In years to come when I talk about the Ireland I grew up in, I will always recount the following story.
Last year, while filming for a short series of videos about the success of the Marriage Equality campaign, I interviewed a bunch of people about how exactly the YES vote was won.
So many of them said the same thing. It was the solidarity of people, the young vote and the desire for change.
But one person told me this story, which is probably hearsay but in my eyes, perfectly captures the countries collective desire for social change and equality. And while some details, naturally become hazy, as this story has been passed around, I’ll recount it to the best of my ability.
Mary lives in West Mayo. She has three sons – let’s call them John, Aidan and Patrick. Well, Mary was a solid YES supporter. Not in that passive ‘each to their own’ type of support, but in that active passionate ‘love is love’ kind of way.
Her acceptance of all people is something that she passed on to all three of her sons. Aidan the teacher, Patrick the accountant and John the carpenter. There was never any fear that their house would produce anything less than a resounding yes.
John the carpenter happened to be working in Canada at the time of the vote. It couldn’t be helped, of course, he had to make a life for himself.
So when May 22nd rolled around, Mary, Aidan and Patrick went proudly to the polling station. Upon arrival, Mary produced her polling card and John’s from her handbag and requested two ballot papers as John, of course, would have followed suit and voted yes.
The polling station attendant loudly refused, explaining to those within earshot that such a behaviour would not be permitted.
Yet when Mary went to cast her vote, she found two ballot papers coincidentally sandwiched together.
In many conversations over the past year, I’ve tried to quantify just how the passing of Marriage Equality has impacted the LGBT community.
The general consensus was that “it’s hard to put your finger exactly on it”.
Obviously, hundreds of couples celebrated marriage. Obviously, millineries saw an increase in sales. Obviously, families were formed in the eyes of Irish law.
But for the average member of the LGBTQ community, the ones not marrying, there was just a feeling of lightness, of equality and a flood of pride.
We want to document the ecstasy of the last year. We want to chat with the people in the pictures.
We’re looking for LGBTQ people, their families and their friends to participate in a new short film, A Year In Colour, to tell us and the world, exactly how the last year changed for them.
If you’re a couple that got married, a couple that got engaged or just want to let us know on camera how bloody great the year was get in touch.
Drop Cassie an email on [email protected] to take part. Please share this call out with your friends and family so we can paint the most accurate picture of the past year.
