Go on, go on, go on - Pauline McLynn to urge YEs vote at public meeting

6 May 2015

by Cllr Joe Costello

Labour TD Joe Costello will be accompanied by former Father Ted favourite and Eastenders star Pauline McLynn at a public meeting he will host on Marriage Equality tomorrow.

The event will take place at 8pm in the Teachers’ Club, 36 Parnell Square, Dublin 1. Other speakers at the event include Dr. Ann Louise Gilligan, Equality Campaigner, and Olivia McEvoy, Yes Campaign Coordinator.

Deputy Costello stated: “On the 22nd of May, the Irish people will be asked to vote for the 34th Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment proposes to add a new section to the Constitution stating: ‘Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.’ The purpose of the amendment is to give a Constitutional right to civil marriage for all our people.

“Tens of thousands of men and women are in a loving relationship, but they do not have the right to marry. Changing the Constitution to give same sex couples the right to marry will not diminish the rights of anyone else in any way.

“This referendum is not about parents or children; it is not about surrogacy or motherhood. These are matters that are addressed through legislation. Any attempt to include them in the Constitutional Referendum on marriage equality is a distraction. It is an attempt to confuse the issues and sow doubts in people’s minds. As we approach the centenary of 1916, it is important to remember the wishes and values of the signatories of the 1916 Proclamation: ‘The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts.”

Details are as follows:

When: 8pm, Thursday, May 7, 2015
Where: The Teachers’ Club, 36 Parnell Square, Dublin 1

Speakers: Joe Costello TD, Chair
Pauline McLynn, Fr. Ted’s “Mrs Doyle”
Dr. Ann Louise Gilligan, Equality Campaigner
Olivia McEvoy, Yes Campaign Coordinator