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John Waters
Waters in 2019
Born
John Augustine Waters

(1955-05-28)28 May 1955(age 69)
Castlerea,County Roscommon,Ireland
Occupation(s)Columnist, author
Years active1981–present
Known forWriting inThe Irish Times,entering theEurovision Song Contest
Political partyIndependent
Spouse
Rita Simons
​
(m.2014)​
Children1
Websitejohnwaters.ie

John Augustine Waters[1](born 28 May 1955) is an Irish columnist and author. He started his career with music and politics magazine,Hot Press,and also wrote for theSunday Tribunenewspaper. He later edited the social magazineIn Dublin,and the investigative and current affairs magazineMagill.He became a regular columnist at theIrish Timesand then theIrish Independent,while authoring some works on non-fiction, and developedThe Whoseday Book,which raised 3 million euros for charity. He has also been a member of theBroadcasting Authority of Ireland.

Waters was an unsuccessfulindependentcandidate in the2020 Irish general electionforDún Laoghaireconstituency.[2][3]He was an unsuccessful candidate for theMidlands–North-Westconstituency at the2024 European Parliament election.[4]

Personal life[edit]

Waters was born on 28 May 1955 inCastlerea,County Roscommonto Thomas (1904–1989) and Mary Ita Waters (née McGrath; 1920–2012). From a relationship with singerSinéad O'Connor,he has a daughter, born in 1996 inLondon.[5][6]Following her birth, a long legal custody battle ensued resulting in Waters having custody of his daughter and living with her inDalkey.[7][8]

He suffered from analcohol addictionuntil 1989 when he gave it up completely, a decision that he credits with transforming his life.[9]He married Rita Simons in December 2014.[10]

Career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Waters's career began in 1981 with the Irish political and music magazineHot Press.[11]He wrote for theSunday Tribuneand later editedIn Dublinmagazine from 1985 to 1987[12]andMagill.[13]

Waters has written several books and, in 1998, he devisedThe Whoseday Book— which contains quotes, writings and pictures of 365 Irish writers and musicians – raising €3 million for the IrishHospiceFoundation.[14]

Irish Times and Irish Independent[edit]

Waters wrote a weekly column forThe Irish Timesfrom 1990 to 2014.[13]He was briefly fired during a dispute with the then editor,Geraldine Kennedy,but was shortly thereafter reinstated.[15][16][17]

In March 2014, Waters leftThe Irish Times,[18][19]and shortly after started writing columns for theSunday IndependentandIrish Independent.[13]In 2018 he released a new book calledGive Us Back the Bad Roads.[13]On 13 July 2014 theSunday Independentpublished what it described as Waters' first column for the paper.[20]He has since written regular columns for that paper and its sister theIrish Independent.[21]

Waters is a fortnightly contributor to the American journalFirst Thingsand is a Permanent Research Fellow at the Center for Ethics and Culture,University of Notre Dame.[22]

Politics and advocacy[edit]

Waters was an active participant in the Catholic cultural movementCommunion and Liberation.[23]He has given at least one talk to theIona Institute.[24]

He was a member of theBroadcasting Authority of Irelanduntil he resigned in January 2014,[25]during which time he was a litigant seeking damages from the broadcaster RTÉ.[26][27]

In 2015, he became involved with First Families First in calling for a 'No' vote in the referendum for theThirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015.[28]

In February 2018 he appeared withNigel Farageat an Irexit conference organised byHermann Kelly.[13]The conference described itself as open "only to supporters of an Irish exit from theEuropean Union".[13]There were several members of the far-rightNational Party- headed byJustin Barrett- at the conference.[13]He denied that Ireland was a republic, state or democracy.[13]Waters was quoted as saying "We have to remove the media because they don’t permit us to have the conversation" to which the crowd responded enthusiastically.[13]They also applauded his claim that immigrants "have no affinity or allegiance to the countries they end up in" and that "[t]his is our fault because we don’t demand it".[13]He claimed that "Europeans no longer have a place to call home" and that European Christianity was being eroded by "metastatic cancer".[13]

In 2019 he appeared in a number of podcasts withGemma O'Dohertyand Justin Barrett.[13]

Waters with Gemma O'Doherty, and Justin Barrett of the National Party.
Waters with Gemma O'Doherty, and Justin Barrett of the National Party.

Balbriggan meeting[edit]

On 28 January 2020, Waters and O'Doherty addressed an Anti-Corruption Ireland meeting in Balbriggan.[13]During the meeting he said "many of the ethnicities that are coming here” had “fertility rates that are two or three times the Irish rate" and claimed thegreat replacementconspiracy theoryofRenaud Camuswould happen in Ireland.[13]He criticised the Fianna Fáil slogan "An Ireland for all", saying in an outraged tone "Who were Fianna Fáil referring to? ISIS? There are two words missing. Except Paddy".[13]During his speech he openly speculated about being murdered in a nursing home by an immigrant care worker.[13]

2020 general election[edit]

Waters ran under the banner of Gemma O'Doherty's far-right group, "Anti-Corruption Ireland", in the2020 Irish general election,in theDún Laoghaireconstituency.[2][13]In his pre-election writings he referred to the great replacement conspiracy theory and referred toThe Strange Death of Europe.[13]As Anti-Corruption Ireland is not a registered political party, he appeared on the ballot paper as an independent. Waters received 1.48% of first preference votes and was eliminated on the first count.[3][13][29]

High Court action against COVID-19 legislation[edit]

On 15 April 2020, Waters andGemma O'Dohertylaunched a legal action against laws dealing with theCOVID-19 pandemic.[30]They sought to have various parts of the legislation declared null and void by a judge of the High Court.[30]

The legislation included:

as well as temporary restrictions brought in due to COVID-19 under the 1947 Health Act.[30]

Waters said to the court that the legislation was "unconstitutional", "improperly acted" and "very flawed".[30]He said that the challenge was brought on the grounds that the laws were brought in by a caretaker government, by a Dáil where the number of TDs were limited and was enacted by an outgoingSeanad.[30]The action was to be taken against theMinister for Health (Ireland),Ireland and theAttorney General.[30]In a hearing on the matter, Mr Justice Paul Sankey said that the court was only concerned with the legality of the legislation and not about government policy, directed that the application for permission to bring the challenge be made on notice to the State respondents, and adjourned the matter for a week.[30]

In a second hearing, the Counsel for the State, told the court that the State would oppose the application for leave to bring the challenge,[31]and stated that the Seanad andCeann Comhairlewould need to be added as notice parties.[31]During this hearing, O'Doherty stated that the vast majority of people were unaffected by COVID-19 which she said was "no threat to life" and that Irish people should be allowed to go outside and "build up a herd immunity".[31]During the discussion, the applicants questioned if the proceedings were being held in public.[31]Up to 100 supporters of the applicants gathered in the Round Hall of theFour Courtsbut were not permitted to enter the courtroom because of social distancing rules introduced because of COVID-19.[31]An application to let some or all of the supporters into the courtroom was dismissed by the judge,[31]who said that the court was being held in public and was being reported on by the media.[31]The following day,Gardaíannounced that there was an investigation into the large gathering at the Four Courts,[32]stating that they had asked the group to disperse because of concerns with adherence to guidelines on social distancing and non-essential travel.[32]Gardaí said the group dispersed and no arrests were made but investigations were ongoing.[32]

At the next hearing, on 28 April 2020, there was a strong Garda presence at the Four Courts,[33]and barriers were used to prevent crowds from entering the court.[33]Members of thePublic Order Unitand the Bridewell Garda station were stationed at all main entrances to the building.[33]About forty supporters of the applicants turned up.[33]No arrests were made.[33]At this hearing, Mr Justice Charles Meehan fixed the applicant's appeal for hearing on 5 May 2020.[33]During the meeting, O'Doherty said that the people of Ireland were under "mass house arrest" and Gardaí were "using guns" to frighten people.[33]

On 5 May 2020, there was again a strong Garda presence outside the Four Courts.[34]In her submission to the court O'Doherty said that the COVID-19 conditions were comparable to living in "Nazi Germany" and that the basis for introducing the restrictions was "scientifically fraudulent" and that evidence to that effect would be presented at the full hearing of their action.[34]The State's representatives opposed the application for leave, saying that the claims were not arguable.[34]

On 13 May 2020, Mr Justice Charles Meehan dismissed the applicant's case.[35][36][37]He said that the applicant's claims were not arguable and the court could not grant them an application to have their challenge determined at a full hearing of the High Court.[36]He said that the applicants had not provided any facts or expert evidence to support the view that the laws challenged by the applicants were unconstitutional,[36]and noted that the applicants had "no medical or scientific qualifications or expertise, [and] relied on their own unsubstantiated views, gave speeches, engaged in empty rhetoric and sought to draw parallel to Nazi Germany which is both absurd and offensive".[36][35]

On 2 March 2021, the Irish Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Waters and O'Doherty of the High Court's refusal to permit them to bring their challenge, and its award of costs of that hearing against them. Counsel for the state in the appeal argued that some of the applicants' submissions were "Bermuda Trianglestuff ".[38]

On 5 July 2022 the Supreme Court upheld the decision to dismiss the challenge brought by him and Gemma O'Doherty against the constitutionality of laws introduced in response to COVID-19.[39]

2024 European Parliament election[edit]

He ran as an independent candidate in the2024 European Parliament election.[40]Waters received 13,692 (2.0%) first preference votes but was not elected.[41]

Non-fiction and drama[edit]

Waters has written a number of works of non-fiction as well as plays for radio and the stage. The title of his first non-fiction book,Jiving at the Crossroads,is a pun of Irish presidentÉamon de Valera's vision of a rural Ireland which is oftenmisattributedas "comely maidens dancing at the crossroads". In the book, Waters comments on modern Ireland. Another non-fiction work,Lapsed Agnostic,describes his "journey from belief to un-belief and back again."

Appearances[edit]

Eurovision Song Contest[edit]

Waters has entered the Eurovision Song Contest. "They Can't Stop the Spring",the song he co-wrote with Tommy Moran and performed by the band Dervish, was selected following a telephone vote of viewers onRTÉ'sThe Late Late Showto be Ireland's entry inEurovision Song Contest 2007inHelsinki.The song finished last in the European competition final, receiving only 5 points.[42]

In 2010, RTÉ announced that Waters had sought to represent Ireland again at Eurovision, with the song "Does Heaven Need Much More?", co-written with Tommy Moran.[43]In the Irish National Final on 5 March 2010, the song was performed by Leanne Moore, the winner ofYou're a Star2008, and finished in fourth place.[44]

Electric Picnic 2010[edit]

Waters attended theElectric Picnicmusic festival in 2010 and wrote that he felt a sense of dissatisfaction with the event, concluding that there was a lack of meaning underpinning events at the festival.[45]Sunday Tribunejournalist Una Mullally replied that if Waters felt disconnected or out of place at the Electric Picnic, that it was because the country had changed, and continued "perhaps this is the first Irish generation who have purposely opted out of tormenting themselves by searching for some unattainable greater meaning and who have chosen instead just to live".[46]

Television[edit]

In 2007, Waters took part as one of the guest amateur chefs, in the RTEThe Restaurant,programme.[47] In 2008, he took part in a television programme which researched his family's past.[48]Parish records revealed that his great-granduncle, also called John Waters, died of starvation during theGreat Famine.[48]

In 2011 he sat for the painterNick Miller,the subject of a naked portrait for an Arts Lives RTÉ programme, calledNaked.[49]

Over the years Waters has participated on a number of current affairs programmes on Irish television, includingQuestions and Answers(RTÉ),Vincent Browne Tonight(TV3), andThe Late Late Show(RTÉ).

Views[edit]

Criticism of Blogsphere[edit]

During a newspaper review on radio station,Newstalk 106,Waters declaredblogsand bloggers to be "stupid".[50]He then repeated those claims[51]the following week, sparking controversy amongst Irish bloggers[52]who took exception to his views. In the same interview, Waters claimed that "sixty to seventy percent of the internet is pornography".[53]

Northern Ireland[edit]

Ofthe TroublesinNorthern Ireland,and the acceptance of theGood Friday AgreementbySinn Féin,Waters has written, "After thirty years of conflict and more than 3,000 deaths, theProvoshad achieved nothing more than had been on the table at the beginning. Now they were prepared to exchange all the alleged principles on which they had fought their 'war' for a few seats in an assembly that could have been agreed nearly three decades previously if they had been prepared to be reasonable. They had fought for 'freedom' and settled for power. "[54]

Pantigate[edit]

See also:Pantigate

On 11 January 2014, Waters was mentioned by Irishdrag queenPanti(Rory O'Neill) onRTÉ'sThe Saturday Night ShowwithBrendan O'Connorwhile discussinghomophobia.O'Neill said that Waters, among other Irish journalists, was homophobic.[55][56]

Waters and the others mentioned threatened RTÉ and O'Neill with legal action.[57]RTÉ subsequently removed that section of the interview from their online archive.[58]On 25 January episode ofThe Saturday Night Show,O'Connor issued a public apology to those named on behalf of RTÉ for being mentioned in the interview held two weeks previously.[59]RTÉ compensated Waters and others mentioned.[60]

RTÉ received hundreds of complaints about the issue.[61]A rally against the payout and censorship drew 2,000 people,[62]and the appropriateness of the payout was later discussed by members of theOireachtas.[63][64][65][66]The issue was also discussed in the European Parliament.[67]RTÉ's head of television defended the €85,000 payout and blamed the decision mostly on Ireland'sAnti-Defamation Laws.[68][69]

Dispute with Irish Times colleagues[edit]

In February 2014,[70]Waters' implicated fellowIrish TimesjournalistPatsy McGarryas the author of a handful ofad hominemTweets, written anonymously. In the piece, Waters' alleged an institutional bias withinThe Irish TimesagainstCatholic social teaching.Despite this, in March 2014, it was announced that John Waters had decided to stop contributing toThe Irish Times.[18][19]Reports stated that he had been unhappy atThe Irish Timessince the controversy.[18][19]

Comments on depression[edit]

In April 2014, Waters replied when asked if he had becomedepressedbecause of the reaction to his actions over RTÉ and Rory O'Neill: "There's no such thing. It's an invention. It's bullshit. It's a cop out."[71]

He was criticised by many, including Paul Kelly, founder of the suicide prevention charityConsole,guidance councillor Eamon Keane, journalist Suzanne Harrington (whose late husband suffered from depression), gay rights activistPanti,charity campaignerMajella O'Donnellas well as online commenters.[72][73][74][75]

His former partner Sinéad O'Connor expressed concern for Waters, saying that she thought he was suffering from depression and needed to admit it.[76]

Faith and Society[edit]

Waters devoted much of his column space inThe Irish Timesto discussing the role and importance of religion and faith in society. In an interview, he has described people of faith as "funnier, sharper and smarter" than atheists.[77]In a 2009 article titled "Another no to Lisbon might shock FF back to its senses" Waters voiced his opposition to gay marriage stating that it was "potentially destructive of the very fabric of Irish society".[78]

Thirty-fourth amendment to the Constitution of Ireland[edit]

In 2015 areferendumwas held on the matter of same-sex marriage. Before the referendum the Constitution was assumed to contain an implicit prohibition onsame-sex marriage.[79]

Waters was involved with a group opposing the referendum called First Families First, along withKathy Sinnottand Gerry Fahey.[80]

After the referendum passed, Waters described the result as 'catastrophic' for Irish society.[81]He also said "Not just the gay, LGBT lobby, but virtually the entire journalistic fraternity turned on me and tried to basically peck me to death".[81]

In February 2017, Waters spoke at a panel where he blamedLGBTactivists for his decision to quit journalism.[82] He said "I stopped being a journalist because of the LGBT campaign. They tried to present themselves as beautiful gentle people, but these people aren't".[82]Waters compared the activists that attacked him to theBlack and Tans,saying "I would prefer them to the people I met last year in the campaign. I would prefer them, bring them back. Bring back the Black and Tans".[82]"The ugliest phenomenon I have ever seen in 30 years a journalist," Waters added.[83]

He also claimed that theclerical child abuse caseswere "closely aligned to homosexuality".[82]He claimed "Now paedophile priests, there's no such thing… that's the single most interesting lie about all this. 90% of the abusers in Catholic church, they were not paedophiles, they wereephebophiles.An entirely different phenomenon. They were abusers of teenage boys which is closely aligned to homosexuality ".[82]

Urban/rural divide[edit]

InJiving at the Crossroadshe wrote about what he perceived the divide between secular urban Ireland and rural areas.[13]He felt that the former looked down on the latter.[13]In hisHot Pressradio column he had relied on stock images of rural life, but the book was an attempt to make amends.[13]

He was influenced byJohn Healy,admiring his worksNineteen AcresandThe Death of an Irish Town.[13]

Change in audience[edit]

From 2014 onwards, he mostly did not write to influence mainstream public opinion.[13]Thethirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of Irelandrecognisedsame sex marriage in Ireland(previously held to be prohibited by the constitution) and thethirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Irelandwhich changed the constitutional position onabortion.[13]He no longer wrote for a mostly Irish audience, but for one centred on the United States, becoming involved inculture warsbetween conservatives and progressives.[13]He now appeared on conservative podcasts with large audiences.[13]

Immigrants[edit]

In 2020, he publicly supported theGreat Replacementconspiracy theory.[13]

Direct provision[edit]

Main article:Direct provision

Direct provision is a system ofasylum seekeraccommodation that has been criticised as illegal, inhuman and degrading.[84]

Far right groups, as part of theirxenophobicpolicy, had been encouraging people to oppose DP centres for some years, with little success.[85]However, in November 2018, a proposed DP centre wasfirebombedinMoville.[86]The following February, protests against a proposed DP centre inRooskeysaw anotherarsonattack on a proposed DP centre.[87]In September 2019,Oughterardsaw the largest ever protests against a proposed DP centre, which was blockaded night and day for three weeks.[88][85]Another 24/7 protest began onAchill Islandthe following month, which continued until 2020, the longest ever protest against a DP centre.[89][90]Plans to accommodate asylum seekers in these four places were dropped. While there have been small protests against DP centres since Achill, none have been successful.

In a podcast in 2019 he claimed that direct provision was not inhumane and that asylum seekers lived in luxury compared to how he grew up.[13]

Other views[edit]

Waters has referred to himself as a "neo-Luddite"[91]or later as a "luddite".[92]At one stage he refused to use e-mail and stated his concern that society ignores the negative aspects of the Internet.

In his articles titled "Impose democracy on Iraq" and "Bush and Blair doing right thing", Waters explained his support for the2003 invasion of Iraq,a position based on his belief that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the West due to its possession ofweapons of mass destruction.[93][94]

He wrote an article titled "Two sides to domestic violence", which criticised the lack of gender balance inAmnesty International's campaign againstdomestic violencein Ireland. Waters cited the National Crime Council report, conducted by theEconomic and Social Research Institute,which found approximate gender symmetry in most measures of domestic violence and he pointed out that despite these statistics, funding for women victims of domestic violence (€15 million) disproportionately outstrips funding for male victims.[95]Waters' article led to a response from the head ofAmnesty International's Irish branch.[96]

Jailing over parking fine[edit]

In September 2013 he was jailed for around two hours inWheatfield Prisonover non-payment of a parking fine.[97]The case dated back to 2011 and Waters claimed that he returned to his car one minute over a 15-minute grace period.[97]He refused to pay the fine as a matter of principle.[98]

Defamation action against Waters[edit]

In November 2018The Irish Timesjournalist Kitty Holland took a defamation action against Waters for accusing her of lying about the cause ofdeath of Savita Halappanavar.[99]In July 2024 Holland was awarded €35,000 damages for defamation of character against Waters.[100]

Publications[edit]

Non-fiction[edit]

  • Jiving at the Crossroads: The Shock of the New in Haughey's Ireland(Blackstaff, 1991)ISBN978-0-85640-478-8
  • Race of Angels: Ireland and the Genesis of U2(4th Estate/Blackstaff, 1994)ISBN978-0-85640-542-6
  • Every Day Like Sunday?(Poolbeg, 1995)ISBN978-1-85371-423-8
  • An Intelligent Person's Guide to Modern Ireland(Duckworth, 1997)ISBN978-0-7156-2791-4New edition (2001)ISBN978-0-7156-3091-4
  • The Politburo Has Decided That You Are Unwell(Liffey Press, 2004)ISBN978-1-904148-46-3
  • Lapsed Agnostic(Continuum, 2007)ISBN978-0-8264-9146-6
  • Beyond Consolation: or How We Became Too Clever for God... and Our Own Good(Continuum, 2010)ISBN978-1-4411-1421-1
  • Feckers: 50 People Who Fecked Up Ireland(Constable, 2010)ISBN978-1-84901-442-7
  • Was it for this? Why Ireland lost the plot(Transworld Ireland, 2012)ISBN978-1-848-27125-8
  • Give Us Back the Bad Roads(Currach Press, 2018)ISBN9781782189015

Plays[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Waters, John (2008).Lapsed Agnostic.Continuum. p. 86.
  2. ^abRyan, Philip (22 January 2020)."John Waters to run under Anti-Corruption ireland Banner".Irish Independent.Retrieved22 January2020.
  3. ^abMcDermott, Stephen (10 February 2020)."Far-right parties barely register after polling less than 1% in most constituencies".TheJournal.ie.Retrieved15 February2020.
  4. ^"Nominations for European Election".Returning Officer for County Galway.Retrieved27 April2024.
  5. ^"Daughter born to Sinead O'Connor".The Irish Times.11 March 1996.
  6. ^abcBiographyArchived30 March 2010 at theWayback Machinejohnwaters.ie
  7. ^"Complaint by father leads to police probe".independent.2 February 1999.Retrieved4 March2023.
  8. ^"Sinead gives up custody of two-year-old girl after bitter battle. - Free Online Library".thefreelibrary.Retrieved4 March2023.
  9. ^John Waters (30 July 2014)."The alternative to drink is freedom from a substance that was the point of my life".Irish Independent.Retrieved17 December2014.
  10. ^"About John Waters".johnwaters.ie.Retrieved27 April2024.
  11. ^"Is Hot Press still cool?".Marketing Magazine (Ireland). Archived fromthe originalon 29 October 2013.Retrieved26 June2013.
  12. ^John Watters appointed editor of In DublinSlants.
  13. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacFanning, Bryan (1 May 2021)."According to John".Dublin Review of Books.Retrieved13 May2021.
  14. ^Books Written By John Watersjohnwaters.ie
  15. ^John Waters and The Irish TimesArchived28 August 2009 at theWayback MachineEamonn Fitzgeralds Rainy Day
  16. ^Irish Times fires columnist John Waters,RTÉ News, Sunday 23 November 2003
  17. ^Waters is reinstated at The Irish Times,RTÉ News, Monday 24 November 2003
  18. ^abcCalnan, Denise (28 March 2014)."Columnist John Waters 'stops contributing' to the Irish Times".Irish Independent.Retrieved29 March2014.
  19. ^abc"John Waters has officially stopped writing for the Irish Times".TheJournal.ie.28 March 2014.Retrieved29 March2014.
  20. ^Waters, John (13 July 2013)."Searching for the soul of the 'true' Ireland..."Sunday Independent.Retrieved13 July2014.
  21. ^"Search".Irish Independent.Retrieved17 December2014.
  22. ^Waters, John (2018).Give Us Back the Bad Roads.Currach Press. p. About the Author.ISBN978-1782189015.
  23. ^The Risk of EducationArchived2 August 2012 atarchive.todayby John Waters. Retrieved: 201104-15.
  24. ^O'Gorman, Tom (14 December 2012)."John Waters on 'Ireland and the Abolition of God'".Iona Institute.Retrieved28 October2013.
  25. ^"John Waters resigns from broadcasting watchdog -".Irish Independent.23 January 2014.Retrieved6 February2014.
  26. ^"Ireland: Anti-gay marriage group win damages after drag queen calls them homophobes ·".Pink News.Retrieved7 February2014.
  27. ^Laura Slattery (6 February 2014)."RTÉ show generates 330 emails and letters to regulator".The Irish Times.Retrieved7 February2014.
  28. ^Sheridan, Kathy (1 May 2015)."Kathy Sheridan: First Families First take up fight for No side".The Irish Times.Retrieved9 May2015.
  29. ^"Election 2020: Dún Laoghaire".Irish Times.Dublin. 9 February 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 5 June 2021.Retrieved5 June2021.
  30. ^abcdefghij"Covid-19 restrictions challenged in High Court".RTE News.15 April 2020.Retrieved22 August2020.
  31. ^abcdefg"High Court told State to oppose challenge against Covid-19 laws".RTE News.21 April 2020.Retrieved22 August2020.
  32. ^abcReynolds, Paul (22 April 2020)."Investigation under way after large gathering at Four Courts".RTE News.Retrieved22 August2020.
  33. ^abcdefgO'Donnell, Dimitri (28 April 2020)."Waters, O'Doherty hearing on Covid-19 laws granted for next week".RTE News.Retrieved22 August2020.
  34. ^abcO Faolain, Aodhan (5 May 2020)."O'Doherty compares Covid-19 restrictions to living in 'Nazi Germany' at High Court hearing".TheJournal.ie.Retrieved22 August2020.
  35. ^abO'Donnell, Orla (13 May 2020)."O'Doherty, Waters lose High Court Covid-19 case".RTE News.Retrieved22 August2020.
  36. ^abcdO'Faolain, Aodhan (13 May 2020)."Covid-19: Waters and O'Doherty refused permission to challenge laws".Irish Times.Retrieved22 August2020.
  37. ^O'Faolain, Aodhan (13 May 2020)."John Waters and Gemma O'Doherty refused permission to challenge laws".Irish Independent.Retrieved22 August2020.
  38. ^O Faolain, Aodhan (2 March 2021)."John Waters and Gemma O'Doherty lose High Court appeal over Covid-19 restrictions".Irish Independent.Retrieved2 March2021.
  39. ^O Faolain, Aodhan (5 July 2022)."Supreme Court dismisses Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters' action against State's Covid-19 laws".TheJournal.ie.Retrieved5 July2022.
  40. ^"Independent Candidates".TheJournal.ie.Retrieved21 May2024.
  41. ^"European Elections: Midlands North-West".RTÉ News.Retrieved15 June2024.
  42. ^"Eurovision 2007 Ireland: Dervish -" They Can't Stop The Spring "".Eurovisionworld.
  43. ^"Watch LIVE: will Ireland find a winner for Oslo? - Eurovision Song Contest Lisbon 2018".eurovision.tv.
  44. ^"allkindsofeverything.ie".allkindsofeverything.ie.Archived fromthe originalon 15 February 2010.
  45. ^John Waters (10 September 2010)."Soul poison hides lack of meaning for Picnickers".Retrieved14 September2010.
  46. ^Una Mullally (12 September 2010)."If John Waters feels lost or disconnected from the new reality of Ireland, it's because this isn't his country anymore..."Archived fromthe originalon 24 August 2013.Retrieved14 September2010.
  47. ^The Restaurant Season 5RTE Archives, 10 February 2007.
  48. ^abPast comes back to haunt us,The Irish Times,13 September 2008, retrieved 4 July 2009
  49. ^"Naked".RTÉ.
  50. ^John Waters on blogsArchived17 January 2008 at theWayback MachineTwenty MajorBlog. 10 January 2008.
  51. ^More on John Waters and blogsArchived19 January 2008 at theWayback MachineTwenty MajorBlog. 16 January 2008.
  52. ^No child of John Waters will ever marry a… blogger...The DOBlog16 January 2008.
  53. ^Audio of Newstalk interview with Waters 10 January 2008Archived17 January 2008 at theWayback Machine
  54. ^John Waters,Feckers: 50 People Who Fecked Up Ireland(London: Constable, 2010), p. 134
  55. ^College Tribune(9 August 2012)."Gay marriage is a product of this bunker mentality".College Tribune.Archived fromthe originalon 3 February 2014.Retrieved6 February2014.
  56. ^"Panti's Back On".Broadsheet.ie.16 January 2014.Retrieved14 July2015.
  57. ^Cahir O'Doherty (19 January 2014)."Columnist John Waters in a Panti twist over anti-gay claims".Retrieved1 February2014.
  58. ^Brian Byrne (16 January 2014)."RTÉ cuts part of show after legal complaint from Waters".Irish Independent.Retrieved1 February2014.
  59. ^Barry, Aoife (26 January 2014)."RTÉ apologises for 'distress' caused by Saturday Night Show guest's comments".TheJournal.ie.Retrieved23 January2020.
  60. ^"RTÉ paid out €85,000 in 'homophobe' row".Irish Independent.2 February 2014.
  61. ^"RTÉ receive 847 complaints about Panti".The Journal.6 February 2014.
  62. ^"Over 2000 attend protest over" silencing "of homophobia debate".RTÉ.ie.6 February 2014.
  63. ^Murphy, Catherine(30 January 2014)."Column: Panti Bliss controversy raises major questions about RTE's role in public discourse".TheJournal.ie.Retrieved23 January2020.
  64. ^VideoonYouTuberetrieved 30 January 2014
  65. ^The Journalretrieved 30 January 2014
  66. ^Clare Daly TDArchived1 November 2016 at theWayback Machineretrieved 31 January 2014
  67. ^[1]European Parliament retrieved 4 February 2014.
  68. ^"RTÉ blames Irish defamation laws over €85,000 payout".Press Gazette.6 February 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 25 May 2016.
  69. ^"Taoiseach dismisses call to make RTÉ answerable to the Dáil".The Irish Times.5 February 2014.
  70. ^Waters, John (23 April 2014)."So, who's illiberal here?".Village Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon 23 April 2014.
  71. ^Horan, Niamh (13 April 2014)."'I've been put on trial over my beliefs'".Sunday Independent.
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External links[edit]

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