We made history... and not a minute too soon!
UNDER normal circumstances, those of us who appreciate electoral suspense feel cheated by an early result.
These, though, were not normal circumstances. The amendment campaign could not have ended a minute too soon. We’ve endured months of belligerence and misinformation, to say nothing of 35 years of tragic cases and indifferent laws. The sooner this was over the better.
Sure enough, polling had barely closed before both sides were put out of their misery. At about 11.30pm, David McCullagh and Lise Hand appeared on the Late Late Show to declare the game was up for the No campaign. So, at 8am yesterday, an hour before counting began, Morning Ireland found itself reporting a result. All that remained was to reflect on the conduct of the campaign, speculate on legislation, and seek reaction.
Some of the main players had an extremely busy day flitting from broadcaster to broadcaster. Both Colm O’Gorman and Cora Sherlock appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today show (though not to debate each other).
For Sherlock it was an opportunity to reiterate her case against repeal. In fact she and others from the No campaign continued to argue against abortion for most of yesterday. Not all of them though; Michael Healy-Rae gave a lesson in magnanimity on Morning Ireland. ‘We live in a democracy,’ he said. ‘The people have spoken and that’s it. If we were all the same, we wouldn’t need to have a referendum.’
For a man who risked losing the run of his own party over this, Micheál Martin was neither triumphant nor even particularly eloquent in victory. ‘It was a matter of continuing to lead from the front and not flinching really,’ he told Marian Finucane in neutral tones.
The eloquence all belonged to Simon Harris. He told RTÉ One television that, whereas once we told women to ‘take a flight or take a boat, today we’re saying, no, take our hand’. And having found this metaphor serviceable, he was not too proud to use it again and again.
A beaming Leo Varadkar told Bryan Dobson the result showed ‘we are a nation that’s not divided’, and the relief of that showed on his face as much as anyone’s, if perhaps for different reasons.
The division is still there though, visible and menacing. Senator Rónán Mullen pledged on RTÉ to resist any legislation. And on Newstalk, John McGuirk said – and I almost wish I could be accused of misquoting him – that: ‘People do support a woman’s right to choose in this country. I think, on balance, that is sad.’
These voices were counteracted by the jubilant crowds at Dublin Castle, watched over by Miriam O’Callaghan, who seemed to be fighting the smile herself. By teatime the result was in and history was made. At last, mercifully, it’s over.