Irish actress, Pauline McLynn has called for a ban on fox hunting.
The Father Ted and Coronation Street star made these comments as she joined a protest in Dublin calling for the sport to be made illegal in Ireland, which was organised by Rural Ireland Against Fox Hunting.
According to them, polls have said that 77% of people in Ireland have supported this ban.
Outside Leinster House, Pauline McLynn said she "cannot believe that in the 21st century, we're still asking for a ban on fox hunting".
"I can’t believe it’s still legal", the actress said. "It just doesn’t make any sense that a very beautiful creature should be chased to within an inch of its life and then torn apart in the most excruciating death in the name of sport or even tradition".
She added: "Just because something’s traditional, and the tiny tradition at that, doesn’t mean that it’s any good. There’s no place for it any more".
As she stepped up to make this speech, some protestors quoted lines from Father Ted, including "Down with this sort of thing" in order to make their point. Some of the protestors even dressed up as Suffragettes in Edwardian costumes, while others donned fox masks.
McLynn who played the comical housekeeper, Mrs Doyle in the 90s comedy, remarked: "Down with this sort of thing, indeed".
Some protestors included Veronica Brady.
"The suffragettes fought for change", she said. "They also spoke for the people who maybe weren’t heard".
Another protest outside Leinster House, who did not want to named, wore a traditional red fox hunting blazer, while carrying a horn.
"We’re in the middle of a biodiversity crisis and we need to start showing respect for nature and for the creatures of the wild", he said.
Back in December, an amendment to the Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2025 to ban fox hunting was defeated in the Dáil.
Currently, Pauline McLynn can be spotted on our television screens, starring as interfering mother Maggie Driscoll in Coronation Street, having joined the set last Summer. McLynn's character is a mother to newcomer Ben Driscoll, played by Aaron McCusker who debuts on the Cobbles, alongside the returning Eva Price, played by Catherine Tydesley.
