Pope Francis’ visit to Ireland: Holy Father will find a changed country – from abortion to homosexuality

Pope Francis' visit to Ireland: Holy Father will find a changed country - from abortion to homosexuality
The Ireland Pope Francis will see is very, very different to the one John Paul II was greeted with when he visited the country in 1979.

by Michael McHugh & Jo-Anne Rowney
24 Aug 2018

The last time a Pope visited Ireland was 1979.

More than 90 percent of people were Catholic, now it is down to less than 80 per cent.

But that's not all that's changed since then.

Continued: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/pope-francis-visit-ireland-holy-13132206


Ireland’s Path to Legalizing Abortion

Ireland’s Path to Legalizing Abortion
At a time when the United States may render it illegal

Shirley Graham
July 5, 2018

On May 25, 2018, I traveled from Washington, D.C., to Dublin to vote in a referendum that would decide whether women in Ireland would have full access to their reproductive healthcare and rights. I was one of the 40,000 diaspora Irish who returned from different corners of the globe (only recent emigres were eligible) to be part of a feminist movement that would make history. When the repeal of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution was passed the next day with 66 percent voting in favor, the country heaved a collective sigh of relief.

In the lead-up to the referendum, women were forced to share previously untold stories of private ordeals and personal tragedies in order to persuade the Irish population that it could no longer export this problem to the United Kingdom.

Continued: http://prospect.org/article/ireland%E2%80%99s-path-legalizing-abortion


Where Did Ireland Go? Abortion Vote Stuns Those on Both Sides

Where Did Ireland Go? Abortion Vote Stuns Those on Both Sides

By Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura
May 27, 2018

DUBLIN — Some were joyous. Others were devastated. But most of all, in the hours after Irish voters swept away a ban on abortion, many were simply astonished.

However they felt about the result of the referendum, they were witnessing, they knew, the culmination of a fundamental shift in Irish society — and one that has come about with stunning speed.

Continued; https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/27/world/europe/ireland-abortion-refendum.html


Ireland Votes to Legalize Abortion. What Comes Next?

Ireland Votes to Legalize Abortion. What Comes Next?
Ireland voted in a landslide to support abortion rights. But making abortion care available will take much more.

May 26, 2018
Sarah Jaffe

To Isolde Carmody, Ireland’s overwhelming vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution was a vote to continue down the road that her great-grand-uncle, Joseph Plunkett, and his contemporaries fought for in 1916, in the first steps toward an independent Irish Republic.

“Joe was definitely a feminist, a revolutionary. He deeply believed in equality and in social justice, and that was why he was involved in the revolution in 1916,” Carmody told Rewire.News. Her great-grandmother and grandmother had fought for women’s health care and access to information on abortion rights. She continued that tradition campaigning for “yes” in Leitrim.

Continued; https://rewire.news/article/2018/05/26/ireland-votes-legalize-abortion-comes-next/


Ireland, Enthusiastic About Gay Rights, Frets Over Abortion

Ireland, Enthusiastic About Gay Rights, Frets Over Abortion

By Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura
May 20, 2018

CARRIGTWOHILL, Ireland — When it comes to the Roman Catholic Church, Judy Donnelly has been something of a rebel over the years. Like much of Ireland, she supported contraception, voted in a referendum to legalize divorce and, three years ago, backed same-sex marriage.

That last vote was joyously celebrated around the country and the world, placing Ireland, which elected its first gay prime minister last year, at the vanguard of what many called a social revolution.

But when it comes to the historic decision on legalizing abortion, which will be put to the nation on Friday, Ms. Donnelly says she will vote no, as will enough of her countrymen and women, including lawmakers across the political divide, to throw the referendum result into doubt. Polls for the May 25 vote have narrowed so tightly in recent weeks that “yes” and “no” campaigners are not able to confidently predict a victory.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/20/world/europe/ireland-gay-rights-abortion.html


Ireland – Why has the Government done nothing to facilitate emigrant voting?

Why has the Government done nothing to facilitate emigrant voting?
Opinion: The few who are eligible must take time off and pay for expensive flights

May 2, 2018
David Burns, Joey Kavanagh

Tens of thousands of recent Irish emigrants could potentially legally vote during the referendum on the Eighth Amendment on Friday, May 25th. But, in an ironic turn of events, our voting system will only accommodate those with the means to travel.

As founders of the We’re Coming Back and Get the Boat to Vote campaigns, we were both involved in organising the #Hometovote movement for the Marriage Equality referendum in 2015. Despite the public outpouring of support, and the welcome back for those who “voted with their feet” as Enda Kenny put it, absolutely nothing has been done since to facilitate an emigrant vote. Why?

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/abortion-referendum/why-has-the-government-done-nothing-to-facilitate-emigrant-voting-1.3481313


Ireland’s abortion debate proves how deeply the country trades on shame

Ireland's abortion debate proves how deeply the country trades on shame

Una Mullally
5 April 2018

It's impossible to describe Ireland's abortion debate as anything but just sad. While politicians and religious fundamentalists wring their hands over matters of legislation and dogma, it’s the personal stories of Irish women and girls travelling out of the country to terminate their pregnancies that linger in the background; stories that, until a few years ago, largely went untold.

Occasionally, an Irish woman would talk about an abortion. But silence begets silence, and Ireland’s national sport is sweeping things under the carpet.

Continued: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/irelands-abortion-debate-proves-deeply-country-trades-shame/