Over 50 students rallied in Front Square today for a final demonstration ahead of the referendum on the eighth amendment tomorrow.
The crowd of students and other campaigners gathered outside House Six and then moved to Front Square, holding up Together for Yes banners in a show of solidarity ahead of tomorrow’s vote.
This last call to action marks the end of months of campaigning in and around Trinity.
“Today is another one of those final rally moments before we head to the ballot tomorrow, so it’s huge”, said Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland, speaking to The University Times at the rally.
“I really do think we’ve won this. I think it’s won. I don’t know by what kind of margin, but that’s going to come down to the turnout”, he said. “I’m not complacent about it, if the turnout is low, we’re in trouble. But if the turnout is high, I think we’ll win and we’ll win convincingly.”
Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU), which is mandated to support a repeal of the eighth amendment, has escalated its campaign efforts in recent weeks. In addition to ongoing leafleting outside of Trinity, last week TCDSU organised a mass canvass of Dublin city centre involving over 100 students. It has also been helping to fundraise for the campaign by selling Together for Yes merchandise in its House Six shop over the last month.
Other groups in Trinity, including Trinity Staff Together for Yes, have also been active in the “Yes” campaign in recent weeks.
Recently, a group of pro-life students was removed from outside the Arts Block after College security told them they hadn’t obtained permission to hand out leaflets. Last week, pro-life group Students for Life Dublin released a video featuring Trinity students urging people to vote “No”.
The referendum on whether or not to repeal the eighth amendment will take place tomorrow, with polling stations opening at 7am and closing at 10pm.
“We’ve an opportunity now to stand up against the kind of bigotry and toxicity that we’ve seen particularly over recent days and to assert something about who we are as a people, and I think we’re going to do that in spades tomorrow”, said O’Gorman.
