In The Name of Love - Village Magazine

34 December-January 2014

HEN excerpts from ‘In the Name of Love’,

which was written and compiled by the

journalist, Una Mullally, appeared in the

Irish Times recently it sparked quite a bit of debate

in Green Party circles. A lot of the discussion centred

on why Roderic O’Gorman was not included in the

long list of interviewees. Roderic was probably

the person who worked hardest to ensure the

introduction of civil partnership legislation. While

he does receive honourable mention, the lack of

a direct interview is a serious omission in what

is otherwise a comprehensive and stimulating

account of an important social movement.

I should declare my own interest here: I was

interviewed by Una Mullally for the book and later

answered a series of questions by email. I realise now

that my written replies were not entirely in keeping

with the spirit of the undertaking. It is, after all, an

oral history, and it’s the free and sometimes discursive

manner of direct speech which is the real strength

of this book. The interviewees talk honestly about

how the movement for marriage equality evolved,

providing some fascinating insights, interesting

anecdotes, and claim versus counterclaim.

Refreshingly, unlike the professional historian,

Mullally allows readers to draw their own

conclusions. Reading the text revived memories

of a fraught period in government. While we were

attempting to introduce the civil partnership

legislation we were also dealing with an economy in

meltdown. To make matters more complicated and

acrimonious, elements within the marriage equality

movement decided to portray those who opted for

an incremental approach as sellouts and traitors.

I don’t have a clear recollection of the much-

referenced meeting with the LGBT representatives

in Government Buildings, but I do recall a lesbian

couple visiting my clinic and accusing me of

enshrining discrimination in legislation. And how

did I react to these accusations? Well, according to

Gráinne Healy of Marriage Equality there may have

been a ‘touch’ of resentment on my part. Believe

me, it was more than a touch. I was livid. They were

so successful in discrediting the legislation that

David Norris was going to vote against it. He only

changed his mind when Senator Rónán Mullen tried

every means possible to ﬁlibuster and block it.

The book is revealing in so many ways. Dermot

Ahern, the former Minister for Justice, features

extensively. He rejects his categorisation as socially

conservative. His Fianna Fáil colleague and opponent

of the legislation, John Hanaﬁn, is adamant that the

Bill would not have happened without a major push

from the Greens in coalition.

The book also shows the extent of the distrust and

hostility between the fundamentalists and

pragmatists in the LGBT community. Kieran Rose of

GLEN concedes that Marriage Equality and Noise won

the ‘communications battle’, and indeed I remember

the rather muted ‘victory’ celebration in the POD

nightclub. In a separate chapter, devoted to the

organisation Noise,

Annie Hanlon

explains how it

was formed by

members of the

Labour Party

LGBT group when

their private

members bill was

defeated.

To complete the

social history the

book looks

forward to the

forthcoming

referendum.

Churchill once

commented that

history would be

kind to him because he intended to write it. Those with

power and inﬂuence control the historic narrative, and

whereas for generations the LGBT movement was

marginalised and suﬀered real discrimination, it now

enjoys overwhelming support in the newspapers and

broadcast media.

The tables have turned quite dramatically in a

relatively short space of time: our Taoiseach makes an

appearance in the Pantibar, elected representatives

from the mainstream parties are coming out, and

commentators who question gay marriage have

become pariahs. Breda O’Brien, a sincere critic of

marriage equality, felt her personal safety was at risk

at the time of Pantigate. She expresses the hope that

“the oppressed do not become oppressors” now that

the liberal revolution is almost complete.

With the winds blowing so strongly in the right

direction, and with every political party supporting

the proposition, it would appear that victory in the

referendum for marriage equality is assured. But such

an assumption would be a mistake. The electorate is in

an unforgiving mood right now. If the political

establishment tells them to vote a certain way, they

might just take a notion to do the exact opposite. The

bookies might tell you otherwise, but this pragmatist

says it’s not a certainty. •

A refreshing and

open evocation

of the evolution

of the fractious

civil partnership

legislation

JOHN GORMLEY

‘In The Name of Love’

In The Name of Love

The Movement for

Marriage Equality in

Ireland

Una Mullally

Irish History Press

116.99