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FIVE COMPLAINTS AROUND a Rose of Tralee contestant insulting Irish Mass have been rejected by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
Two complaints around a separate contestant expressing her support for a referendum to be held on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution were also rejected.
During last August’s Rose of Tralee the North Carolina Rose gave her views on Irish Mass.
Three complainants took issue with her description of mass during her interview segment and the conversation that followed with the presenter Dáithí Ó Sé.
In the segment, the Rose - Maigan Kennedy – describes her experience as a North American Protestant attending a Roman Catholic mass.
She lightheartedly describes mass as “like a gym, and at the end the priest gives you a biscuit”. Ó Sé then questions – “was it gluten-free?”
Tony Clayton-Lea / TwitterBrilliant definition of Mass by North Carolina Rose: "it's like a gym, and at the end the priest gives you a biscuit." #RoseofTralee
— Tony Clayton-Lea (@TonyClaytonLea) August 23, 2016
Five complainants took issue with this description of Mass, claiming that it was insulting to the Catholic religion.
One complainant stated that the Rose was “allowed to ridicule, make fun of and generally rubbish the Irish Roman Catholic Mass”.
Another said that referring to the Eucharistic Host as a biscuit “should not have happened” and that it was “inexcusable”.
Another said the segment was an “abuse of free speech” and an “insult to Irish Catholics who believe in God’s teachings”.
In its ruling, the BAI found that the segment was in keeping with the “style of the programme” and that the Rose’s comments were “irreverent and humourous”.
The BAI found that while people may have been offended, the Rose’s comments were not:
of a nature that they would cause widespread offence and could be considered to stigmatise, support or condone discrimination against people on the basis of their religion.
The Eighth Amendment
Two complaints were also rejected by the BAI to do with a separate interview segment with the Sydney Rose the previous night.
In this case, the Sydney Rose – Brianna Parkins – made comments around a referendum being held on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.
In her interview segment, Parkins said:
I think it’s time we give women a say on their own reproductive rights and I would love to see a referendum on the 8th coming up soon.
The comments sparked a lot of debate at the time, with Parkins winning praise from some quarters, but also being criticised from festival judges.
In its ruling, the BAI found that the comments were Parkins’ “personal opinion made in the context of a light entertainment interview whose focus was on her character and her interests”.
The Committee also found in its ruling that the presenter (Ó Sé) ”did not specifically elicit her views on the topic of Ireland’s abortion laws nor did he pursue this topic further”.
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If the same comments were made against Islam, they would have been upheld.
What would the equivalent be Mosque is like a gym but a unisex one men and women in separate areas…..Don’t think RTE would have broadcast it ….They have a 5 second delay to monitor before they broadcast
@Rosie Murray: totally agree, why did she go to a catholic mass if she was a protestant ?
It’s part of the event that the lovely girls go to mass. Redicolous in this day and age where most people don’t go anyway.
Who cares? There are much more important things to worry about in Ireland than getting your knickers in a twist about something as silly as this.
Even my grandmother, a devout catholic lady who attends Mass regularly, can have a lol at all the minor differences between catholic and Protestant services.
These people who write in whinging about things like this are far too precious and easily offended. No religion is not above ridicule, they need to get over themselves!
Actually there is a blasphemy law in Ireland. Careful there ted !
@Brian Fal: you sound more offended than anyone….
Peter: certainly not, but doing something a bit silly like “the body of Christ” bread thing and then getting offended about someone expressing their opinion of it is a bit precious, some people love being offended so they can whinge about it.
Conor: True but I think it’s a long time since someone has been prosecuted for blasphemy.
You can imagine them sitting there, pen and paper in hand just waiting for anything to offend them.
A complete non-story. What’s ridiculous is a media outlet running a story regarding 5 people, out of a TV audience of 618,000 (.0008%) making a complaint about some religious comments made by a fellow christian. One can only think that the Journal ran this story in the hope that it would spark some lively debate here between the charlie churches and the atheists. The number of complainants is completely insignificant though so a complete non-story.
In fairness the BAI can reprimand with just one complaint so the number of complainants is irrelevant!
Eh .. thats the whole idea of it ..
@Deborah Behan: judging by your comments youre not behind the door waiting to be offended yourself..
@Deborah Behan. Ultra right-wing, conservative snowflakes are so easily offended.
All .0008% of them. Again, a non-story. If it was not about religion, the Journal wouldn’t have reported this. Trump, abortion, religion…topics ripe for hyperbole as far as TJ is concerned.
Has anyone considered that it’s actually someone either at RTE or connected to the festival who made the complaints ? Nothing like a bit of controversy to get people watching…. I can’t imagine even the most ardent Catholic doing anything but rolling their eyes at that… Besides D’Unbelievables did it years earlier… https://youtu.be/UC6kcDYOPls
@Brian Fal: Snowflakes!
Just stop watching this crap!
I remember some of the comments in here calling the Sydney Rose a true hero for what she said. . Totally over the top . I can see though how some religious people would find the other girls comment about mass offensive though .. there was no need for it really …
Ridiculous practices deserve ridicule. People believe that wafer has been transmutated into the flesh of a 2000 year old carpenter who may not even have existed and then gladly eat it!
A book containing a talking snake, a man who can rise from the dead and walk on water, a virgin mother and a boat that managed to pack two of every one of the worlds two million species on it during a great flood covering the entire planet … Ireland gets up in arms at a lighthearted comment surrounding a worshiping ceremony
Ireland gets up in arms ? It was 5 people who complained. .
Religion offends me daily ,you learn to grow a pair of you should as a fully fledged adult person.
Those who know that their brand of religion is the one true faith, all enlightened , the source of all wisdom and absolute divine truth, and conveyed to them by their own deity should not be perturbed by those who are misguided enough not to share their devotion and conviction.
If there is a supreme deity, which I doubt, it is unlikely to be overly fussed by the impudence of mere mortals.
Those who know that their brand of religion is the one true faith, all enlightened p, the source of all wisdom and absolute divine truth, and conveyed to them by their own deity should not be perturbed by those who are misguided enough not to share their devotion and conviction.
If there is a supreme deity, which I doubt, it is unlikely to be overly fussed by the impudence of mere mortals.
And so they should.
But their reasoning is not a conversion to free expression.
I m the self appointed spokesman for the good people of Ireland on the Journal but I have to honest here – I found that very funny.
I almost broke into a smile. (but quickly regained my composure)
Alex .. you’re slipping .. keep up the good work ..
Poor Alex. Having a rough night.
@Jimmyjoe Wallace:
Never a dull moment here Jimmy.
The one thing that really upsets those who fall for these fairy tale religions is ridicule.
People are entitled to their opinion. Others are entitled to disagree but to make a complaint about it is stupid.
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