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IT WAS THE TFMR families who did it. When reporting on a national event like this, your job as a reporter is to remain non-emotional and non-partisan. It’s not, after all, about you.
But as the parents from TFMR – Termination For Medical Reasons – spoke of their happiness about the anticipated Yes vote in the Eighth Amendment Referendum, it was hard for those present to stop the tears pricking their eyelids. No matter what side you were on, seeing people so visibly affected by a referendum result could only make you emotional.
These were the people who first made their deeply personal and affecting stories public back in 2013, when four women spoke about having to travel to the UK for terminations after fatal foetal abnormality diagnoses during much-wanted pregnancies.
As they stood in the RDS count hall on Saturday afternoon, surrounded by campaigners and reporters, you could almost hear them exhale after weeks of pent-up nerves. For Amy Walsh, whose baby daughter Rose was stillborn at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, the results were a “huge relief”.
She and the other parents who spoke were not just thinking of themselves – they were thinking of the other parents who would be given FFA diagnoses in the future, a future where legislation would allow them to decide what they want to do, to make a choice that, should it include termination, would not have to involve travelling far from home.
We had all heard the stories of babies’ remains brought home in boots of cars on unbearably long ferry journeys; of ashes of firstborns being delivered to the front door by courier. Now, as Walsh put it, parents “will be looked after compassionately, surrounded by their family and their loved ones at home”.
“Now Ireland can work towards changing how these couples are treated,” fellow TFMR member Jennifer Ryan said. “For those who make that heartbreaking decision to end their pregnancy, they will no longer be kicked out of their country and made feel like criminals for their difficult choices.”
No more shame, no more hiding.
Referendum buzz
The RDS count centre, where the TFMR parents gave their statement, was full of personal stories like this yesterday. As the tallies were counted in the early morning, the hall was buzzing with people. Volunteers diligently counted Xs on sheafs of white paper, the empty black ballot boxes standing open behind them. A podium in the centre of the building awaited the feet of the returning officer later that afternoon.
It was an overwhelmingly ‘Yes’ crowd at the RDS, with Repeal jumpers and Tá badges everywhere you turned. There were babies with badges on babygros, and hi-vis jackets a-plenty.
A picture of Savita was placed behind some of the tallies, smiling her smile that this generation of Irish people won’t forget. Her death led to an outpouring of grief from strangers; a tragedy that changed a nation.
Those in the RDS who were on the Yes side had released a sigh of relief the previous night. The RTÉ and Irish Times exit polls had put paid to any trepidation regarding outcome. Campaigners of both sides knew that the Yes side was going to win. The only question was how great a margin it would win by.
The No campaigners were in the definite minority at the RDS – a handful of them, perhaps 15, stayed for hours halfway down one of the sides of the hall. The occasional pink LoveBoth hi-vis top or No badge could be glimpsed, but they got fewer as the day went on.
Unlike what we may have assumed beforehand, the day wasn’t going to be a nail-biting one. To show up to the counts as a No campaigner was to know you would have to accept defeat.
Cora Sherlock, leader of the LoveBoth campaign, spoke to reporters early on in the day. There were no celebrations due for the No campaigners. It was, said Sherlock, a “sad day for Ireland”.
“I’m disappointed and I feel it’s a sad day – a devastating day for us,” she said, while surrounded by reporters from home and abroad. “The Eighth has done a fantastic job protecting mothers.”
The No campaign had got a headstart on campaigning, putting up posters across the country and becoming visible early on. There had been much discussion about the ‘undecideds’ turning into ‘Nos’ at the ballot boxes yesterday. But that belief turned out not to be true.
Eoin Shanahan was one of the No campaigners in the RDS. “It’s a little bit like when your team has lost, and you’re still very proud to be part of the team – but you’re disappointed that they’ve lost, it’s a simple as that,” he said. Was he surprised by the results? “Not terribly surprised,” was his answer. “I suppose if you asked me yesterday I would have said I think it would be closer.”
What does he want the Pro-Life Campaign to do now?
All they can do is to keep putting the message out there, and to keep pressure on their TDs. That’s what democracy does, it allows people to put pressure on their TDs to bring in laws and make laws to reflect their views.
“There will always be a Pro-Life Campaign,” he said. “And I will always be part of it.”
A day for women
The big announcement of referendum day was to be made in Dublin Castle, but the RDS was where campaigners and politicians could gather to show their faces and welcome the incoming Yes vote.
Health Minister Simon Harris, whose legacy is forever going to include bringing in legislation for abortion in Ireland, was in quietly triumphant form when he emerged from the blazing sunlight into the count centre. There was much pushing and jostling as reporters fought to get capture his words, words which were not about him, but about the women of Ireland.
“Under the Eighth Amendment, women in crisis pregnancy have been told take the plane, take the boat, today we tell them; take our hand,” said Harris.
Under the Eighth Amendment, women in crisis have been told you’re on your own. Today we say: we will stand with you.
Dr Peter Boylan, the chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the former Master of Holles Street, struck a similar note to Harris. He had faced heavy criticism from the No side during the campaign, and was a very visible Yes campaigner. But today wasn’t about him. The result, he said was “not about doctors, this is about women”.
This was a day for women of all kinds at the RDS – for the baby girls in slings nestled against their fathers’ chests; the young girl whose dad gently talked to her about how the referendum was about ‘giving women choice with their healthcare’; the young teens who hung on Minister Harris’s every word as he spoke to the press. For the women who were adults when the Eighth was brought in. For pregnant people. The students and the would-be politicians. The married. The single. Those who don’t identify as women but who are nonetheless affected by an amendment brought in decades ago.
“Old people, young people, working class people, middle class people, are voting Yes in large numbers for women’s autonomy,” said an emotional Workers’ Party councillor Éilís Ryan just after the tallies for Dublin Central were announced. As she spoke the word ‘autonomy’, she was almost overcome with emotion.
That she shed tears and had a broad smile at the same time showed the strength of her mixed emotions – happy that this was the outcome; sad that it had taken so long.
Grace Dyas, a theatre-maker and activist, was there in the crowd. Her last work, Not At Home, centred on women who travelled for terminations, while another recent project, Bring These Stories Home, was about bringing their abortion stories onto the streets of Ireland.
“When that narrative is in people’s heads it’s very hard to say no to that, it’s very hard not to empathise,” said Dyas of sharing women’s stories. “I feel like we’ve woken up in a new Ireland, I feel like we’ve woken up in a different country just like those women [who travelled] woke up in a different country, but it’s different in a better way.”
As Dyas said, it came to the point where “just saying something had happened was a political act”.
[image alt="Abortion Referendum count" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2018/05/abortion-referendum-count-2-630x486.jpg" width="630" height="486" credit-source="Leah%20Farrell%2FRollingNews.ie" caption="Minister%20for%20Housing%20Eoghan%20Murphy%2C%20Green%20Party%20Cllr%20Patrick%20Costello%2C%20and%20Hazel%20Chu%2C%20Green%20Party%20National%20Coordinator%2C%20with%20her%20six-month%20old%20baby%20Alex%20Costello.%20" class="alignnone" /end]
Social Democrats councillor Gary Gannon uses his own work to spotlight issues around class in Ireland, and this was no different. When he got to the RDS, he went to the tallies for the area where he grew up, Sheriff St, to see how inner-city Dublin had voted.
“These are people who in many ways have been oppressed themselves, economically oppressed, and they showed in such numbers yesterday and overwhelmingly gave a Yes vote and a vote of trust,” he said with pride.
It’s a tonic to some of the other bad outcomes we’ve had in terms of Brexit and Trump, that this Catholic country – formerly Catholic country woke up and said ‘we trust women with their reproductive health’. I think things will be a little bit different now and I don’t think we’ll ever understand the significance of this vote today.
As the day drew on, the RDS got emptier and emptier. The crowds began to make their way to Dublin Castle, where the final result would be announced. The people had spoken: a change was gonna come for Ireland and its women.
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Political correctness gone mad
Yes Brian, it’s a nasty word, but context is the thing here. An innocent ‘mistake’ receiving the ultimate punishment, stupid really.
Had he said the word that would be one thing. .. but it’s in a song and plenty of black rappers are nig**r this and that with the biatches and the hoes. .. We live in a society where people are becoming addicted to being offended
I think we should ban the letter N
That would be letterist, let’s ban the complete alphabet….
I remember a memo went around a few years ago in the retail store where I worked and we were told not to say black bags when referring to refuse bags in case it was deemed offensive ! Like seriously they are black and they are bags , mad .
Coloured bags…or is that offensive too?
Did a coaching course recently and was training 11 year old lads. A few points you were made to remember were as follows:
1) Under no circumstances use the word ball on its own, always football or soccerball.
2) When picking teams at random, never have minorities in the same team (two lads in the class not ethnic Irish)
3) And finally, no matter what happens eg. a bad fall, never make any kind of physical contact eg. hand on shoulder………..
Its gone to fuc*
Baing the letter would be osense. I say o to that proposal.
Will Tim Westwood a white BBC DJ who plays rap songs which use that word sometimes dozens of times in one song,be asked to ‘fall on his sword’?
Liberalism is the new Fascism.
This is, without a doubt, political correctness gone mad. Comparing a DJ losing his job the realities of authoritarian nationalism is pure histrionics, though.
“Liberalism is the new fascism” sounds like a headline from the Daily Mail or the title of a Fox News segment.
In fairness Tim Westwood should ne sacked for a lot of reasons.
Stupid who ever complained has way to much time on their hands…..
Sure its generally black lads who use the word “nigg#r” in their lyrics so I don’t see how they can be offended! Reinstate that man.
Absolutely ridiculous. I listen to Eazy E all the time and love to sing along. I bet if the song had white trash or cracker in it, there would be no issue
The N word never doesnt appear anywhere in any of Eazy’s records
Why is everybody hating on this comment?! It’s spot on!
Do BBC not play any Kanye West?
Kanye West isn’t black. He is a gay fish
No he’s not he just likes fish sticks
But that means he’s a gay fish?
has he a beard
A gay beard.
ITV1 got in trouble about 2 years ago for playing exactly the same song, don’t think anyone was fired though. We’re deteriorating fast if we can’t accept a genuine apology from someone who was unaware he was doing anything wrong. He’s just lucky he didn’t read out Huckleberry Finn on the air, he’d be in the stocks by now.
I remember that. The presenter above has played the song many times on his show over the years. But this version was new to him. When word that he was fired reached senior levels at the BBC, in fairness, they directed he be reinstated. But he has medical condition he says has been acutely exacerbated by the stress of the last few weeks and he needs time to recover.
There should be disciplinary action for those that handled it so badly.
World gone mad. Who would know the lyrics of an 80 odd year old song. I’ll tell you, someone who is 95 with an exceptional memory. ;)This guy only looks in his 60′s. And he got the sack after one complaint. Jeremy Clarkson is allowed to insult any one and still will. The difference, he does it on purpose and his show is one of the most syndicated in the world. If I remember correct, something like 168 countries= massive revenue.
Apologies 60 countries.
Total overkill. He himself was unaware the song contained the lyric as he played a version by a different band. It was only when he played it back later he realized the reference was in the song, and it’s barely audible. He then apologised twice on air and to colleagues. It was his immediate boss that should have to fall on her sword for firing him.
Jeremy Clarkson gets a slap on the wrist by the BBC for using the N word, this guy loses his job.
Its all about money at the end of the day. Clarkson brings in serious money to the BBC so they will never get rid of him. This chap however is expendable in their eyes and his job loss is a token gesture against “racism”.
One word, ridiculous
Pure and utter madness!
What will the good old BBC call the New Zealand rugby team next year, now there’s one, us some commentator going to get the chop .
Gerry, what about the All ‘very, very, very, very, very, VERY dark blue’ New Zealand team?
Apparently, the BBC are ignoring political correctness with their Croatian sitcom, You’ve Been Serbed.
If your that easily offended, then go f&#ck off then!!!
Theres p.c. mad and theres this. Silly
I guess the BBC will never show Chitty Chitty Bang Bang again so as it depicts a child catcher,a man that uses his powerful position to impose himself on vulnerable children.
Time to break out Blazing Saddles. Up yours ni99er!!!
Ok. But we don’t want the Irish.
I get no kick from champagne.
Absolute nonsense, I think the BBC are trying to make up for something else here!
What has happened to the concept of free speech?
I am sick to death over this political correctness era. You’d be afraid to say boo to someone these days.
The meeja has been taken over by a black one-eyed, one legged lesbian who works in the vatican.
BOO….I’m so sorry,I never intended to cause pain over that gesture. It wasn’t big or clever and I now must take responsibility for my actions
Yes. I once tried to make a post with the word snig@er in it and it wouldn’t post on here.
Took me ages to figure out what was happening.
As Lenny Bruce once said, it’s not the word that’s wrong it’s the context. The man didn’t even say it. Give him a break.
Warner Brothers have added a disclaimer before some more politically risqué content.
The argument, that would be the same here, is the content is a product of its time and any censoring of the stuff would be to deny the past and where we came from. No offence is intended, but the chance of offence should diminish the cultural addition the content represents shouldn’t be erased now that our political viewpoint has expanded to closer to where it should be.
Link:
http://www.barking-moonbat.com/images/uploads/PC_Warner_Bros_cartoons.jpg
Even thejournal is at this PC crap as I can’t post a link to one of my favorite books by Joseph Conrad
Westwood
Ha, pump ma ride ,UK!
Song of Sly and the Family stone: “don’t call me N- word, Whitey! Don’t call me whitey, N- word” to put on the radio like that no jealous. I wrote whitey because I am one. Peace!
The same people who deem this dismissal appropriate would no doubt tut sanctimoniously over honour killings and stonings for heresy as “barbarous superstition”.
In fairness try reciting eeny meeny miney moe without saying the N word !
Say tiger instead of the n word,
I read at the time he mumbled that part giving viewers the idea he may or may not have said it.
Not that
I condone racism but this has
Gone way too far. Too many
Gobsh*tes are being allowed impact
Everything and anything “non PC” and it’s
Ruining good people’s lives.
Shame on them.
Whats wrong with the “N” word ?
Nothing. You should use it.
We’d like to extend a laurel and hardy hand shake to our new,,,,,,, Nixxer
Yep. PC gone way too far.
What a load of bollocvjs
While I would never condone calling someone a nig ger, it’s always a pejorative term, does it matter whether you write “n-word”, “nig***”? It’s the same word in my head.
Why was the link to The Observer article on Enda Kenny’s n***er joke removed? That joke was far worse than a DJ playing an inappropriate song and it was made by the “leader” of our country.
Worlds gone mad. Only a blinking song
Honkies be trippin yo
Its like irish people getting upset over patty instead of paddy
Check out Tim Minchin on Prejudice and how words can be used to harm. http://youtu.be/KVN_0qvuhhw
Knick knack paddy whack give the dog a bone your old man came rolling home
is that a reference to bestiality there eoin?
I was once in an oil port called Punta Cardon in Venezuela where there were many members of a black tribe that the Mormons reckon are the remnants of one of the lost tribes of Israel. They are mostly ginger so how could you describe them without breaking the PC rules? I only wish that I had a photo to show.
I’ve not heard a watered down version of fairy tale of new York with the f word removed nor Hurricane by Dylan with the n word removed.
didn’t ronan keating (or one of those other ‘boyband ‘ gobshit*s) do a version of fairytail and instead of ‘fag got ‘ used the word haggard ? either way it was dire!
Pc gone nuts in some schools now u can’t use the word black board and in the rhyme eeney meany the n word was always used so why now should we not be allowed say it this race card is something else
Double standards bet that appears in rap all the time
have your say