Real Talk 27th May 2018 by Niamh Foran

“We Did It!” Here’s Our Favourite Reactions To Ireland’s YES Vote

With yesterday’s final result coming in about 6:30pm , it was a day of excitement and nerves as the country watched the final tallies roll in.

Irish people took to social media to express their joy and relief at the news that we had finally #RepealedTheEighth, and here are our faves!

YES YES YES?????? …….. . . . . Slán to an old Ireland ?? Big love & respect to those women who led the campaigns from behind @repealproject @together4yes & everyone who told their stories, campaigned, shared their voice online & #hometovote! All of you exceptional humans have given a voice to so many who had no choice & those that will ???????? hiking today some tourists asked to take home our badges to have a little piece of history ❤️?❤️ #repealthe8th #prochoice #8thamendment #repealed #togetherforyes

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66.4% SAY YES! My heart is literally bursting for Ireland right now. Like the marriage referendum, this referendum was about way more than than a single issue; it’s another massive, progressive step in the right direction for our small country – with an evidentially massive heart. We’re saying YES to trust, choice, compassion, understanding and letting people live the lives they feel is best for them. We’re saying NO to negative, judgmental, controlling forces who’ve had a stranglehold for too long. Thank you to all those people who’ve fought for decades to weaken the shackles of oppression in Ireland: this is for you ? I’m so excited for all of us to keep fighting for a fairer & more accepting society. This was a grassroots battle fought by average people. We have the power to call the shots from now on – let’s keep going. In the words of the iconic Elle Woods: WE DID IT! For now, let’s all dive into a fish bowl of G&T ?? #REPEALED

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My fave @newschambers sent me this video of people chanting Savita’s name at Dublin Castle today and it made me weep. As a young woman I had always considered myself pro-choice, had always suspected that I would Get The Boat to England if faced with a pregnancy when I was too much of a child to have a child myself, and had long considered the eighth amendment an abomination that needed to be removed from our constitution. But, shamefully, it wasn’t until Savita Halappanavar’s death in 2012 that the matter of abortion rights became urgently, painfully important to me. The thought that a 31 year old woman could have died crying out for a termination to save her life, and was refused because “this is a Catholic country”, was so shocking. We were collectively outraged and devastated, and we took to the streets demanding change – and in some ways I can’t believe that it’s taken six years to have a referendum. I would imagine that many of us thought of Savita as we filled out our ballot papers yesterday. She should not have died. It was a tragedy and Ireland failed her. We are sorry for that, but the definitive, defiant way that Irish people have voted to repeal the eighth amendment gives me hope that we are determined never to allow such a thing happen here again. We are a compassionate country now, not just a Catholic one. Thank you to every single person who was involved in this campaign – everyone who canvassed and knocked on doors and wrote letters and gave up so much of their time and energy to fight for a better Ireland. I am so proud to stand with you all. #RepealedTheEighth #NeverAgain

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G’WAN DYMPNA ? #Repealed

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