Defending Blasphemy: Exploring Religious Expression Under Ireland's Blasphemy Law

Abstract

This Note considers the blasphemy provisions of Ireland’s 2009 Defamation Act and examines its limitations on religious expression. By analyzing the effects of religious expression’s omission from the Act’s protection, this Note argues that enforcement under the Act may be impermissible under both Bunreacht na hÉireann and international law. To rectify the Act’s failure to defend religious expression, this Note proposes that the Act be amended to permit religious expression as a defense for blasphemy. It then applies the proposed defense to examples of speech that otherwise might run afoul under the Act.

Keywords: Religion, blasphemy, Ireland, speech, Brehon law, common law, expression, defamation of religion