Cllrs chime in on Angelus debate

Cavan County Council is set to write to RTÉ urging them to continue ringing the Angelus bells on TV and radio twice daily. The motion was raised by Independent Councillor Shane P O’Reilly who had previously brought up the issue at a Ballyjamesduff Municipal District meeting.

Reiterating what he had previously said, Cllr O’Reilly told the meeting the national broadcaster is coming under pressure to remove the Angelus from the station as some viewers “take offence” to it.

“This is more of the woke culture” he said, blaming a small group of people for the complaints.

“If RTÉ wants to deny the Irish people of what they’ve done for years, shame on them.”

Councillor TP O’Reilly agreed, stating “everyone’s free will should be respected”, while Independent Councillor Brendan Fay said the country is “walking around on egg shells”.

“It’ll come to a point where I wouldn’t be able to stand up in public and call myself an overweight person without offending someone.”

Councillors Clifford Kelly (FF), Madeleine Argue (FG, Aidan Fitzpatrick (FF), Patricia Walsh (FF), Áine Smith (FF) and Sarah O’Reilly (Aontu) also supported the motion.

Read more from the previous council debate

People need to take time to ‘reflect’