David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Good Friday used to be a day of respect. It is the most solemn day in the Christian calendar. It is the day on which Christ died and we are still, according to our Constitution, a Christian and democratic State. I would like to ask about the prayer. I have objected to this prayer because, to me, it is just a rigamarole. All the people who are trying to get rid of Good Friday still support the prayer and now we have this blasted secular minute of silence on top of it.

Look at Sunday. I remember Sunday in Dublin when it was a day one could really enjoy. It was a day of peace, rest and recreation. The shops never opened and when the shops opened, I spoke to some of the workers in Arnotts. They were totally against it. They were pushed and forced into it. That is a matter of workers' rights. The best day in Jerusalem in the Shabbat when nothing happens. It is a day of recreation. Look at the Angelus. People are trying to get rid of the Angelus and water it down. They are using the Protestants as a means of getting rid of it. They are not using this Protestant, even though I am not really a Protestant, but from the real Catholic church, the Church of Ireland, founded by St. Patrick in 423.