James Hagan
Last night, a public meeting against BNP Leader Nick Griffin’s planned visit to the University Philosophical Society was held in the Joly Theatre in the Hamilton Building. The meeting was organised by the group Students Against Fascism. It was chaired by Ian McDonnell. 39 people attended the meeting, including members of council of The Phil.
Gavan Titley, lecturer at NUI Maynooth, Conor Ryan, member of Labour Youth, and Paul Shields, SIPTU representative, all made speeches against the visit; this was followed by an open discussion between all the attendees. Each of the speakers highlighted different reasons for students to campaign against The Phil’s invitation to Griffin to speak for the motion at the debate, “This House Believes That Immigration Has Gone Too Far”, scheduled to take place on October 20th.
Titley refuted the idea that stopping Griffin from speaking at the debate would be a denial of freedom of speech, calling that “a very thin understanding of freedom of expression.” He accused The Phil of being “a small, self-selecting members’ club which has decided it’s going to have its brush with controversy, with no consequences for them, other than perhaps a sherry hangover”. He also questioned the validity of the debate due to the vagueness of the motion.
Ryan read out the names of some of the victims of Norwegian right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik, responsible for the Oslo massacre in July of this year. Ryan said that the “threat from the far right is very real, very present” and claimed that exposure given to right-wing celebrities such as Griffin increases that threat. Shields said that he had written a letter to the Facilities Manager of college requesting that the visit be canceled since security staff he represented should not be obliged to work at a potentially dangerous event. He also admitted a personal, ideological opposition to the visit.
During the open portion of the meeting there was much heated discussion. Rónán Burtenshaw, founder of Trinity Against Fascism (a group set up in response to the announcement of Griffin’s visit but separate to Students Against Fascism) made the point that “there is no country in Europe that has an organised, far-right party that does not have an atrocity” and claimed that Griffin’s visit will inevitably inspire such organisation. One attendee, Jo Lloyd-Davies, complained that McDonnell was allowing less time to those who expressed disapproval of Students Against Fascism’s stance.
During an argument with Titley, Phil President Eoin O’Liatháin defended the society’s right to host Griffin and said that giving him a platform was justified because “we have to admit that this side exists, it’s a stance on immigration in reality.” Phil Steward Lydia Rahill said: “I think there’s a misunderstanding- the concept of a debate is to bring up an issue to hear both sides.”
The Phil contacted The University Times today in order to refute some of the statements made last night:
Following on from the ‘Trinity Against Fascism’ meeting held on Tuesday the 11th of October, The Phil would like to correct a number of inaccurate claims made.
The claim was made by a member of ‘Trinity Against Fascism’ that the Phil is guilty of ‘media sensationalism’ with regards to Griffin’s appearance. It was stated that the speaker was advertised both in ‘The Philander’ and in posters by the society. The Philander makes no mention of Mr Griffin, and no such posters exist, nor were any such posters created or drafted by The Phil. The Phil’s sole interaction with the media on this issue has to date been the following statement:“The Phil is a neutral forum for discussion. We do not endorse the views of any of our speakers.
Nick Griffin has been invited to speak solely on immigration. He is a prominent speaker on this issue.The debate will be balanced with two guest speakers on each side of the motion.”
One speaker at the meeting claimed that, in response to an application to speak at the debate, he was told by the Secretary of The Phil that he would not be able to do so due to the speaker’s political activism. No such exchange ever took place. Speakers for the debate were chosen, as per usual, based on a competitive assessment of which students would give the best speeches on the topic at hand. Mathematically, not all applicants could be facilitated in speaking – this included a former officer in The Phil.
A further claim was clearly made that the opposition side of the Phil debate had been censored by the Council of The Phil. This claim is unfounded. Contrary to the misconception held by several at the meeting that the debate was built around Mr Griffin’s speech, all of our guest speakers for this debate were confirmed before Mr Griffin and selected because they are qualified speakers on the issue of immigration. As for the two student speakers, The Phil has had no involvement in the content of their speeches.
It was claimed several times that Mr Griffin would be in Ireland for a 3 or 4 day visit during which it was heavily suggested that his itinerary was to include meetings with several right wing movements. Whilst Mr Griffin is a European citizen and free to travel and exchange at his own liberty, the above suggestion is again unfounded and Mr Griffin will be arriving in Ireland for the debate on Thursday evening and leaving the country on Friday morning.
We would also like the opportunity to clarify that Mr Griffin will be speaking for 10 minutes in a 68 minute debate – the same length of speaking time extended to all of The Phil’s debating guests.
It is our hope that the above clarifications will lend to a healthier discourse on campus, and one founded on truth.
