Sir, – Ireland may be known internationally as a country of saints and scholars. But it has, for a long time, also been a country of secrets and shame. Most of these have revolved around women, what we do with our bodies, and what comes out of our bodies. Most of the secrets and shame have been shackled to us by the Catholic Church and the political establishment that didn’t have the courage to act independently of that church.
We will never again be ignored, shamed, exiled or exported. – Yours, etc,
DONNA ALEXANDER,
Douglas,
Cork.
A chara, – Thank you so much for your beautiful editorial ("This belongs to the women of Ireland", May 28th). I would add, however, that there were women politicians from parties other than the big ones, or Independents, who were also crucial in making this happen. I'm thinking of Ruth Coppinger, Bríd Smith and Clare Daly off the top of my head, and I'm sure I'm leaving people out. Their contribution was enormous, and they more than deserved pride of place in your piece.
I've felt for a while now that in 100 years there will be a statue of Ruth Coppinger somewhere in the city of Dublin. It would be nice if she got recognition in her own time, though, starting in The Irish Times. – Yours, etc,
KIM V PORCELLI,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – The repeal of the Eighth is the triumph of compassion and common sense over dogma and hypocrisy in the evolving lives of women in Ireland. – Yours, etc,
MARK W FINNAN,
Peterborough,
Ontario,
Canada.
Sir, – Whatever happened to the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (Spuc)? In case it might be still out there in the ever-lengthening grass, can I just say, for old time’s sake, for the last time, and with feeling, Spuc off! – Yours, etc,
DONAL Ó DRISCEOIL,
Cork.
Sir, – A truly incredible referendum result. It proved to be another great outing for our fair-weather liberals (especially in Dublin). Any chance they might consider a move away from right and centre-right Christian-conservative political parties at our next general election? Yours, etc,
REAMONN O’LUAN,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14.
Sir – Now that the result has been decided, perhaps we should all, whichever side we supported, look to areas where we are in agreement and are able to co-operate. My personal philosophy was that abortion was happening and that it was hypocritical to rely on other countries to provide the means. Abortion should be legal, local and there should be less of it. It seems it will be legal and local and there is the possibility of less.
Given the many statistics available it seems unrealistic to expect abortion to be rare, but there are two areas in particular where it seems there might be co-operation. Support should be given to Government proposals to improve sex education, which has every chance of reducing unplanned pregnancies. I am glad that so many men supported repeal, but I would like special efforts made to educate members of the male sex in their responsibilities. The second area where I feel co-operation could be fruitful relates to poverty. I agree with Breda O’Brien that no woman should find it necessary to choose an abortion on grounds of poverty. This is a very wide area, including access to health, social and child care, housing, education and also reducing the huge differentials in incomes and wealth within the State.
Let’s get started. – Yours, etc,
IRENE E ALLEN,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
A chara, – "Ireland obliterated the right to life of the unborn," claims Archbishop Eamon Martin (News, May 28th). No, it didn't. What it is in the process of doing is obliterating the race memory of generations of Irish women who were degraded and enslaved by the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. Did the hierarchy think that this degradation would survive the new millenium? That Irish women would continue to ask "how high" when the clergy told them to jump? A woman in a crisis pregnancy now has, or will have, choices, choices that could benefit not just herself but the unborn foetus because life is not always a blessing.
If the Roman Catholic Church is serious about its mission it will make some attempt to atone for the sins of its past and embrace the new manifestation of Irish womanhood. – Is mise
MÁIRÍN de BÚRCA,
Dublin 3.
Sir, – The first step to solving a problem is acknowledging that there is a problem. On Friday, the Irish people acknowledged that the Eighth Amendment did not put an end to Irish abortions as was promised in 1983 and so it was repealed. So what is the solution?
As a country, we must realise that the only way to reduce the number of abortions is to reduce the number of crisis pregnancies. Repealing the Eighth Amendment was the first step in a long process. Both sides must now come together to increase accessibility of contraception, expand the sex education syllabus from a young age to emphasise heavily consent and contraception, and put adequate supports in place so that pregnancies no longer need to be referred to as “crisis” pregnancies. Abortion is an unfortunate reality in Ireland, and it has been for decades. Now that we have reconciled with this, let’s resolve to do something about it. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN BOUSHEL,
Castleknock, Dublin 15.
Sir, – Since the announcement of the result of the referendum on repeal of the Eighth Amendment the road to Damascus has got very busy with, for the most part, certain Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael politicians. – Yours, etc,
JACK WALSH,
Waterford.
Sir, – Fintan O'Toole wishes to celebrate the public demonstration of democracy in the recent referendum and in so doing dismisses a third of the voting population – people who took the time to think about and exercise their right to vote just as the other two-thirds did – as those motivated by "hysteria and hate" and "tribalism and fear" ("A campaign won by a generation that had good reason to give up on Ireland", Analysis, May 28th).
No matter which box was ticked, I believe most of those who voted, whether Yes or No, did not do so lightly, but made a decision based on their private beliefs and convictions, informed by their reading and listening to the debates put before them. To suggest that it was merely a question of the considered and the enlightened versus the hysterical and the hateful is careless rhetoric. – Yours, etc,
LAURA O’SULLIVAN,
Waterfall,
Cork.
Sir, – During the campaign we saw people display gruesome and distressing images outside maternity hospitals.
In order to avoid a repeat of this, I would urge the Government to impose a restriction zone around hospitals so that anti abortion activists are not allowed to protest directly outside hospitals. – Yours, etc,
BRONWYN MOLONY,
Clondalkin,
Dublin 22.
Sir, – I voted Yes, but yet didn’t think I had any cause to cheer or sing or congratulate myself. I voted to give other women a choice and a voice, and I hope they use them wisely. – Yours, etc,
MARY BURKE,
Clonmel,
Co Tipperary.
Sir, – It’s been more than a little grating that three men, Leo Varadkar, Simon Harris and Micheál Martin – all of whom were staunchly pro-life until extremely recently, and whose “journeys” away from that position coincided nicely with political expediency – have received almost all the credit for the referendum result, while the women and men who shifted public opinion over the last three decades have been sidelined. – Yours, etc,
COLM O’MAHONY,
Greystones,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – The people have spoken. Let the legislators get on with putting the result into law. – Yours, etc,
TIM RYAN,
Dunboyne,
Co Meath.
Sir, – I was canvassing for a No vote on our town square recently when someone, unknown to me, loudly berated some Yes campaigners who were setting up their stand. I went up to them and said I was sorry they were subject to such a tirade. Later one of them came up to me, said thanks and that we should work together on other social issues in the future. I hope to do this. The need for a kinder, more equal and supportive community is obvious. One of the effects of this would be to keep abortion levels to a minimum, something most of us would hope for. – Yours, etc,
PAUL CONNOLLY,
Cavan.
Sir, – We returned nearly 50 years ago hoping for a new Ireland. There have been some good developments but now we want to thank the younger generations, especially the younger women, for taking such a wonderful step in securing a caring, compassionate and changing society. – Yours, etc,
DAVID McCONNELL,
JANET McCONNELL.
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.