The pivotal case that came before marriage equality in Ireland

Analysis: Marriage equality was propelled into public debate when two women tried to have their Canadian marriage recognised in Ireland

By Sonja Tiernan, RIA

This week marks 10 years since the people of Ireland voted in May 2015 to include one short sentence into the Irish Constitution: 'marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.' This addition would change the lives of countless families in Ireland, inspire change internationally and mark the beginning of a new wave of social reform in Ireland. A country slow to introduce decriminalisation of male homosexual activity, Ireland became the first country in the world to extend civil marriage to same-sex couples through a public vote.

A single case initially propelled the issue of marriage equality into the public arena. In September 2003, two Irish citizens, Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan, were married in Canada. The following April, the couple contacted the Revenue Commissioners requesting the same financial allowances and appraisal as that of heterosexual married couples. The Revenue Commissioners refused on the grounds that Irish taxation legislation caters for marriage on the basis of the institution consisting of a husband and wife.

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From RTÉ Archives, David Norris talks about decriminalisation on Prime Time in April 1993

The women prepared a case to challenge the decision. In this way the KAL Advocacy Initiative was born. A challenge was brought by judicial review, through which the High Court was requested to review the decision made by the Revenue Commission. Permission to take the challenge was granted on November 9th 2004.

Meanwhile the case for civil partnerships was progressing, separately. In December 2004, Senator David Norris tabled a Private Members Civil Partnership Bill in Seanad Éireann, proposing a legal registration for civil partnerships.

The KAL case hearing commenced in the High Court on October 3rd 2006. The case was still ongoing when the Options Paper presented by the Working Group on Domestic Partnership was published in November, referred to as the Colley Report. The report noted that same-sex couples were discriminated in a range of basic areas including in the provision of pensions and workplace benefits, allowing for joint adoption, access to housing and succession of tenancy, property rights upon breakdown of relationship, and in the allocation of tax allowances.

From RTÉ Archives, Dr Katherine Zappone and Dr Ann Louise Gilligan lose landmark legal case in December 2006

While the Colley report was generally welcomed by LGBT groups, the outcome of the Zappone and Gilligan case concluded in December. Justice Elizabeth Dunne found in favour of the State and the findings were published on December 14th 2006.

The culmination of the High Court case and discussion of civil partnership bills raised public awareness. By the beginning of 2008, the focus of KAL developed into Marriage Equality, a not for profit organisation focused on the single goal of extending civil marriage to same-sex couples, founded and chaired by Gráinne Healy and Denise Charlton.

On June 26th 2009, Minister Dermot Ahern published the Civil Partnership Bill, the day before the annual Dublin Pride parade. Themed Pride and Prejudice, the event culminated in a post parade rally at Dublin civic offices. In her address to the crowd, Ailbhe Smyth of Marriage Equality and that year’s Pride Grand Marshall, compared the bill to an ‘apartheid system.’

From RTÉ Archives, protestors take to the streets of Dublin to express their disappointment at the proposed Civil Partnership Bill

Regardless of the controversies, The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 came into legal effect on January 1st 2011. A Constitutional Convention was then established by both Houses of The Oireachtas in July 2012 to consider changes to the Irish Constitution and make recommendations to government. The forum included 66 citizens randomly selected using the electoral register, 33 members of parliamentarians nominated by their parties, and an independent chair.

The convention was tasked with examining a number of key areas for constitutional review including extending marriage to same-sex couples, tabled for April 2013. After considering presentations, delegates voted on the question: ‘Should the Constitution be changed to allow for civil marriage for same sex couples?’ The answer was overwhelmingly yes. GLEN, ICCL and Marriage Equality had successfully combined their efforts to deliver an informative and persuasive presentation to delegates. The next step was to ensure that the Government followed recommendations and set a date for a referendum.

In August 2014, the three organisations combined to form Yes Equality: The Campaign for Civil Marriage Equality. The marriage equality debate erupted onto radio and television stations across the country from the onset of 2015. On January 18th, in an interview with presenter Miriam O’Callaghan on RTÉ radio, the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, came out as a gay man. He became the first openly gay Irish Cabinet Minister and would go on to become Taoiseach in 2017.

From RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday with Miriam, Minister for Health Leo Varadkar spoke for the first time about being a gay man on his 36th birthday,

On January 21st, the 34th Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015 was initiated in Dáil Éireann. The No supporters were also building a more focussed campaign. The main organisation promoting the No vote was Mothers and Fathers Matter (MFM).

When polling stations opened on Friday May 22nd 2015, voters turned out in their droves to vote on the proposed 34th and 35th amendments to the Irish Constitution. At 9.33am, the first box opened and counted in Carrick-on-Suir recorded a 77-33 vote in favour of Yes. By 10am, David Quinn of the Iona Institute and MFM conceded defeat when he tweeted ‘Congratulations to the Yes side. Well done. #MarRef.’

The Marriage Act 2015 extending civil marriage to same-sex couples in Ireland came into effect on November 16th that year. The following day, Richard Dowling and Cormac Gollogly were married in Tipperary, making history as the first same-sex Irish couple to be legally married in the Irish State.

From RTÉ Radio 1's The Ray D'Arcy Show, the first same-sex couple in Ireland to marry, Cormac Gollogly and Richard Dowling talk to Ray D'Arcy

While the extension of marriage to all is a welcome step towards equality, more change is desperately required. Before the referendum, the Children and Family Relationship Bill 2015 was introduced to ensure that children of same-sex couples would be legally protected within their family unit. Parts of the act ensured that some female same-sex parents are legally recognised as co-parents of their children. An amendment bill ‘to provide for expanded pathways to parentage for parents of donor conceived children’ sponsored by Ivana Bacik still awaits government approval having lapsed in November 2024 with the dissolution of the Dáil.

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Prof Sonja Tiernan is co-ordinator of the Irish Humanities Alliance at the Royal Irish Academy. She is the author of The History of Marriage Equality in Ireland.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ

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