Ireland's First Divorce

Heavily influenced by the Church, Article 43 of the Irish Constitution forbade divorce - a law that stood until 17th January, 1997, when a Judge granted a terminally ill husband the right to divorce the woman from whom he’d already separated so that he could marry his current partner.  This followed a contentious referendum in 1995, which had only narrowly favoured the legalisation of divorce. The campaign was heated, with dramatic predictions, divisive billboards, and fears of family breakdowns; but the decision ultimately paved the way for subsequent social reforms in the country, including the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015 and the approval of abortion in 2018. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly contextualise this pivotal moment within the Northern Ireland peace process; revisit some of the ripe language employed in the impassioned referendum debates; and share divorce lawyers’ anecdotes of quirky reasons for divorce filings in the nation… Further Reading: • ‘Ireland grants a divorce for the first time in the country's history’: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ireland-grants-first-divorce-history-catholic-church • ‘Before Date Of New Law, Ireland Grants First Divorce’ (The New York Times, 1997): https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/18/world/before-date-of-new-law-ireland-grants-first-divorce.html • ‘IRELAND: REFERENDUM ON DIVORCE’ (AP, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7L4Z5qTc_k Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices