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NEW DETAILS OF the strange, unusual and sometimes harrowing experiences of Yes canvassers in the marriage referendum have been published in a new book about the historic campaign.
In one instance canvassers in a midlands town were followed out of a driveway by a woman sprinkling holy water to “cleanse her yard” after their visit.
That story and others feature in the book ’Ireland says Yes – The Inside Story of How the Vote for Marriage Equality Was Won’ which provides a detailed account of the campaign for marriage equality earlier this year.
The book is authored by the two directors of the Yes Equality, Gráinne Healy and Brian Sheehan, and the barrister and columnist Noel Whelan who worked closely with the campaign.
The fast-paced narrative account of the last 100 days of the campaign provides granular detail on how the referendum on same-sex marriage was passed on 23 May this year. It sheds new light on how the successful campaign strategy was devised and executed across the country and on social media to deliver a historic referendum result.
The book details another story of how two young men campaigning in Dublin’s Dolphin’s Barn were told repeatedly by an elderly woman that she would be voting Yes. But she is said to have told them:
“Of course I’ll vote Yes, sure it’s not your own fault.
“A definitive Yes was welcome, even if expressed in non-PC terms,” the authors note.
However, other canvassers reported more harrowing experiences.
The book details how the partner of Marriage Equality co-director Moninne Griffith was abused:
In Portlaoise, the hometown of Moninne’s partner Clodagh Robinson, where they had always been well received as a lesbian couple, a man came over to the bus twice to shout abuse at them.
‘People like you should be locked up – like they do in Africa,’ he called to the bus team.
Another story recounts how in Newcastle West a group of men stood outside the bank “leering and jeering” at the bus and its occupants.
As some townspeople were talking to the bus team, shouts of ‘Are you going off with the lezzers and the gay boys?’ were heard.
The authors also describe other encounters:
A man was so abusive to one of the young men from the bus in Waterford that the gardaí had to be called, while in Dundrum another told [Yes campaigner] Mary [McDermott] that ‘This will be the end of humanity if it passes’.
The books carries detailed accounts of how a number of high-profile figures spoke publicly about their sexuality for the first time, including TV3 political correspondent Ursula Halligan, Health Minister Leo Varadkar, and former Fianna Fáil minister Pat Carey.
The book also details the Yes Equality’s frustrations with RTÉ during the referendum campaign.
The authors claim that unlike previous referendums there was little effort by the national broadcaster to fact-check claims and counter-claims by both the Yes and No sides:
Even though the controversies about surrogacy and adoption, for example, raged for weeks, there was no use of the health correspondent or the social affairs correspondent to explain the factual situation. Coverage mainly took the form of ‘one side says this, the other side says that’ reports.
It also reveals that in the final days of the campaign Sheehan received a series of abusive and homophobic anonymous messages on his mobile phone.
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Everyone has different views & are entitled to them, once you don’t try force your views on others what’s the problem ?
What’s the point in having a view or an opinion,if you can’t force it on someone else?? It’s called power and control…..
`The problem is that they’re holding back the advancement of humanity.
Everyone is entitled to their own point of view, but people are not entitled to abuse others !
@neal These people won’t hold back the advancement of humanity. Humanity will continue to advance without them. In 100yrs time these ridiculous views will be held by less people and eventually they will be weeded out. 500yrs from now humanity will look back at this time and have a great laugh at our expense, just like we look back and laugh at some of the crazy views held by people in previous times. The common link between these crazy views over the centuries has been religion, which will eventually be eradicated unfortunately neither of us will be around to enjoy it.
Reminds me of a cool Stargate episode I saw once (stay with me), the idea was that another planet’s civilisation had the same time line as ours, but they had no medieval dark ages spurred on by the spread of religion. Religion obviously persecuted basically all forms of science and discovery during those times remember. So instead they had all sorts of technological advances during those centuries so by the time they reached the 21st century the whole planet was 500 years ahead of ours. Makes sense if you look into it!
Makes for fascist government if you really think about it.
Never mind who, ask why certain people get to decide what’s right for others.
If rationality were to drive society, why would we need hospitals?
In that case Paul, isn’t it lovely that humanity and not cold-hearted rationality won the day on 22nd May 2015. Upwards and onwards. Bring on the 8th.
And the religion bashing continues, sad.
The real book that needs to be written is the one that details how a proposal to change the fundamental principle behind marriage ended up being framed as a question on ‘equality’ which everyone is for anyway. Neither is the fact that 38% of the electorate had no political representation hardly a ringing endorsement of the way in which the referendum was conducted. This is the real story that needs to be written not some vain parade detailing how some anonymous woman somewhere sprinkled holy water on the ground.
62% of the people spoke. Either way it’s a yes and that is democracy.
@Brian – “fundamental principle behind marriage”? What would that be? That marriage is about children?!
Oh – so you are going to campaign for marriage rights to be removed not only from the LGBT community, but also from sterile heterosexual couples, and any couple which do not intend to produce children? And maybe also the abolition of marriage for those who only raise adopted children???
Presumably if a heterosexual couple get married, intend to have children, but one of them has an accident that renders them sterile, their marriage should be made null and void?
The issue will be about where children are removed from and where they will be moved to.
The why of it all, if you will.
wish you were right Joe, but while it wouldnt stop me being friends with Muslims Islam is the fastest growing religion in the west far outnumbering atheism and that is a concern, where we’ve come so far for civil rights then to have an ideology that for the most part is incompatible with democracy and contains much sympathy for terrorist activity. Germany is facing an immediate cultural crisis.
Right Daniel, so you’re subscribing to some make-believe story to inform your view of reality. Good boy, keep up the hypocrisy
I am not religious but I think it’s very unfair to make fun of someone else’s belief system. What they do in their own house is no one else’s business. You can’t expect total expectance about your beliefs if you don’t except other people’s beliefs.
If you go around sprinkling holy water to cleanse a yard you are just ridiculing yourself. No need to say anything else the facts speak for themselves.
maria anyone who does that with “holy water” is crackers.
Interesting to see that because someone has a different belief than your’s its crackers.. By that logic she is fully entitled to think that voting in Gay marriage is equally crackers…
The notion that restricting the rights of others and using your beliefs as an excuse is crackers. What else would you call it?
john she’s crackers I wonder would that magic water kill the weeds on a driveway .
Perhaps for the lady the notion of two homosexuals wanting to be married is crackers too …
Whatever she is. Is it ok to say crackers? mental health is not a joke…let’s be more PC.
stark raving mad
I’m fine with ridiculing ridiculous beliefs whether those belefs are religious or not. Why should a religious idea that I find stupid be immune from criticism ?
Crackers, watery whine and communal reachs all round……Eamonn!!
All religions are crackers. Superstitious nonsense. Nothing more than a type of OCD. Sure,people are entitled to believe what they want, but that should never preclude the rest of us in pointing out how stupid they’re being.
Conor, what makes you an expert in what is ridiculous and what is not, 10 years ago the idea of Gay marriage was considered ridiculous… I doubt anyone has a real issue with criticism, but lets look at this closely, this person expressed their beliefs, and now they are being attacked for it… Anyone who expressed a negative opinion towards the yes vote was vilified, and even with the win, the yes vote are still getting their Dig in…
Stop being so butt-hurt Rabbett, do you want us to live in a North Korea style regime where nobody’s beliefs are to be criticised? I was vilified by some for my position regarding the Referendum, guess what, I moved on after an hour, here you almost 6 months later whinging like a little …….
The ancient Mayans used to sacrifice people on altars in the name of religion. By your logic they should be entitled to do that today as well because we wouldn’t want to stop someone exercising their own beliefs otherwise we have no right to hold ours. Let me finish this argument for you: “But Daniel those beliefs resulted in people getting hurt so they are not cool.” Yes John but exercising your mental need to throw holy water on your garden is deeply stigmatising and offensive to Gay people and society in general, so also ‘not cool’.
38 % of voters think 2 men getting married is crackers. Less than the hippy dippy yes voters, but not a small minority by any means.
They you are Tony. When will people learn that democracy doesn’t work?
To believe in god is as stupid as believing in santa or the tooth fairy! Religion is the root of all evil. And the Catholic religion is the worst religion for child rapist and child abusers! I worked with a man who was abused by a priest, when he got home he told his mam, she kicked the crap out of him for blasphemy!! A priest wouldn’t do that! Well they did it to thousands of young boys here and stiil to this day most of them haven’t got justice!! Biggest bunch of pedeos in the world!
Where in the article does anyone say she was crackers or make fun of her belief system?? All it does is recall an incident that occurred.
The relentless need to be seen as victims by the NO side alienated a lot of undecided voters.
Is there actually any evidence of this holy water event taking place? Or is it just hearsay? We voted yes. I’m glad. Now, can we please move on?
Sean that would be too easy, some people crave attention….
Sean are you thinking along the lines of that supposed letter to a gay magazine about the 2 people supposedly thrown out of a restaurant for holding hands? It does seem that people are missing all of the attention that they were setting in the run up to the vote and now are missing the limelight . Like you say, it’s over now so that’s the end of it.
More like marriage equality campaigner ridicules old lady for having different beliefs.
More like homosexual marriage campaigner ridicules old lady for having different beliefs.
Just for balance, I wonder does the book outline the virtual ostracising and ridiculing of anyone who ‘dared’ not share their views?
Are you joking? That would be far too sensible. Including stories of No voters being threatened in relation to their jobs (as happened to me) is not good press.
Or having their posters destroyed and websites hacked and nothing said or done about it.
It must be so hard being a catholic these days, not being allowed to legally oppress anyone any more and having your stupid belief system questioned by unsavoury liberal types.
Especially those types so cowardly they hide their faces behind false profiles.
How can we tell you’re really Phillip O’Brien? I bet that’s not even your house in your picture.
Well done Grigori – shows him up even more!
Yawn
Some of our rural brethern are still in the grip of 19th century Catholic Ireland it seems. If you dont like gay marriage then dont marry a gay person, simples! We have a long way to go before the country completely joins the 21st century! I am not gay myself but hey who am I to tell anyone who they can marry?
Bleeding hell ,,,,,,is there any end to this bitchfest. ..build a bridge ….please…
“Some of our rural brethern”
so you are a city slicker ?
Gus, no where in the story does it say that the “holy water” thrower said they couldn’t get married. By reading the article above all they did was cleanse the place after an unexpected visitor….
would this fruitcake clean the driveway after a salesman called no she wouldn’t , just yes campaigners and born again Christians stark raving mad.
She is clearly a lunatic.
Or criticise those who don’t live in Dublin, that mecca of the 21st century eh Gus? How people vote is their own business but this book shows how little respect there is for liberty AFTER the campaign was won.
Paul, just because she has a different view she is a fruitcake? How does that work exactly??
I live in the country and I can safely say it’s mostly a backwards, homophobic, Catholic kip in comparison to Dublin
” I can safely say it’s mostly a backwards, homophobic, Catholic kip”
Your opinion Daniel ..
but from experience I say nope …
john the woman’s view is her own concern, the fruitcake aspect is washing the driveway with magic water absolute barking behaviour.
Jho Harris I have lived in Dublin and rural Ireland
Dublin’s class all right with all the heroin junkies riding in broad daylight and sh/tting in plain sight. It’s that kind of edgy Luv/H8 vibe that we should all aspire to
A deluded cult and its followers!!!
Really? And did you partake of this deluded cult’s belief system on the day your profile picture was taken?
You may want to correct that predicted text!
@ Colin, for all you know Jerome could have had a civil marriage, just saying
Jerome what a nasty creep you are.
Sean – no comment on the holy water cleansing act then?
Perhaps ” deluded clunt ” it should read
True Derrick, that’s why I phrased my comment in terms of a question.
I hate this whole “everyone is entitled to their own opinion” bs. You are only entitled to that opinion when it doesn’t oppress or cause harm to your fellow (wo)man.
That being said the vote is over now, it’s enshrined in Law so it’s time to move on. Projects like this book do nobody any good. I voted YES, like every other reasonable human being, but this is just rubbing salt in the wounds of those who voted NO. All this does is make the YES side seem like sore winners
I see the old shut up about the gays mantra is alive and well. This was a big step in terms of equality and acceptance for the gay community. Why is it wrong to document people’s experience. For purely historical reasons i think it is a good idea. This was a civil rights issue.There is nothing stopping iona et al from writing a book documenting their experience of the campaign. It feels like you are saying Matt that we should just be happy it passed and forget about how it got there and what the experience was like lest we upset the people who voted no.
A boot in the hole would have been better.
It might have got stuck up there
I can wholeheartedly recommended this book. The 2 ply version in particular is very comfortable on the nipsy.
Holy water – kills all known atheists and blasphemers – dead!
Did it work?
Apparantly no more ‘pansies’ darkened her driveway and a portrait of some self-fathering zombie winked at her suggestively!!
Lets face it. There was always going to be drama!
You can tell that this tread was posted early on a SUNDAY morning judging by the amount of red thumbs all the pro marriage equality posts are getting. Passing the time on The Journal before heading off to worship their zombie God and partake in the communal eating of his “body” so that they may be zombies themselves. Sure why would anyone make fun of that belief system.
Nice of you to get up early and share your tolerant view. Ireland can only benefit from attitudes such as yours.
I am tolerant of people’s right to go to mass. I wouldn’t vote against mass and peoples right to religion ( given the chance ) just because I don’t share their beliefs. That’s the difference between me as an atheist and many Christians.
Clown
Im a clown Frank? Do you think I should stand outside churches and spit and mass goers and call them names as happened me when I campaigned for a yes vote? Funny that im called intolerant when im not the one resorting to name calling or trying to prevent anyone from doing what they want.
Ah Ger, now you know all the mass-goers are a bit cranky because they can’t eat for an hour before they partake in the holy cannibalism ceremony, give them a break.
Why were you campaigning outside a church?..I hope you’re not a marketeer cos I think you may have gone to the wrong place to sell your message ..
I wasn’t, I was outside a train station. Just making the point, that as a non Christian im able to say live and let live but the so called godly can’t seem to grasp that concept.
But you don’t live and let live Ger, in your first comment you are deriding anyone who goes to mass. You’re not quite the open mind you think you are. I personally don’t go to mass but i know a lot who do who were very happy to have the opportunity to vote yes in the marriage referendum.
Ger. Reading your comment .it looks like you were outside a church . Or are u a spoofer?
Derek I think you need to work on your reading comprehension. Jane “deriding” people who go to mass is not the same as actively trying to prevent people from doing so. Whilst I think the religion and the sacrament of communion attached to Catholicism is beyond stupid I don’t think I or anyone should have the right to prevent believers from attending or believing. But we live in a free country where we are allowed to speak out against the church thank God ;)
They won the damn referendum , how is writing a book insulting the people who dared to oppose them being good winners. All their doing is showing that they are in fact bigots too.
“All their doing is showing that they are in fact bigots too.”
Was that ever in doubt?
No Louise they are documenting their experince of the campaign. The level of outrage about it shows how much intolerance is still out there. If someone pours holy water after a leave their garden because I am gay and I tell people about it how is that me insulting them? If someone shouts that I should be locked up like they do in Africa how am I insulting them by documenting it? Nobody will be forced to read the book. There is no harm in documenting a civil rights issue. And nothing stopping the no side from documenting their experience either.
You appears don’t understand what real tolerance is Demise.
*you don’t
I voted No, and despised the Yes campaign, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a book is being written about it. Books are written about the most paltry of subjects, and some will see this as a momentous incident to write about. And they want to make another few bob while the iron’s hot. I wonder if the celebratory ‘conga lines’ in the gay club bathrooms were included in the book. It shouldn’t be surprising that certain websites will engage in triumphalism either – journal’s gonna journal. I’d be triumphalising if the cleverly-framed negative vote somehow got through. When the results came through that Ireland was positive, all hope of a normal married life ended.
The culture war was long over, most people had no problem with gay marriage. The government could easily have legislated for it through the Oireachtas. Instead it became a shrewd marketing exercise to attempt to convince a young demographic how ‘cool’ with ‘equality’ the grey suits in FG and Labour were. It was also a useful distraction from the organic, grass roots movement that was springing up from the Water Protests. But as people are now realising, equality doesn’t extend to housing, health or education.
The referendum could never have been the huge deal it became if people were truly indifferent to marriage equality. Even today, look how many views and comments any kind of ‘gay’ related story garners here. Indifference has not yet been reached. People are still facinated, whether they care to admit it or not.
Val considering the cases that were brought through the courts to try to overturn the referendum result I find it unlikely that it could have been legislated for easily without any fuss
This is what we call the Tolerant Ireland,Making fun of someone who doesn’t believe what we tell them to believe?–sounds very accepting!
Yup.
Ireland voted to redefine marriage as being other than as between one man and one woman.
To say there was a fully informed debate about the implications of the amendment would be untrue.
The fiction that it was about “equality” will now be that basis for hidden battles in in camera courts and sealed state decisions.
In principle, a good idea. In practice, not so good.
We had an opportunity to look at the way the State uses marriage as its basis to discriminate and to do something about that. We didn’t, and because we didn’t we failed to grasp an opportunity to improve the idea of marriage for all.
Mr Roche, that’s a bucket load of speculation
Socrates is Abused,
It’s a comment.
A comment loaded with assumptions.
?
Ah Jesus!
They’re not still banging on about this are they?
Page views must be below target on the journal, so they reach for the old reliable.
Only proves the yes campaign ones are bitter because they didn’t get a 100% yes vote, so that book says more about them than anyone else?
My holy water must have a minimum of 5% alcohol in it.
Preferably 12% (and be from a good vineyard of course).
RIP powerwashers
They must be extactic up in Clonskeagh over the split shown here, I know they would not tolerate such criticism of their religion and sadly The Journal would probably take down such comments if it was a different religion that was being hacked to pieces. A religion where not alone would there be no referendum but in certain countries you might find your life in danger.
Are you suggesting all atheists and non-believers should become Catholics just so we can show the Muzzies in the Mosque who’s boss?
I find it kinda funny the way Catholics point to Muslims and imply “See, we’re not as bad as those guys.” It wasn’t that long ago when you were as bad as those guys but prefer not to talk about that side of their religion.
Jho I despise all religions equally.
I am not a Catholic, I rejected religion a long time ago but while Christians and ex Christians are verbally abusing one another, those who will not be criticised, the ones who follow a person who took a child bride and who still allow child brides are delighted. It would not be holy water being thrown in a despute over marriage but it could very well be acid, a common weapon in some cultures.
Jerome Murphy…what a schmuck.
Theres a simple explanation for this,
Nobody likes canvassers.
8itchy 8itchy and 8itchy, that is all that the book proves to me lol.
I’m waiting for the Anti-equality campaign trail book to come out. That’s going to be flippin’ hillarious.
There was no anti-equality campaign.
Blah, Blah, Blah.
I think we’ve heard enough of this crap !!
Absolutely disgusting, but hay WE WON and that’s all that matters #hatersgonnahate
The sprinkling of holy water is a tradition practiced in many ways and for various reasons by Christians. its effectiveness in cleaning in cleaning yards is uncertain. In this case it could even less effective, as it was used as a weapon in the hands of a bigot.
People are entitled to their views but they are not entitled to express bigoted views without reproach.
The referendum still has legs.
Dublin Castle ‘Historic Announcement’ Day.
latest count:
3 million.
Everybody is entitled to a opinion? Hitler had an opinion…..
Will the book ” The Inside Story of How the Vote for Marriage Equality Was Won’ Mention the policy decision to perpetuate bisexual erasure on a national level?
He has ye there lads
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