John Augustine Waters (born 28 May 1955) is a far-right Irish columnist, political candidate, journalist and author. He started his career with the music and politics magazine Hot Press, and the Sunday Tribune newspaper. He later edited the social magazine In Dublin and the investigative and current affairs magazine Magill. He became a regular columnist at The Irish Times and Irish Independent, while authoring some non-fiction works, and developed The Whoseday Book which raised 3 million euros for charity. He has also been a member of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

Waters was an unsuccessful independent candidate in the 2020 Irish general election for the Dún Laoghaire constituency. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for the Midlands–North-West constituency at the 2024 European Parliament election.

Career Early career Waters's career began in 1981 with the Irish politics and music magazine Hot Press. He wrote for the Sunday Tribune and later edited In Dublin magazine from 1985 to 1987John Watters appointed editor of In Dublin Slants. and Magill.

Waters has written several books and, in 1998, he devised The Whoseday Book — which contains quotes, writings and pictures of 365 Irish writers and musicians – raising €3 million for the Irish Hospice Foundation.Books Written By John Waters johnwaters.ie

Irish Times and Irish Independent Waters wrote a weekly column for The Irish Times from 1990 to 2014. He was briefly fired during a dispute with the then editor, Geraldine Kennedy, but was shortly thereafter reinstated.John Waters and The Irish Times Eamonn Fitzgeralds Rainy DayIrish Times fires columnist John Waters, RTÉ News, Sunday 23 November 2003Waters is reinstated at The Irish Times, RTÉ News, Monday 24 November 2003

In March 2014, Waters left The Irish Times, and shortly after started writing columns for the Sunday Independent and Irish Independent.On 13 July 2014 the Sunday Independent published what it described as Waters' first column for the paper. He has since written regular columns for that paper and its sister the Irish Independent. In 2018 he released a new book called Give Us Back the Bad Roads.

Other work Waters is a fortnightly contributor to the American journal First Things and is a Permanent Research Fellow at the Center for Ethics and Culture, University of Notre Dame.

In August 2021, John Waters and Gemma O'Doherty launched a freesheet newspaper titled The Irish Light, largely consisting of anti-vaccine propaganda and other conspiracy theories. It is run in conjunction with The Light, a UK publication, and reprints much of the UK version's articles.

Politics and advocacy Waters was an active participant in the Catholic cultural movement Communion and Liberation. He has given at least one talk to the Iona Institute, a Dublin-based socially conservative organisation that advocates the advancement and promotion of the Christian religion and what it sees as the religion's social and moral values.

He was a member of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland until he resigned in January 2014, during which time he was a litigant seeking damages from the broadcaster RTÉ.

In 2015, he became involved with First Families First in calling for a 'No' vote in the referendum for the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015.

In February 2018 he appeared with Nigel Farage at an Irexit conference organised by Hermann Kelly. The conference described itself as open "only to supporters of an Irish exit from the European Union". There were several members of the far-right National Party - headed by Justin Barrett - at the conference. Waters denied that Ireland was a republic, state or democracy. Waters was quoted as saying "We have to remove the media because they don’t permit us to have the conversation" to which the crowd responded enthusiastically. They also applauded his claim that immigrants "have no affinity or allegiance to the countries they end up in" and that "[t]his is our fault because we don’t demand it". He claimed that "Europeans no longer have a place to call home" and that European Christianity was being eroded by "metastatic cancer".

In 2019 he appeared in a number of podcasts with Gemma O'Doherty and Justin Barrett.

2020 general election Balbriggan meeting On 28 January 2020, Waters and O'Doherty addressed an Anti-Corruption Ireland meeting in Balbriggan. During the meeting he said "many of the ethnicities that are coming here” had “fertility rates that are two or three times the Irish rate" and claimed the Great Replacement conspiracy theory of Renaud Camus would happen in Ireland. He criticised the Fianna Fáil slogan "An Ireland for all", saying in an outraged tone "Who were Fianna Fáil referring to? ISIS? There are two words missing. Except Paddy". During his speech he openly speculated about being murdered in a nursing home by an immigrant care worker.

Campaign and election Waters ran under the banner of Gemma O'Doherty's far-right group, "Anti-Corruption Ireland", in the 2020 Irish general election, in the Dún Laoghaire constituency. In his pre-election writings he referred to the Great Replacement conspiracy theory and referred to The Strange Death of Europe. As Anti-Corruption Ireland is not a registered political party, he appeared on the ballot paper as an independent. Waters received 1.48% of first preference votes and was eliminated on the first count.

High Court action against COVID-19 legislation On 15 April 2020, Waters and Gemma O'Doherty launched a legal action against laws dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. They sought to have various parts of the legislation declared null and void by a judge of the High Court.

The legislation included: Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (COVID-19) Act 2020 The 1947 Health Act (Affected Areas) Order as well as temporary restrictions brought in due to COVID-19 under the 1947 Health Act.

Waters said to the court that the legislation was "unconstitutional", "improperly acted" and "very flawed". He said that the challenge was brought on the grounds that the laws were brought in by a caretaker government, by a Dáil where the number of TDs were limited and was enacted by an outgoing Seanad. The action was to be taken against the Minister for Health (Ireland), Ireland and the Attorney General. In a hearing on the matter, Mr Justice Paul Sankey said that the court was only concerned with the legality of the legislation and not about government policy, directed that the application for permission to bring the challenge be made on notice to the State respondents, and adjourned the matter for a week.

In a second hearing, the Counsel for the State, told the court that the State would oppose the application for leave to bring the challenge, and stated that the Seanad and Ceann Comhairle would need to be added as notice parties. During this hearing, O'Doherty stated that the vast majority of people were unaffected by COVID-19 which she said was "no threat to life" and that Irish people should be allowed to go outside and "build up a herd immunity". During the discussion, the applicants questioned if the proceedings were being held in public. Up to 100 supporters of the applicants gathered in the Round Hall of the Four Courts but were not permitted to enter the courtroom because of social distancing rules introduced because of COVID-19. An application to let some or all of the supporters into the courtroom was dismissed by the judge, who said that the court was being held in public and was being reported on by the media. The following day, Gardaí announced that there was an investigation into the large gathering at the Four Courts, stating that they had asked the group to disperse because of concerns with adherence to guidelines on social distancing and non-essential travel. Gardaí said the group dispersed and no arrests were made but investigations were ongoing.

At the next hearing, on 28 April 2020, there was a strong Garda presence at the Four Courts, and barriers were used to prevent crowds from entering the court. Members of the Public Order Unit and the Bridewell Garda station were stationed at all main entrances to the building. About forty supporters of the applicants turned up. No arrests were made. At this hearing, Mr Justice Charles Meehan fixed the applicant's appeal for hearing on 5 May 2020. During the meeting, O'Doherty said that the people of Ireland were under "mass house arrest" and Gardaí were "using guns" to frighten people.

On 5 May 2020, there was again a strong Garda presence outside the Four Courts. In her submission to the court O'Doherty said that the COVID-19 conditions were comparable to living in "Nazi Germany" and that the basis for introducing the restrictions was "scientifically fraudulent" and that evidence to that effect would be presented at the full hearing of their action. The State's representatives opposed the application for leave, saying that the claims were not arguable.

On 13 May 2020, Mr Justice Charles Meehan dismissed the applicant's case. He said that the applicant's claims were not arguable and the court could not grant them an application to have their challenge determined at a full hearing of the High Court. He said that the applicants had not provided any facts or expert evidence to support the view that the laws challenged by the applicants were unconstitutional, and noted that the applicants had "no medical or scientific qualifications or expertise, [and] relied on their own unsubstantiated views, gave speeches, engaged in empty rhetoric and sought to draw parallel to Nazi Germany which is both absurd and offensive".

On 2 March 2021, the Irish Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Waters and O'Doherty of the High Court's refusal to permit them to bring their challenge, and its award of costs of that hearing against them. Counsel for the state in the appeal argued that some of the applicants' submissions were "Bermuda Triangle stuff".

On 5 July 2022 the Supreme Court upheld the decision to dismiss the challenge brought by him and Gemma O'Doherty against the constitutionality of laws introduced in response to COVID-19.

2024 European Parliament election He ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 European Parliament election in the constituency of Midlands–North-West. Waters received 13,692 (2.0%) first preference votes but was not elected.

Non-fiction and drama Waters has written a number of works of non-fiction as well as plays for radio and the stage. The title of his first non-fiction book, Jiving at the Crossroads, is a pun of Irish president Éamon de Valera's vision of a rural Ireland which is often misquoted as "comely maidens dancing at the crossroads". In the book, Waters comments on modern Ireland. Another non-fiction work, Lapsed Agnostic, describes his "journey from belief to un-belief and back again."

Appearances Eurovision Song Contest Waters has entered the Eurovision Song Contest. "They Can't Stop the Spring", the song he co-wrote with Tommy Moran and performed by the band Dervish, was selected following a telephone vote of viewers on RTÉ's The Late Late Show to be Ireland's entry in Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki. The song finished last in the European competition final, receiving only 5 points.

In 2010, RTÉ announced that Waters had sought to represent Ireland again at Eurovision, with the song "Does Heaven Need Much More?", co-written with Tommy Moran. In the Irish National Final on 5 March 2010, the song was performed by Leanne Moore, the winner of You're a Star 2008, and finished in fourth place.

Electric Picnic 2010