Don’t be fooled by the secular nature of the campaign to retain the Eighth Amendment.

Back in 1983, the Catholic Church was front and centre in the referendum campaign to change the Irish Constitution by inserting the Eighth Amendment. Fierce battle lines were drawn between conservative forces and progressive liberals, and the result (almost 67% voted Yes) showed how deep Catholic influence ran in Ireland.

Throughout the following years details emerged about the torture and enslavement of women, the brutalisation and sexual abuse of children, the sale and trafficking of infants, and the death and disposal of babies in septic tanks and unmarked graves – all overseen, condoned and facilitated by the Catholic Church. This was an image Ireland became blighted with, and this was the oppressed past we sought to put behind us as we overwhelmingly voted for marriage equality three years ago.