Taoiseach tells Dail that protestors block-booking tickets for @Pontifex‘s Phoenix Park Mass, just so the seats can lie empty, are “wrong and petty, and mean-spirited”… says protesting is fine but this is “not legitimate protest and very unfair, and really should be condemned”
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) June 27, 2018
*chortle*
Yesterday: ‘One Protester Claimed To Have Booked 1,312 Tickets’
Rollingnews
Sponsored Link
Ok, 194 comments to beat.
*cracks knuckles*
Shall we?
Do you not think it’s all a bit suspicious. Tickets go online. They are still available, so clearly not going well, and then the stories about protesters claiming 1,000s appear. All a bit pat for me. Getting the excuses in early. Half empty because of the angry stay away mob.
What’s illegitimate about it? There’s a 2k exclusion zone for protesters so this is the only way to show dissent to this waste of money. Maybe they should have charged a fiver a head to off set costs, that would have done away with the protests.
I’m fairly sure that the church has a rule against cover charges to attend religious services, regardless of the forum in which they are held.
The church changes it’s rules to suit themselves.
& by approaching protest this way they’re simply reducing themselves to their level.
a mass (excuse pun) protest down O’Connell St maybe even followed by a gig or something timed to run in parallel with said events would be way more effectual in my view. than this childish arseholology.
I don;t understand this. has the Catholic Church engaged in mass bookings of free tickets for the purposes of blocking people from attending a event? Or is this as bad as covering up child rape and selling babies and enslaving women?
They wouldn’t be given a permit.
I’d say they’ve figured out that they get more when they present it as a voluntary donation
they’ll probably just pass around a dirty big collection basket at the park so..
apparently the ticketing website takes you directly to a donation page as soon as you get a ticket
Twice
That’s the deal, as it were.
Yes and your display of dissent is way more important than elderly and sick people who may take solace from seeing him eh?
Maybe Milo has been right all along.
What a bunch of BS, people are entitled to protest both him and the organization he represents.
Absolutely, protest all you want but when you actively try and prevent others from doing what they want then you are no different to what you are protesting against.
Why is this so hard for some to understand?
childishly hogging tickets to a silly event makes you no different to an organisation involved in the systematic physical, sexual and psychological abuse of children…
new level of stupid just reached
You are forcing your views on others which is exactly what the church done. But for some it is a very important event. Don’t they even count in your oh so black ‘n white world?
I’m not forcing anyone to do anything
I don’t get your perspective on this at all, it seems like just a few people have done this and the impact will be minimal. Relax.
it’s not the impact, it’s the level of idiocy required to think this is a good idea that’s ANNOYING the stuffing out of people
Absolutely. So far we have had ‘sure there is plenty of tickets left anyways’ and now ‘sure it’s only a few doing it anyways’. Mealy mouthed excuses for doing something which is 100% wrong.
I am very lapsed but I respect people of faith, I have friends of more than one faith and if they get something out of it, something I can’t see then good luck to them. Who knows, maybe they are right and I am wrong but either way, this spiteful hatred is by people whom if born 50 years ago would have been quoting the church’s teachings chapter and verse.
SOQ for Pres !
“I am very lapsed but I respect people of faith”
This protest is not against the members its against the institution there’s a big difference.
If you can’t see that this protest is directly targeting the members rather than the instituition you are a bigger idiot than the ones doing it.
people who support this organisation that rapes murders and traffics children are part of the problem.
Should we allow taxpayer funded celebrations of Nazis and the Holocaust?
While I can’t bring myself to overly approve or disapprove of this, and some of the negative responses seem a tad, er, heated, the fact is rotide is (dammit) right – this is effectively aimed at the congregants rather than the institution, and most non-believers will know or be related to someone they like or love who is of the faith and therefore dislike this. The chutzpah is amazing, but it feels childish and mean-spirited and misdirected, and I hope it fails. I’d rather see an honest low turnout than a manufactured one.
There are still multiples of thousands of tickets available for this Nuremburgian excuse for a rally to show the church still has some sway in Irish society anymore. Go to the website and book a coachful, no bother.
This gig hasn’t been designed for the elderly and sick because there will be 3.5hour queues each way to get in and out of the Phoenix Park and these are official figures. You’d want to be very fit and patient to shuffle along for that amount of time.
Oh ffs. A visit from the pope and the sick and elderly will not have their disabilities accommodated for?
Have you been to Lourdes? I have. I’d go again too. Why? Because on the first morning after we arrived I seen what real problems were, people clinging to hope, and that mine, which nearly prevented me from going, were minuscule. Even for political gay me of little faith, it was humbling. You should try it.
Hope is an imposter..
And the ability to sneer at others is clearly a gift only those of a high emotional intelligence have.
I’ve been to Lourdes. Weather was gorgeous, food so so and the trip up the funicular was far more inspiring than an underground mass.
@Daisy, what do you mean by “a 2k exclusion zone for protesters”?
https://www.todayfm.com/News/People-Face-2km-Walk-To-See-The-Pope. I can’t see anyone with a non religious banner or a repeal shirt being allowed through, can you?
This is a 2km non-car zone.
Nothing to stop you popping along with your repeal jumper – although you will need a (free) ticket to get inside the park.
And I can’t see them stopping you getting in wearing your repeal jumper.
You assume these protesters will not turn up
Maybe the plan is to get in then create havoc
I am no fan of varadkar but I agree with him on this
The absolute hostility and hatred towards the pope is emerging and all it takes is one nutter
There’s plenty in his own organisation who hate him.
Wonderful, That made my day :-)
I have to agree with him. Despising the church does not mean we should disrespect the freedom of practicing religion and as said at length yesterday by many this protest is ridicule and childish.
what’s childish and ridiculous is the suggestion that this in any way interferes with anyone’s freedom to practice their religion
or was there another bit about burning churches, executing priests and banning the hail mary?
BB for some people this is a really big deal, a once in a lifetime event, and it is a mass. How can you claim to be any type of liberal when you are so willing to force your views on others in such a way?
because anyone who attends this event is giving a massive two fingers to the thousands of victims of the church in this country
and i happen to think it’s more important to stand in solidarity and sympathy with those people than have a “once in a lifetime” day out
That’s quite the strawman you’ve built for yourself….
BB these people attending the mass by the pope are not sticking two fingers to thousands of victims of the abuse of the agents of the church.
It is up to government to get the money out of these institutions, and prosecute those who committed these heinous crimes.
Our state colluded in those acts
They stood back and did nothing
Successive governments covered up the crimes
If you hold that attitude that no catholic can go to a mass without facing ridicule and hostility then you must hold the view that those who collaborated with these crimes and those who colluded with the church should be dragged out of their graves publicly flogged and those still alive be stripped of everything they own and thrown in jail because the only redress given to all victims came out of general taxation not those who were guilty
Maybe the whole visit should be cancelled rather than this country humiliated.
yes, i’d be pleased to see the visit cancelled
No they’re not. BB, you really aren’t that thick
prove it
We agree on this
Well if they still haven’t applied for their tickets after 5 days it must not be much of a big deal for them.
Never really understood that type of protest. Do they think the Pope is going to be able to see the difference between 450k and 500k people in the park, the headlines will still read 500k tickets sold. The only people that will notice are the old biddies who cant get a ticket who will just be pissed at the magdalene survivors, not exactly going to help garner support
Tickets are on sale a few days now, they’ve not yet sold out. makes you wounder how much demand there is.
The church easily could have restricted tickets to those that practice the catholic faith….ie: those that actually bother to go to mass. They could have handed the tickets out at mass to anyone that wanted them.
This would actually be a better way of ensuring those that are less internet savy can get tickets,
Problem solved.
half of them won’t even last the heatwave
You’re so attractive to me right now.
You mean the old people who have done nothing wrong and believe in god?
You really are way off the mark and a fool
If the heatwave continues and the protest prevents old and infirm people from attending THEY MAY EVEN BE SAVING THEIR LIVES!
chuckle :)
When the likes of Iona, Youth Defence, Loveboats etc turn up, that total will be reported as 3.7million.
Old biddies? Casual misogyny. There’ll be old diddies too.
Leo is right, this is mean-spirited and a slap in the face to those want to go see the Pope and cannot get tickets. I am all for legitimate protesting but this cowardly “no platforming of the audience” is just wrong.
If another person gets some fulfilment and benefit out of seeing the pontiff and they are not hurting anyone else then what right does another person have to interfere?
People are upset about the cost to the taxpayer, I get that. However that money is already spent. All this move is likely to do is to turn people who cannot now get tickets against protesters.
errr, tickets are still available to the final mass.
so how exactly has it stopped people?
The Event in Knock was booked out on the same morning tickets were released so there’s that.
that was ‘only’ 45,000 tickets.
There are (allegedly) 500,000 tickets for the Phoenix park…
I’m amazed that some regulars on here have forgotten about numbers…how they’re used, reported on, spun. this tickets thing & any reporting or discussion of numbers is just all just pure nonsense. sure the lads will report them as a millionbillion anyway :)
tis slow news month already & we’re only in June, jasus find something else to do will yez for jasus sake!? yez can buy me a wibbly wobbly wonder if ye want (if ye can find one…) anyone finding the fridges empty yet??
The Daily Mail had a voucher for free toblerone ice cream last Sunday. Has anyone ever seen a toblerone ice cream, ever?
feckin pointy bit on the Toblerone always ALWAYS catches the roof of my mouth…l’ll test drive the ice cream version tho if I can find it :)
They sell them in the shop across from where I work. I’ll try one tomorrow and let you know if it’s worth your while.
I think that’s why it was free..
I nearly bought one today, but I’m not a fan of chocolate ice cream, so I bought a 99 instead.
Ah now you can’t go wrong with a 99. There was a flake, I hope. It’s just not the same without the flake.
Without the flake, a 99 is just a cone… enjoyable, but not a much!
I too agree with Leo. Won’t in a fit go to it, but stopping other people going is just plain wrong. Why prevent other people supporting their own religious beliefs?
Entrance only with production of a well worn Scapular Medal would have been better than TicketMaasTer
ha!
“wrong & petty & mean spirited” says the pot to the kettle
as regards the subjectmatter in question, it’s a fairly cringeworthy & infantile effort of a protest. if you want to protest about his presence do it the old fashioned way in person with placards & voice & your own physical presence. anything else is just pure childish nonsense.
Annoys that fella? *books tickets to the thing and does not intend on going to the thing*
I seem to recall a similar tactic being used for persona non grata such as John Waters and Irexit people when they were giving talks and it seemed to be wholeheartedly supported by the Broadsheet commenters. Suddenly though it’s to be frowned upon.
People on Broadsheet more inclined to be sympathetic to church-goers than John Waters and Irexit? Y’know what, fair enough.
It’s only hypocrisy when other people do it. Gotcha.
You don’t understand hypocrisy. You support protests of things you object to. You object to protests of things you support. If you neither support nor object, you wonder what all the fuss about. If you object to everything and support nothing, you confuse tactics with principles.
Incorrect.
Blocking Joan Burton from leaving Jobstown receiving condemnation and farmers blocking workers in their place of work over whatever their beef was receiving no condemnation is hypocrisy.
Same tactic should have received equal levels of condemnation or approval regardless of your personal view on the subject being protested.
Meh. As if there were even accurate or reliable measures of who condemned what or a consensus on what levels of condemnation are appropriate for whatever I will now address this topic extensively and exhaustively using references and flow charts hah feck no I’m filling a bath with ice and crawling in jaysus it’s hotter than the naked flames of Satan’s hottest hellhole.
I’m upset my farmer and beef pun wasn’t acknowledged. Enjoy the bath!
Ohhh, i c wot u did, fair play.
The way I see it I’m doing the elderly a favour. They’ll die waiting in line and walking for 6 1/2 hours just to see a man very very far away in a frock
You cannot ridicule people because they believe in their religion
These people have done nothing wrong
As for a man in a frock
I would love you to say that to a proud scot in a kilt which is a sort of frock
So you’re suggesting this whole event is hoped by fg to be some form of weird solution to the housing crisis?
A very fine frock in all fairness..!!
The church won’t allow me to have my name removed from the baptismal record. They insist on considering me Catholic, even though I know it’s all nonsense. They’re all about numbers, so I’m going to affect their numbers in my own modest way.
I will hang on to my tickets. The organisers can have them back if their church takes my name off their list.
But its not the church you potentially will be hurting now is it? At worst, it is just a bit of bad PR to them.If you really believe in secularism then come the next election run up, you bend the ear of every politician you encounter, not give them an excuse for low numbers.
I already pester politicians about this. My hope is that once they see there is not the blind, unthinking support for purveyors of outmoded superstition that there used to be, politicians will be emboldened to act.
I don’t understand why you think this sort of thing is not clearly directed towards the church.
It is not outmoded superstition, many young people on the planet believe and in some other places, it is growing. It is not directed at the church, it is faceless cowards abusing their position.
Bernie/Johnny/Frilly; you’d be familiar with this sort of thing so would you like to comment?
I am actually defending the CC. Every day is a school day I suppose but there is no cure for stupidity.
I might get some tickets and go along and protest.. give ‘em a bit of stick.. tell them how it is.. end of the day they are apologists for child rapists, murderers, abusers: generally the worst sort of human so, no, they don’t get to parade around the park and pretend everything is ok. It is not ok and the sooner they are driven into the sea the better for all of us.
Who fupping cares? This is tabloid trash concerning a small minority of extremist idiots.Bread and circuses.
Better than bread and wine.
…popey macpopeface…
Sure Leo and the lads are doing this every election aren’t they.? Different format, personation, but same ends
Ah here
Annuder one
Catholicism is the biggest cancer to ever infect this island. Practice your religion. Don’t cost me money or waste my time in school.
Catholic guilt is a punchline in American comics routines but I can tell you, it’s done real damage to a lot of livers and brains in this country. That collection money, those huge ornate churches, the land owning, the schools, the angelus on the state broadcasted, the prayer before the government sits for the day, infected.
To.The.Core.
Time to protest. Time to annoy liveline listeners. Time to grow up.
They owe us millions. Billions. Irish people have been so damaged by rome they ask for more. If you are under 40 and can’t see how damaging it is you are beyond help.
I’m protesting. You can go see a man in a dress telling you to give generously to fund his gold throne in Rome. I’ve seen it, it’s shiny.
^^^this this this^^^
Not to mention the third-rate educations.
Nationalise the lot..
Would these protesters block entry to a mosque for support of Sharia Law….
Nah, wouldn’t happen.
You aren’t helping. And you know it. I remember when you added to the conversation and didn’t play the devils advocate. It’s so transparent. And hollow. And depressing.
Daily Mail levels of “bantz”. Grow up. Your family are worried about you.
Added to the conversation? It’s been almost 10 years and I’ve yet to see evidence of this! I’ll take a year or two hiatus, and can’t believe when I come back to the site that Clampers is still here posting inane drivel on literally EVERY article.
now what has that got to do with the price of ham?
…you can take a day off too.
off from what Nell ?
btw my comment was for clampers
the ham joke
I like ham.
Muslims ain’t into ham, Janet dear. #jesuisjambon
that thé point of the joke
I was trying to say the Muslim thing was as irrelevant …
I guess it was too obtuse
you had to be there
Is this your life now?
no just bored this month
slow month, I won’t bore you with the details
what’s your excuse ?
I’ve had a bottle of wine whilst watching the match. I will be at work tomorrow. Thankfully my life doesn’t revolve around commenting on every single post on here. I just tend to stick to the important ones. It appears the real media are reading the comments, careful how you go.
ah you see
you will notice I never comment on the more political posts or the GAA ones, the reason being I haven’t got a clue about either subject,
I’m mostly here for a mess and the entertainment but thanks for the kinda creepy watch how I go :)
I will and enjoy the beverage
Memes and bantz. Cynical is the best option. Best not to commit. Don’t let the mask slip. Only here for the lolz etc. Don’t let that stop you from the snide/bantz comments to diminish others making genuine comments to steer the national discourse.
It’s only a cheeky meme site. Ignore the serious stuff. You are right.
Have I offended you in some way ? fill me in.:)
I was actually agreeing with you in your comments to clamps btw..
I am quite passionate about some stuff but refrain from posting about what I know nothing about and yes I do like to keep it civil/ light hearted tis my nature :)
Calm down dear, it’s just a commercial.
ok :)
sweet dreams
unless you are Veronica?
Last word
no you have it
Would that it were so simple
you are starting to feel the love
Love is a many splendored thing
in it…I think I’m in love
You can check out anytime you like but etc
Depends if they had raped me…
Guess what time people attending Knock have been told to be in situ? 5am! Seriously, given that the average age of attendees is probably around the 80 mark, it’s a bit much. They are overestimating his pulling power IMO.
The only good No voter is a …..
Pope Frank in competition with the Macgill Summer School for the worst turnout ever. Love it.
Saint Fintan has now pulled out:
‘It’s grotesque’: Fintan O’Toole pulls out of MacGill Summer School event over gender balance controversy
http://www.thejournal.ie/fintan-otoole-macgill-4092160-Jun2018/
I booked a group of 12 from the Tuam Mother And Baby Home. The website wouldn’t let me book 796.
Book them in 52 at a time on a coach.
someone who knows about these things should book a broadsheet coach, then we can have a competition for tickets TO DO WITH AS THEY LIKE.
i’d imagine there would be an opportunity for a shnakey ride for a few of ye, which in front of the pope would be quite kinky.