John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the sentiments of every speaker I heard speak. I am reminded by what some speakers said of an incident two years ago. Various Voices, which is an international gay and lesbian choral festival, takes place every two years and Dublin was, luckily enough, the place to host it at that time. DCU was the campus. We had choirs from all around the world, including from places we would not think have the type of human rights we have, such as China. We had gay and lesbian choirs come from as far away as there to be in DCU to celebrate a festival of music. I was at it for two of the days and was asked to speak at the opening. I had never heard of the festival before that time. Apart from the great music that came out of it, I had an experience on the second night when I was sitting in the atrium of the Helix with my partner chatting to some of those present. I cannot sing, by the way, and was there in another capacity. I wish I could sing but I cannot. The place was just full of gay and lesbian people. Deputy Derek Nolan spoke about how it is when people notice that they are denied something that they feel excluded. It was one of the few times in my life where I had a penny-dropping moment around feeling excluded. It was not that I felt excluded there; it was that I felt so included. For the first time in my life, I felt what it must be like to be straight in this world, if that makes any sense. I turned to Daragh and said it because I was imagining what it would be like if the world was this way. Imagine if everyone had to live in the world I live in as opposed to my feeling of living in a world most others do not live in. What would it be like?

It was topsy-turvy for a while in my favour. It felt magical.

It lasted such a short time. After the penny dropped, the excitement and glory of what it must feel like to be fully human and accepted dissipated and turned to anger, frustration, denial and all of those things. I became angry and frustrated because I lived in a world that did not fully accept me. That is what I was trying to say back then.

It was a rare moment, but it gave some sort of energy, and one had a choice as to what to do with that energy. The referendum was on the Government's work path and everything was building. I chose to ensure that I did everything I could, and to encourage as many people as I knew to do what we could, to convince the Irish people, who did not need much convincing in the end. It was one of those poignant moments, and I was reminded of it this morning when the Minister spoke. Although there were few of us in the Chamber and only some people in the public gallery, there was a strong sense of a positive connection after she spoke. It brought me back to 22 May, to the moment that I will never forget, but I cannot relive the feeling and experience of that day. In politics, one moves on to the next issue and does not get the chance to live the experience for a little longer. This morning reopened the can. It was a good can, one of hope and aspiration for the type of life that we can and do have.

I have written down a couple of points. Members know that I tend not to read when I contribute, but there are some points that I did not want to omit. On 22 May, the hearts, hopes and dreams of a minority were placed in the hands of the majority of Irish people. They were entrusted to make a decision that, one way or another, would have a direct impact upon the lives of thousands of citizens. I and countless lesbian and gay people were relying on the generosity of our fellow citizens to afford us the right to be treated equally under our Constitution.

It reminded me of when my older brother Roy got married in 1994. I was 17 years old at the time and one of my lasting memories was of thinking that marriage would never be an opportunity for me. I accepted it because I did not believe we lived in a society that would ever reach that point. But we have.

As the ballot boxes were opened the next morning throughout the country, it was clear that the majority of our fellow Irish people had given a resounding "Yes" to a better life for our lesbian and gay citizens. The referendum was about marriage equality, but in many ways it was also about how we as a society viewed our lesbian and gay friends, brothers, sisters, family members and neighbours. Most of all, what shone through during the campaign and on 22 May was the overwhelming sense of a common humanity that existed at the inner core of each and every one of us and joined us together as a people, a humanity that was rich in love, generosity and compassion for everyone and knew no boundaries. A number of Deputies mentioned this today. Something struck a match in the Irish psyche and our inner core as people. It shone through on 22 May in a way that I had never seen. The nearest thing was our hosting of the Special Olympics.

On 22 May, there was something in the air. It felt different. There was an extra injection of joy. People across the country were feeling their best. It was amazing. We should never forget what we achieved on that day. Identifying what joined us rather than what made us different made our society better. As other Deputies mentioned, we should try to harness that approach as much as possible. Our citizens are good people. We are amazing people, and when we work together, we can see what is right and wrong in society and work towards making a change for the better. I wish that I knew the formula for a recurrence. Together, we achieve great things.

As a society, we have travelled a long way on the road to equality, from the dark days - when being gay was a criminal offence, and Gay Switchboard Ireland, which was set up 41 years ago, could not have its name listed in the telephone book because it contained the word "gay" - to 22 May of this year, when the people of Ireland spoke powerfully and profoundly and said "Yes" to equality and love.

To the thousands of volunteers - political, non-political, NGOs such as Yes Equality, which comprised GLEN, Marriage Equality and the ICCL, and those whom I have not mentioned - who did what politicians know is a nerve-racking thing and knocked on doors, perhaps for the first time, and to those who won over the hearts and minds of the Irish people by telling their stories, be it me, Deputy Buttimer, the ordinary Joe Soaps who should not be forgotten today, and the mothers like my own Ma, who is a shy woman but who put herself out of her comfort zone because she believed in doing the right thing, I thank them on behalf of everyone, not just me. It is because of all of these Irish people that some will no longer be forced to live in the shadows of our society as second-class citizens or to be battered, bruised and excluded. Today, we stand tall together, shoulder to shoulder, as a better society, a nation of equals.

See this speech in context