Acting Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Father John Gilligan leaving St Andrew’s Church Westland Row, Dublin for the Dáil Mass last month

We either dismantle this inherited caliphate now or another generation will be kept on their knees with their heads bowed.

Frilly Keane writes:

This is how our Sean Comhairle starts his day’s work. All Rise (you too btw)

“Direct, we beseech Thee, O Lord,
Our actions by Thy holy inspirations and carry them on by Thy gracious assistance;
That every word and work of ours may always begin from Thee,
And by Thee be happily ended;
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

I know this is not news to ye, so save yere month old horns. But Vinnie had a go at this the other night and I couldn’t stop myself from roaring at Damien English.  Although, being a Meath man may have had sum’ting to do with the abuse heard from my front room. (There is a specially designated bile tank in reserves for that crowd.)

I’m dipping inta a’bitta paraphrasing now, so grab those girdles in case they tighten inta blistering wedges, anyway the gist of English’s answer to Vinnie’s poke about the prayer was ‘Sur I’m a Cat’alick, it doesn’t botter me.’ And that FFsaker dope Troy beside him said the same’ish.

Neither of them, and both probably in Junior Minsterials by this time next week, even shrugged. They were too thick to move outta the slow lane or even smell the toxic gases their daily prayer deposits in our Dáil Chambers.

Why shouldn’t removing this archaic backward nonsense be the first order of business of the next Dáil session?

And at this stage I don’t give a day old battered sausage about who’s sitting where since it’s potentially the only vote that can attract supporting yays from Independents, untangle the raggle taggle of lefties, and un-abstain the handful of Labour votes.

I know all this talk has been done and heard before. I know this has been hammered into a flat finish by others with far more cred and audience numbers than me. But I’m following this bandwagon now. And I’m not shifting.

By saying and doing nothing about it, makes us NO DIFFERENT to Ted Cruz supporters. We’re the very last ones that should be sniggering at his crowd. And Trump’s. And Palin’s. To anyone reading this, IS THAT WHERE YOU WANT TO BE?

Prayers, at any time of the day and night, and of all scriptures, hats, beads, crosses, cribs, statues, grottos, holy places and relics (and their associated bong bong bong call to prayers) have to be removed from all aspects of our working and public life, and that includes our national broadcaster.

Put that Sunday Mass on YouTube, and let me watch Dallas repeats instead. Control and design your own Sabbath. I think that’s a far better plan for us all.

It’s not like Ireland, of all places, doesn’t know the permanent damage religious divides have cratered across this island.

It’s not like we are unaware of the uselessness of it.

It’s not like we are still living ignorantly under the Catholic choke of abuse, secrecy, control and power.

It’s not like prayers are going to sort out the housing situation or get people off hospital trollies or put remedial teachers back into schools.

It’s not like prayers are going to get taxes out’ve the wining and dining Flannerys of our society or get even get them to do an honest day’s work.

So why would parliamentary rules insist that our politicians start their day’s work for us with a we beseech Thee, O Lord. Maintaining it automatically designates us as a Catholic Caliphate.

Was it for this? Was it really for this?

If Diarmuid Martin has any day’cency he should insist that a required devotion to his crowd is removed from Dáil Eireann.

It’s bad enough that some of our citizens are still denied access to their schools, so we either dismantle this inherited caliphate now or another generation will be kept on their knees with their heads bowed.

And unless Christ comes back and looks and talks like David Ginola he’s not my Lord.

I would propose sunrise and sunset email attacks on all your local recently electeds’ but here in Dublin South Central I’d only be wasting my time, so I can hardly expect anyone else to do what I say so.

This attempt to dismantle top down secularism has to be launched nationally.

There needs to be a national movement to remove the religion tick box from all public life, services, and application forms, qualifying conditions, criterias and data collections.

If we extract the requirements for declaring our religious observation and choice of faith publically, Ireland might finally be steering towards some sense.

The same applies to organisations with a religious ethos and mandate. Why should they continue to have favourable tax treatments while we bitch about Google and Facebook not paying theirs?

Please don’t talk about Blasphemy laws in yere comments and comebacks lads. Just tell me what I need to do to be actually charged with a Blasphemy crime; I would happily pay my own fines and legals if religion, prayers and whatever yere having yourselves were left to yourselves and not on my Census Form. (As for wanting to know my ethic origin, loud and proud baby, the answer they’re getting is REBEL!)

Until then, shove yere centenary celebrations, indulgent debates, book launches and speeches until we actually have an equal independent secular society where we are not obliged to bless ourselves because we’re told to.

Amen.

Frilly keane’s column appears here every Friday. Follow Frilly on Twitter: @frillykeane