Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

In the Seanad 31 Members voted for its abolition, while 24 Members voted to retain it. In the Dáil 88 Members voted for abolition of the Seanad, while 33 Members voted to retain it. Sinn Féin changed sides. Therefore, not more than one quarter of the Members of the Oireachtas supported the retention of the Seanad, but the people did.

In Croke Park it is the captain of the winning team who gets to make the speech. What we found on our side, the winning side and by a much bigger margin as shown by the Referendum Commission, was that young people were disillusioned by the Whip system and there were earlier suggestions that system should be addressed. In constituencies in which there was no Fianna Fáil Deputy, including all Dublin constituencies, all four or five Deputies campaigned for the abolition of the Seanad, but 68% of the electorate voted "No". That tells us something about the alienation of working people from the party political system; they chose the rather eccentric group of people in Seanad Éireann as a better bet than the political parties which had put up strong abolitionist posters in all constituencies.