Ireland 2013

The year 2013 is going to be a memorable year. As an Irish historian I can see myself in 40 years time (aged 27 and still working thanks to the anti-worker policies of successive FF and FG/Labour governments) documenting the events that we all are reading daily in our newspapers and hearing on our radio stations. The issue of the X Case involving the termination of a pregnancy when a woman's life was in danger returned, as we all know, after the tragic death of Dr Savita Halappanavar in Galway last year. I along with thousands others soon marched through the streets of Dublin behind a banner with Savita's image and the words "Never Again". The other issue which is coming to the fore of the debate in Irish, and also British society is the status of marriage equality, ie full civil marriage for same sex or lgbt couples. A couple of weeks ago the Constitution Convention overwhelmingly recommended that the Oireachtas legislate to grant full marriage rights to same sex/lgbt couples, thus sparking another massive debate which has encapsulated all facets of Irish society.

It is interesting, and not all unsurprising that the greatest vocal opponent for the legislation is led by organisations such as the Christian Solidarity Party, the Iona Institute and Youth Defence. All of these organisations have a key issue in common; they are highly influenced by church (predominantly Roman Catholic) doctrine, and financed by large misogynistic, sectarian, homophobic and blatantly racist lobbies in the United States. The figures provided by these American lobbies are astounding and well beyond my remit to estimate but it is my understanding that they are readily available to a person interested and motivated enough to discover the truth behind these organisations.

The conclusion that is made here is that Ireland and Irish society is being flooded with millions of American dollars from organisations who have an ideology akin to the racist cross-burning lunatics of the Ku Klux Klan. It is widely believed that these organisations in the United States who have large Roman Catholic doctrine believe that the 'old country' is the last great beacon of 'good, civilised Catholic beliefs'. It must appear to these people in the United States that here in Ireland there is a surge of godless Marxism akin to the Red Scare of the McCarthy era. These people have cited their Irish roots as a source of pride, yet their misogynist, racist and sectarian ideology denigrates the very beliefs that great patriots such as Wolfe Tone, James Connolly and hundreds more who died fighting for the Ireland which was promised by the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Proclomation, a nation which cherished all of the children of the nation equally. I must remind these people that Irishwomen are children of the nation and many of these women have greatly enriched our country and our society. Homosexuals are also children of the nation and as with the case of women have made an enormous contribution to the fabric of Irish society of the 21st Century. I need only to cite the brave fight of Senator David Norris in his crusade to decriminalise homosexuality.

I wish to take this opportunity to assure readers of this blog that I do respect that people have the right to their religious beliefs and I cherish many friends and comrades who are proud members of the wider Christian family. I do acknowledge that many religious orders and clergymen have done stellar work to alleviate the suffering of the poor and to encourage peace in areas of conflict. One need no further than Fr Alex Reid of Clonard Monastery for a fine example of a 'man of the cloth' who worked tirelessly in pursuit of peace, and what many people will say is now a brighter future for the children of this island. The merits of this argument I do not wish to elaborate on.

The reasoning for the outrage expressed by the anti-choice and homophobic lobby is plainly obvious my friends; they fear change. When an anti-choice person describes the termination of a pregnancy, apart from ignoring scientific and medical fact, (s)he is in fact lamenting the empowerment of that woman to take yet another decision out of the hands of the patriarchal society which was created by DeValera, with the collusion of the church. The Constitution may state that the state recognises (in lay-man's terms) the position of the woman in the household, but to a feminist and egalitarian like myself it is in fact stating that the position of the woman is to support her husband, to obey him and to mindlessly adapt herself to catering for his every need. Thankfully the position of women has become increasingly stronger (yet still a long way off) in this nation. I am grateful and thankful to the great input that women have had in my life, least not my mother and my best friend Ms Kathie Taylor.

Dr Séan Brady, Roman Catholic primate of Ireland cites the 'traditional values of marriage being between a man and woman' as his opposition to proposals of same sex marriage. Homophobes cite the bible stating that relations between two men or women angered Jesus, yet many bible scholars have argued the merits of this argument. It is this writer's humble opinion that the very mention of the term 'tradition marriage' cites the fear that opponents have to same-sex marriage, lies in the fact that a homosexual couple does not feature what they term acceptable as an 'acceptable relationship'. In my humble opinion the fears of same-sex marriage stem not from bible verse, but from the fact that same sex couples involve either two empowered men, or even more fearfully two empowered women. The idea of a same-sex marriage flies in the face of the opponents to such as it offends their very nature of thinking; that men and woman are equal.

I am proud to call myself a follower of James Connolly, a man who did so much in his lifetime it could encapsulate an entire library of books to mention. The thing that I am most proud of, being Irish as well as being an admirer of Connolly, is that the famous document read from the steps of the GPO on Easter Monday 1916 acknowledged the great role that women had to play in the shaping of our nation. This was the first public and international recognition of women and it came at a time when in Britain women were either the silent models in the photos of the elite, or the housemaids who served the elite.

All Irish citizens are equal. It is time for misogynists to drop their opposition to the empowerment of women, and in turn it is the duty of every citizen who considers themselves a feminist and egalitarian to get behind the pro-choice lobby, and to support the campaign to bring marriage equality to same sex couples in this state. Women and homosexuals are our equals in everything, from academia to medicine, and from construction to carpentry. Do we really want our children to grow up in a 21st Century that truly does not value the amazing contribution that is made by all of us who are not only proud, but privileged to call ourselves Irish. I certainly do not.