Heard the one about the Irish Catholic forced to quit for telling jokes about.......

[TheMoog]

Heard the one about the Irish Catholic forced to quit for telling jokes ... about Irish Catholics!


As an Ulster-born Catholic, Denis Lusby is perhaps more qualified than most to poke fun at the Irish.



But although most enjoy reading the jokes he prints in his parish magazine, some can't see the funny side.
And after a council official complained they were racist, Mr Lusby, the magazine's editor, resigned. scroll down for more...

Denis Lusby says he is the victim of political correctness after being forced to resign for printing Irish jokes in his parish magazine below




The 58-year-old, who runs the village shop in St Breward, near Bodmin, Cornwall, has spent 11 years building up the magazine from a flysheet to a 56-page monthly.
His 30p publication, which sells about 500 copies, includes information on local events.
Schools in villages on the edge of Bodmin Moor also use the Blisland with Temple, Helland and St Breward Community Magazine to tell locals of their news.
But after reading the May issue, Cornwall County Council's equality and diversity boss complained that the use of the names Murphy and Paddy in jokes in the magazine was racist and ridiculed the Irish traveller communities with whom she works.
Ginny Harrison-White then wrote to schools asking whether it was appropriate to have their news printed alongside 'such derogatory material', claiming that the jokes may have an impact on the attitudes of the children.
She called for headmasters to boycott the magazine.
But Mr Lusby, a grandfather of four, was furious.



He said: "I have spent my life being non-racist and anti-racist - and to have somebody accuse me of being racist is really hard to take.
"IRA bombings were going on, so I reckon I know a lot more about racial prejudice than she does.
"The magazine evolved out of the church notices and grew over the years but I've always put in the odd joke or two." Mr Lusby, who is chairman of St Breward's parish council, added: "It had all sorts of jokes, not just Irish, but in her letter this lady complained about the use of the names Murphy and Paddy, which is funny because Patrick is my middle name.
A love of laughs: Comedy legend Frank Carson is also an Irishman who just can't help telling Irish jokes ... just like parish magazine editor Denis Lusby


"I feel she has used her position to put pressure on the schools.
"The only time I have spoken to her was after we ran a joke about an Essex Earthquake appeal, which was full of Essex Girl jokes.
"She rang up and said her neighbours came from Essex and was concerned they would be offended.
"I told her that all humour is subjective.
"I felt her letters to the school put the tin lid on it, so I am resigning."
Mrs Harrison-White, who lives in the nearby village of Blisland, said that she sent the letters to the schools as a 'concerned local resident' rather than in her capacity as a council worker.
"The context of the letter was to follow up an informal conversation," she said.
"Because of my role I clearly come from an informed position with particular expertise and knowledge.
"I firmly believe that it is the responsibility of all members of society to support each other to ensure that any actions, comments, or public materials do not cause offence."
Her letter said: "There are three items which are distasteful and two of them use racist language or ridicule based on race as defined under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and which may have an impact on the attitude and behaviour of the children and the wider school community.
"I am asking if you feel it is appropriate for the school and church to have their articles, which demonstrate and promote respect and celebrate achievement, published alongside such derogatory material." Mr Lusby, originally from Londonderry, said the jokes weren't even his. "People sent them in for me to use."

Heard the one about the Irish Catholic forced to quit for telling jokes ... about Irish Catholics! | the Daily Mail

[McJag]

For Pete's sake-those are just cute & harmless!

[sweet and sexy]

^ Those jokes do seem kind of harmless McJag. I liked the pedestrians one.

[Mira]

Agreed. When will this PC madness stop? When the Irish - who have great sense of humor - can no longer poke fun at themselves, we're in real trouble.

[TheMoog]

^^^ Too true!

A girl at my work got married last week. They picked a non-religious service. Because of this, they couldn't choose pop music that mentioned the words "heaven" or "angels" (no Robbie Williams then) because of their religious connotations apparently!!!!

The world is going mad. And while the PC brigade are concentrating on policing each other on this kind of trivia, the world is going to hell in a handbasket

[DitaPage*]

You cant say ANYTHING anymore.

[pacific breeze]

Yep. Let's censor ourselves to the point where we can't say, write or mime anything because somebody somewhere might not like it. I call bullshit! It's censorship, pure and simple.

[Honey]

I hate stuff like this...we get a new story almost daily of something being banned incase it offends. Fuck off!

[latinaforever]

i like the "do you want to go to heaven"joke

[mklady]

That's sad, just no other word for it. Those jokes were harmless and cute. The thing that gets me is how a name supposedly makes if offensive. Sorry but if I were retelling a joke in print, I'm going to make it with names and places I know. This is probably why most redneck jokes have brought on the "hey, howdja know bout that" from my family and I.