Landslide

IRELAND became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by referendum on Saturday. The result had been widely expected, but it was unclear whether the vote would be close. It was not. In the end 62.1% voted "yes"; supporters of gay marriage carried the day in 42 of the country's 43 constituencies, with particularly large margins of victory in urban centres and among youth. Ireland becomes the 19th country to legislate for marriage equality, joining a worldwide trend.

The sizeable majority reflects a dramatic shift in public attitudes in Ireland, a socially conservative country where 84% of the population regard themselves as Catholic (although far fewer actually practise). Same-sex sexual activity was not decriminalised until 1993, and then only because the European Court of Human Rights upheld a legal challenge brought by a gay Irish Senator, David Norris, five years earlier. Divorce was approved by referendum in 1995, by a razor-thin margin (50.28% to 49.72%), reversing a decisive defeat a decade earlier. But the pace of social reform has greatly accelerated in recent years. In 2010, civil partnership legislation (including for gay couples) was introduced. But few then thought that five years later voters would so emphatically back gay marriage.

Why have public attitudes changed so rapidly? The declining influence of the Catholic church is a big factor. The church has been deeply scarred by its handling of a succession of child-abuse scandals, diminishing its authority. In this latest referendum campaign the church kept a low profile, in marked contrast to its position in the 1970s and 1980s, when the church helped block moves to legalise contraception and divorce. In 1983 the church supported a constitutional change that has effectively outlawed abortion.

With all the main political parties favouring marriage equality, the referendum proved an unequal contest. The "yes" campaign throughout was better-organised and better-financed, with celebrity endorsements from the rock star Bono of U2, actor Colin Farrell, novelist Colm Toibin, and the heads of several Irish-based multinational companies. The "no" campaign was largely spearheaded by the Iona Institute, a Catholic advocacy group. It claimed that marriage equality would damage the family and hurt child welfare, sending out flyers with the slogan “A mother’s love is irreplaceable”—a point that lesbian couples no doubt found moot.

Two unexpected interventions on the "yes" side may have swayed undecided voters. Mary McAleese, a former president of Ireland and a devout Catholic, spoke of the difficulties that her son faced in being accepted as a gay man. And a well-regarded political journalist, Ursula Halligan, came out as gay during the campaign, writing movingly of her struggles to come to terms with her sexuality.

For political strategists, the most significant aspect of the successful "yes" campaign was its success in mobilising young voters. This included enlisting support from hundreds of Irish emigrants who returned from as far away as Australia to vote. (Under Irish law, citizens who move abroad are only allowed to vote for an 18-month period after their departure.) Pre-referendum polls showed the strongest support for marriage equality among 18- to 24-year-olds, at 71%. The lesson political parties will draw from the referendum campaign is that young people will turn out to vote if an issue captures their interest. With a general election due within a year, the big political parties—all of which astutely picked the right side on gay marriage—will be working on trying to replicate that success.