holliman (JS); Gerry Curran/Michael Fisher (JS); Ian McGuinness; Lorna Siggins; Michelle Stanistreet; Noel Baker/Susan O’Shea (JS); Ronan Brady; and Séamus Dooley. The membership of the


2019-2021 IEC, with photographs, was published in the Winter 2019 issue of The Irish Journalist, which is available for download from the NUJ website, at nuj.org.uk/ documents/the-irish-journalist- winter-2019/.


Blasphemy law is removed from the statute books


Last month, with no furore, blasphemy was removed as a crime offence from the statute books in the Republic of Ireland. This follows the outcome of the referendum in October, which removed blasphemy from the Constitution. Subsequently, legislation


was introduced by Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan giving effect to the decision and signed into law over Christmas by President Michael D Higgins. The Blasphemy (Abolition


of Offences and Related Matters) Bill 2019 repeals sections 36 and 37 of the Defamation Act, which described the offence of blasphemy and removes references to blasphemy from the Censorship of Films Act.


Séamus Dooley, Irish


Secretary, welcomed the decision as “a significant and long overdue step”. He said: “We opposed the inclusion of blasphemy in the Defamation Act by the then minister Dermot Ahern. The Constitutional amendment was important because it sent a clear signal about the nature of Irish democracy. “Religious fundamentalists


were able to point to Ireland’s law on blasphemy in defence of their own restrictive laws. This is no longer the case. “It must be acknowledged


that the Constitutional provision had no practical impact on the practice of Irish journalism and there are other reforms needed in relation to our libel regime but as a union which opposes criminal blasphemy we view this as a welcome development.”


Citizen’s Assembly focus on gender equality


The Citizen’s Assembly on gender equality has commenced its work and is now seeking public submissions.


Individual members may


also wish to fill out the online questionnaire, which is based on terms of reference established by the Houses of the Oireachtas: Theme 1: Gender norms


and stereotypes; Theme 2: Work: gender discrimination and occupational segregation by gender and the gender pay gap; Theme 3: Care, paid and unpaid, as a social and family responsibility; and Theme


4: Women’s access to, and representation in public life and decision-making. The IEC would welcome


observations from branches and individual members. Please send these to info@nuj.ie, marked Gender Equality. Closing date 25th February.


The submission will be


prepared in consultation with the Gender Council and the union’s Legal and Equality Officer. For further details


visit https:// www.citizensassembly.ie/en/ what-we-do/public- consultation/


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