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IRELAND VOTES FOR DIVORCE

    from Workers Solidarity No 47

    paper of the Irish anarchist
    Workers Solidarity Movement

Church power weakened

IRELAND VOTES FOR DIVORCE

AT LAST, the ban on divorce is gone.  In the past few
years, issues concerning the family and the place of
women have been at the centre of Irish politics - in part
because Catholic church thinking has long dominated
these areas of life in Ireland.  Things first began to
change for the better in the early 1970s when women
began to fight back against Church rule.  Contraception
was demanded and won.

Later access to information on abortion, and abortion
facilities in England, was fought for and won - though
in a very restricted context.  (Let us not forget that as
many as 6,000 Irish women travel to England every year
to have an abortion because it remains illegal in the 26
counties.)  Now, with the recent Divorce Referendum, a
restricted form of divorce will be allowed.  Another
blow has been struck against the Catholic church that
fought its hardest to prevent any change occurring.

  The 'yes' campaign won by the narrowest of margins -
by less than half of one per cent of all the votes cast.
The turnout of the electorate was approximately 61%.
Even up to the very end the result was in doubt and a
full re-count of all votes cast was necessary in order to
confirm the result.  Nevertheless, the majority was
clearly for 'yes' and clearly for divorce.

Across the twenty-six counties the changes since 1986 -
when the last referendum on divorce was held - were
definite, and in some places dramatic.  Swings to the
'yes' side varied between 10% and 20%, the highest
being recorded in the working-class constituency of
Dublin Central.  In all 16 constituencies voted 'yes' and
25 voted 'no'.

Even predominantly rural constituencies such as Kerry
South held respectable swings to the 'yes' campaign,
this despite the complete lack of a 'yes' campaign in
many of these areas.  Two constituencies that
eventually voted 'no' - Waterford and Wexford - still
recorded two of the largest swings to the 'yes' side.  This
is one of the better aspects of the referendum compared
with the vote in 1986.  This time around those
supporting divorce were not just concentrated in
Dublin.  This indicates a broader and more substantial
move away from Catholic Church control in Ireland
than in previous times.

FREEDOM

The Divorce Referendum, though conservative in
terms of what it proposed, was from the very beginning
about much more.  As the 'yes' and 'no' campaigns
heated up in the weeks before the vote, two clear views
about the way Irish society should be became apparent.
Those supporting the 'no' side were intent on retaining
control over the individual and what the individual
does.  Those who supported the 'yes' campaign wanted
the arena of individual freedom enlarged.  This is why
we, as anarchists, were involved in the referendum.

Perhaps no one understood the issues in such a clear
light as those who were behind the 'no' campaign - the
Catholic Right.  They were well organised, they had
plenty of money (including American money) and they
weren't afraid of the issues.  They believe in
authoritarian solutions to the problems in Irish society
and they believe in forcing things down people's
throats.

Arguing that the 'common good' must come first, they
excused away the reality of marriage breakdown in
Ireland with a total disregard for the individuals
involved - be they women, men or children.  Their
attitude was 'Put Up or Shut Up'- and it was this
approach that was eventually rejected by the 'yes'
victory.  The campaign fought by the Catholic Right was
committed and forceful.  A response that was in sharp
contrast to that of the Government.

If ever there was a liability for the 'no' campaign, it was
having the Government on its side.  The Government
led the 'yes' campaign, they controlled the money, they
even tried to set the agenda of debate - in the end they
nearly lost it for everyone.  By their very presence they
stymied initiative.  The 'yes' campaign got off the
ground late, it lacked any initial willingness to tackle
Catholic Church hypocrisy and it pussy-footed around
all the main issues - the 'cost of divorce', the alleged
effects on children, etc.

Worst of all, and perhaps this is their lasting legacy, the
Government have lumbered the people with the
disgraceful provision - now enshrined in the
Constitution! - that one must separate for at least four
years before you can entertain the idea of a divorce.
This, we have argued, is an affront to every person who
goes through the trauma of a broken marriage.

COMPASSION

The 'yes' campaign was very broad, and it stood for
different things at different times.  Some of the
arguments that it used were good - the arguments for
'divorce as a civil right' for instance, or the argument
for the separation of Church and State'.  Yet there were
other ideas in the 'yes' campaign that we, as anarchists,
had no truck with.  We did not participate in the
campaign for divorce so as 'to strengthen the institution
of marriage'.  Many of the political parties argued for
divorce along these lines - quite illogically in our
opinion.

The Workers Solidarity Movement said straight out
that divorce will weaken the institution of marriage,
and that this is a good thing.  We are for choice in life,
and for respect for the individual.  We believe that
people, on the whole, act carefully and responsibly with
their lives.  Most of all we do not believe that you need
a law to keep you in a relationship with another person
- we think the idea is actually absurd.  Our partners in
this life are our own business and the 'yes' victory was
one small step towards bringing this a little closer.  That
is why we fought hard for a 'yes' vote.

The big loser in this referendum was the Catholic
Church.  They have, especially in times past, wielded
great power in the twenty-six county state.  They have
wielded it disgracefully - punishing people who don't
hold with Church views, encouraging chauvinism and
intolerance of the worst kind.  Despite their Christian
rhetoric, they have rarely shown an iota of
'compassion' for anyone.  For this reason alone victory
is sweet.

CONTROL

But the Catholic Church continues to be a very
powerful force in Ireland.  This should not be forgotten.
It still retains huge influence in schools, hospitals and
in the local community.  It also retains huge support
among the main political parties - Fianna Fail, Fine
Gael and Labour.  The campaign to remove the Catholic
Church from Irish society, where they survive at the tax
payers' expense, still has a long way to go.

The successful 'yes' vote did show however that we can
win - most importantly against superior forces, with
greater resources.  It is a victory for all those who did the
merest bit to encourage a 'yes' vote.  But there is also a
warning in the narrowness of the victory.

The Catholic Right is now a force in Irish society.  And
they are organising in a more political direction.  They
are committed and strong and they have money.  They
want to bring Ireland back to an era when no one
questioned anything, when women stayed at home
because they were forced to.  From now on the Catholic
Right will fight tooth and nail on every issue of
importance to them.  There is still a long struggle ahead
to beat them once and for all.

Kevin Doyle

**************
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  RBR