Latest news with #IrishConstitution
RTÉ News
24-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
The pivotal case that came before marriage equality in Ireland
Analysis: Marriage equality was propelled into public debate when two women tried to have their Canadian marriage recognised in Ireland This week marks 10 years since the people of Ireland voted in May 2015 to include one short sentence into the Irish Constitution: 'marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.' This addition would change the lives of countless families in Ireland, inspire change internationally and mark the beginning of a new wave of social reform in Ireland. A country slow to introduce decriminalisation of male homosexual activity, Ireland became the first country in the world to extend civil marriage to same-sex couples through a public vote. A single case initially propelled the issue of marriage equality into the public arena. In September 2003, two Irish citizens, Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan, were married in Canada. The following April, the couple contacted the Revenue Commissioners requesting the same financial allowances and appraisal as that of heterosexual married couples. The Revenue Commissioners refused on the grounds that Irish taxation legislation caters for marriage on the basis of the institution consisting of a husband and wife. From RTÉ Archives, David Norris talks about decriminalisation on Prime Time in April 1993 The women prepared a case to challenge the decision. In this way the KAL Advocacy Initiative was born. A challenge was brought by judicial review, through which the High Court was requested to review the decision made by the Revenue Commission. Permission to take the challenge was granted on November 9th 2004. Meanwhile the case for civil partnerships was progressing, separately. In December 2004, Senator David Norris tabled a Private Members Civil Partnership Bill in Seanad Éireann, proposing a legal registration for civil partnerships. The KAL case hearing commenced in the High Court on October 3rd 2006. The case was still ongoing when the Options Paper presented by the Working Group on Domestic Partnership was published in November, referred to as the Colley Report. The report noted that same-sex couples were discriminated in a range of basic areas including in the provision of pensions and workplace benefits, allowing for joint adoption, access to housing and succession of tenancy, property rights upon breakdown of relationship, and in the allocation of tax allowances. From RTÉ Archives, Dr Katherine Zappone and Dr Ann Louise Gilligan lose landmark legal case in December 2006 While the Colley report was generally welcomed by LGBT groups, the outcome of the Zappone and Gilligan case concluded in December. Justice Elizabeth Dunne found in favour of the State and the findings were published on December 14th 2006. The culmination of the High Court case and discussion of civil partnership bills raised public awareness. By the beginning of 2008, the focus of KAL developed into Marriage Equality, a not for profit organisation focused on the single goal of extending civil marriage to same-sex couples, founded and chaired by Gráinne Healy and Denise Charlton. On June 26th 2009, Minister Dermot Ahern published the Civil Partnership Bill, the day before the annual Dublin Pride parade. Themed Pride and Prejudice, the event culminated in a post parade rally at Dublin civic offices. In her address to the crowd, Ailbhe Smyth of Marriage Equality and that year's Pride Grand Marshall, compared the bill to an ' apartheid system.' From RTÉ Archives, protestors take to the streets of Dublin to express their disappointment at the proposed Civil Partnership Bill Regardless of the controversies, The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 came into legal effect on January 1st 2011. A Constitutional Convention was then established by both Houses of The Oireachtas in July 2012 to consider changes to the Irish Constitution and make recommendations to government. The forum included 66 citizens randomly selected using the electoral register, 33 members of parliamentarians nominated by their parties, and an independent chair. The convention was tasked with examining a number of key areas for constitutional review including extending marriage to same-sex couples, tabled for April 2013. After considering presentations, delegates voted on the question: 'Should the Constitution be changed to allow for civil marriage for same sex couples?' The answer was overwhelmingly yes. GLEN, ICCL and Marriage Equality had successfully combined their efforts to deliver an informative and persuasive presentation to delegates. The next step was to ensure that the Government followed recommendations and set a date for a referendum. In August 2014, the three organisations combined to form Yes Equality: The Campaign for Civil Marriage Equality. The marriage equality debate erupted onto radio and television stations across the country from the onset of 2015. On January 18th, in an interview with presenter Miriam O'Callaghan on RTÉ radio, the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, came out as a gay man. He became the first openly gay Irish Cabinet Minister and would go on to become Taoiseach in 2017. From RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday with Miriam, Minister for Health Leo Varadkar spoke for the first time about being a gay man on his 36th birthday, On January 21st, the 34th Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015 was initiated in Dáil Éireann. The No supporters were also building a more focussed campaign. The main organisation promoting the No vote was Mothers and Fathers Matter (MFM). When polling stations opened on Friday May 22nd 2015, voters turned out in their droves to vote on the proposed 34th and 35th amendments to the Irish Constitution. At 9.33am, the first box opened and counted in Carrick-on-Suir recorded a 77-33 vote in favour of Yes. By 10am, David Quinn of the Iona Institute and MFM conceded defeat when he tweeted 'Congratulations to the Yes side. Well done. #MarRef.' The Marriage Act 2015 extending civil marriage to same-sex couples in Ireland came into effect on November 16th that year. The following day, Richard Dowling and Cormac Gollogly were married in Tipperary, making history as the first same-sex Irish couple to be legally married in the Irish State. From RTÉ Radio 1's The Ray D'Arcy Show, the first same-sex couple in Ireland to marry, Cormac Gollogly and Richard Dowling talk to Ray D'Arcy While the extension of marriage to all is a welcome step towards equality, more change is desperately required. Before the referendum, the Children and Family Relationship Bill 2015 was introduced to ensure that children of same-sex couples would be legally protected within their family unit. Parts of the act ensured that some female same-sex parents are legally recognised as co-parents of their children. An amendment bill 'to provide for expanded pathways to parentage for parents of donor conceived children' sponsored by Ivana Bacik still awaits government approval having lapsed in November 2024 with the dissolution of the Dáil.
Sunday World
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Sunday World
Senator ‘doesn't regret voting against same sex marriage' on 10th anniversary of referendum
In May 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalise gay marriage through a popular vote. Senator Ronan Mullen says he doesn't regret voting against same sex marriage as activists celebrate the 10th anniversary of the historic referendum. 'The more things started kicking off, the more I felt that there were arguments that were more persuasive for keeping the definition of marriage based on the relationship between men and women,' he told Newstalk Breakfast. 'I felt and still think that has a particular social function as the social ideal for the upbringing of children. 'I felt there were other ways of respecting other people's private lives and personal choices - for me, it certainly was never about not respecting private lives and personal choices,' he continued. Mullen said he thinks a lot of people voted in favour to send a message of love and solidarity to gay people or as a 'social atonement for past cruelties.' 'I just felt those instincts were generous but it was the wrong answer.' He also said he views 'progressivism' as a 'failing ideology.' 'I think people are seeing that all of these claims for rights are actually in the long-term letting people down.' The Independent senator said he would still campaign for a 'no vote' if the referendum was held today. Celebrations following the result of the Marriage Equality Referendum in 2015. Photo: Brian Lawless 'I would reiterate that I wasn't for or against anybody or their private life or personal choices. 'Everybody is expected now to conform to a particular view - this is what we call woke culture,' he said. 'We see it in the way people are made to feel cancelled if they have the wrong ideas. Mullen said he would support a 'no vote' by making the same argument he made before. 'I would say, 'Marriage is ideally about the upbringing of children and therefore men women relationships matter for that purpose in a way that society should acknowledge. Senator Rónán Mullen News in 90 Seconds - May 22nd ''But let's look at how we respect the private lives and the needs and the rights of people - including same sex couples, in fact anybody who is mutually dependent and caring for somebody else.'' In May 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalise gay marriage through a popular vote. 62% of voters said yes to the thirty-fourth amendment of the Irish Constitution. The act came into force on November 16th 2015, with the very first same sex marriage taking place the following day.
Sunday World
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Sunday World
‘Influencer' moans after being kicked out of Conor McGregor's The Black Forge Inn
Gavin Lowbridge had been at the Crumlin pub last Tuesday evening, where former Fox news presenter Tucker Carlson appeared after interviewing McGregor An Irish far-right media influencer used his digital platform this week to moan after being kicked out of Conor McGregor's The Black Forge Inn. Gavin Lowbridge had been at the Crumlin pub last Tuesday evening, where former Fox news presenter Tucker Carlson appeared after interviewing McGregor. In the interview McGregor, who is appealing the decision against him in a civil rape case, talks of a potential run for the Presidency. The occasion saw other Irish agitators and politicians with controversial views on immigration, appear at the venue. Earlier in the night, Lowbridge posed for a photo with Kildare County Councillor Tom McDonnell, who has been convicted of violent offences, and repeated bizarre conspiracy theories. McDonnell also posted a video of him presenting McGregor with a copy of the Irish Constitution and a bottle of holy water. Lowbridge also posed for selfies enjoying a McGregor cigar and stout and praised the staff at the pub. Later in the evening, things went downhill for Lowbridge, who runs several digital platforms that feature Irish people with far-right views and as well as British neo-Nazis. In a livestream, since deleted, Lowbridge complained to his followers over his ordeal after being told to leave by a member of the security staff. 'Boys he just threw me out, he pulled me out of the pub for absolutely nothing. 'I've been minding my business. I had the best f***ing night of my life and he's throwing me out.. Like, what the f**k? I didn't fight with anybody I haven't had a bad word with anybody and he just threw me out. 'Obviously I'm not going to go anywhere because my friends are inside, so I can't leave until my friends come with me, that's fine. 'I don't know why they picked on me because I've been here all evening. I haven't had any problems and the bouncer comes in and says you have to leave now. 'Well if I have to leave now we have to ask why I have to leave and we are going to have to get a public f**king opinion abut why I have to leave because I didn't do anything f**king wrong.' 'I'm one of Conor McGregor's biggest supporters in the country like. So we are not f**king around.' 'I have done nothing wrong I have 300,000 followers. Conor follows me on this. Tomorrow we are going to figure it out. Tomorrow we are going to figure out what your problem is.' 'I just don't like to be disrespected because I drank a lot of drink in here tonight, I bought a lot of pints here tonight. 'I have Conor McGregor's f**king eh, cigar in my hand and his f**king bouncer disrespected me. I don't even like stout, I'm drinking his f**king stout.'
New York Times
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘Housewife of the Year': Contestants Look Back in Dismay
There's a temptation, when making a documentary about some obviously retrograde practice from the past, for filmmakers to treat their subject like something to gawk at. Can you believe how backward earlier generations were? Let's all point and stare and wince. 'Housewife of the Year' (in theaters), directed by Ciaran Cassidy, could very easily have gone in that direction. The film is about (and named after) a live, prime-time televised competition that took place from 1969 to 1995 in Ireland — and it's pretty much what it sounds like. Women, generally married and raising a large family, were judged on qualities ranging from sense of humor and civic-mindedness to budgeting, preparing a simple meal and, of course, keeping up their appearance. All of this, the movie briefly explains via text onscreen, can be seen as an effort to prop up the social order in a deeply religious, deeply traditionalist country where it was virtually impossible for a married woman to maintain many kinds of employment. 'The state shall endeavor to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home,' Article 41.2 of the Irish Constitution proclaims. The competition helped reinforce those values. As Irish society changed, especially with respect to women's rights and reproductive freedoms, the competition eventually turned into 'Homemaker of the Year,' open to all genders. But that's not the focus of the documentary, nor is there ponderous narration explaining to us what happened. Instead, 'Housewife of the Year' focuses on two main ways of telling its story. The first is archival footage from the competition, which reinforces how much of it focused on patronizing and even belittling the women as they participated, via the male host, Gay Byrne, interviewing them onstage. It's remarkable to watch. But woven throughout are present-day interviews with many of the participants, now much older, who see things differently than they probably did back then. They tell stories of what was really going on in the background: alcoholic or deadbeat husbands, economic catastrophes, backbreaking labor. One woman, Ena, talks about having given birth to 14 children by the time she was 31, owing largely to the ban on contraception. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Boston Globe
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘Housewife of the Year' revisits Ireland's obsession with long-running reality show about women performing domestic duties
'It was absolutely huge,' recalls one former contestant in Advertisement The film — which gets a showcase screening Friday at the Somerville Theatre, presented by the Irish Film Festival, Boston — introduces us to dozens of women who gamely took part in the competition. Still in their childbearing years (one contender had 13 children by age 31, including four sets of twins), they welcomed cameras into their kitchens and donned their best dresses to banter with Gay Byrne, Ireland's most famous media personality, onstage in some of the country's poshest theaters. Ellen Gowan in her home standing on a box with her sash. Juno Films Years later, the women have changed. They've become feminists, or they're returned to the work force, or they've learned to live independently of the former man of the house. Some of them supported the 1995 referendum that approved the constitutional amendment to lift the country's ban on divorce. Some have taken issue with the Irish Constitution, which to this day strongly encourages Irish women not to neglect 'their duties in the home.' 'I think people don't realize how religious Ireland was in the '60s, '70s, and '80s,' says Ciaran Cassidy, who directed the film. 'Anybody who grew up here would realize how total the control of the church was. 'It was a kind of fundamentalism about keeping up with appearances,' he says. 'I think these themes are universal, but it's very difficult when people are living through it to have that kind of perspective at the time.' Advertisement As a boy growing up in County Cavan, Cassidy (who is 45) had a neighbor who had been on the show. 'It was a town of 12 or 15,000, and everyone knew this woman was appearing on the show,' he says. After years as a live event, in 1982 the program became a Saturday night television staple. By 1988, at the height of 'Housewife''s popularity, 5000 women competed. At the time, the host, Byrne, was the biggest star in the country, Cassidy explains. 'It was kind of weird — he almost represented the whole patriarchy. All the different female characters, and just this one man.' Ellen Gowan on stage in the Everyman Theatre, Cork, holding a photo of herself as a girl. Juno Films Byrne, Cassidy says, was like the Johnny Carson of Ireland — if Carson had hosted multiple shows on TV and radio, in an era with no alternative to the one national network. Looking back, the show brims with outdated coiffures and cringeworthy innuendo. When one contestant tells Byrne (who died in 2019) that she has six kids — ages 14, 13, 12, eight, six, and a newborn — he does the math and asks 'What happened to 11, 10, and nine?' 'I couldn't keep going,' she replies. To which Byrne responds with an impish grin, 'Why not?' The film features ample footage from the program, flickering on the screens of vintage vacuum-tube TV sets, staged in the sepia-toned sitting rooms of old homes. "Housewife of the Year" winner Ann McStay posing with her family and husband in 1969. Juno Films 'There was no color back then,' says Dawn Morrissey, the festival's director. 'Women were almost in the background, like curtains.' She grew up in the town of Kildare, where she often watched the show with her mother. 'She had a very different experience,' Morrissey says. 'She only had two kids, by choice. She had lived in London, and she had a career. But the majority of women just didn't get that opportunity.' Advertisement Ireland's massive shift on cultural issues has been well documented in recent years. The country's economic boom, the so-called 'Celtic Tiger' of the late 1990s and early 2000s, has slowed, while the cost of living has risen drastically. Still, Irish creativity 'There's kind of a lot of confidence in the generation,' Cassidy says. 'These are singular stories, but they actually translate internationally if they're executed well. 'There's a lot of skilled people here, a lot of talent. It does feel like an exciting time. Irish people do love stories.' And for the women who once vied to be 'Housewife of the Year,' they're getting another moment in the sun. In the film, they take turns walking out onto a bare stage, beaming for Cassidy's cameras, wearing the sashes they earned long ago. "Housewife of the Year" winner Philomena Delaney onstage at the Everyman Theatre, Cork. Juno Films HOUSEWIFE OF THE YEAR Presented by Irish Film Festival, Boston. Friday, Jan. 31, 7 p.m. Sold out. Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, 617-625-5700 or James Sullivan can be reached at .
