Yes Equality campaign

Yes Equality: The Campaign for Civil Marriage Equality, was a civil campaign in Ireland formed to promote the "Yes" vote in the 2015 referendum for Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, which would allow same-sex marriage.[1]

Background

Until 1993, homosexuality was criminalized in Ireland under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 carried over as a remnant of British rule. The Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform was founded by openly-gay Senator David Norris in the 1970s to campaign for its decriminalization.[2][3] Norris and other activists, including two future female presidents of Ireland, Mary McAleese and Mary Robinson, brought the case to the European Court of Human Rights who ruled against in favour of Norris. In 1993, the Minister for Justice Máire Geoghegan-Quinn repealed the laws.[4]

In 2006, theologian Ann Louise Gilligan and future TD Katherine Zappone lost their High Court case where the couple sought the recognition of their Canadian marriage.[5]

The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 was passed by the Dáil allowing for Civil union between same-sex couples.[6]

After the 2011 Irish general election, Fine Gael, led by Enda Kenny and Labour formed a government. The government pledged to hold a referendum on Same-sex marriage by the end of its term.[7]

Campaign

The campaign was a joint initiative between multiple Irish LGBTQ rights groups including the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN), who had help push through the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010,[8] the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, which focused on broader civil liberties, and Marriage Equality, a group specifically dedicated to the issue of same-sex marriage.[9] Its campaign director was Irish-Australian LGBTQ rights campaigner and Director of Gay HIV Strategies with GLEN, Tiernan Brady.[10]

They launched their first campaign, Register to Vote, launched in October 2014, in cooperation with student movements and trade unions, such as the Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn. It encouraged people to register to vote for the upcoming referendum. The campaign was among some of the most successful in Ireland's history enrolling some 40,000 new voters to register by the campaign's end on 25 November.[11][12][13][14]

Yes Equality cooperated with political parties throughout the campaign. The Labour Party viewed this as one of their keystone points. Leadership from both groups met regularly to discuss cooperation. Members of the movement also met with multiple government officials including then-Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney, and Taoiseach Enda Kenny.[10][11]

It had also received endorsements from other politicians including Tánaiste Joan Burton, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams. Other supporters include Colin Farrell, Dara Ó Briain, Hozier, The Script, Damien Dempsey, Gay Byrne and Duncan Casey.[11][8]

The referendum passed with 62% of the vote on the 22 May 2015, making it the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage through public vote with a majority in all but one (Roscommon-South Leitrim) constituencies. Yes Equality and supporters of the referendum held a public celebration attended by multiple public figures in Dublin Castle as the votes were being counted and announced.[15]

Legacy

The referendum was the first of its kind to be held. However, many followed after it including Slovenia in 2015, Australia in 2017, Switzerland in 2021 and Cuba in 2022.[16]

Brady later moved to Australia to work with Australian Marriage Equality.[17][18] He campaigned for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia and help push for the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey which voted in favour of same-sex marriage.

In 2025, the National Library of Ireland launched an online photographic archive of over 1,000 pictures taken during the campaign to celebrate ten years of marriage equality.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Yes Equality: The Campaign for Civil Marriage Equality Formally Launches". 10 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Norris meets with pols, LGBT activists in New York". The Irish Emigrant. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  3. ↑ Duggan, Marian (2016-05-23). Queering Conflict: Examining Lesbian and Gay Experiences of Homophobia in Northern Ireland. Routledge. pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-1-317-07252-2.
  4. ↑ Riegel, Ralph (27 December 2023). "Máire Geoghegan-Quinn made 1993 vow to urgently decriminalise homosexuality as European sanction loomed". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 8 April 2026. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  5. ↑ "Zappone & Anor -v- Revenue Commissioners & Ors". Judgments. Courts Service of Ireland. pp. [2006] IEHC 404. Archived from the original on 29 February 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Civil Partnership Bill passes through Dáil". RTÉ News. 1 July 2010. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  7. ↑ "Third Report of the Constitutional Convention - Same-Sex Marriage: Statements". Dáil Éireann debates. 17 December 2013. p. 35. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  8. 1 2 "YES Equality – Language". Archived from the original on 2026-06-19. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
  9. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2026-06-19. Retrieved 2026-06-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. 1 2 "How the Yes was won: The inside story of the marriage referendum". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 2026-06-20. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
  11. 1 2 3 "Latest News - Yes Equality - Truly a Nation of Equals". Archived from the original on 23 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "YesEquality Register to Vote Campaign launched".
  13. ↑ "Ireland: Thousands register to vote ahead of marriage referendum". 26 November 2014. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "Yes Equality - Register to Vote!". 3 November 2014.
  15. ↑ "Miriam Lord: 'The quiet Yes kept its counsel. They spoke when it mattered'". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
  16. ↑ "Ireland becomes first country to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 2019-12-07. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
  17. ↑ "To plebiscite or not? Tiernan Brady weighs in on Australia's marriage equality debate". Special Broadcasting Service. 14 July 2016. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  18. ↑ Taylor, Josh (27 April 2016). "Marriage Equality brings Irish charm, not Gaelic tempers, to the debate". Crikey. Archived from the original on 19 June 2026. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "National Library of Ireland celebrates 10 Years of Marriage Equality". Archived from the original on 2026-06-19. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
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