A transgender activist who has previously called for female campaigners to be “dealt with”, “made terrified” and “smashed out of existence” is amongst the speakers at an Oireachtas event to mark International Women’s Day this morning, Gript Media can reveal.
Keeva “Lilith Feereyra” Carroll – known as Kevin Carroll until 2017 when he obtained a gender recognition certificate and became legally a woman – is to represent the taxpayer-funded Transgender Equality Network of Ireland (TENI) at the event, being held in the Dáil chamber at 11am this morning. The event is being promoted by the Ceann Comhairle’ s Office, the Oireachtas Women’s Caucus, and the state-funded lobby group “women for election”, which seeks to promote the election of women to public office.
In 2020, Carroll – who has a long record of hardline rhetoric in support of the transgender cause, tweeted that “TERFS” should be “dealt with by Cis Women not just us…. And by deal with I mean make them terrified and their lives a misery…. They need to be smashed out of existence – be anti terf!!!”
Pic: Comments posted by Keeva Carroll on the “trasiscneach” twitter account in June 2020
“TERF” stands for “trans exclusionary radical feminist” and is understood to refer to women who do not believe that a person with a penis can truly be considered a woman. “Cis women” refers to women who are born with female chromosomes and body parts, and who were not born male.
According to the organisers, the event is designed to “envision what Dáil Eireann could look like with a 50/50 gender balance that is truly reflective of our society”. A photographer will be on hand, the organisers say, to capture the proceedings and take a group shot of a “chamber of women”. They say “the overall aim is to promote a more diverse and representative parliament and we hope that this event will be a defining moment on the journey to 50/50 representation in politics”.
However, several groups and individuals have expressed grave concern at the inclusion of Carroll at the event, in light of the comments made about women.
Speaking to Gript, Senator Sharon Keogan – a member of the Oireachtas Women’s Caucus – said that the remarks were “utterly appalling”.
“I really would question”, she said, “why this invitation was not immediately rescinded based on this individual’s record of making comments which could be read as advocating violence and terror towards women who disagree with their views. I am not a “cis woman”. I am a woman, and I find it deeply offensive to see a person who has used language like this about women purporting to represent us”.
“At a time when the oireachtas is taking steps to protect members, particularly women members, I feel less protected than other members”.
In a statement, the Countess – a group which advocates for the rights of women based on their biological sex, and which opposes what it calls “transgender ideology”, questioned whether the organisers had done “due diligence” on Carroll, and issued a statement from its founder and CEO, Laoise Aodha de Brún BL, reading as follows:
“Lilith Keeva O’Carroll is in good company addressing the Dáil. O’Carroll calls for “terfs” to be smashed out of existence, whereas senator Aine Hoey says they should “eat coal”. Perhaps the Women’s Caucus and the NGO, Women for Election, should focus on supporting actual women with the structural constraints that hold women back from the public sphere like motherhood, childbirth, breastfeeding, being up in the night or absent from work with sick children, running households, the schools & health admin and the caring for elderly relatives.
These are the structural inequalities that hinder a gender balance in the Dáil. Not to mention the rape threats and sexualised abuse that female elected representatives face online. How callow to wheel out a male as some sort of totem or shorthand for diversity when they will never experience the reproductive and biological constraints that come with motherhood or the cultural expectations placed on women. And worse still, someone who is, in fact an agent of hatred towards women online.
Once again – as with the National Women’s Council – we are witnessing a complete disconnect between the reality of women’s lives and those groups that women pay, via their taxes, to represent them.”
When contacted by Gript for comment, Keeva Carroll hung up the phone, and refused to speak to this reporter. Carroll also did not avail of an opportunity to comment provided by text message, when the detail of our reporting was outlined.
Fianna Fáil Senator Fiona O’Loughlin, who is the Chairwoman of the Oireachtas Women’s Caucus, told Gript that she was unaware of the comments, or that Carroll was to address the event. She said that the invitees had been chosen by Women for Election, and that the caucus was only tangentially involved. When pressed on whether the comments were appropriate she said:
“Obviously this is an inappropriate comment. There is toxicity on both sides – I certainly do not support or endorse the comment you sent me which was completely inappropriate. It’s important that we listen and try to understand difference”.
Another member of the Oireachtas, who commented on the condition that they would not be named, said that the inclusion of Carroll was “deeply embarrassing”. “These people are their own worst enemy” the Oireachtas member said, referring to TENI. “They send us in these mad people and screamers and they get in the way of any reasonable debate. Any other Minister would have stopped funding them years ago – they are lucky to have Roderic O’Gorman”.
At the time of writing, Carroll was still scheduled to speak at the event this morning.
Addressing the event are five groups:
TENI – a taxpayer funded lobby group which receives money to campaign on behalf of transgender people
The Irish Traveller movement – a taxpayer funded lobby group which receives money to represent travellers;
AkiDwA – a taxpayer funded lobby group which receives money to represent African Migrant women;
EPIC – a taxpayer funded advocacy group which receives money to advocate on behalf of children in care
The Irish Secondary Students Union – a taxpayer funded advocacy group which receives money to represent students in second level education.
There are no invited groups at the event whose activities are not wholly, or partially, funded by the state.
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