Tag Archives: Dail prayer

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Earlier.

At 2pm.

Solidarity-People Before Profit TDs Gino Kenny, Richard Boyd-Barret, Bríd Smyth, Mick Barry and Ruth Coppinger and Independents 4 Change TD Joan Collins (3rd pic) refused to stand during the Dáil prayer and the subsequent 30 seconds of silence.

Mr Barry and Ms Coppinger (above) held up signs with the message, “For freedom of religion,  separate church and state”.

The Dáil prayer is:

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.

Related: Fintan O’Toole: State has taken a bizarre trip back to the 1950s (The Irish Times)

Pics: Tony Groves, Gavan Reilly and Ruth Coppinger

Previously: The Prayer Stays

Meanwhile…

Johnny Keenan (him off the telly) writes:

It disgusts me as an Irish citizen that the catholic church can infiltrate with the help of the conservative christian right wing parties of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael a prayer that makes absolutely no sense to the people of Ireland.

Fair play to any politician for sitting their ground today. Instead of standing for the Dáil prayer. These rebel politicians that our Republic needs right now can stand and recite this profound paragraph of the proclamation.

A Moment Of Clarity
‘The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all of the children of the nation equally, and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien Government, which have divided a minority from the majority in the past.’

Up the Republic!

FIGHT!

Pics: Oireachtas.ie

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This afternoon.

TDs voted in the Dáil 97-18 to add 30 seconds of silent reflection to the daily Dáil prayer, which is said in English and Irish at the start of each day’s proceedings. There were 18 abstentions.

TDs will also have to stand during this period.

They also voted on three amendments which were all defeated.

The amendments went as follows (from top):

An amendment proposed by Sinn Féin called for TDs to stand for 60 seconds of silent reflection at the start of each day’s business was defeated by 94 votes to 41.

A Solidarity/People Before Profit proposal for TDs to abolish the prayer being said at the start of each day’s Dáil business was defeated 97 votes to 15 with 20 abstentions.

A proposal from Solidarity/People Before Profit TD Joan Collins to replace the daily prayer with 30 seconds of silent reflection was also defeated by 96 votes to 19, with 17 abstentions.

There you go, now.

Amendments to scrap Dáil prayer defeated as silent reflection added (RTE)

UPDATE:

Who voted how…

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Via Oireachtas.ie

Dail-Chamber

Robert A Sharpe is quite on point regarding prayer in the Dáil. Paul Murphy’s claim that this oration is anachronistic might be acceptable in Cuba, but it discounts truths applicable even in “modern” Ireland.

The preamble to the Constitution finds authority in “the Most Holy Trinity” and invokes Jesus Christ by name. Article 6 of the same text then acknowledges that all power derives “under God”.

Most fatal to Mr Murphy’s contention, however, is article 44, which clearly nods to “public worship . . . due to Almighty God”. Moreover, the Constitution next bids the State to hold God’s name “in reverence” and to “respect and honour religion”.

Despite Mr Murphy’s allergy, our institutions plainly presuppose the existence of a divine being, and prayer in the Dáil would appear to be consistent with this view.

Dr Sean Alexander Smith,
Sandyford,
Dublin 18.

FIGHT!

The Dáil prayer (Irish Times letters page)

Previously: Without A Prayer