I am in agreement with those that say the term itself is not offensive, but its the context in which its used that will lead to people taking offence or being arrested. If I were to discuss the Fenian movement for research purposes, then the word is clearly not offensive. If I open my door and call a guy in a celtic top a 'Fenian bastard', then I have clearly used it to cause offenc You can apply this to pretty much anything - 'fat' for example. There are probably nicer words to describe being overweight, but there is a difference in me discussing people being fat in the West Coast of Scotland, and me calling someone a 'Fat bastard'