HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Youth Defence is an Irish organisation that opposes legalisation of
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
. It was founded in 1986 (during the 1986 divorce referendum), lay dormant, and was reformed in 1992 following the ''X Case'' ruling. It shared offices with the
Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...
group
Cóir Cóir (; Irish for "justice") was a social Catholic, conservative Eurosceptic lobby group established to campaign against the Treaty of Lisbon which was approved by referendum in Ireland on 2 October 2009. The group claimed to have had approximat ...
, but is not openly aligned to any specific political party.


Foundation and overview

Youth Defence was founded during the 1986 divorce referendum to campaign against the legalisation of divorce.
Niamh Nic Mhathúna Niamh (; from Old Irish ) is an Irish feminine given name (meaning "bright" or "radiant"), anglicised as Neve, Nieve, Neave, Neavh or Neeve. In Irish mythology, Niamh is the daughter of the god of the sea, Manannán mac Lir and one of the que ...
was one of the spokespeople. They had sixty members, most of whom were children of Family Rights Council members. There is not much activity from the group after that referendum. During the '' X Case'' in 1992, Youth Defence reemerged, campaigning against abortion. They claimed to be newly founded by Niamh Nic Mhathúna as well as six other
anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respo ...
activists including Peter Scully (who co-founded Family & Life in 1996), Úna Bean Nic Mhathúna and Una's husband Séamus Mac Mathúna. James Reynolds, later deputy president of the National Party was a
County Longford County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was ...
Youth Defence member in the early 1990s. In 2015, the chairman of Youth Defence was Dr. Eoghan De Faoite.


Neo-Nazi links

The
National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland i ...
formerly described Youth Defence as "a
pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of ...
organisation and lobby group with strong neo-Nazi links". Far-right Irish nationalist Justin Barrett is a former Public Relations Officer and leader of the group. During the 2002 Second Treaty of Nice referendum it was revealed that Justin Barrett had attended and spoken at neo-nazi party events in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. He initially denied the charges, and threatened newspapers with libel suits, but later conceded that he had spoken at those events. Youth Defence denied having "any relationship whatsoever" with the
National Democratic Party of Germany The National Democratic Party of Germany (german: Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands or NPD) is a far-right Neo-Nazi and ultranationalist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 1964 as successor to the German Reich Party ...
, calling it a "media smear campaign". The Pro Life Campaign, another Irish
anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respo ...
group, strongly criticised Barrett for taking part in these events. Justin Barrett left Youth Defence in 2004. By 2016, a spokesperson at Youth Defence said that they had never heard of Justin Barrett, or ever had any dealing with him.


British far-right groups

In 1993 Youth Defence wrote a letter to Candour, a far right magazine in the UK, introducing Youth Defence and ending with a request for funds.


German far-right group

Barrett has spoken at events organised by the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) several times, and been the guest of honour at a NPD rally in
Passau, Germany Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's popu ...
in 2000, in which
anti-semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
speeches, peppered with quotes from
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
were given, alongside claims that "Germany was the biggest victim of the
second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
". Hundreds of
skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its nor ...
s gave standing ovations to elderly
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
. The NPD confirmed that they have been in contact with Youth Defence for at least 6 years before. He attended two conferences, in October 1999 and 2000, organised by the youth wing of the NDP, the JN, alongside famous American white nationalist William Luther Pierce. The JN has spoken about how Youth Defence were an important part of their network.


Italian far-right group

Barrett and Youth Defence founder Niamh Uí Bhriain spoke at Meeting for friendship among peoples in
Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Arimin ...
, Italy, alongside Forza Nuova founder and leader Roberto Fiore in August 2000. The Forza Nuova website, in June 2001, reported that Justin Barrett had attended many Forza Nuova events in Italy (in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
, and
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
). He attended and spoke at a Forza Nuova meeting in Milan in November 2002. Barrett shared a platform with Roberto Fiore at a rally of flag-waving Italian fascists at the Hotel Miramar on 20 and 21 July 2001 in the Italian city of Civitanova Marche. At the rally, Barrett was joined by Mario Di Giovanni, Youth Defence's representative in Italy. A group of Forza Nuova students, led by the then 25-year-old Marco Gladi, visited Ireland in 2001 to 'study' with Youth Defence. In an editorial on the Forza Nuova website, the movement calls itself a "friend" of Barrett and praises his efforts to defeat the Nice Treaty.


Campaigns


Picketing of Politicians' houses

In 1997 Youth Defence picketed the home of then Labour TD Róisín Shortall. This terrified her neighbours, especially the graphic placards. Although there were no arrests, the Gardai took protestors names. Róisín Shortall was chairwoman of the Eastern Health Board, and the protest was due to the then current '' C Case''. In 1999 the group picketed the home of then
Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the offi ...
Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste ...
. Archbishop Desmond Connell has kept his distance from the group, criticising its "American-style tactics". In November 1996, up to 50 members of Youth Defence picketed the home of Minister for Health Michael Noonan in
Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
. Six arrests were made over the content of posters at a follow on protest in Limerick. A picket in January 1997 passed off peacefully, among heavy Garda presence.
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian ...
politician Máire Geoghegan-Quinn criticised the picketing of Minister Noonan's house.


1999 Irish Family Planning Association picket

In March 1999 Youth Defence picketed a clinic of the Irish Family Planning Association on Cathal Brugha Street. The IFPA got a High Court order restraining Youth Defence from picketing its offices or intimidating its employees or customers. Youth Defence did not appear in court Two members, Aoife and Ciara Ni Aodhan, did not abide by the order and were fined £250 each. Youth Defence members eventually won a
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
challenge to the order in 2004.


2012 anti-abortion campaign

In June 2012 Youth Defence began their "Abortion tears her life apart" campaign. This campaign consisted of billboard signs, posters, and many members of the group handing out flyers. The campaign was across many cities in Ireland. Pro-choice users of the website Broadsheet.ie encouraged supporters to call upon advertising companies to pull the adverts, saying that the text used misinformation. Legal scholar and Labour
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
Ivana Bacik Ivana Catherine Bacik (born 25 May 1968) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Leader of the Labour Party since 24 March 2022 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Bay South constituency since winning a by-election on 9 July 2 ...
criticised Youth Defence's decision to show an 18-week-old aborted fetus on the billboard, "although 89 per cent of abortions take place before 13 weeks. The advertisements are grossly offensive." '' TheJournal.ie'' later alleged that Youth Defence had breached copyright terms and conditions in using an image of a woman depicted on the posters, by failing to print a disclaimer that the billboard showed a posed model. On 6 December 2012, Youth Defence took part in a ''Vigil For Life'' organised by the Pro Life Campaign, outside Leinster House in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
that was attended by several thousand people, as well as
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
bishops representing the
Catholic Church in Ireland , native_name_lang = ga , image = Armagh, St Patricks RC cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh. , abbreviation = , type ...
. They were protesting any change to Ireland's abortion law, after the death of Savita Halappanavar a few months earlier. They claimed the Irish government had made a "
pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of ...
promise". They were also involved in the ''National Vigil For Life'' organised by the Pro Life Campaign, which took part in July 2013. Official figures put the crowd at 15,000 to 20,000 people, with the organisers claiming 50,000. Youth Defence co-founder Íde Nic Mathúna spoke at the event.


2013 Billboard parked outside Rape Crisis Centre

On 27 June 2013, during the public debate on the
Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 ( Act No.35 of 2013; previously Bill No.66 of 2013) was an Act of the Oireachtas which, until 2018, defined the circumstances and processes within which abortion in Ireland could be legally perfor ...
, a Youth Defence billboard truck parked outside the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre with the anti-abortion slogan of ''"The abortion bill won't make women safer, it will just kill babies"''. A photo of the truck was posted to the Broadsheet.ie website. AdMobile, the billboard company, said that the driver was taking a photograph of the truck as required by contract and was unaware of the proximity of the Rape Crisis Centre. AdMobile also said they would no longer run ads for Youth Defence. Youth Defence said at the time that they did not instruct the company to photograph the billboard outside the Rape Crisis Centre, and in July 2016 again denied that they had parked the vehicle, describing the accusation as an "old... vicious lie".


Website hacking incident

On 9 July 2013, Youth Defence's website was hacked and replaced with a message detailing allegations relating to the group. At the same time, details from their subscriber list were also published, though they were later removed. No organization has claimed responsibility and a representative of Youth Defence has stated that complaints have been made to the Garda Síochána. As of 2021, Youth Defence was no longer maintaining its own website, but had a hosted section on that of the
Life Institute Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy transf ...
.


2016 March for Choice infiltration

On 24 September 2016, Youth Defence activists were filmed and photographed attempting to infiltrate the Abortion Rights Campaign's ''"March for Choice"'' event. The
false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misr ...
photograph and sign was later used by the
Life Institute Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy transf ...
on Twitter.


Citizens Assembly

In 2016 the Irish government set up the
Citizens' Assembly A citizens' assembly (also known as citizens' jury or citizens' panel or people's jury or policy jury or citizens' initiative review or consensus conference or citizens' convention) is a body formed from randomly selected citizens to deliberat ...
, a group of 99 citizens to discuss the Eighth Amendment, and then make recommendation to the government. This is similar to the 2012
Constitutional Convention Constitutional convention may refer to: * Constitutional convention (political custom), an informal and uncodified procedural agreement *Constitutional convention (political meeting), a meeting of delegates to adopt a new constitution or revise an e ...
. Youth Defence were selected as one of the groups to present to the Citizens' Assembly They were represented by Rebecca Kiessling, an American anti-abortion campaigner. The majority of Kiessling’s presentation differed from the script she had submitted to the assembly in advance.


Funding

The Irish Times reported in March 2013 that the
Standards in Public Office Commission The Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) ( ga, Coimisiún um Chaighdeáin in Oifigí Poiblí) is an independent body established in December 2001 by the Irish Government under the Standards in Public Office Act, 2001. It replaced the Public ...
has been attempting to investigate Youth Defense's sources of funding, but that the organisation has thus far refused to cooperate. By law, any organisation involved in political lobbying must declare all donations over €100, can only accept donations of up to €2,500, and cannot accept donations from overseas unless the donor is an Irish citizen or from a corporation that has offices in Ireland.


See also

* Pro Life Campaign *
Iona Institute The Iona Institute is a socially conservative, Christian, advocacy group, frequently described as a Catholic pressure group based in Ireland. Founded by columnist David Quinn, it was launched publicly in 2007. Iona promotes conservative Chris ...


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Youth Defence Conservatism in Ireland Anti-abortion organisations in the Republic of Ireland 1992 establishments in Ireland Organizations established in 1992 Organisations based in Dublin (city) Far-right politics in Ireland