They are words that have become the stuff of Irish political legend. In
the charged atmosphere of the referendum count in Dublin's RDS in
November 1995, anti-divorce advocate Úna Bean Mhic Mhathúna urged
victorious campaigners to, "G'way, ye wife-swappin' sodomites". Her
rejoinder provoked laughter, but for the months in advance of the vote
there was little to arouse mirth.
It was the referendum that saw more rancour and recrimination than
any before or since as the Fine Gael-Labour coalition on the Yes side,
stood up to the Catholic Church and assorted conservatives, including
Mhic Mhathúna's Youth Defence on the other. Fianna Fáil, in opposition,
supported a Yes to divorce, an about-turn from 1986 when the party had
vigorously campaigned for a No vote. And yet, veteran FF stalwarts like
Des Hanafin were vehemently opposed to divorce and were aghast when the
vote was carried by the slimmest of margins - just 9,114 separated Yes
from No.
