On 25th May 2018 Ireland voted by 2 to 1 to remove the ban on abortion from the Irish constitution. This massive victory came after years of grassroots campaigning demanding that the government call such a referendum and then a very intense 68 days of campaigning where 1000s of volunteers threw everything they had into winning. For 30 years before that I campaigned and wrote about that struggle and in the years since I’ve started to try to capture the learnings from that moment of change from a specifically anarchist perspective. This is an index of that material and an appeal to those anarchists who were involved to consider doing an audio interview with me that can further add to this story.
On 25th May 2018 Ireland voted by 2 to 1 to remove the ban on abortion from the Irish constitution. This massive victory came after years of grassroots campaigning demanding that the government call such a referendum and then a very intense 68 days of campaigning where 1000s of volunteers threw everything they had into winning. For 30 years before that I campaigned and wrote about that struggle and in the years since I’ve started to try to capture the learnings from that moment of change from a specifically anarchist perspective. This is an index of that material and an appeal to those anarchists who were involved to consider doing an audio interview with me that can further add to this story.
The Repeal campaign itself was traumatic and exhausting for many of the participants. Although the size of the Yes vote was far larger than anyone had hoped for the specifics of the legislation were determined by rivalry within the ruling party (Fine Gael) with the result that significant restrictions were added. In the immediate period after the refendum this led to confict within the pro-choice movement, which at least for a time weakened it. My intention in many of these pieces was to explore the ideas behind this conflict side ways on as part of the process of encouraging a re-evaluation of what had been won and how that escaped the sometimes bitter post referendum polarisations that tended to obscure learning.
Post referendum content
Was winning the Repeal referendum inevitable?
The vote to remove the ban on abortion from the Irish constitution in May 2018 was overwhelmingly carried, with almost 2 out of every 3 voters voting Yes remove the ban. The margin of victory was such that some post-referendum polemics made the mistake of arguing that victory was always inevitable, that the campaign didn’t matter.
Review –It’s a Yes – a central contribution to the Repeal story that can be built on
The publication of the co-directors history of the Together for Yes (T4Y) campaign is an important step in building an accessible collective history of the final stage of the long struggle to repeal the hated 8th amendment to the Irish constitution
Review – An establishment view of the referendum that won Repeal – In the Shadow of the 8th
The 8th amendment takes up about half the space of Peter Boylan’s ‘In the Shadow of the 8th’. Boylan was an obstetrician who retired from Holles St in 2016, he was a prominent spokesperson for Repeal in the referendum of 2018 and was then central to the implementation of abortion access in the aftermath of winning that referendum
PDF – Report T4Y commissioned on their campaign
Remembering Repeal – The tides of history
Personal recollections of the referendum campaign from an ARC member volunteering in T4Y HQ
Audio – How Repeal of the 8th amendment was Won in Ireland
I edited this audio from the 2018 DABF which took place 3 monts after the referendum
Audio – How my politics is intersectional
Another audio Im edited from 2018 Dublin anarchist bookfair where some speakers talk about the recent Repeal campaign
Audio – Whose the manager?
Interview with Mary who volunteered in HQ and Kate who canvassed about the Repeal campaign prepared for Intenational Womens Day 2019
Reduced numbers at 2019 March for Choice after referendum win but a big fight is coming in 2021
Video of the march " The legislation is up for review in 2021 and the anti-choice organisations are gearing up to try and roll back the legislation, the pro-choice movement needs to not only stop them doing so but needs to try and force whoever is in power to remove the flaws in the legislation"
The 2018 March for Choice in the aftermath of winning Repeal
This video shows all of the 2018 March for Choice pass down the quays in Dublin. This year we had won the refrendum but much is left to fight for in terms of the details of the legislation and standing down the inevotable anti-choice attempts that will be made once the legislation comes in to intimidate doctors, as welll as women and pregnant who will finally be able to access free, safe and legal abortion in Ireland
MERJ launch Reproductive rights of migrants and ethnic minorities in Ireland
The books a collection of 16+ pieces by authors from migrant or ethnic minority backgrounds living in Ireland written in the context of the successful decades long struggle to Repeal the 8th Amendment.
Ode to ARC
Video of a spoken word piece on the organisation behind the successful campaign that forced and then won the referendum that over turned the ban on abortion from the Irish constitution.
Referendum campaign content
Check out the Repealing the 8th tag
- April 30th Twitter thread warning defeat was still possible
- March 20th Twitter thread tracking online dirty tricks campaign methods
Help me complete the story
Huge gaps remain in the story and I’m interested in helping to fill those. Few people can write books (or lengthy reviews) so in particular if you consider yourself an anarchist and you want your story recorded email me at andrewnflood AT gmail.com and I’ll record and upload an audio interview. Some people find it easiest to do this as a group. You can also contact me on Twitter
The long struggle for the referendum
Check out the pro-choice tag
Words: Andrew Flood (Follow Andrew on Twitter)