Marriage equality: ten years on, has Ireland’s progressive optimism disappeared?

The referendum was a key moment in an era of progressive reform

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Joan Webster and Noeleen Cummins celebrating as the results of the 2015 constitutional referendum were announced, confirming the legalisation of same-sex marriages. Photograph: Aidan Crawley/EPA.
Joan Webster and Noeleen Cummins celebrating as the results of the 2015 constitutional referendum were announced, confirming the legalisation of same-sex marriages. Photograph: Aidan Crawley/EPA.

It is ten years since the country voted to legalise same-sex marriage. This victory for progressive politics was followed by another when abortion rights were won in 2018.

But what is sometimes called “the progressive agenda” has since had setbacks, including last year’s defeated referendums on family and care.

So how relevant is progressivism to Irish politics now, and where does that energy go next? Labour leader Ivana Bacik, columnist Gerard Howlin and political editor Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan on today’s Inside Politics podcast to look back at the 2015 referendum campaign and assess its legacy.

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