Women's Rights Network Northern Ireland has taken Féile an Phobail to the High Court after the festival removed its panel, Respect, Rights and Reality, scheduled for 4 August. WRN NI says Féile accepted and published the event before withdrawing it and has filed papers calling the cancellation "wrongful, null and void." Féile stands by the cancellation and says it will continue to programme events that provide "balance and inclusivity."
Women's Rights Group Sues Féile an Phobail After Festival Cancels 'Respect, Rights and Reality' Panel
The event was due to be held in early August during Féile an Phobail [BBC]
Women's Rights Network Northern Ireland (WRN NI) has launched legal proceedings after Féile an Phobail removed from its official programme an event the organisation had planned to stage.
The session, titled Respect, Rights and Reality, had been scheduled for 4 August as part of the West Belfast Festival. WRN NI says the festival accepted the proposal, allocated a venue and time, confirmed logistical arrangements and published the event before subsequently withdrawing it.
Legal Action
Papers filed by WRN NI at the High Court in Belfast describe the withdrawal as "wrongful, null and void" and seek a court order requiring Féile to honour what WRN NI describes as a contractual agreement. WRN NI's solicitor, Ciaran O'Hare, said:
"Our client maintains that Féile accepted the event proposal, allocated a venue and time, confirmed the logistical arrangements, and published the event as part of its official programme before subsequently withdrawing it."
Festival Response And Dispute
Féile an Phobail said it stands by its decision to cancel the session and that it will continue to programme events "which provide balance and inclusivity." After a meeting between the parties on Friday, the festival expressed disappointment that WRN NI's legal representatives had filed papers before the meeting concluded.
Féile said no satisfactory resolution was reached at the meeting.
Context And Speakers
The event was to feature several speakers, including Fiona McAnena, representing the group Sex Matters. Sex Matters was founded by Maya Forstater, who lost her job after asserting that biological sex cannot be changed; a later employment tribunal found Ms Forstater had suffered "direct discrimination" related to her beliefs and awarded compensation.
WRN NI has described the festival's withdrawal as following an "organised online campaign against the event," which it says included misogynistic, abusive and, in its view, threatening rhetoric directed at the women associated with the session.
Festival Details
Féile an Phobail, commonly known as the West Belfast Festival, is Ireland's largest community arts festival and has been running for nearly 40 years. This year's festival runs from 25 July to 9 August.
The dispute raises questions about event organisers' responsibilities to speakers and the balance between safety, public pressure and freedom of speech at public festivals. Both sides have framed the matter in terms of rights: WRN NI focusing on access to venues and expression of sex-based women's rights, and Féile stressing its commitment to inclusivity and its judgment about which events to host.
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