The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Irish diaspora heads home to vote on abortion issue
Nation to make its choice over the proposed repeal of the Eighth Amendment as thousands return to take part in historic ballot in Emerald Isle
Thousands of people have returned home to Ireland, from as far away as Argentina and Asia, to cast their votes in today’s abortion referendum.
Many people took time off work or cut their holidays short to make sure they had a say over the future of the eighth amendment, which bans abortion in almost all circumstances.
Ciaran Gaffney, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, spotted four of his countrymen on a plane home to vote.
He tweeted: “Was actually so humbled and relieved to meet four other Irish people on the flight from Buenos Aires to London, all of them flying onwards to Dublin today or tomorrow to vote yes.” Aoife Bennett, 25, an editor with a travel magazine based in Dortmund, Germany, will be making the journey to Dublin to vote then making the journey back in less than 24 hours.
She tweeted: “I’m flying home for not even 24 hours to vote for this. Anyone I’ve said this to hasn’t called me a muppet, or insane. They’re thanking me. This is the most important referendum we may ever face. Of course I was coming home.
“This referendum is about giving women the respect we deserve. I cannot believe that, in this sense, Ireland is held back by values that are over 100 years old.”
She said that a year ago her mother was diagnosed with cancer, but was told by doctors that if she was planning on having more children she would not be given the life-saving treatment she needs.
Ms Bennett said: “It makes me shiver to think that if she had been diagnosed 26 years ago, or 21 – my brother’s age – we could have killed her because we would have been seen as more important.”
Many people from the No camp also made the journey. Eoin O’Loughlin, 20, from County Clare but living in London, said: “I think the unborn baby is entitled to life – I think the abortion procedure and the whole industry behind it is fairly frightening.
“I think obviously the pro-choice side talk a lot about the hard cases, but this legislation that the Government are proposing goes far beyond that and I think goes way too far and will be detrimental to Irish babies and mothers.”
He added: “There’s about 30 of us who are coming home over the next 24 hours. We’ve been in touch for the last few weeks and trying to organise flights together and so on.”
Mary Galvin, 73, from Wexford, cut her holiday to Italy short by a day to be home for the referendum to vote No.
She said: “I’ve been a nurse all my life – the hard cases, there are many hard cases, like a lady who had been raped and you help deal with that and the aftermath of that, with support.
“I was involved in the pro-life back in 1983 and we had a lot to do with that.
“A lot of marching and it’s been something that’s very dear to my heart and I feel like there’s a lot of pain involved in abortion on young women through their lives – it will go on and on after the day it happens.
“I pray to God it doesn’t come in to the country.”
Another woman had returned home from her holiday in Croatia to cast her vote. She said: “I’m certainly going to vote No. Of course I’m going to vote No.”