Why you should fear the power that the Catholic Church still has on human rights in Ireland. (LGBT rights)

Ever since I understood or was aware that people could be gay, lesbian, bisexual or straight I found it absolutely mind boggling how, regardless of which one of those “status’” you relate to, if you identified with any of the first three you were discriminated against. It is a simple fact, today, in the 21^st century, when we’re supposed to have flying cars and find the cure for cancer, many people are busy having explosive diahorrea over the thought of two men or two women uniting in marriage and having a family.

I come from quite a religious family. We were all raised Catholics and mass every Sunday was non- negotiable, (Until of course I turned eighteen and realised I could utilise Sundays for curing a hangover, like a sloth, in my bed.)  Since I can remember I’ve always had an urge to challenge ‘the system’. Basically if I felt like something was bullshit or it didn’t suit my views I would have a great deal to say about it. Now you can imagine how my teenage raging hormones fuelled these ‘FUCK THE SYSTEM’ rants and after many years attending church I found myself constantly challenging and questioning the validity and supposed reality of what it teaches.

Why were there no female priests? Why did we say “Lord I am not worthy to receive you but only say the world and my soul shall be healed’ when I had done nothing wrong in the first place? Why did priests often give out about divorce and homosexuality, rather than focusing on the core idea behind the church: forgiveness and acceptance? These were just some of the many things I questioned about this religion I was brought up to believe in.

The outcome of my questioning was this: the Catholic Church and the vast majority of groups associated with are giant, raging, hypocritical HOMOPHOBICS and SEXISTS. 

What is a homophobic you may ask?

Homophobia is a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. It can be expressed as antipathy, contempt, prejudice, aversion or hatred. It may be based on irrational fear and is sometimes related to religious beliefs

Now, I take great joy in introducing you to the Iona Institute. You may remember this bunch of moronic fatheads from this OBVIOUSLY homophobic video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaRK-0W5HQI

Now with that joyful video in mind, I’ll tell ye a little story about these pricks. So say what you will about Drag Queens, but I fucking love them. (I even dressed up as one for Halloween one year because I love their over the top make up so much). Anyways, Rory O Neill is also known as Panti Bliss when kitted out in drag. He appeared on the Saturday Night Show recently and mentioned that there is homophobia within the country and that it is especially visible on the internet (TROLLZ) and through the media (i.e. ‘journalists’ who get paid to write their views on ‘teh gayz’)

He goes on to mention names of these so called journalists: John Waters and Breda O Brien and suddenly the shit hit the fan. RTE receive legal threats and complaints from the Iona Institute and ends up releasing an apology for the words of Rory O Neill during that segment of the show.

Say hello to Breda O’Brien:

As well as having a face like a bucket of squashed crabs, Breda is also a raging homophobe.

The Iona institute, along with the Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a union solely built for men and women and it must not be redefined in any shape or form. What I find comical about the church is that they like to pick and choose what they do and don’t believe in.

For instance, in the New Testament it says:

‘You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." 

BUT it also says

 “That does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable” (i.e. you can’t eat prawns or mussels or any other type of shellfish)

I wonder have Breda or John ever eaten sausages?

Leviticus 11:8, which is discussing pigs, reads "You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you." 

  Let’s hope they haven’t because they’re likely to burn in the smelly pits of hell if they have as they have broken the rules of the Bible.

Anyhow, the whole idea of marriage, according to these people, is that children have ‘a mammy and a daddy’. Now, let us pause for a moment and think about the amount of divorced couples within the church, the amount of children who have been abandoned by their parents and are in state homes or orphanages around the world. Or how about the children who grow up with just a dad or a mom, and have never heard or seen sight nor light of their other parent, either through death or absence. The reality is this is a very common occurrence throughout the world, not just in Ireland. So the gays can’t reproduce. But male and female couples are not exactly role models for the perfect family units either. UNICEF stated that in 2005 there were over 132 million orphans in Sub Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. How many of those children would be delighted to be adopted and have two parents, regardless of gender, to love and care for them. Many Conservatives will oppose this idea with disgust. Their argument being: “YOU’LL MAKE THE CHILDREN GAY TOO”. But hang on, how many of these gay parents came from two straight parents? Therefore, their argument is completely invalid.

My whole qualms with the lack of acceptance of LGBT rights within Ireland and the world as a whole is that more often than not, the church has a massive role in the opposition. The church and state should have absolutely no connection. We cannot make our laws with the views of any religion in mind, as by doing this we are marginalising a massive part of society. It baffles me as to why, in Ireland especially, we allow the church to do wrong by us over and over again and no one bats an eyelid. We need to wake up, open our minds and our eyes. Homosexuality is NOT a choice. It is how people are meant to be.

Why can’t we let people be happy? Life is miserable enough already without making issues out of something as simple as marriage and human rights. Seriously, if Mary and Margaret want to get married and adopt children what effect will this ultimately have on your life?

NO REALLY, THINK ABOUT IT?

Will you need Anti Depressants? Will your every thought be about what Mary and Margaret might be doing?

Seriously lads, we’re in the 21^st century and it honestly pains me that we are still this fucking backward.

LIVE AND LET LIVE

Goodnight Irene

Food diary and weightloss updates

 This week was quite testing as I had to go back up to Dublin to do an exam (which was horrific if any of you were wondering) and stayed up to go out to my usual haunt, Coppers. It started off okay and I even chose an orange as a snack rather than the usual biscuits/chocolate/caramel sundae/Big Mac etc. I had porridge before my exam and soup after. Then I became comatose and when I woke I was unable to even process the thought of conjuring up something healthy or even unhealthy myself. Therefore Fagan’s (Bertie Aherns local if you ever wanted to egg him), provided the food for the night. I didn't take photos, probably because I was ashamed at myself for giving in so easily but by JESUS was it delicious. I justified it as being a post exam reward and I regret nothing. 

So after getting absolutely capsized in Coppers we returned home to Galway the next morning, with Joyce being our chauffeur. Now the lovely Joyce actually failed to inform us that we would have to wait with her whilst her car got the oul NCT test (much to my distaste as I was actually wearing Piglet fluffy pyjamas) and I had the joyful experience of doing a strip show for everyone on the motorway as I tried to change into regular clothes before we got to Galway.

QUICK SIDENOTE: If someone offered you a lift home from Dublin to Galway, would you assume that they would be bringing you straight home and not ask questions like: "Oh will we be accompanying you to the NCT test?" or "Will we be making a stop in Bangladesh?". I feel as though I was justified in having a shit attack when Joyce decided to tell me that we had to wait and never told me not to wear my pyjamas on the way home.

ANYWAYS. Things only got bloody worse on the food front due to this unforeseen stress of getting up at 7 AM and travelling to Galway still pissed drunk. We were absolutely STARVED when we got into the city and were facing at least an hour’s wait for the blessed test to be complete. Therefore the only option open to us was Centra, where I purchased and inhaled none other than a calorie free (ahem) breakfast roll. Now you can also imagine why I didn’t take a photo of this.

Despite these two pitfalls I gathered myself back together and made a better attempt for the rest of the week. Can I just say, watching your brothers INHALE bread, pasta, pancakes etc and not put on a pound is HIGHLY distressing. 

One of the photos below features the oils, spices and sauces I've been using. These are just a few, but are definitely my favourites: 

Rapeseed oil (chilli and regular, it’s one of the better oils for cooking with).

Char grilled Chicken Seasoning

Extra Spicy Cajun Seasoning 

Spicy Season All (my fave)

Cumin (it's the base of a lot of curry sauces)

Tabasco (I'M ADDICTED)

Soy Sauce

Vegetable Stock Pots

It was my friend Sinead's birthday on Saturday and she is an absolute genius when it comes to making food that suits different dietary requirements (gluten free, dairy free etc). She made a chocolate cake that was literally EVERYTHING free and these little heart chocolates that had blended dates as a substitute for caramel (really really good!) My favourite part was the hummus she made which was blended chickpeas, sundried tomatoes and chilli powder. DIVINE and suited to my dietary requirements (i.e. skinny)

So overall it was pretty good. I'm of the opinion that it's simply ridiculous to live your life eating completely 'clean' and not have the craic and eat a dirty burger every now and again. Have some shredded duck instead of shredded abs :)

And don't be a bollox X

Goodnight Irene

BTW I LOST 2 POUNDS 

Beef stew

2 Poached eggs & beans 

Veg choopped up which I made into soup which in turn was VIOLENT (FAIL)

Healthy food layout (and vodka, my true love) at Sineads 

Close up of prawn omelette 

Spices and oils I commonly use (description above) 

Slender Slim noodles. Despite my captions I actually did end up liking them. 

 Brunch: avocado, poached egg, smoked salmon, olives & left over veg & noodles.

Weight Loss & Food Diary Update

I cannot seem to find a term for what I'm doing. I don't like to call it a diet because it's too short term. And lifestyle change is far too hipster for my liking. Alas, I am still doing 'it' and have been for about a week and a bit now. When I begrudgingly stood up on the scales this morning, bollix naked and shaking with the cold (Global Warming my hole.) I was absolutely terrified that rather than losing any weight, I had gained it. Alas, I had actually lost 3.5 lbs! Praise Jehovah and all of his Witnesses. 

This post is going to be basically a food diary of what I have been eating. I haven't started exercising as such yet, besides the two walks I've been on with my dog, as I want to be immersed in the eating before I start weaning myself into strenuous movement. (I am the laziest person you'll ever meet). 

Rather than going into detail on every meal featured, I am just going to give a brief description of how I've been eating healthier. Anyone who knows me knows I am OBSESSED with cheese. So if you see it featured and are thinking 'oh that’s not healthy', well fuck you. I love cheese and we will not be separated. 

Here are some of the ways I am replacing 'bad' foods with 'healthy' alternatives:

Mayonnaise = Crème Fraiche or Sour Cream or Avocado

Potatoes = Roasted Turnip

Chocolate/Sweets = Trail Mix (available in Dunnes, basically just nuts & dried fruit)

Sauces (Ketchup/BBQ etc) = Herbs & Spices, Tabasco, Mustard.

Any questions, feel free to cur ceist orm.

CYA

Goodnight, Irene

Tuna, Poached Egg, Spinach, Olives, Peppers, Creme Fraiche & Tabasco Salad:

 Steak, Mushrooms & Onions. Roasted veg (honey, soy sauce, rapeseed oil, garlic granules, tabasco)

 2 egg yolk & 1 egg white omelette. Spinach, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, turkey, olives & 1/2 avocado

 'Power Salad' from Arabica with added chicken. 

 Steak, roasted veg (same as above). Sauce = Creme Fraiche & mustard combined.

 Omelette = same as above but with chicken. 

 Cully & Sully Vegetable soup (not the best i know but I was sick of chicken & veg) Can of Tuna mixed with mayo, beetroot, olives & half cheese slice)

 Green smoothie. I actually used 2 oranges instead of 2 apples. I also used 1/2 a pint of water, table spoon of yoghurt & 2 tablespoons of the 'Seeds for Cereal' pack in the pic. Oh and about a handful of spinach. If you're nervous about trying this it just tastes like fruit, the spinach has its benefits but you can't taste it!

 Pesto Chicken: As you can see you just bate the shite out the chicken (imagine it's someone you dislike :) ) then fill it with a combo of sour cream, pesto and some cheese. Bake in tin foil in the oven for about 40 mins. (SO NICE)

Are you a sexually active woman? Congratulations! You're a SLUT. Celebrity Big Brother Rant

Preface: I really need to rant. If you want to understand why I am so angry then I would highly recommend watching this episode of Celebrity Big Brother Here before reading this. 

I am a feminist. You are probably thinking I hate all men, want all women to tear their bras off, become lesbians and keep the men in cages so they can donate their sperm to keep the world running. Funnily enough, I am the polar opposite of that description (although I would enjoy a world where it was socially acceptable to never wear a bra). I love men and as a feminist, I want equality for both sexes, not just us ladies. With that in mind, you can now go forth to read my angry tirade against that ASSHAT Dappy.

To briefly summarize what happened in the episode, Luisa and Dappy get into an argument when he suggests that he can sleep around, cheat on his girlfriend etc, but if she does the same, then she is a slag. Obviously Luisa and Jasmine disagreed with this because logically it doesn’t really make sense. It is like saying: When Dappy cleans the house he is being tidy, but when Luisa cleans the house she is being dirty’. The deed is the same but what they did is being considered completely different things.

Anyways, the argument escalated very quickly and to a nonsensical level when Dappy being the stupid twerp he is started stalking Luisa around the house, shouting out his GCSE grades over and over and saying that Luisa slept with 5 guys in one night and it was ‘dirty’. My qualms with this entire thing are:

a) How Dappy cannot fathom the fact that male and females performing the same acts are in fact the same fucking thing.

b) That because Luisa slept with five men in one night, she should not be considered a woman.

Let’s turn this into a little story. Let’s say Joe Bloggs, a stranger, down the road decided he’d go out and have sex with 5 people in one night. He does so and thoroughly enjoys it. When you wake up the next morning, do you feel as though your whole day, and possibly life has been ruined by what Joe did last night? NO. YOU ARE NOT AN IDIOT. And what if poor oul Joe gets an STI? Will you too begin to itch your genitals? OBVIOUSLY NOT.  Why is it when people want to do things that don’t harm others (gay marriage being another prime  example) half the fucking country gets diarrhoea? Allow me to make this clear. If I go out and have consensual, protected sex with 48 people in one night, then that is MY choice and should not bear any meaning on your existence.

Obviously there’s the whole age old argument of the lad going out, getting the ride and getting a pat on the back for being a legend (because intercourse is comparable to discovering fire apparently) but if a girl does the same and ever dares speak about what she did, she is immediately considered damaged goods. I seriously cannot cope with this logic. People watch porn all of the time, people have threesomes, and people generally love to have sex. Why is it that it has such a stigma attached to it when it is associated with an average woman? I guarantee you Dappy has had a solo session below before whilst watching porn. Is it okay to wank to your heart’s content over these porn stars and then when you actually meet a girl, who has had sex with more than one person in her life, you deem her to be worthless, not even a woman? (I wish he expanded on what he thinks a woman is). Can I also add that Dappy was arrested before for spitting in the face of a woman who refused his advances. Lovely. 

Grow the fuck up is all I can say. Dappy is a wanna be gangster who makes shit music and thinks all of the females in the world want to sit on his lap and shake his third leg. NEWSFLASH DAPPY: YOU LOOK LIKE A 12 YEAR OLD!!!

I know there are plenty of more Dappys out there. Unfortuantely this world must have quotas of fucktards to create.

In the fine words of Lily Allen: It’s hard out here for a bitch

Goodnight, Irene

Lord, if you won't make me skinny will you please make my friends fat!?

This is a pretty heavy photo blog post, so apologies in advance. However, if you are anything like me and enjoy looking at photos of food then you'll enjoy this one. 

I'm not quick to use the word diet, probably because when I do so at home my brothers start roaring laughing saying I'm on another "two day diet". They're not far off though, I've been on more diets than I can even count and they're either moderately successful or not at all. One thing is for sure, regardless of what weight I lose I always seem to put it back on. After having a minor nervous breakdown around Christmas, when I could barely squeeze into a pair of jeans my mom bought me, I decided that this time was really going to be the time I'd finally lose the spare tire. I had ballooned since moving up to Dublin. The portion sizes were mahoosive, the drinking was worse than usual (and by jaysis is that saying something) and the trips to GODAMN McDonalds and the chinese were becoming far too bloody frequent. Something had to give, and it was going to be the extra 2 stone I am carrying around.

Unless, by some divine intervention, I actually managed to lose this weight, then you'll not see sight nor light of the before photos I took. (I could be mistaken for a whale that was washed up in the recent floods in Salthill). Nor will ye be informed what I weigh currently. BUT if I do reach my goal and lose two stone then I shall open up my fragile soul to you all and you can LOL at the absolute state of me now. 

A friend of mine told me how she had lost weight by giving up carbs. Now I'd normally be the first one to call bullshit on cutting out an entire food group from your diet but I am so desperate to kick start this weight loss that I'd nearly live off lettuce to get me going. I thought it would be next to impossible to do this but honestly it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be. Here are some facts: 1) I haven't yet even completed a week on this so hence the positive outlook here and 2) I fear that my efforts will go to shit when I move back to Dublin at the end of the month. 

Until then however here are some photos of some of the things I've eaten so far:

Will someone please have a Novena said for me that I won't fall off the bandwagon up in Dublin? Sound. 

Goodnight, Irene

(P.S. If ye wan't the deets on any of these recipes leave a comment X)

Women Call Me "Bitch". Men Call Me Often.

 Picture this scenario: You're on a night out in your local haunt, enjoying yourself, the usual. Then you spot this long legged, thick haired, modelesque girl across the room.  You watch her as struts confidently through the place and how guys turn their heads to have a second look at her. She is wearing a bodycon dress that would require you to be bet into the tightest pair of spanx to ever have a hope looking as good as her in it, and as she laughs, flicks her hair and doesn't even seem to wobble in her sky high shoes all you can think is:

Who hasn't done this? As much as I detest slut shaming and judging people before I know them, I can't deny I've felt some distaste towards girls who are more stylish, prettier and skinnier than me. Some will say it's in our nature to initially dislike those who are more attractive than us. For example if you saw that girl conversing with your significant other, the initial reaction is to be angry and protective as in our minds it seems more likely that this attractive girl would 'steal' your boyfriend quicker than a less attractive, more demurely dressed girl would. It's strange though, what if the less attractive girl had a fantastic sense of humour and brains to burn. What if that is what would attract guys to her? In fairness, if you're with a guy you would prefer to think that he isn't only with you for your looks or body, but more so for you as a whole.

A study was carried out by McMaster University in Canada recently where they put a group of women in a room and had an attractive, modestly dressed woman interrupt their session. They studied the women’s reactions and did the same to the other half of the group, but this time the woman had her hair down and was wearing a mini skirt and boots. The difference in reactions was immense, with the second group rolling their eyes and making comments about her. 

http://www.medicaldaily.com/psychology-bitchiness-women-use-slut-shaming-defense-tactic-263531

I know girls who have deliberately been cold towards other girls whom they consider a threat. Then upon getting to know them and or finding out that they already have a boyfriend, after a brief sigh of relief, they behave in a much more friendly manner towards them. I know someone else who felt that one acquaintance in particular was growing too close to the guy she was, as we say in Galway, shifting. To eliminate the threat she made it her mission to befriend this girl in order to ensure that her new BFF would never destroy their friendship by getting with this guy. (Because people never do that...)

My point is the big cliché: Don't judge a book by its cover. Try not to make assumptions about the girl in the crop top and tight pants who's talking to a guy you fancy. It isn't easy but maybe the gorgeous girl with lads falling all over her would be the greatest friend you'd ever make. That being said, try not to begin a friendship with ulterior motives. It is a primal instinct in both men and women to 'win the race' and find a partner to keep and reproduce with. Don’t let that overcome you and allow you to spread shit about girls you don't know but consider a threat. After all if anything ever did happen, it says a lot more about your significant other than it does about the girl you're hating on. 

Goodnight Irene

Greetings, Halflings.

I am one of the greatest procrastinators you'll ever meet. During my stint in Arts I created a YouTube channel that featured rambling videos of myself trying to teach others how to put make up on properly. Now, after leaving Arts, I'm studying Creative and Cultural Industries in DIT (look it up) and wouldyabelieve I've started a blog. (YouTube became a biteen of a nuisance after the novelty wore off. The editing and processing often left me wanting to jump into a river so they came to a sudden halt)

So what you can expect from this blog is essentially diary entries from me, and let's face reality, I'll probably be ranting or raving about something that happened to me in work or in my daily life (which is often chaotic and comical). Expect make up and cosmetic reviews. Documentary recommendations (I’m an addict) and helpful (hopefully) advice when it comes to J1s and college. As well as that I am currently embarking on a new healthy eating plan/lifestyle and will try to do food diaries and updates (by writing this here, I feel obliged to not fall off the bandwagon).

I would love if you would follow by blog, and would very much appreciate if you refrained from being a dickhead.

Happy Easter, and Goodnight Irene