Ireland is a very small country, roughly 10 percent larger by population than Louisiana. It’s interesting to see the debate about transgenderism erupt there almost overnight.
There is no established and organized social-conservative party in Irish politics. Social issues in Ireland are still managed, as ever, by a clerical class. But in modern Ireland this is made up of a nexus of media figures and activist groups.
Ireland had already passed a self-ID law in 2015, when only 17 percent of the public supported it. But there was no real debate about it.
In the last two weeks, the national broadcaster RTÉ — and, to a lesser extent over the last twelve months, the Irish Times — has given a platform to people who are critical of the transgender movement, particularly as it relates to children. Activists who are used to setting the terms of the debate in concert with Irish media have gone into full meltdown mode. From the Irish Times:
Dublin’s lord mayor and a leading human rights activist have expressed anger at recent RTÉ Radio 1 Liveline programmes which dealt with transgender issues. Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland said the subject was “being played out in the most appalling, disgusting way on our national airwaves in the name of public debate.” What had taken place “actually hinders, and creates more division,” she added.
Human rights activist Dr Ailbhe Smyth, recently conferred with the Freedom of the City of Dublin, said: “It is not the role of our national broadcaster to enable or encourage hate speech of any kind. If it comes up on the programme I can understand but that it is allowed to crop up again and again, that is a step too far. I believe that it’s important that senior management at RTÉ should look at that, indeed the board of governors should consider this matter very carefully.”
This may seem like small ball to us, but it’s a big split among an important caste in Irish society. It also shows how trans activists are happy to shut down the conversation before it’s even had.
Unlike the United States, and a bit more like the United Kingdom, Ireland does not have a buccaneering and entrepreneurial medical profession. In the U.S., drug sellers, academics, and doctors can open up a gender clinic, and with the right amount of moxie, find a way to sluice the funds of your health insurer. Irish children seeking “affirming” care have sought out the controversial Tavistock Foundation in the United Kingdom. So, it was only a matter of time before the TERF debates of the United Kingdom crossed the Irish Sea.
One gets the sense that a certain generation of liberals in Ireland fears that a freight train of medical scandals is inbound and that they are artfully trying to dodge it by allowing debate on the issue at last. I think such would be happening in the United States already, but here liberals have a greater fear of providing aid and comfort to conservatives.