A judge has recused himself from the appeal case of the primary person to be convicted under Northern Ireland’s abortion clinic buffer zone laws.
County Court Judge Ciaran Moynagh heard the appeal of Claire Brennan on 2 September but removed himself from the case this week after she submitted a proper criticism citing concerns in regards to the perception of bias.
Judge Moynagh was previously awarded Humanist of the Year by Humanists UK for his legal activism on abortion rights and same-sex marriage, and has taken on high profile ‘abortion rights’ cases.
While he denied bias, Judge Moynagh concluded that “in recognition of the importance of maintaining public confidence within the impartial administration of justice and to be sure that justice will not be only done but seen to be done, I actually have decided out of an abundance of caution to recuse myself from further involvement on this matter”.
A recent hearing under a distinct judge has now been scheduled for 27 November.
Brennan, a Roman Catholic mother of 4, was arrested in October 2023 for reciting the Lord’s Prayer and holding an indication reading “Pray to End Abortion” outside Causeway Hospital in Coleraine. She was inside the hospital’s ‘protected access zone’ on the time, which prohibits any act deemed to “influence” individuals inside 150 metres of an abortion clinic.
Speaking after the judge’s recusal, she said that the general public “must believe that justice is being administered impartially”.
“All I wanted was a good trial. As soon as I discovered his past activism on abortion, I knew that this needed to be exposed and that it was simply not right that he ought to be presiding over my case,” she said, adding that she wanted “the best level of scrutiny into Judge Moynagh’s involvement in my case”.
“I took a peaceful stand outside Causeway Hospital to wish for the unborn and to defend the liberty of Christians to specific their faith in public,” she continued.
“These censorship zones are a dangerous overreach that criminalise compassion and silence prayer. I’m difficult this law not only for myself, but for the protection of the unborn and for the long run of spiritual freedom in Northern Ireland.”
Brennan is being supported in her appeal by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC). The organisation’s chief executive, Andrea Williams, called the ‘protected access zones’ “censorship zones” and said they threaten free speech and non secular liberty.
“Justice must not only be done, it have to be seen to be done. Judicial impartiality is the bedrock of a good society, and it is true that Judge Moynagh has now recused himself,” she said.
“However, it’s extraordinary and unprecedented for a judge to be recused in such circumstances. There must now be serious scrutiny of how this case was allowed to arise.”
She went on to say that Judge Moynagh mustn’t be allowed to preside over future abortion-related cases in Northern Ireland.
She continued, “The so-called ‘censorship zones’ represent a chilling attack on freedom of speech, freedom of faith, and the correct to peaceful protest. They criminalise compassion and silence dissent. The arrest of Claire Brennan for quietly praying the Lord’s Prayer should function a wake-up call for our nation.”
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