Advocacy group The Countess is set to hold a march and rally in central Dublin on Saturday as part of their campaign for No votes in the upcoming referendums on women and the family.
The women’s campaign organisation is holding the event alongside campaigner Rachel Ni Faoláin, with the gathering set to hear from Independent Senator Sharon Keogan.
The ‘Women’s March for a No Vote’ has taken on the theme “Invoke the Spirit of Brigid,” with organisers pointing out that it will coincide with the Imbolic / St Brigid’s Day bank Holiday weekend.
The Countess has said the event, to begin at the Garden of Remembrance, will present an opportunity to “show support for women and mothers by recognising their contribution to society as outlined in the current wording of Article 41.2 of the 1937 Irish Constitution,” with the event posed to encourage the public to vote ‘No No’ to the proposed changes to the constitution.
Those attending will gather at the Garden of Remembrance at 2pm on Saturday 3rd February, before marching to Merrion Square, where a rally will take place.
Laoise de Brún BL, CEO of the Countess, said that while Article 41.2 may be “old fashioned,” it remains “an honest and welcome acknowledgement of the often thankless but profoundly important work women do in the home, in the running of households, and in the rearing of children – the foundation of society. “
“The wording of the Article does not create the inequality on the ground and in households across Ireland,” she said, adding that women do “double the number of housework and caring hours as men.”
“Across the EU, we are bottom of the league for equality in the home. This is an uncomfortable truth for our politicians whose chief concern appears to be selling Ireland as the most progressive little country on the world stage,” the campaigner added.
“But rather than the State stepping up to shoulder some of the burden placed on women, they intend to recast this reality and propose a gender-neutral diluted wishy washy word salad which does nothing to further women’s lot but instead robs them of this ennobling acknowledgment and legal rights upon which they might rely.
“The Taoiseach, Ministers, and NGOs from IHREC to NWCI are clamouring to convince us that it’s the wording of Article 41.2 that causes the inequality in households. They seem intoxicated by the mad notion that somehow, by removing those words, we will all suddenly be transported from old fashioned Catholic Ireland to some sort of Scandinavian Nirvana,” the barrister and mother said.
Meanwhile, mother and campaigner Rachel Ni Faoláin, who is co-organising Saturday’s march and rally, said in a statement that she feels compelled as a mother to campaign to Vote No No in the upcoming Referendum.
“I am disturbed by the suggestion that Article 41.2 will be removed and replaced with language that devalues and undermines the rights and the role of a mother in society. The experience of motherhood is exclusive to mothers – we experience pregnancy and labour, and some of us choose to breastfeed.
“Many women give up their jobs and careers to be a constant in their children’s lives at home, especially during the early years,” Ms Ni Faoláin said.
She added that Article 41.2 of the Constitution acknowledges and values this huge contribution to society,” and that “the proposed language puts mothers in the same category as a ‘durable relationship’.
The activist described this as “offensive” and “insulting” – claiming that it “completely belittles the commitment, bond and true connection between mother and child.”
Publicising the event on X, Senator Sharon Keogan wrote: “Let our voices roar” as she called on women to “rise up,” adding: “See you Saturday 3rd February.”
“We will not be erased,” the Senator, a vocal supporter of a no vote, added.
Let our voices roar. #MNÁ Rise Up. See you Saturday 3rd February.
We will not be erased. #VoteNoRef24 pic.twitter.com/V3WDcdT7OF— Senator Sharon Keogan (@SenatorKeogan) January 31, 2024