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Up to 1,400 people have turned up to see a pastor who claims prayer can 'cure' gay people

Sixty people protested against the visit of Angus Buchan, who also teaches that women should submit to their husbands.

UP TO 1,400 people turned up to see controversial pastor Angus Buchan giving a talk in Kilkenny last night.

The South African evangelical preacher, who styles himself as Uncle Angus and has his own app, says gay men can be cured by prayer – with his help.

As part of his lucrative brand, Buchan hosts ‘mighty men’ conferences, where he teaches that women should submit to their husbands, and that men should physically discipline their children without their wives’ ‘interference’.

He was previously banned from using council property in Scotland for his talks, and last week Kilkenny’s 28-year-old mayor Patrick O’Neill signed an online petition objecting to his visit.

Alan Slattery of the LGBT community in Kilkenny said 60 people protested outside the event in Cíllin Hill, Kilkenny last night – although they decided to oppose his views, rather than his right to host the event.

“Our only intention was to go there and to say we don’t agree with his views on LGBT, women or how parents,” Slattery told TheJournal.ie.

Protest 2 Alan Slattery Alan Slattery

We weren’t protesting the event taking place.

“There was a petition to stop him coming to Kilkenny, but that was a separate thing I wasn’t involved in. We had a meeting that was decided we should go down and have a peaceful protest.”

He was told by organisers there were 1,400 people at the event in the Hub at Cillín Hill.

TheJournal.ie was unable to reach the events centre and calls to Buchan’s Irish operation were not returned.

Kilkenny mayor Patrick O’Neill said “there seemed to be a good crowd inside”.

Read: Gardaí have seized up to €2 million worth of drugs in the past week

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224 Comments
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    Mute CrabaRev
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    Feb 26th 2019, 8:42 AM

    @Ann Lennon:
    From reading this and other articles, it would appear that the “fall from grace” was in his mind.
    A much more pertinent question, was the councillor with with whom he had 10 sessions suitably qualified to determine whether Hawe was a danger to himself or his family? I think “the two felt a connection.” is an extraordinary statement.

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    Mute James Wallace
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    Feb 26th 2019, 9:44 AM

    @John Jones: the point is they don’t know. The gardai won’t release the files and the school has never once contacted the family.

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    Mute James Wallace
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    Feb 26th 2019, 11:32 AM

    @John Jones: no, not a deliberate cover up, but the family are entiteled to some answers to their legitimate questions. The fact that the school has never contacted these people is not speculation, it’s fact, according to them.

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    Mute Anthony Gallagher
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    Feb 26th 2019, 10:32 AM

    Tragic and cruel, but there are far too many experts on here giving their twopence worth.If only mental health was that easy to diagnose,leave it to those that have some idea what they are talking about .

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    Mute Matt Beaumont
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    Feb 26th 2019, 10:41 AM

    @Anthony Gallagher: well obviously they didn’t in that case.

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    Mute John Jones
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    Feb 26th 2019, 10:46 AM

    @James Wallace: Do you think theres a cover up. I think it’s sad how there’s a massive slight being put on the school based on pure speculation.

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    Mute Jane
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    Feb 26th 2019, 2:18 PM

    @CrabaRev: I dont think it’s true to say the fall from grace was in his head. From the Independent.

    He has said in his own words that he was caught red-handed and we do know that he was looking at pornography….

    “We’ve had sight of the counselling notes and he had said he was masturbating somewhere that he shouldn’t have been… So we have pieces of information but we don’t know who caught him.
    “We do know, in the June, he cancelled all his counselling sessions and this all happened the day before he was to return to school,” she said. “He said that it was easier for them to die than to have to live with the truth of what he was doing.”

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    Mute Pauline Gallagher
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    Feb 26th 2019, 8:10 PM

    @Jane: The counselor said that he said this?? She was in a position to go to gardai with this information; patient confidentiality goes out the window when there is a real risk to life. Did she pass this information onto the guards before the murders?

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    Mute CrabaRev
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    Feb 26th 2019, 4:54 PM

    @Jane: I replied to your comment, but my comment was deleted for some weird Journal.ie reason. What you have just quoted from the Indo was a quote from Clodagh’s sister.

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    Mute GerryCummins
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    Feb 27th 2019, 12:19 AM

    It seems it is about the will, and who gets what! Which family benefits from the assets left over…I was wondering why this case had come up again. It is petty infighting between family…..over the assets left behind…

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    Mute Maria Hickey-Fagan
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    Feb 27th 2019, 12:57 AM

    @GerryCummins: would you ever stop. This is a broken, devastated family looking for answers.

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    Mute Anne O'Brien
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    Feb 28th 2019, 4:33 AM

    This Family needs answers, why do they not have the full story. Release all records if you will not share the truth. That councillor statement is bizarre, and a big worry if you ask me. Badly done school. I say wow Mammy, Sister, Granmother, and Aunt you are now fighting for the defenseless I really hope you get your answers. Why O Why

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    Mute helen walsh
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    Feb 27th 2019, 12:40 AM

    My comments are constantly removed, who is behind that? Is my personal information being given to cronies..

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