DUBLIN — Catholic and deeply conservative, Ireland was long known as one of the toughest places in the Western world to be gay. Homosexuality wasn’t decriminalized here until 1993, after years of pressure from European authorities.
Now, Ireland might be preparing for its coming-out party, with a referendum Friday that could make it the world’s first country to approve same-sex marriage in a popular vote.
That such a momentous event in the gay-rights struggle could happen here, of all places, reflects the social change that has swept Ireland in recent years and the weakening hold of the scandal-scarred Catholic Church.
The church has come out firmly against the referendum. But in a country where priests once held unquestioned sway and where 85 percent of the nation still identifies as Catholic, a large majority of Ireland appears ready to defy church teachings and vote to give same-sex partners the same right to marry as heterosexual couples.
“It’s a different era,” said Pat Carey, a former government minister who came out as gay in February, at age 67, and is campaigning for a yes vote. “There’s a whole new demographic out there that has a vision of an Ireland that’s kinder, more inclusive and more tolerant.”
The change to Ireland’s constitution could reverberate well beyond this island nation’s borders. Other countries, including the U.S., are wrestling with the issue in legislation and in the courts.
Unlike the United States, where nine Supreme Court justices will soon give their ruling, Ireland has placed the choice in the hands of its 4.5 million people. That has led to a passionate and colorful campaign that has made a once-taboo subject the focus of a national debate.
Supporters say a yes vote could inspire popular movements in other countries where same-sex rights had once seemed inconceivable.
But to referendum opponents, a yes vote would be a deeply unsettling symbol of a society transformed beyond recognition.
“We’re no longer Catholic Ireland,” said Evana Boyle, an organizer of Mothers and Fathers Matter, a group campaigning for a no vote. “We’re changing the essence of an institution that has been known as one man and one woman since the beginning of time.”
