John Waters | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Waters in 2019 | |
| Born | John Augustine Waters (1955-05-28)28 May 1955 (age 70) Castlerea,County Roscommon, Ireland |
| Occupation(s) | Columnist, author |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Known for | Writing inThe Irish Times, entering theEurovision Song Contest |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | johnwaters |
John Augustine Waters[1] (born 28 May 1955) is afar-right[2][3] Irish columnist, political candidate, journalist and author. He started his career with the music and politics magazineHot Press, and theSunday Tribune newspaper. He later edited the social magazineIn Dublin and the investigative and current affairs magazineMagill. He became a regular columnist at theIrish Times andIrish 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 unsuccessfulindependent candidate in the2020 Irish general election for theDún Laoghaire constituency.[4][2] He was an unsuccessful candidate for theMidlands–North-West constituency at the2024 European Parliament election.[5]
Waters was born on 28 May 1955 inCastlerea,County Roscommon to 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.[6][7] Following her birth, a long legal custody battle ensued resulting in Waters having custody of his daughter and living with her inDalkey.[8][9]
He suffered from analcohol addiction until 1989 when he gave it up completely, a decision that he credits with transforming his life.[10] He married Rita Simons in December 2014.[11]
Waters's career began in 1981 with theIrish politics andmusic magazineHot Press.[12] He wrote for theSunday Tribune and later editedIn Dublin magazine from 1985 to 1987[13] andMagill.[14]
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 IrishHospice Foundation.[15]
Waters wrote a weekly column forThe Irish Times from 1990 to 2014.[14] He was briefly fired during a dispute with the then editor,Geraldine Kennedy, but was shortly thereafter reinstated.[16][17][18]
In March 2014, Waters leftThe Irish Times,[19][20] and shortly after started writing columns for theSunday Independent andIrish Independent.[14]On 13 July 2014 theSunday Independent published what it described as Waters' first column for the paper.[21] He has since written regular columns for that paper and its sister theIrish Independent.[22] In 2018 he released a new book calledGive Us Back the Bad Roads.[14]
Waters is a fortnightly contributor to the American journalFirst Things and is a Permanent Research Fellow at the Center for Ethics and Culture,University of Notre Dame.[23]
In August 2021, John Waters andGemma O'Doherty launched afreesheet newspaper titledThe Irish Light, largely consisting of anti-vaccine propaganda and other conspiracy theories. It is run in conjunction withThe Light, a UK publication, and reprints much of the UK version's articles.[24]
Waters was an active participant in the Catholic cultural movementCommunion and Liberation.[25] He has given at least one talk to theIona Institute, a Dublin-basedsocially conservative organisation thatadvocates the advancement and promotion of theChristian religion and what it sees as the religion's social and moral values.[26][27]
He was a member of theBroadcasting Authority of Ireland until he resigned in January 2014,[28] during which time he was a litigant seeking damages from the broadcaster RTÉ.[29][30]
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.[31]
In February 2018 he appeared withNigel Farage at an Irexit conference organised byHermann Kelly.[14] The conference described itself as open "only to supporters of an Irish exit from theEuropean Union".[14] There were several members of the far-rightNational Party - headed byJustin Barrett - at the conference.[14] Waters denied that Ireland was a republic, state or democracy.[14] 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.[14] 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".[14] He claimed that "Europeans no longer have a place to call home" and thatEuropean Christianity was being eroded by "metastatic cancer".[14]
In 2019 he appeared in a number of podcasts withGemma O'Doherty and Justin Barrett.[14]
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On 28 January 2020, Waters and O'Doherty addressed an Anti-Corruption Ireland meeting in Balbriggan.[14] 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 theory ofRenaud Camus would happen in Ireland.[14] 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".[14] During his speech he openly speculated about being murdered in a nursing home by an immigrant care worker.[14]
Waters ran under the banner of Gemma O'Doherty's far-right group, "Anti-Corruption Ireland", in the2020 Irish general election, in theDún Laoghaire constituency.[4][14] In his pre-election writings he referred to the great replacement conspiracy theory and referred toThe Strange Death of Europe.[14] 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.[2][14][32]
On 15 April 2020, Waters andGemma O'Doherty launched a legal action against laws dealing with theCOVID-19 pandemic.[33] They sought to have various parts of the legislation declared null and void by a judge of the High Court.[33]
The legislation included:
as well as temporary restrictions brought in due to COVID-19 under the 1947 Health Act.[33]
Waters said to the court that the legislation was "unconstitutional", "improperly acted" and "very flawed".[33] 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.[33] The action was to be taken against theMinister for Health (Ireland), Ireland and theAttorney General.[33] 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.[33]
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,[34] and stated that the Seanad andCeann Comhairle would need to be added as notice parties.[34] 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".[34] During the discussion, the applicants questioned if the proceedings were being held in public.[34] Up to 100 supporters of the applicants gathered in the Round Hall of theFour Courts but were not permitted to enter the courtroom because of social distancing rules introduced because of COVID-19.[34] An application to let some or all of the supporters into the courtroom was dismissed by the judge,[34] who said that the court was being held in public and was being reported on by the media.[34] The following day,Gardaí announced that there was an investigation into the large gathering at the Four Courts,[35] stating that they had asked the group to disperse because of concerns with adherence to guidelines on social distancing and non-essential travel.[35] Gardaí said the group dispersed and no arrests were made but investigations were ongoing.[35]
At the next hearing, on 28 April 2020, there was a strong Garda presence at the Four Courts,[36] and barriers were used to prevent crowds from entering the court.[36] Members of thePublic Order Unit and the Bridewell Garda station were stationed at all main entrances to the building.[36] About forty supporters of the applicants turned up.[36] No arrests were made.[36] At this hearing, Mr Justice Charles Meehan fixed the applicant's appeal for hearing on 5 May 2020.[36] During the meeting, O'Doherty said that the people of Ireland were under "mass house arrest" and Gardaí were "using guns" to frighten people.[36]
On 5 May 2020, there was again a strong Garda presence outside the Four Courts.[37] 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.[37] The State's representatives opposed the application for leave, saying that the claims were not arguable.[37]
On 13 May 2020, Mr Justice Charles Meehan dismissed the applicant's case.[38][39][40] 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.[39] 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,[39] 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".[39][38]
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 Triangle stuff".[41]
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.[42]
He ran as an independent candidate in the2024 European Parliament election in the constituency ofMidlands–North-West.[43] Waters received 13,692 (2.0%) first preference votes but was not elected.[44]
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 oftenmisattributed as "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."
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 Show to be Ireland's entry inEurovision Song Contest 2007 inHelsinki. The song finished last in the European competition final, receiving only 5 points.[45]
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.[46] In the Irish National Final on 5 March 2010, the song was performed by Leanne Moore, the winner ofYou're a Star 2008, and finished in fourth place.[47]
Waters attended theElectric Picnic music 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.[48]Sunday Tribune journalist 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".[49]
In 2007, Waters took part as one of the guest amateur chefs, in the RTEThe Restaurant, programme.[50]In 2008, he took part in a television programme which researched his family's past.[51] Parish records revealed that his great-granduncle, also called John Waters, died of starvation during theGreat Famine.[51]
In 2011 he sat for the painterNick Miller, the subject of a naked portrait for an Arts Lives RTÉ programme, calledNaked.[52]
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).
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During a newspaper review on radio station,Newstalk 106, Waters declaredblogs and bloggers to be "stupid".[53] He then repeated those claims[54] the following week, sparking controversy amongst Irish bloggers[55] who took exception to his views. In the same interview, Waters claimed that "sixty to seventy percent of the internet is pornography".[56]
Ofthe Troubles inNorthern Ireland, and the acceptance of theGood Friday Agreement bySinn Féin, Waters has written, "After thirty years of conflict and more than 3,000 deaths, theProvos had 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."[57]
On 11 January 2014, Waters was mentioned by Irishdrag queenPanti (Rory O'Neill) onRTÉ'sThe Saturday Night Show withBrendan O'Connor while discussinghomophobia. O'Neill said that Waters, among other Irish journalists, was homophobic.[58][59]
Waters and the others mentioned threatened RTÉ and O'Neill with legal action.[60] RTÉ subsequently removed that section of the interview from their online archive.[61] 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.[62] RTÉ compensated Waters and others mentioned.[63]
RTÉ received hundreds of complaints about the issue.[64] A rally against the payout and censorship drew 2,000 people,[65] and the appropriateness of the payout was later discussed by members of theOireachtas.[66][67][68][69] The issue was also discussed in the European Parliament.[70] RTÉ's head of television defended the €85,000 payout and blamed the decision mostly on Ireland'sAnti-Defamation Laws.[71][72]
In February 2014,[73] Waters' implicated fellowIrish Times journalistPatsy McGarry as the author of a handful ofad hominem Tweets, written anonymously. In the piece, Waters' alleged an institutional bias withinThe Irish Times againstCatholic social teaching. Despite this, in March 2014, it was announced that John Waters had decided to stop contributing toThe Irish Times.[19][20] Reports stated that he had been unhappy atThe Irish Times since the controversy.[19][20]
In April 2014, Waters replied when asked if he had becomedepressed because 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."[74]
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'Donnell as well as online commenters.[75][76][77][78]
His former partner Sinéad O'Connor expressed concern for Waters, saying that she thought he was suffering from depression and needed to admit it.[79]
Waters devoted much of his column space inThe Irish Times to 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.[80] 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".[81]
In 2015 areferendum was held on the matter of same-sex marriage. Before the referendum the Constitution was assumed to contain an implicit prohibition onsame-sex marriage.[82]
Waters was involved with a group opposing the referendum called First Families First, along withKathy Sinnott and Gerry Fahey.[83]
After the referendum passed, Waters described the result as 'catastrophic' for Irish society.[84] 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".[84]
In February 2017, Waters spoke at a panel where he blamedLGBT activists for his decision to quit journalism.[85]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".[85] 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".[85] "The ugliest phenomenon I have ever seen in 30 years a journalist," Waters added.[86]
He also claimed that theclerical child abuse cases were "closely aligned to homosexuality".[85] 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".[85]
InJiving at the Crossroads he wrote about what he perceived the divide between secular urban Ireland and rural areas.[14] He felt that the former looked down on the latter.[14] In hisHot Press radio column he had relied on stock images of rural life, but the book was an attempt to make amends.[14]
He was influenced byJohn Healy, admiring his worksNineteen Acres andThe Death of an Irish Town.[14]
From 2014 onwards, he mostly did not write to influence mainstream public opinion.[14] Thethirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland recognisedsame sex marriage in Ireland (previously held to be prohibited by the constitution) and thethirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland which changed the constitutional position onabortion.[14] He no longer wrote for a mostly Irish audience, but for one centred on the United States, becoming involved inculture wars between conservatives and progressives.[14] He now appeared on conservative podcasts with large audiences.[14]
In 2020, he publicly supported theGreat Replacementconspiracy theory.[14]
Direct provision is a system ofasylum seeker accommodation that has been criticised as illegal, inhuman and degrading.[87]
Far right groups, as part of theirxenophobic policy, had been encouraging people to oppose DP centres for some years, with little success.[88] However, in November 2018, a proposed DP centre wasfirebombed inMoville.[89] The following February, protests against a proposed DP centre inRooskey saw anotherarson attack on a proposed DP centre.[90] In September 2019,Oughterard saw the largest ever protests against a proposed DP centre, which was blockaded night and day for three weeks.[91][88] Another 24/7 protest began onAchill Island the following month, which continued until 2020, the longest ever protest against a DP centre.[92][93] 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.[14]
Waters has referred to himself as a "neo-Luddite"[94] or later as a "luddite".[95] 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.[96][97]
He wrote an article titled "Two sides to domestic violence", which criticised the lack of gender balance inAmnesty International's campaign againstdomestic violence in 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.[98] Waters' article led to a response from the head ofAmnesty International's Irish branch.[99]
In September 2013 he was jailed for around two hours inWheatfield Prison over non-payment of a parking fine.[100] The case dated back to 2011 and Waters claimed that he returned to his car one minute over a 15-minute grace period.[100] He refused to pay the fine as a matter of principle.[101]
In November 2018The Irish Times journalist Kitty Holland took a defamation action against Waters for accusing her of lying about the cause ofdeath of Savita Halappanavar.[102] In July 2024, Holland was awarded €35,000 damages for defamation of character against Waters.[103]
