Irish free speech fears for Christians

A civil law student at the National University of Ireland Galway has questioned the introduction of a university Community Promise which could impede freedom of speech.

The student, Simeon Burke, is concerned the university could apply the regulations more widely in students’ lives. It asks students to follow behaviours that are not specified, as rules may ‘change regularly’.

Burke noted that some elements of the Promise read like compelled speech, with students signing to agree they will change their behaviour if they are challenged about it. The assumption being made is that the challenger is automatically correct.

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Although the Promise is centred around protecting people from Covid-19, the university has past form in restricting the rights of students. Burke’s own siblings are currently involved in a court case against the university after they were banned from being involved in campus societies. They were members of the Christian Union committee and expressed biblical views on marriage and abortion which led to their ban. They are claiming that the university discriminated against them on the basis of their religion.