UP until last weekend, I was certain that the referendum about same-sex marriage we are currently holding in Ireland would be carried without any question. But after speaking to several family members about it, now I’m not so sure.
It upsets and disappoints me to admit this because I fully believe in equality for all. I don’t think it’s ever right to have a situation where some are more equal than others.
Nevertheless, no matter what the result of this referendum, I think the campaign is inevitably going to have a positive effect on the country going forward.
If the conversations I’ve been having with family members are representative of conversations people are having all over the country, this referendum appears to be being used as an opportunity for people to confront some difficult truths about Ireland’s past and to bring into focus the type of country it is today.
This referendum has made us aware of how our society has changed and realise just how positive most of these changes have been.
One of the people I spoke to last weekend described how homosexuals used to be treated in Ireland years ago and how they and their families suffered terribly as a result. This person was sad that such a thing had ever happened in Ireland and really happy that it wouldn’t be considered acceptable today.
Another of the people I spoke to brought up single mothers and how the majority once believed that they had no option but to send these women to mother and baby homes, where they would be forced to give up their children once they were born.
The person I spoke to understood how wrong that was but said that, at the time, the power of the Church was so strong that she couldn’t imagine doing anything but what the clergy told her to do.
The question we are being asked in this referendum is bringing Irish society and all of the changes it has undergone in recent years into sharp focus.
People are facing up to difficult aspects of their own personal histories in ways they haven’t done before and they are discussing their stories with others in an open and honest way.
I can’t predict what the result of this referendum will be. But even if it’s defeated, I think that it will have helped Irish people to take a positive step towards a better future.
