#VoteWithUs Videos which feature politicians are shown here.
Katherine Zappone, from the US, and Ann Louise Gilligan, from Ireland, have been a couple since the early 1980s. They married in Canada over a decade ago, but their marriage is not recognised in the Republic. They feel that more than thirty years together is long enough to wait for their marriage to be recognised. The referendum is a ‘legacy …
Jillian van Turnout (46), from Dublin, is a Senator and children’s rights activist. She wasn’t always convinced that equal marriage was the way forward. But with her vast and varied experience, she has changed her mind. She’ll be voting yes, and hopes that you will too. “Through my years of experience as a Children’s Rights activist I’ve seen that life …
Paul Murphy is an Anti-Austerity Alliance TD for Dublin South West and a member of the Socialist Party. He’s certain that voters won’t be tempted into voting against this referendum if they don’t like the current Government – people are more intelligent and more compassionate than that. “I think people know that the best way to strike a blow against …
Catherine Murphy is an Independent TD for Kildare North. She recalls the devastation that the first divorce referendum had on people in the 80s – how at the time they felt rejected by their own society. She asks you to come out and vote yes in May to ensure that history does not repeat itself. “I remember being in the …
John Lyons is a Labour Party TD from Dublin North West. John sees that Ireland is unequal today, and that gay and lesbian people are discriminated against. For him, this referendum is simply about equality. “This is about asking the citizens of Ireland – do you believe in equality? Do you believe that gay people’s relationships are as equal as everybody …
Joan Collins is from Dublin and is an Independent TD for Dublin South Central. She knows that most people know someone who is gay, and believes that all of us should take action to allow our friends, family members, and neighbours have the opportunity to marry their partners. “Many of us family members, relations, friends who are in loving relationships. …
David Norris (70), from Dublin, talks a little bit about how marriage was not an option for him when he was growing up. Now, he hopes that option will be open for young gay people. ‘Good for them!’ David has been a Senator since 1987 and is widely regarded as Ireland’s foremost LGBT campaigner, having successfully challenged the Irish State’s laws …
Pádraig MacLochlainn is a Sinn Féin TD from Donegal North West. He relates the story of how he and his wife travelled to the wedding of dear gay friends in Spain. He was taken by the genuine and strong love on display, and saddened at how this love is not protected in Ireland. That’s why he’s voting yes. “Our loved …
Jerry Buttimer (46) is from Cork. Jerry is a former teacher and is now a Fine Gael TD and Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Health Committee. He believes that our Proclamation calls on us to cherish all the children of the Republic equally, and this vote is the historic opportunity to do just that. “Our Proclamation asks us to cherish …
Averil Power is a Fianna Fáil Senator based in Dublin North East. She talks about what marriage means to her, and why she is upset that people close to her cannot celebrate their relationships, or be protected by the state, in the same way as she can. “It really upsets me that I have gay and lesbian friends who have …