Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree: The missile force carried out a major operation using the Palestine 2 ballistic hypersonic missile, hitting several targets in occupied Yafa.
Sirens sound in large areas of occupied Palestine after a missile launch from Yemen was detected
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 14 martyrs arrive at al-Shifa Hospital following Israeli massacre of al-Sultan Family north of Gaza.
Qatari PM: We must not surrender to the arrogance of extremists and pursue our quest for a 'two-state solution'
Qatari PM: The only path to peace begins through negotiations and a ceasefire
Qatari PM: We demand that the Security Council assume its historical responsibility, as silence in the face of the law of the jungle undermines international peace and destabilizes the UN system
Qatari PM: The extremists who rule "Israel" do not care about the lives of the "hostages"; otherwise, how can the timing and location of the attack be explained?
Qatari PM: 'Israel's' attack on Hamas leaders in Doha is a violation of Qatar's sovereignty
Qatari PM: The ongoing [Israeli] violations only prove one thing: the Israeli officials' drunkenness on power amid impunity
Yemeni Ministry of Health: The death toll from the Israeli aggression on Sanaa and Al-Jawf Governorate has risen to 46, in addition to 165 injuries, including a large number of women and children, according to a non-final toll

Ireland's 'hate speech' laws – censoring Ukraine truth?

  • Gavin O'Reilly Gavin O'Reilly
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 24 Jun 2023 23:59
  • 5 Shares
4 Min Read

The criminalisation of facts related to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine may soon be used to clear the path towards NATO membership for the south of Ireland.

  • x
  • Ireland's 'hate speech' laws – censoring Ukraine truth?

Last month, global attention was drawn to the southern Irish State’s proposed "hate speech" laws, owing to online commentary on the new bill from high-profile figures such as Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr. and Jordan B Peterson.

Allowing for someone to be convicted for merely possessing "hateful" material – which could be something as simple as an internet meme - without even distributing it, if passed, the new legislation will effectively create thought crimes in what is a supposed democratic Western state.

Domestic critics of the bill have expressed concern that it will stifle debate on the introduction of gender ideology to the school curriculum, citing the recent case of Enoch Burke as an example. Burke, a teacher at the prestigious Wilson’s Hospital boarding school in County Westmeath, was imprisoned for three months last year over his refusal to not attend the school following his suspension over a dispute relating to the use of "they/them" pronouns on a student.

There have also been concerns expressed that the new legislation will be used to censor critics of the 26-County State’s immigration policy.

Since last November, using emotive coverage of the war in Ukraine as a cover, the southern Irish government has placed hundreds of male migrants into wildly unsuitable locations such as an inner city office block and children’s primary school, leading to protests by local residents over the lack of consultation with community representatives beforehand, the unsuitability of the chosen locations, and the lack of transparency on whether those placed in the aforementioned locations had been vetted or not.

Protests, in a similar vein to last year’s Canadian Freedom Convoy, have drawn widespread condemnation from the 26-County political establishment as being "organised by the far-right," with Leo Varadkar, like Justin Trudeau, also being a WEF "Young Global leader."

The spotlight was shone once again on the new legislation this week when Pauline O’Reilly, a Senator and chairwoman of the ruling coalition’s Green Party, announced, in a dystopian fashion, that the purpose of the bill was to "restrict freedom for the common good," with her comments drawing attention from as far afield as Fox News and acclaimed US journalist Glenn Greenwald.

Related News

Declassified: CIA’s covert Ukraine invasion plan

Record advances for Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine while neo-Nazi ideology continues its rise in Kiev

One facet of the new legislation that has been overlooked by most onlookers, however, is the section related to the denial or condoning of "war crimes", which with an increased push amongst the 26-County political establishment for the State to join NATO amidst the ongoing Russian operation in Ukraine, may soon become one of its most relevant.

Since the launch of the Russian intervention last February, the southern Irish State has, in lockstep with the rest of the collective west, condemned what it calls an "unprovoked invasion".

What has been conveniently omitted from this description, however, is the almost nine years of Western provocations that preceded it, beginning with the November 2013 US and British-instigated Maidan coup, the use of anti-Russian extremist elements such as Right Sector and Azov Battalion to wage a bloody war on the predominantly ethnic Russian Donbass region, and the revelation that the US was producing bioweapons on Russia’s borders.

Key details related to the conflict, under the new legislation, could soon be made illegal to publicly disclose in the 26-County State.

Indeed, this would tie in with Leinster House’s desire to join NATO, a view not shared by the majority of the Irish public. This has not hindered the 26 Counties' anti-Russian policies, however, with a number of Russian diplomats expelled in the weeks following Moscow’s intervention; a step noticeably never taken by the southern Irish state towards US diplomats over Washington’s conflicts in Iraq and Syria, or indeed, British diplomats over British intelligence’s role in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

Now, with the strong possibility that a Nord Stream-style false flag attack off the Irish coast is imminent, the criminalisation of facts related to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine may soon be used to clear the path towards NATO membership for the south of Ireland.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • Nato
  • southern Irish State
  • Ireland
  • Nato Alliance
  • Ukraine
Gavin O'Reilly

Gavin O'Reilly

Irish Republican activist

Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Most Read

All
Why Russia and China are NOT Imperialist: A Marxist-Leninist Assessment of Imperialism’s Development Since 1917

Why Russia and China are NOT Imperialist: A Marxist-Leninist Assessment of Imperialism’s Development Since 1917

  • Analysis
  • 4 Sep 2025
The Coming War On Iran Will Be Regional, Perhaps International

The coming war on Iran will be regional, perhaps international

  • Opinion
  • 2 Sep 2025
In the immediate aftermath of Parubiy’s slaying, claims emerged he had months earlier requested formal protection from the SBU, only to be rebuffed. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

The Ukrainian neo-Nazi who knew too much?

  • Opinion
  • 5 Sep 2025
The West Bank is on the verge of catastrophe

The West Bank is on the verge of catastrophe

  • Opinion
  • 9 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
War on Iran

More from this writer

All
Despite the geographical distance between Ireland and Palestine, a natural affinity rooted in history developed between both countries. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

'Israel’s' embassy closure in Dublin and the interlinked history between Ireland and Palestine

Pearl Harbor: Gulf Edition – coming soon?

Pearl Harbor: Gulf Edition – coming soon?

China and Honduras; coup attempt on the way again?

China and Honduras; coup attempt on the way again?

In further suspect behaviour, the transmitter of the Virginia Ann has been mostly turned off during these journeys, a move usually only taken when a ship wants to conceal its movements.

Dublin and NATO – Nord Stream: Ireland edition coming soon?

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS