Mike Garde is a South African born theologian and an expert on cults. He is the director of Dialogue Ireland.[1] Garde is a Mennonite[2] and is a member of Grosvenor Baptist Church in Rathmines. In 1978, he was supported by the London Mennonist Mission, in establishing the Irish Mennonist Mission in Dublin. He was the first non-Catholic to study for the Bachelor of Divinity at St Patrick's College, Maynooth in 1975.[3] He also gained an H.Dip in Education. Prior to attending Maynooth he studied for a Diploma in Theology at the Irish Baptist College in Belfast and University College London. He received an M.A. in Theology in 2006 from the Milltown Institute in Dublin.[4]

Garde appears regularly on radio and TV discussing cults in Ireland on behalf of Dialogue Ireland, and speaks in secondary schools in Ireland on the dangers of cults.[1][5][6][7]

Legal cases involving Garde

In July 2012, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan ordered Garde and Sunday World journalist Nicola Tallant to appear in United States District Court for the District of Colorado to give evidence in Cornec v. Morrice and Others (2012) and adjourned for a month to allow them to apply the orders to be set aside. The court heard how both were "party to communications relevant to the Colorado proceedings." It was claimed Tallant could be urged to reveal the sources for her stories.[8][9]

In September 2012, the Irish High Court ruled that Garde and Nicola Tallant did not have to give evidence. Mr Justice Gerard Hogan set aside orders saying "if, as she maintains, Mr Quinn holds unorthodox religious views and is effectively the leader of a religious cult which has used psychological techniques as a means of controlling gullible adherents, the media are entitled to educate public opinion in this regard."[10][11][12][13]

In September 2018, it was reported that defamation proceedings were issued against Random House Group by Paul Tweed over a suggestion in the Dan Brown book Origin that a cult-monitoring group in Ireland took money to fight a Catholic sect. The reference only appears in first-editions and was removed for the paperback.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Cult Watchdog". Irish Times. 22 March 2000. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Irish Mennonite Movement - GAMEO". gameo.org. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  3. ^ Under-fire church to break from tradition by Joanna Kiernan, Irish Independent, 13 May 2012.
  4. ^ Mike Garde Dialogue Ireland.
  5. ^ "Scientology". The Late Late Show. February 1995. RTE.
  6. ^ Exposed: Ireland's Secret Cults (Television production). Ireland: TV3 (Ireland). 26 September 2011.
  7. ^ 20/20. 2 March 2001. TV3 (Ireland).
  8. ^ "Order for journalist to appear in Quinn case". Irish Times. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  9. ^ Tim Healy (25 July 2012). "Journalist and charity director must give evidence in Tony Quinn US lawsuit". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Journalist is not obliged to testify in US case". Irish Times. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Pair spared stand in 'guru' Quinn case". Irish Independent. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  12. ^ Aodhan O'Faolain; Ray Managh (19 September 2012). "Court protects journalist and charity boss". The Herald (Ireland).
  13. ^ Cornec v Susan Morrice & Ors (High Court (Ireland) 18 September 2012) ("It follows, therefore, that Mr. Garde has a similar interest to that of Ms. Tallant in ensuring that his sources are likewise protected. Of course, just as with Ms. Tallant, he is plainly a relevant witness to the Colorado litigation. Ms. Skinner (and others associated with Mr. Cornec) also seems to have either met with or corresponded with him. But his evidence would also be substantially confirmatory of material already in possession of Ms. Morrice. There are, moreover, no strong competing arguments to the contrary which would weigh against the public interest in ensuring that Mr. Garde is free from disclosing his sources or the contents of these discussions."), Text.
  14. ^ Aaron Rogan. "Anti-cult group sues over claims in Da Vinci Code author's book". The Times. Retrieved 22 January 2022.(subscription required)
  15. ^ "Irish religious watchdog taking The Da Vinci Code publishers to High Court". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 22 January 2022.

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