Deputy Cowan has given notice that he would raise on the motion for the Adjournment the matter of the reported intimidation of Dublin cinema proprietors.
Committee on Finance. - Adjournment Debate—British Coronation Films.
When the Dáil assembled to-day I gave notice that, with your permission, Sir, I would raise on the Adjournment the matter of the reported intimidation of Dublin cinema proprietors by groups opposed to the showing in Ireland of films of the British Coronation ceremony and the threat to the freedom and liberty of the citizens involved therein. To me, this is a matter of the gravest consequence. For many centuries the people of Ireland have struggled and fought for freedom and, by the sacrifices of our soldiers and the wisdom of our statesmen, we have achieved political freedom for 26 of our 32 counties. We have still to achieve the unification of all our national territory but recent world developments and events give grounds for hope that that unification will be brought about in the near future by the sound common sense of our statesmen and in an atmosphere of peace and goodwill. The freedom we now enjoy was achieved through tears, blood and sweat. Freedom, as envisaged by all our patriots, soldiers and statesmen in every generation, comprised liberty of the individual and the individual rights and civil liberties enshrined in, and guaranteed to us allby the Constitution under which we live.
Our Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of public meeting, freedom to form organisations, freedom of religion and, in general, freedom to live and enjoy life within the statutes and laws of the country. In recent weeks, the public have been seriously disturbed by rumours and rumblings of threats to our cinema proprietors if they should show to their patrons, our fellow citizens, pictures of the British Coronation ceremonies. The public have indeed been alarmed by the information that the cinema proprietors were, in fact, intimidated by the threats and that, as a result, they would not show these pictures in their cinemas.
The laws of this country do not sanction or permit threats of this kind issued by some group or groups of people who have arrogated to themselves powers that Parliament would be very slow to entrust even to our lawfully elected Government. If the ukase of these groups is to operate in the way it has, we have to ask ourselves whether we are living under democratic Government or under a tyranny of the most detestable kind. If any group of people arrogate or assume to themselves such powers and exercise them, it engages in unlawful activity against the people and the ordinary citizen must look to the Government for protection against such tyranny and dictatorship.
In Britain to-day the British people are engaged in important national celebrations. Their Queen is being crowned with all the pomp and ceremony associated with that historic event. Nearly every nation in the civilised world is represented at the Coronation, and the ordinary people everywhere are interested in the panoply and splendour of the ceremonies, and particularly in their colourful spectacles and displays of pageantry.
I, personally, am not much interested in cinema shows as a rule and the fact that the pageantry of to-day's eventis filmed will not, in itself, attract me to the cinema. I am, need I say, opposed to portion of Her Majesty's title and I repudiate the claim of her principal Government to exercise sovereignty over any part of Ireland. My opposition to that claim, however, will not be weakened in any way by the fact that I may see a film of the Coronation, either on the screen or on television, or that I may see pictures or descriptions of it in the newspapers. I would have no right to seek to prevent any Irish citizen seeing the film or pictures of the Coronation and I will not permit any other citizen or group of citizens to prevent me seeing these pictures or films, if I should want to see them.
In this part of Ireland we have had 30 years of political freedom and surely our nationalism and patriotism is not now so weak as to be endangered by pictures of royal pageantry in Great Britain. If a group of individuals can prevent our citizens seeing these films, then there is nothing to stop that or another group from preventing us seeing any other film. There is nothing to stop another group from preventing us reading the things we want to read, nothing to stop another group preventing us drinking what we want to drink. And if those things happen then it is good-bye to freedom and individual liberty, good-bye to democracy.
I have spoken to a number of men and women who carried on their shoulders a big part of the burden of the struggle for independence. These men and women fought for the fundamental rights and civil liberties guaranteed in our Constitution. These men and women are appalled, as I am, by the danger to our freedom and civil liberties involved in the threats to our cinema proprietors and to the owners of television sets. These men and women look to the Government to guarantee our freedom and civil liberties against the sort of tyranny that is in danger of growing in our community.
I am inclined to believe that the persons concerned do not know what they do, are not conversant with the seriousness of their actions and do not appreciate that the success of theirpresent actions could lead only to tyranny, dictatorship and the destruction of our freedom and liberties. Every person has the right to stay away from these films, has the right to advise people not to attend them, but he has no right by threats and intimidation to prevent people engaging in their lawful avocations or to prevent citizens enjoying the freedom and liberty purchased for them at the cost of much suffering and sacrifices by the patriots and statesmen whom all of us honour and respect.
The first intimation that I received that there was any move to prevent the showing of films was about three weeks ago when I was approached by representatives of the cinema section of the Transport Workers' Union. They did not say that they had been threatened but they told me that they had been requested not to operate cinema machines if they were showing these Coronation films. I told them that all I could do was to say that if they insisted on their right to show these films and did not claim the right to censor them, they would get all the protection the Government could afford them. I heard no more about the matter until the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána got a letter from the manager of a Dublin cinema enclosing a copy of two letters he had received in connection with the showing of films of the British Coronation. This cinema manager asked the Commissioner for his guidance in the matter. In particular, he asked if in the Commissioner's view there was any danger of damage being caused to the cinema and to its patrons. He also asked what steps the Commissioner intended to take to protect them.
That letter was received on the 6th May and the Commissioner replied to the manager saying that the Gardaí regarded it as probable that there would be organised protests against the exhibition of Coronation films and that these protests might result in damage to cinema property and cause panic among patrons. The Commissioner assured the manager that the Gardaí would take all possible steps to prevent damage to property or injury topersons but he pointed out that any steps the Gardaí might take might not be effective in preventing damage or injury. That will be easily understood in a City containing over 500,000 people. He also said that the local Superintendent would get in touch with the cinema manager with a view to seeking his co-operation in the measures to be taken by the police.
I am glad that Deputy Cowan has raised this matter because I think there is a kind of opinion abroad that the Government has in some way allowed itself to be intimidated. I can assure the House and Deputy Cowan that anything the Guards could do to protect people exercising their right to show such films they would do. I think the reply the Commissioner sent made it perfectly clear to the manager concerned that the Gardaí would give all the protection they could. Naturally, in a big city like this one could not guarantee, if it was decided to show these films, that some irresponsible person or organised group would not make trouble, cause panic and perhaps damage to cinema property.
Subsequent to that letter having been sent by the Commissioner's private secretary to the cinema manager, the Garda authorities learned that, nothwithstanding this guarantee of protection the manager of the cinema in question and of other cinemas decided not to show films of the Coronation. There the matter rests. All I can say is that if cinema proprietors insisted on their right to show these films the Garda Síochána and the Government would have given them all the protection they could.
I agree with what Deputy Cowan has said. I am sure every right-thinking person agrees that we could not allow any group of people to dictate to any body here what they are to see and what they are not to see. As far as we are concerned, if people insist on their right to show the films I, as Minister for Justice, will do all in my power to see that they are protected. Further than that I do not think there is anything more I can do or say.
The Dáil adjourned at 10.45 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 3rd June, 1953.