Tag: ireland

The Tuatha De Danann: Were they Irish gods or aliens?

It’s little wonder the Tuath Dé or the Tribe of the Gods were mistaken as the stuff of nonsense, but we as mere mortals today can make our own conclusions. 

When I came to live in Ireland, it did not take long for me to fall in love with its misty landscape and scattered ancient ruins. They drew me in; I felt at once connected and intrigued. Leaving behind the realms of accepted Irish history I plunged into the shadowy domain of Irish mythology, and that was where I first encountered the Tuatha de Danann.

Stories of the Danann were passed down through the ages into legend via the ancient oral tradition of the poets. Later, Christian monks began assembling and recording them in an effort to produce a history for Ireland. Inevitably, these texts were influenced by their beliefs and doctrines, their translation skills (or lack of), and the desire to please their patrons. What we are left with is impossible to distill into fact and fiction.

These myths are so fantastic, so bizarre, that no scholar or historian worth his salt would ever entertain them as anything other than pure fantasy.

But I am not a scholar, and I don’t have to worry about academic reputation, and I say there is no smoke without fire.

Who were the Tuatha de Danann?

Tuatha de Danann (pronounced Thoo-a day Du-non) is translated as ‘tribe of Danu.’ Scholars are agreed that Danu was the name of their goddess, most probably Anu/Anann. However, that is unproven, and I believe could equally have referred to their leader or king, or even the place from which they originated.

They were a race of God-like people gifted with supernatural powers, who invaded and ruled Ireland over four thousand years ago. According to an ancient document known as the Annals of the Four Masters (Annála na gCeithre Maístrí compiled by Franciscan monks between 1632-1636 from earlier texts), the Danann ruled from 1897 BC until 1700 BC, a short period indeed in which to have accumulated such fame. They were said to have originated from four mythical Northern cities Murias, Gorias, Falias and Finias, possibly located in Lochlann (Norway).

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The Irish Should Reject The New ‘Hate Speech’ Bill

The Republic of Ireland could soon become one of the worst violators of the human right to free speech in the Western world. Despite the government claiming to espouse liberal ideas, the looming Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences Bill would usher in a dangerous new standard for state-driven censorship. The expression or possession of content or even ideas deemed “hateful” would be illegal under the law, with serious implications for everyday people simply seeking to live according to their convictions.  

The Irish need only look to the case of Finnish member of parliament Päivi Räsänen — criminally prosecuted for over four years for a Bible-verse tweet, to recognise the suffocating impact “hate speech” laws engender. Finnish state prosecutors are pushing her case into its fifth year with an appeal to the country’s supreme court, making no attempt to hide their insatiable quest to silence and sanction the parliamentarian for her peaceful expression of Christian conviction. 

Räsänen’s “crime” consisted of sharing her Christian position on marriage and sexuality in a 2019 Twitter post. When her church decided to officially sponsor a Helsinki “Pride” event, she expressed an objection in light of Biblical teaching, posting a verse from the New Testament book of Romans. Lengthy police interrogations followed by criminal prosecution ensued, absurdly under the section of the Finnish criminal code titled “war crimes and crimes against humanity”.  

Räsänen was dealt three criminal charges, carrying a potential prison sentence of two years, for the tweet, in addition to her comments on a 2019 radio debate and in a church pamphlet she had authored nearly 20 years before. Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola was charged alongside her for publishing the booklet for his congregation. 

Räsänen and Pohjola were twice unanimously acquitted of all charges, but with the pending supreme court appeal, it’s clear that free speech in Finland hangs very much in the balance. The prosecution of individuals in the public eye has a particularly repressive effect — few and far between will be the brave person willing to speak their mind when the state, utilising near limitless resources, makes clear its tireless pursuit of censorship.  

Such is the reality increasingly facing us in the West who dare to voice our beliefs in the public square. While “hate speech” laws are pervasive throughout Europe, with the proposed new law, Ireland is setting a new low bar for censorship. Notably, the draft bill goes so far as to include a sentence of up to five years in prison for the mere possession of “hateful” material.  

Not content with its existing array of free speech restrictions, the government has based the necessity of the new law on the need to counter rising violence in Ireland, following a surge of incidents largely tied to tensions over immigration. The argument is that restricting speech somehow increases safety on the streets—but history has shown no proof of this. What it has shown is that censorship is the preferred answer to any problem the state faces. It’s easier for those in power to silence dissent, than to deal with the problems plaguing their societies.  

The thought of Irish police raiding homes to seize materials, including books and even something as ridiculous as memes on phones, recalls some of the darker episodes of the past century.

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Irish giant folklore might be explained by genetic study

Genetics research published in 2016 could help explain the legend of giants in Irish folklore.

The study, led by Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, in collaboration with the universities of Exeter, Belfast and Dublin and University College London as well as 17 other Institutions, studied patients with the hormonal disorder acromegaly and tested DNA samples from the general public to identify carriers of a gene predisposing to childhood-onset acromegaly often leading to gigantism.

They undertook an ambitious and widely collaborative study, enlisting the invaluable help of patients and the general public to set the study up in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.

They identified a particular mutation in Irish patients and now searched for carriers of this gene in Ireland.

The frequency of the AIP mutation (R304*) was found to be surprisingly high in Mid-Ulster, Northern Ireland.

The data suggest that all Irish patients with this particular mutations (18 families and 81 carriers) are descendants from the same ancestor, who lived in the area 2,500 years ago.

Out of the identified 81 carriers 31 had developed acromegaly and over half of these had gigantism (18 patients, 58%).

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Ireland had no excess deaths during pandemic – OECD report

Ireland had no excess deaths during the core pandemic years of 2020-2022, the Department of Health has said, citing new research.

It cites a new ‘Working Paper’ from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showing that Ireland was one of nine OECD countries to avoid excess deaths during this period, registering the fourth lowest rate behind New Zealand, Iceland and Norway.

The OECD said its report represents preliminary results or research in progress.

Excess deaths refer to the number of deaths from all causes during a period of time, above what would normally be expected.

The OECD measured the difference between the number of people who would have died between 2020 and 2022 and the number of people who would have been expected to die during that time, if the pandemic had not happened.

Excess death figures include those who died from Covid-19 without having been tested as well as from other illnesses.

The Department of Health said that previous estimates of excess deaths during the pandemic did not take into account changes in population size and demographics here.

Ireland’s total population rose by 8% between the 2016 and 2022 census and the number of people aged 65 and over increased by 22% during the same period.

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Irish politician says those who protested after children were stabbed in Dublin should be ‘shot in the head’

During a meeting of Limerick City and County Council on Monday, members took turns voicing their opinions about the fiery, but mostly peaceful, protests that broke out in Dublin four days earlier in response to reports that the man who stabbed a woman and three children in the Irish capital was an Algerian migrant.

While most of the council members condemned the actions of those who took part, one went further than the rest. Azad Talukder, who serves as Cathaoirleach of the LCCC’s Metropolitan District, suggested the protestors should be “shot in the head.”

“I strongly believe that this is not the face of Ireland,” Talukder said, according to the Limerick Post. “This is just some criminals looting the shops. I don’t think they follow any ideological purpose. They come to the streets and just rob. They should get punishment.”

“Not even an animal does these kind of thing,” he added. “It is very shameful and they should get public punishment.”

Talukder went on to state, in no uncertain terms, that he’d “like to see them shot in the head or bring the public in and beat them until they die.”

His comments were quickly withdrawn after being objected to by Labour Party councillor Conor Sheehan, who reminded him that “you can’t call for people to be shot in the council chamber.”

Talukder apologized, saying his emotions had gotten the better of him.

As the Immigrant Council reports, Talukder is originally from Bangladesh, and moved to Ireland in 2000 to start a family. Nearly 20 years later, he was elected as the first Muslim councillor in the nation’s history.

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Authorities Demand Access To Private Social Media Conversations To Spy On Anti-Mass Migration Sentiment

Authorities in Ireland are set to be given access to private social media conversations in order to spy on anti-mass migration sentiment following the riots in Dublin.

After an Algerian migrant stabbed three children outside a primary school, fiery but mostly peaceful protests broke out in the Irish capital.

Authorities reacted by being more outraged at the protesters than the actual would-be child murderer, who should have been deported 20 years ago and was previously released after being arrested for carrying a knife.

Now Irish people who share spicy memes in WhatsApp chat groups are going to be under government surveillance should this new ‘hate speech’ legislation pass.

“Gardai will be able to access and intercept private conversations on social media sites under new legislation, as the Justice Minister promised to crack down on crime following the riots in Dublin,” reports the Irish Times.

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Elon Musk Warns Irish They Could Be Arrested For Having a Meme on Their Phone

Elon Musk has warned Irish people that they could literally be arrested and imprisoned for having a meme on their phone if new hate speech laws are passed.

The new laws were introduced in response to the Dublin riots, with authorities keen to punish people who were angry over an Algerian migrant stabbing three children in broad daylight.

The law creates a new crime of inciting violence or hatred againsts persons by possessing material which offends the “protected characteristics” of an individual or group.

Musk responded to the controversy by posting on X, “Language being proposed as law in Ireland means this could literally happen to you for having a meme on your phone.”

The post was accompanied by a video of a SWAT team smashing down a door and invading someone’s house.

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Conor McGregor Being Investigated For ‘Online Hate Speech’ For Comments on Mass Migration

Martial artist superstar Conor McGregor is being investigated by Irish authorities for ‘online hate speech’ after he expressed anger at children being stabbed in Dublin.

Over the last week, McGregor has been outspoken about the impact mass migration is having on his homeland, remarking, “Ireland, we are at war,” in relation to the chronic housing shortage that has made basic living unaffordable for many citizens.

“Do not let any irish property be took over unannounced. Evaporate said property. It’s a war,” he added.

Following the stabbing of three children by an Algerian migrant in Dublin, the former UFC champion condemned authorities for targeting Irish people who staged fiery but mostly peaceful protests in response.

“Innocent children ruthlessly stabbed by a mentally deranged non-national in Dublin, Ireland today,” he posted on X. “Our chief of police had this to say on the riots in the aftermath. Drew, not good enough. There is grave danger among us in Ireland that should never be here in the first place.”

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Omagh’s mystery hum keeps Tyrone residents awake

Council officials are looking at calling in noise specialists in an attempt to locate a mystery hum disturbing residents of a Co Tyrone town.

People in Omagh have been reporting a persistent low level hum or buzz in the town for several weeks.

Noise officers have been sent out to investigate it and have heard it, but have so far been unable to identify the source.

Senior official at Fermanagh and Omagh council John Boyle told a recent meeting the issue would “not be an easy one to crack”.

He said existing equipment was not sensitive enough to find the source and they would either have to buy new equipment or employ a specialist contractor.

Among the potential culprits being investigated are air-conditioning units or power lines.

The council has been in contact with the company responsible for electricity distribution.

The issue was first raised by Alliance councillor Stephen Donnelly. He said he has received multiple reports from a wide area of the town.

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“We Are Restricting Freedom… For The Common Good”: Irish Green Party Calls For Limiting Free Speech

The Irish Green Party followed many on the left around the world, including our own Democratic Party, this week and came out for censorship and speech controls. Indeed, the party went full Orwellian as its chairwoman Pauline O’Reilly called for “restricting freedom” to protect it.

O’Reilly’s comments are part of the introduction of the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022. We previously discussed this massive assault on free speech.

The legislation that would criminalize “incitement to violence or hatred against” people with “protected characteristics,” as well as “condoning, denying or grossly trivialising genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace.”

Limiting free speech has become an article of faith for many on the left. I have written about my distress (as someone who grew up in a liberal, politically active Democratic family in Chicago) in watching the abandonment of free speech values by the party. Democratic leaders now uniformly call for censorship and speech regulations. President Biden even charged that companies who refused to censor opposing views on social media were “killing people.”  Others have denounced free speech as “a white man’s obsession.”

The anti-free speech movement has become openly Orwellian in claiming to protect freedom by limiting freedom.  It also employs using terms like disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation to obscure their effort to silence those with opposing views. Rather than use “censorship,” they refer to “content moderation.”

That effort was on full display this week in Ireland with this anti-free speech legislation.

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