An Ardaghy man has weighed in on the debate over a controversial scene from the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony. Many took the "living art" scene which featured drag queens, trans-gender models and scantily-dressed performers to be an interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci's famous Last Supper painting.
While the performance art included a female wearing what looked like a halo sitting at the centre of a long table with around 12 other performers sitting on either side, some art experts say the depiction is actually of a 17th century painting by a Dutch artist called "Feast of the Gods" which describes Gods from Greek mythology. Over the weekend, the Vatican issued a statement about the debacle which said the Pope was "saddened" by the project and that the Olympics sideshow "offends many Christians". Last month, Monaghan's Ardal O'Hanlon was one of 100 comedians from 15 countries to meet the Pope Francis when he told them "It's not heresy" to laugh at God.
Francis Meehan told the Joe Finnegan Show he found it "grossly offensive" and "an attack on the Eucharist which is the source and summit of our faith". Mr Meehan was so offended by the performance that he registered his protest with the Olympic Council of Ireland: "It was just attacking the Catholic faith, attacking the Last Supper, making a whole mockery of it," Mr Meehan said, "I made contact with the Olympic Council of Ireland. It was difficult first of all to get through on the umber but, I persevered and I registered my protest . The lady I was speaking to said they actually had a lot of protests ... so, it's important that people ring the number for the Irish Olympic Council."
