The vast crowds of sombrely dressed, banner-wielding protesters that marched through the city this week to protest in front of Leinster House drew significant attention to the growing campaign to repeal the eighth amendment to the Irish Constitution. With somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 people on the streets of Dublin calling publicly on the government to hold a referendum on the issue, the repeal campaign has undeniably mounted the pressure on leaders to respond.
The Strike 4 Repeal protest was framed in the preceding months as a challenge to the government to call a referendum before March 8th, and as a response to their failure to do so. That this day fell on International Women’s’ Day made it all the more auspicious. This march has been the focus of the campaign to repeal the eighth amendment in recent months, with rhetoric building towards a definite climax, producing a demonstration that can undoubtedly regarded as a success, drawing the attention of the international media, though the national broadcaster received considerable criticism for its minimal coverage of a march that occupied and obstructed the better part of the centre of our capital city. This “Strike 4 Repeal” has served as a more tangible and immediate goal for the movement.
However, in the aftermath of this event, we must ask where the campaign can go from here. The Strike 4 Repeal campaign was directed specifically at the government’s refusal to hold a referendum in the immediate future, and more broadly, the mechanism of the Citizens’ Assembly that the government has employed to deal with the matter and that continues to debate the issue at present. This obstacle remains in place and poses significant challenges to the campaign to repeal the eighth amendment. According to a recent Irish Times poll, the share of the population in favour of its repeal remains divided as to what, if anything, should come to replace it. Maintaining unity among such diffuse and varied supporters requires considerable momentum, something that seems overwhelmingly difficult in light of the government’s approach.
The Citizens’ Assembly, irrespective of its merits, represents a process that is going to take a long time. The assembly is set to produce only a recommendation, for consideration by an Oireachtas committee, before the Dáil, and realistically, the government will have to decide on what any Amendment to the Constitution might be. While this week’s march has been a decisive step, the interminable waiting that comes with current institutions means that maintaining support and unity in the coming months or longer will prove more difficult than ever.
