To comprehend the disheartening failures the Government experienced in the referendums last week, a scrutinized look must be taken at the minute details along with the more grandiose perspective. The Government’s lacklustre approach to the fine points and procedures was blatant. However, it also appeared out of touch in understanding the current state of Ireland, which perhaps had more significant implications.
The finer perspective can be clearly seen. After numerous attempts, we’ve devised a blueprint for conducting referendums that includes a citizens’ convention, an all-party Oireachtas report, comprehensive Dáil examination, and a clear delineation of any resultant legislation for voters. This is how we meticulously examine proposed wording.
Bafflingly, the Government decided to dismiss the initial two steps of this process and deliberately dodge the rest. Similar to how a company wouldn’t release a new variant of chewing gum without conducting suitable market testing, the government attempted to push complex wording with a herculean assumption of “trust us, you’ll like it”. This placed them dangerously at the boundary between arrogance and ignorance.
Panoramic review of this ignominy reveals the Catholic Church-shaped void in Ireland’s political landscape. A significant entity has vanished, and the Government did not know what to replace it with.
The constitutional clauses at the heart of the referendums aren’t merely irrelevant legal phrases. They articulate a world view, acting as pieces in a puzzle that portrays a vivid image of the ideal Ireland. Neither I nor most Irish citizens appreciate this image. But when you start removing parts of this puzzle, there must be a new image in mind.
The 1937 Constitution encapsulates the world view of Catholic social teaching from the 1930s. Intense control over women’s bodies and decisions is a critical part of all conservative religious ideologies. It imagines an abstract notion of a “woman” and “the Family” which remains just ideals rather than reflecting the reality and acts as the foundation of the patriarchal system.
We are aware of how cold and dark that divine fortress was for those who were trapped in its depths or refused entry. We are cognisant of the deceit buried deep within and the vast cruelty veiled behind the grandiloquent assertions of the Constitution.
While most individuals in Ireland could formerly find sense in these statements, the interconnected reasoning, which recognized the societal and constitutional relevance of women and family (with respect to such matters as the prohibition of divorce and birth control, and an array of laws reinforcing women’s secondary citizenship status), no longer stands. As historian Emmet Larkin asserted in 1976, the Church had so thoroughly embedded itself into the fabric of Irish societal, functional, and historical elements that it became inextricably linked with the nation’s identity. Beyond this intertwining of faith and nationhood, Catholicism itself offered a deep-seated affiliation with universal philosophies, doctrines, and rites.
The constitutional clauses that the government aimed to discard were more than just reflections on how the state operated. They were gateways to a profound history, a rich culture, and an expansive worldwide community of sentiment and association.
For approximately one-third of the population, this perspective remains generally applicable. However, for most, it has been significantly diminished. The legal and social structures that sustained it have been deconstructed. The 2015 marriage equality referendum and the 2018 abortion referendum confirmed the realisation that as an administrative ideology, it has faded away. Regardless of conservative sentimentality, it is not set to return, for it does not match a society where over half of all women hold tertiary education qualifications.
But what is set to substitute it? Last week’s referendums were meant to function as a heart transplant, replacing 1930s sentiments with those of contemporary Ireland. However, the newly proposed words felt rather impersonal. Distinctly absent within the care referendum (which was presumably the dead weight that sank the family referendum) were the values of dignity, solidarity, and respect.
We found ourselves invited to switch out a robust 1930s vision with a soft-hearted 2020s gesture. WB Yeats once stated “the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity”. Whilst the Catholic stipulations inserted in the 1937 Constitution may have been flawed, they undeniably possessed a passionate intensity. In contrast, the proposals intended to replace them lacked all certainty – and all unity.
Reflecting on Frank McNally’s analysis of WB Yeats’s most esteemed poem, the prevailing management-driven ideology that’s replaced Catholic doctrine in the Irish constitution is denounced as airless and uninspiring. While it’s unarguable that we all aspire to thrive in an efficiently governed nation, it’s also evident that ensuring economic stability isn’t all that’s needed for proficient leadership. There’s also the matter of moral direction.
One doesn’t need to succumb to the retrogressive illusion of a Catholic Ireland utopia to comprehend that despite its myriad of hypocrisy and pettiness, it fostered a larger-than-life vision that was not solely pinned to economic productivity. Additionally, it’s imperative to acknowledge that the swift disillusionment of such belief structures and the gap it leaves in its wake, create a substantial absence in our shared existence.
Formulating what might fill this unoccupied space isn’t tough to imagine. The strong republican principles that most Irish relate to include the likes of justice, fraternity, community affinity, an intolerance for inequity, the wish to coexist harmoniously with nature – these remain undebatable. There exists mutual delight in our accomplishments as a nation, along with collective disappointment when we fail to uphold these ideals.
With this in mind, when so called ‘average’ citizens are given the chance, through citizens’ conventions, to grapple with intricate constitutional and political matters, they consistently apply these principles and attempt to express them articulately. Therefore, the crucial inference we can draw from this debacle is the importance of hearing, understanding and prioritizing their voices.