Defending Blindboy Boatclub’s free speech and ‘haunted bread’

Respect may be vouchsafed, out of good manners. But demanding it — particularly of a comedian in a plastic bag — may be unrealistic, writes Terry Prone

A week and one day ago, my friend Nameless went, as he always does, to Mass in his local church in Naas. He was impressed by the vigour and passion of the sermon, delivered by a priest in, he figured, his early forties. The priest was angry about the Late Late Show’s final item the Friday before. This item involved three people discussing religion and other things. The priest was infuriated by how he perceived it reflecting on the Catholic Church. In his sermon, he outlined the reasons for his anger and told parishioners that a letter they might sign was available at the back of the church, together with a transcript of the offending item, and he would collect the signed letters at the end of Mass.

My friend Nameless duly picked up and read the letter and the transcript, while he watched the behaviour of the rest of the congregation, roughly a hundred of whom, or perhaps a quarter of them, picked up the letter, signed it, appended their addresses, and handed it to the priest as they left the church. My friend Nameless saved his copy of the letter and shared it with me. Here it is.