Damn, Ireland, you're looking fabulous today!

May 23, 2015 8:31 AM

The Republic of Ireland made history today by becoming the first country in the world to legalize gay marriage via popular vote. Ireland only decriminalized homosexuality in 1993, so the country has seen an amazing turnaround on gay rights issues. And the omens are good.
posted by orange swan (117 comments total)

Kiss me, I'm Irish. And proud.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:45 AM on May 23, 2015 [12 favorites]

Congratulations Ireland!
posted by Artw at 8:48 AM on May 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

Progress marches on. Now let's have a pint of Guinness to celebrate!
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 8:49 AM on May 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

I might just have to thaw out the Irish whiskey cake that's in my freezer so I can have a piece or two tonight. And wash it down with some Bailey's. I'll be doing it in the interests of social justice, of course.
posted by orange swan at 8:51 AM on May 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

Kiss me, I'm not Irish, but I want a kiss anyway!
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:52 AM on May 23, 2015 [7 favorites]

Curious to see if the conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court change their (presumed) votes to make it unanimous in order to get right with History.
posted by twsf at 8:54 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

I was beginning to forget that news came in "good" as well as "bad" flavours. How refreshing!

Here's a Guinness cake you can make to celebrate. It's possibly the unhealthiest foodstuff in the known world and, therefore, ace.
posted by sobarel at 8:55 AM on May 23, 2015 [12 favorites]

Congratulations, Ireland! \(º3º)/
posted by sukeban at 8:56 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yeah, this is pretty fantastic, especially reading comments like this:

Fianna Fail party leader Michael Martin, a Cork politician whose opposition party is traditionally closest to the Catholic Church, said he couldn't in good conscience back the anti-gay marriage side because "it's simply wrong in the 21st century to oppress people because of their sexuality."

posted by LooseFilter at 9:01 AM on May 23, 2015 [41 favorites]

If a Guinness Cake would make too much temptation to have around your abode, try a Guinness Shake. If you can't be bothered with a proper recipe, take it easy and make a Guinness float.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:02 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Congratulations, Ireland!

I was a Maryland voter in 2012 when we, along with Maine and Washington, became the first states to approve of marriage equality by popular vote. I was proud then, and I'm proud now.

Since then, I've presided over the marriage of 2 same-sex couples, including one dual-military marriage now that DADT is history, and was thrilled to be able to give legal recognition to their bond of love.

Any union that grants special civil privileges and responsibilities should not be denied legal sanction on account of bigotry.
posted by mystyk at 9:02 AM on May 23, 2015 [23 favorites]

For once this is a good day to be Irish. Good news has been in short supply there for a while.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 9:06 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

@twsf: "Curious to see if the conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court change their (presumed) votes to make it unanimous in order to get right with History."

For Roberts, worrying about his "legacy," maybe. For Scalia and Alito, highly unlikely. For Thomas, the most regressive justice in a very long time, never.
posted by mystyk at 9:06 AM on May 23, 2015

Yay!
posted by kyrademon at 9:07 AM on May 23, 2015

And what needs to also be pointed out is the heavy support in working class areas and huge turnouts there as well. Bodes well for a lot of changes
posted by lesbiassparrow at 9:07 AM on May 23, 2015 [12 favorites]

Don't get me wrong, I think it's wonderful that Ireland has joined nineteen other nations in legalizing same-sex marriage, but the fact that it's the first to do so by popular vote doesn't make this victory for civil rights any more valid than one that's driven by legislation or judicial decision.

As Cory Booker so eloquently put it: "Dear God, we should not be putting civil rights issues to a popular vote to be subject to the sentiments, passions of the day. No minority should have their rights subject to the passions and sentiments of the majority. This is a fundamental bedrock of what our nation stands for."

And from the Law Journal for Social Justice:

"Anyone can put together a voting majority. Anyone can put together a stronger, bigger bully to strip the rights from a weaker, smaller minority on any given election day. Particularly in today’s mass-media, superPAC driven election cycles.

The idea that a majority of voters get to define the rights of a minority of people is repugnant to the concept that all men are created equal. It is repugnant to the concept that all men are endowed with certain unalienable rights. I do not care what majority or minority I happen to be in today; I reject the idea that my rights are up for vote."


Anyway, however it came about, congratulations Ireland!
posted by Umami Dearest at 9:13 AM on May 23, 2015 [66 favorites]

I totally get your point, Umami Dearest, but I'm still happy that most Irish people are solidly on the side of equal marriage rights. I imagine it to be quite affirming when a large chunk of the population turn out to vote and say "damn right you should be allowed to marry".
posted by Harald74 at 9:17 AM on May 23, 2015 [28 favorites]

I'm very happy too, and pouring a celebratory Guinness right now!
posted by Umami Dearest at 9:24 AM on May 23, 2015

Humanity thrives, congratulations!
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 9:25 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

\o/
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:25 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

I do agree that our civil rights shouldn't be determined by popular vote, but at the same time am very happy that Ireland's taken this huge step forward because a) the job of legalizing gay marriage in Ireland got freaking done and b) I've known anti-gay marriage types to claim that the surveys done by news organizations such as CNN were unreliable and that the majority of people is really against gay marriage, that no country on earth has ever demonstrated that the will of its people is pro-gay marriage. They'll have to eat that argument now, with a side of bile, while the rest of us enjoy some Guinness, Jameson's, Bailey's, etc.
posted by orange swan at 9:31 AM on May 23, 2015 [25 favorites]

My hope is that Irish-American Justice Kennedy will heed the Auld Sod's change in temper on this issue and do the right thing when it comes time to cast the deciding vote.

Well done, Ireland! A more-pointed repudiation of the teachings (and demonstration of the loss of credibility and stature) of Mother Church, I can't imagine.
posted by the sobsister at 9:33 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Leaving for BevMo now - there's gonna be a heckuva run on Guiness today...
posted by twsf at 9:36 AM on May 23, 2015

A more-pointed repudiation of the teachings (and demonstration of the loss of credibility and stature) of Mother Church, I can't imagine.

Nah, that will be when the draconian and deadly anti-choice laws get repealed.

But this is still amazing, and I totally teared up reading about the folks that flew back to Ireland just for this vote.
posted by kmz at 9:48 AM on May 23, 2015 [6 favorites]

Woohoo!
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 9:49 AM on May 23, 2015

Very good for them, although I don't agree with voting for civil rights, either. It was sweet to see all the people who travelled back to Ireland just to vote.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:51 AM on May 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

Congratulations to the Republic of Ireland, for joining the small list of countries that have legalized same-sex marriage but not abortion. Which I think says something about how accepted same-sex marriage has become, but the cynic in me thinks it is because people have realized that it's mostly symbolic anyway. Ireland is still a very conservative country.
posted by water under the bridge at 9:55 AM on May 23, 2015 [6 favorites]

Congratulations to Ireland!
posted by a lungful of dragon at 10:00 AM on May 23, 2015

I'm pretty sure it's not at all symbolic for the same-sex couples who want to get married.

I hope that this is sounding a death knell for the role of the Church in Ireland's politics, and the right of women to control their own bodies comes next. (And I absolutely stipulate that should have happened decades ago.)
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:02 AM on May 23, 2015 [19 favorites]

(seen on reddit)

Upon a road in County Cork,
One fair, delightful day –
The folks of Ireland reached a fork,
And chose a finer way –

Through Dublin, Louth, and Carlow Town –
Upon the Galway quay –
Through Mayo, Meath, around and down,
And up the Irish Sea –

They gathered by the polling post,
And looked ahead, above –
And made a choice, from coast to coast,
To vote, as one, for love.
posted by DreamerFi at 10:04 AM on May 23, 2015 [37 favorites]

My favorite ad for marriage equality in Ireland was Sinead's Hand. Yay Ireland!
posted by bile and syntax at 10:06 AM on May 23, 2015 [13 favorites]

I wonder what the implications of this for Australian politics will be; Australia had a bipartisan consensus against any-sex marriage a few years ago (with the ALP headed by God-botherer Kevin Rudd); now, the Tories are against it, the ALP wants a conscience vote (with the left arguing that allowing a conscience vote on a human-rights issue is itself unconscionable, and pushing for the party to vote in favour). The social-conservative streak in Australian politics has traditionally been based partly in Irish-influenced Catholic conservatism (the PM, Tony Abbott, is a case in point; his political mentor was Bob Santamaria, of the largely Catholic anti-communist DLP).

Does this mean that the rug is being pulled out from under the Australian Right, and the country will be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century? Or will the LNP manage to build up a religious social conservative power-base (possibly based on US-style megachurches like Hillsong, the Reaganite/Nixonite concept of “Judaeo-Christianity” as a geopolitical bloc locked in Huntingtonian war with Islam, Marxism and the decaying godless liberalism of Eurabia, and/or the religious school chaplain programme the government is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into in lieu of secular welfare programs)?
posted by acb at 10:20 AM on May 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

 "Dear God, we should not be putting civil rights issues to a popular vote to be subject to the sentiments, passions of the day. No minority should have their rights subject to the passions and sentiments of the majority."

Likewise no minority should have their rights subject to feelings of a handful of judges. No minority should have their rights subject to the choices of self-interested politicians in the legislature. People shouldn't have to demand their rights at all. They shouldn't have to fight for recognition.

I'll take wins wherever we can get them.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:22 AM on May 23, 2015 [30 favorites]

People shouldn't have to demand their rights at all. They shouldn't have to fight for recognition.

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." Frederick Douglass.

So – nice demand, Ireland.
posted by graymouser at 10:25 AM on May 23, 2015 [21 favorites]

Irish American and very very proud today:-) When we visited my relatives in Co. Galway, who are indeed Catholic, married in Church, baptized their children, attend Mass, we did not get the feeling that the Church ruled their lives or dictated their politics, and they were quite disgusted with the Magdalen Laundries and pedophile scandals, and the idiocy of many of the Bishops. I am not surprised that the Irish public voted with compassion and good sense on this issue no matter what the official Catholic stance was. Yaayyyy Ireland!
posted by mermayd at 10:30 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

My understanding is that there needed to be a vote because straight marriage was enshrined in the constitution... This can only be done by referendum (according to wikipedia) so I guess you play the hand that's dealt you.

I was hoping to see the other referendum pass as well (to end the limit on age of the president).
posted by chapps at 10:31 AM on May 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

\o/
posted by PROD_TPSL at 10:38 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Kiss me, I'm drinking Irish whiskey later tonight in celebration.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 10:41 AM on May 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

Proud to be Irish, but especially today!
posted by Lynsey at 10:44 AM on May 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

Now I just need to work on my gayifying voodoo doll of Chris O'Dowd.
posted by sonascope at 10:48 AM on May 23, 2015 [9 favorites]

Progress marches on

It was not some abstract notion of "progress" that did this. It was the work of the people who fought for this victory, and the achievement of everyone who opened their hearts and changed their minds.

If you wait for progress to happen, it doesn't.
posted by Zarkonnen at 10:50 AM on May 23, 2015 [10 favorites]

Question asked and answered.

Nicely done, Ireland!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:54 AM on May 23, 2015

Brilliant day, and the sun came out back home for once! Delighted.
posted by amorphatist at 11:02 AM on May 23, 2015

I has all the feels :)
posted by Neekee at 11:06 AM on May 23, 2015

@Umami Dearest
;)
The reason we had to vote on it is because it involves changing our constitution.

@sonascope

Chris O'Dowd is from Co. Roscommon, the only county that voted no. I'm sure he's mortified. :)
posted by GallonOfAlan at 11:08 AM on May 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

Hot off the Guardian:

All the results are in, and the returning officer, Ríona Ní Fhlanghaile, has declared that Ireland has passed the same-sex marriage referendum by 1,201,607 votes to 734,300. That’s 62.1% yes to 37.9% no. The total turnout was 60.5%.
posted by njohnson23 at 11:16 AM on May 23, 2015 [10 favorites]

In all of Ireland, "Yes" beat "No" by over 24 percentage points (62/38). In Dublin, the ratio of Yes/No was 71/29, which was more than a 2 to 1 margin.

There's victory, and then there absolutely crushing it. Yay Ireland! :^D
posted by surazal at 11:20 AM on May 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

njohnson23, that's fantastic! No close call, and the majority of voters turned out. (What do Irish elections usually look like for voter turn-out?)

"The idea that a majority of voters get to define the rights of a minority of people is repugnant to the concept that all men are created equal. It is repugnant to the concept that all men are endowed with certain unalienable rights. I do not care what majority or minority I happen to be in today; I reject the idea that my rights are up for vote."

I agree with this sentiment, but I think it is historic that the majority of a country (who voted) spoke out in favor of equal rights in the face of ugly, persistent fear and hatred. A few justices may be elevated to see the way forward now, but the masses can cry "they don't speak for me." In this case, the people came out and say "we're speaking together, and we say equal marriage rights."

I think that Law Journal for Social Justice post mixes issues: 1) peoples rights are subject to the views of a small minority (judges) or the public majority (like today), and 2) the broad and public views of gay rights are changing for the better. The former is indeed an issue, but not one that was open for discussion in the Irish election. The latter is quite historic.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:22 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

I've tried to get into the habit of, whenever somebody refers to "giving" a minority some certain right, mentally replacing it with, "we stopped forcefully denying them their right!"

If nothing else, it makes the magnanimous tone a little more comedic.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:30 AM on May 23, 2015 [19 favorites]

@filthy light thief

Government elections hover round the early 70s percentage-wise.

This was a very high referendum turnout ... some can be as low as 30%, big ticket items like this are usually 50% and up.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 11:33 AM on May 23, 2015

Now I just need to work on my gayifying voodoo doll of Chris O'Dowd.

Have you tried turning it off and on and then really turning it on again?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:46 AM on May 23, 2015 [20 favorites]

Marry me, I'm Irish!
posted by saul wright at 12:03 PM on May 23, 2015 [3 favorites]

!
posted by Jacqueline at 12:27 PM on May 23, 2015

<3
posted by aniola at 12:28 PM on May 23, 2015

Hooray! I loved that the "no" vote was crushed.

So if was the states, I would now be wondering what end-run the "no" supporters would be trying to use to undo this (i.e., emergency court stays, tacking on amendments to legislation, etc). Is one available, and is it likely to be used?
posted by maxwelton at 12:31 PM on May 23, 2015

Happy (legal, the social one is in August) anniversary to me and the wife. :)
posted by joycehealy at 12:34 PM on May 23, 2015 [5 favorites]

So what is Northern Ireland's excuse? Is Northern Ireland the Texas of the UK? Is DUP the evangelical Tea Party?
posted by JackFlash at 12:35 PM on May 23, 2015

Pretty much yes.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:37 PM on May 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

Erin, you go girl!
posted by Splunge at 12:39 PM on May 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

So what is Northern Ireland's excuse?

It's a different country. What's the USA's excuse?
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 12:39 PM on May 23, 2015 [8 favorites]

It's a different country.

Same-sex marriage is also legal in England, Scotland and Wales.

What's the USA's excuse?

We're working on it.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:41 PM on May 23, 2015

What's the USA's excuse?

Texas, among others.
posted by JackFlash at 12:41 PM on May 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

Same-sex marriage is also legal in England, Scotland and Wales.

I'm aware. My point was that Northern Ireland is a different country from Ireland, so "what's their excuse" is a ridiculous question to ask.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 12:42 PM on May 23, 2015

I saw a story yesterday that said tens of thousand of Irish were returning home to vote. That's awesome, but at 1,201,607 votes to 734,300, it was also huge waste of effort. I'm not actually suggesting they shouldn't have gone home, I just like it when things work out ironically like that. As someone who's half Irish, I'm doubly proud of my kinspeople today.
posted by axiom at 12:45 PM on May 23, 2015

For a long time, Northern Ireland had a strong contingent against any form of detente with the South because the Irish state was socially and economically backward, and dominated by the Catholic church (with the Pope being the Antichrist). In all these respects, the tables are now turned, and the Democratic Unionist Party - the most regressive and conservative Protestant - must be absolutely delighted that it is the party in all the British Isles whose position now most closely matches that of the Vatican.

In other news: yay Ireland! With the referendum result announced on the day of Eurovision, I nereby declare May 23rd to be European Big Gay Christmas Day now - and forever!
posted by Devonian at 12:51 PM on May 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

Congrats to Ireland. A job well done, for now the haters know they're beaten by the people and can't nurse the belief that marriage equality was forced on them by politicians and elites.

So what is Northern Ireland's excuse? Is Northern Ireland the Texas of the UK? Is DUP the evangelical Tea Party?

The UK Government lets Northern Ireland do what it likes so long as it is broadly peaceful. There are multiple areas where Northern Ireland departs from the rest of the UK, and nobody much cares to stir the waters up. I think many in the UK, even strong unionists, find the British people in Northern Ireland to be a deep embarrassment best ignored.
posted by Thing at 12:58 PM on May 23, 2015

Woohoo, Ireland! Hopefully we'll soon have this "stigma" all done with worldwide.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 12:58 PM on May 23, 2015

Awesome!
posted by homunculus at 1:01 PM on May 23, 2015

I've been telling my uber conservative 80 year old brother, who longs to go back to "The Quiet Man" Ireland of the 1950's, that it has changed a LOT over there.

Now I assume he will believe me.
posted by Tullyogallaghan at 1:07 PM on May 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

All my facebook friends are celebrating today over this historic vote. And I am so happy for the Irish. Comhghairdeas!
posted by LN at 1:13 PM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

One points out that Texas has actually had a judgement in favor of (and alas, the accompanying stay) same sex marriage for quite awhile now, and that there are perhaps other parties that ire is better aimed at.
posted by joycehealy at 1:20 PM on May 23, 2015

W00t!
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:22 PM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

That's awesome, but at 1,201,607 votes to 734,300, it was also huge waste of effort.

I can bet you those who did travel back don't share your belief.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 1:28 PM on May 23, 2015 [18 favorites]

I saw a story yesterday that said tens of thousand of Irish were returning home to vote. That's awesome, but at 1,201,607 votes to 734,300, it was also huge waste of effort.

It's not a waste of effort, it's a mark of respect for the importance of democracy and (for those who voted yes) for the basic dignity and humanity of their fellow citizens.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 1:41 PM on May 23, 2015 [22 favorites]

Just to be clear, the reason that Northern Ireland doesn't have equal marriage can be firmly held at the door of conservative Protestant christianity, the vast majority of those members of the NI Assembly who support Irish unification voted in favour of same-sex marriage recently. It's all down to the DUP and UUP. (All thanks to the wonders of 'petitions of concern', which were meant to be used to stop things that were discriminatory against either catholic or protestant communities).
posted by knapah at 1:47 PM on May 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

Petitions of concern: Is Stormont's safeguard system being abused?
posted by knapah at 1:49 PM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

I saw a story yesterday that said tens of thousand of Irish were returning home to vote. That's awesome, but at 1,201,607 votes to 734,300, it was also huge waste of effort.

Maybe. But I'd wager that for a fair number of those folks, this was personal as well as political. And I'd like to think that if I left the US and then a vote came up on a major issue that was important to me and I had to return home to vote at all, even if it seemed like the vote would go well without little old me, I'd go home and vote if I had the means to get there. Maybe in the grand scheme of things my one vote wouldn't make any difference, but it would matter to me.
posted by palomar at 1:54 PM on May 23, 2015 [11 favorites]

🍀💘🍀
posted by brundlefly at 2:12 PM on May 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

Hooray! Though of course it was always going to be Yes on Eurovision night!
posted by alasdair at 2:22 PM on May 23, 2015

I was reading that rather a lot of young Irish people working and studying abroad flew home specifically to vote in this referendum, because Ireland doesn't allow absentee voting. That's heartening.
posted by 256 at 2:33 PM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

There might be a push for postal voting after this, as currently only those who lived in Ireland in the last 18 months could vote, and had to vote in person.

(Guardian article about #hometovote)
posted by knapah at 2:47 PM on May 23, 2015

I saw a story yesterday that said tens of thousand of Irish were returning home to vote. That's awesome, but at 1,201,607 votes to 734,300, it was also huge waste of effort.

No, it wasn't. Every county in Ireland except one voted yes, but some by only a few hundred votes. In one constituency, Yes had it by a single vote. My polling station voted No by a single vote. The fact the entire map turned bar one isolated county of ignorance means a huge amount to people walking the streets all over this nation. Not a single vote was wasted.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:53 PM on May 23, 2015 [42 favorites]

Oh, Ireland, you have made me so happy.
note to self - have to dig up ancestral paperwork to get Irish citizenship!
posted by rmd1023 at 3:10 PM on May 23, 2015

I saw somewhere that Donegal's margin was 33 votes. Individual votes matter.
posted by Happy Dave at 3:14 PM on May 23, 2015 [7 favorites]

I wonder if Roscommon will bear a special shame going forward over being the only 'No' county? I lived in Waterford in 2005 and 2006, and I didn't really get a sense of Roscommon's county identity beyond "one of those ones in the middle." Now it's "that one that voted No."
posted by erlking at 3:15 PM on May 23, 2015

Ireland has 43 parliamentary constituencies. In one constituency, Donegal South-West, there were 15,907 yes votes and 15,874 nos. That is to say, the yes side won by 33 votes. It is entirely possible that 33 people came home to vote and made the difference. And I think it really matters that yes carried all but one constituency and that this really was a nation-wide decision that was endorsed by rural constituencies as well as urban ones.

But also, if you feel like something momentous is happening in your country, sometimes you just want to be there.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:15 PM on May 23, 2015 [6 favorites]

I saw a story yesterday that said tens of thousand of Irish were returning home to vote. That's awesome, but at 1,201,607 votes to 734,300, it was also huge waste of effort.

One of the articles I read yesterday pointed out that all the people who came home to vote may have served as inspiration to those who didn't have to make an international journey to get to their polling stations.
posted by aniola at 3:22 PM on May 23, 2015 [10 favorites]

Today, I am proud to be part Irish.
posted by Anne Neville at 3:29 PM on May 23, 2015

Seeing all those people going home to vote and talking about it e.g. Twitter made a difference to me - it was enormously heartening and encouraging and affirming - and I am safely gay and gay-married in San Francisco. Never underestimate the value that that kind of psychological and emotional boost can give to people who need it, people who need it much, much more than I do.
posted by rtha at 3:33 PM on May 23, 2015 [13 favorites]

In Castletownroche, a man in his 80s said his YES would probably be his last vote. "I want to leave Ireland better than I found it."

posted by Etrigan at 3:50 PM on May 23, 2015 [24 favorites]

I mentioned in the other thread that my Irish friend was last here in the U.S. for a visit during the repeal of "Don't ask don't tell". She asked what that was all about, and when I told her, she was horrified - that is, she was horrified at the notion that this country ever considered LGBT people unfit for military duty in the first place.

I am reasonably certain she voted Yes.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:51 PM on May 23, 2015

The #hometovote push was electrifying and may very well have persuaded people back home to make the smaller effort to get out and vote. The polls last weekend were worrying, and then at the eleventh hour a relief force started appearing over the horizon on all sides. Images of returning emigrants have an emotional force in this country that shouldn't be underestimated.
posted by Zeinab Badawi's Twenty Hotels at 3:53 PM on May 23, 2015 [9 favorites]

This is incredibly cheering news, though my pleasure was counterbalanced by reading about "The Lonely Fight Against Belize's Antigay Laws" immediately after. Every move towards equality helps, and I love the stories of people returning in order to vote.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:02 PM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

🍀 🌈 💕
posted by terrapin at 4:10 PM on May 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

In over thirty years of voting in national and local elections, I don't think I've ever voted for the winner. I don't count a single one of my votes as any more wasted than if I'd scored 100%.

Voting doesn't work that way.

Put it another way, if I'd come back to my home country to vote for equal marriage, and my vote was one in a hundred thousand majority, I'd be so bloody proud you could photograph it from space.
posted by Devonian at 4:17 PM on May 23, 2015 [10 favorites]

Yay! Time to break out the Irish cream! So proud of a Catholic country that voted in favor of same-sex marriage.
posted by honey badger at 4:36 PM on May 23, 2015

Senator David Norris is a national treasure:

“I was the first openly gay person in the world to take office. It happened in Ireland. We’ve had a succession of brilliant women presidents – in Ireland. There’s been such utter rubbish spouted. No Catholic priest is going to be forced to marry gay people – although it wouldn’t kill them to give a couple a blessing. They’re happy to bless bombs, pets, agricultural implements. You’d think a blessing for two people who love each other would be easier than blessing a couple of goldfish.

“It’s a brilliant day. Sadly, I had a liver transplant last year, so I can’t have a drink to celebrate; I’ll just see if I can’t steal a joint from someone and blow a few marijuana smoke rings.”
posted by The Nutmeg of Consolation at 6:22 PM on May 23, 2015 [25 favorites]

I've lived away from Ireland over 15 years, but seeing images like these, showing those with the opportunity to make a difference, kept my hopes up this week. What a day.
posted by recklessbrother at 6:36 PM on May 23, 2015

🍀👬 👫 👭 🍀
posted by njohnson23 at 6:51 PM on May 23, 2015 [5 favorites]

I couldn't be prouder to be Irish and American today. My family back in the old country made me proud today.
posted by echolalia67 at 8:18 PM on May 23, 2015

I'm just so happy about this I could explode. The world is on its way.
posted by blurker at 10:01 PM on May 23, 2015

How awesome that so many people helped make so clear a decision — and how much more awesome that it was a decision based on love and in favor of love, so unlike those measures that pass based on fear and hate. Ireland is heroic!
posted by five fresh fish at 11:04 PM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

I am vehemently opposed to voting for (or against!) human rights.
I am vehemently opposed to making cakes or shakes with Guinness.

I am very happy for Ireland!
posted by chavenet at 2:45 AM on May 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

While I also don't agree with human rights going on a majority referendum, if anything, putting this on a vote prevents any "silent majority" bullshit that would happen otherwise. There's no silent majority. There's a lot of people that don't care either way, and between those who do, most chose the progressive path by a considerable margin. And that's all there is to it.
posted by lmfsilva at 4:02 AM on May 24, 2015

Once again, it involved a change to our written constitution, therefore referendum required. FWIW, we already had civil partnership so this was a last mile thing.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 5:07 AM on May 24, 2015 [7 favorites]

Speaking as a gay Irish woman I am delighted that if and when I choose to get married, I now have *constitutional* protection. No future government can come in and decide to dilute or take away my right to marry without putting it to the people again in a further referendum. I'm seeing a lot of international comment echoing a couple of thoughts in this thread - that we shouldn't have to vote for rights, almost a "this shouldn't be necessary but congratulations all the same" kind of reaction.

As GallonOfAllan says above, this is coming from a misunderstanding about the Irish constitution - it is not the American one and we have a very different political system. I am so happy I got to vote for my rights on Friday.

I'm not from the "deeply Catholic country" some international newspapers are fond of describing - (I'm only 34 years old and that ship sailed a few years ago for my generation) but I do come from rural Ireland. Yesterday someone commented that the yes/no ratio got tighter the closer you got to the west and I'm almost as west as you can get. In rural Ireland we don't discuss difficult subjects - we're culturally (not just religiously - it's complicated) indoctrinated to whisper and hint and nudge and joke and ultimately value everything being "grand".

Thankfully we're miles from how it used to be twenty, thirty, forty plus years ago where this mindset was so actively controlled by the church that it resulted in heartbreaking abuses the extent of which we're only beginning to discover. For gay men and women it meant at best complete and utter isolation.

I have a large and close extended family. It's been "known" for years that I am gay. The reason I know this is because after I came out to my mother (who said "I figured as much but don't tell your father") all of my aunts stopped asking me if I had "a boyfriend up in Dublin". That's the extent of it. They still accepted me and loved me and our relationship didn't change but in the same way no one openly talked about the alcoholic uncle or the cousin who just had a miscarriage or the neighbour who's husband was having an affair. And it was fine, it was grand, it was easy. I live in Dublin, I have lots of friends - I didn't need any more than that.

But also it wasn't fine - I never brought girlfriends home or to a family wedding. I had two separate lives - in fact I probably have juggled quite a few separate lives over the years and I'm an expert at it. Then, earlier this year my Mum got terminally ill with cancer and before she died I tried one last conversation with her about the reality of my life. We talked about the referendum and she told me she would be happy if I got married to a woman, that she wanted that love and support for me. I was, and am, so happy to have had talk with her.

Yesterday when the result came in I posted a picture of myself and my friends celebrating at Dublin Castle on facebook. Now, a fair amount of my extended family lives on facebook so I didn't do this lightly - but over the last few weeks I had witnessed them engage in discussions and post articles and eventually, pledge support for simple, straightforward, equality.

A few seconds after I posted the picture the likes and comments from my aunts and uncles started coming in. "Great day for Ireland", "Have an amazing day", "Historic" (as well as multicoloured heart and gay and lesbian emojis - who knew they knew how to do that?!). Then I started getting texts from cousins I had never come out to saying "I'm so happy for you and for Ireland today and that I had a chance to vote for what was right".

*This* is what it means. This wasn't the government deciding to do what was right or a judge ruling in a court - this was my cousins and my neighbours and my colleagues and the man who runs the local shop all deciding that I am as equal as they are and there is no reason to hide anymore.

Sorry this was so long. I'm crying again for the 62nd time.
posted by unbearablylight at 6:15 PM on May 24, 2015 [65 favorites]

unbearablylight, that is just lovely. I think I'll cry a little bit now, too.
posted by palomar at 9:34 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

In other same-sex marriage news, Greenland's parliament just unanimously approved same-sex marriage and adoption.
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 7:17 AM on May 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

"VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican's secretary of state has called the Irish vote to legalize gay marriage a "defeat for humanity," evidence of the soul-searching going on in Catholic circles after the predominantly Roman Catholic country overwhelmingly rejected traditional church teaching on marriage."

A defeat for humanity. That's a new one, to me; I guess I should add another item under the "skills" category of my CV? Or maybe I should just combine them all as "Destroyer of All that is Good and Righteous, Merely by Existing."
posted by rtha at 8:41 AM on May 27, 2015 [4 favorites]

Destroyer of All that is Good and Righteous, Merely by Existing.

So you want to rob the church of that title, too?
posted by maxwelton at 10:21 AM on May 27, 2015 [6 favorites]

It's all part of the Cabal's plan!
posted by rtha at 11:04 AM on May 27, 2015

If the Catholic church thinks this country is "predominantly Roman Catholic" then they need remedial math tutoring: ""Does religion occupy an important place in your life?" 53% of Ireland answered no.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:17 PM on May 27, 2015 [2 favorites]

The Westboro Baptist Church's contribution to the event is even at an unusually comedic level of stupid. So even that angle is a positive!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:39 PM on May 27, 2015

JK Rowling had an elegant response to the WBC
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 1:30 PM on May 27, 2015

I haven't been able to find it, but I saw a fantastic response quoted somewhere; the WBC tweeted one of their flipped flag pictures, and a responding tweet - which I'm quite confident was from someone Irish - said (if memory serves), "That's the Ivory Coast, ye fuckin' muppets."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:40 PM on May 27, 2015 [2 favorites]

I think the title of "Defeat for Humanity" goes to everyone who did everything contained in the Murphy Report. Them, and the church itself for systematically aiding and abetting it as a matter of policy.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:42 PM on May 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

Defeat for Humanity is a pretty metal band name, jus' sayin'.
posted by Happy Dave at 1:51 PM on May 27, 2015