The Iona Blog

Think Ireland has a stable, health marriage rates? Try reading history

The Journal.ie recently carried a story that the CSO has released census data going back to 1864. (The Central Statistics Office is a wonderful resource and its website a much under-used one).The press release from the CSO noted that marriage rates had remained remarkably stable since 1864. “There were 27,406 marriages entered into in 1864...

Read more...

The slide towards soft totalitarianism

While the timid West squeaks at Russia over the Ukraine crisis, how ironic that hardman Vladimir Putin now claims that his country is the new moral compass of the world, as political correctness and decadence rules the West with an iron fist. Consider what the late, former Soviet Union KGB subversive agent Yuri Bezmenov (aka...

Read more...

Fighting for the freedom to dissent from the new ideological conformity

The effective sacking of Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich for supporting traditional marriage continues to provoke reaction. The latest and most notable is a statement signed by supporters of same-sex marriage who believe that what happened to Eich is a step too far. The signatories believe that dissent from same-sex marriage must be permitted and the...

Read more...

Ireland’s marriage rate since 1864: consistently low (mostly)

The CSO has just made available its annual reports on births, deaths and marriages covering the years 1864-2000. Looking at the marriage figures only, they tell us that Ireland’s marriage rate has been remarkably consistent over the period, consistently low that is. In 1864, the marriage rate per 1,000 of the population was 4.8. In...

Read more...

The new climate of libertine puritanism

The always worthwhile Theodore Dalrymple (pictured) has added his tuppence worth to the discussion about the de facto sacking of Mozilla’s Brendan Eich for donating to a campaign in favour of traditional marriage. He says that Eich fell victim to the notion that ‘repressive tolerance’ must not be tolerated. ‘Repressive tolerance’was a term coined by...

Read more...

Please explain why this ‘throuple’ can’t marry one another

They call themselves a ‘throuple’ and they consist of three women who say they are ‘married’ to one another and are expecting a baby. A ‘throuple’, since you ask, is a variation on the word ‘couple’ but is made up of three people, not two. Two of the three women are married under Massachusetts State...

Read more...

Cameron’s ‘Christian’ Britain ruffles atheists’ feathers

An alliance of public figures has accused British Prime Minister David Cameron of “fostering division” within the UK by claiming that Britain is still a “Christian country.”  Writing a letter published in the Daily Telegraph, these intellectuals and politicians claimed that Cameron’s message will have “negative consequences for politics and society.”  They go on: “At...

Read more...

The de facto sacking of Brendan Eich and Section 37

In a recent issue of The Irish Catholic I wrote a piece strongly criticising the de facto sacking of Brendan Eich as CEO of Mozilla. Eich was shown the front door because he once made a donation to a campaign in favour of traditional marriage. In turn it was pointed out to me on social...

Read more...

Catholic schools continue to outperform State schools in NI

Last week the Community Relations Council in Northern Ireland published its latest Peace Monitoring Report. This is designed to measure the extent to which Northern Ireland is progressing socially in what the report describes as a ‘post-conflict situation’. The report covers many aspects of society, but one in particular is relevant to the ongoing debate on the future of education in...

Read more...

Where have all the girls gone?

A new survey of birth ratios has been launched by the British government recently, “amid fears that sex-selective abortions are taking place in Britain.” Earl Howe, a UK health minister, “wants to ‘monitor the situation’ and ‘remain vigilant’ following evidence that some doctors in the UK are carrying out selective abortions.” This is old news....

Read more...
1 93 94 95 96 97 159