Seismic shift as ‘conservative’ Mayo votes Yes

YES WE CAN Pictured celebrating the resuit of the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment at the Castlebar Count Centre are members of Mayo Pro-Choice, Rowena O’Brien-Gleeson, Christine Greene, Sharon O’Brien-Gleeson and Richael Carroll. Pic: Keith Heneghan

Ciara Galvin

“There was a feeling that we had woken up to a new country and that it was a seismic shift in our society.” That is how Mayo TD and Yes advocate Lisa Chambers described the reaction in Mayo to the county voting to repeal the Eighth Amendment.
As it emerged that 57 percent of the Mayo electorate voted Yes, both sides of the campaign were in agreement that they did not expect such a decisive vote in what is considered nationally a very conservative county.
And the tally figure of 32,287 votes in favour of repeal still does not give an accurate representation of Mayo’s vote, as approximately 10,000 Mayo voters remain in the Galway West constituency, which recorded a 65.9 percent result in favour of repeal, with Ballinrobe, the largest urban Mayo hub in that constituency, returning a Yes vote of 64.96 percent.
According to Together for Yes tallies, the breakdown of the Mayo Municipal Districts were Castlebar, 58 percent; West Mayo, 58 percent; Ballina, 57 percent and Claremorris, 55 percent.
The largest Yes vote recorded in the county came from votes gathered from the ballot boxes at Claremorris Boys’ NS – 71 percent, while a 70 percent Yes vote was returned in Louisburgh.
“I didn’t think the country would pass it as strongly as it did,” said Chambers, who came out in support of a Yes vote early in the campaign. “Yes, we had seen some polling being done by the papers and different polling companies and it was indicating a strong Yes vote, but there was that uncertainty that there was a silent No vote. And certainly from talking to people throughout the campaign there was a reluctance to disclose how one was voting … There are some boxes in Mayo that hit 70 percent. I wasn’t expecting that, I don’t think anybody was.”
The TD admits that her early declaration came about as she was on the Oireachtas committee to consider the Citizens’ Assembly report and recommendations on the Eighth Amendment.
“There was no ambiguity or any grey area as to where I stood on the issue, but certainly I definitely felt I was pressing the nuclear launch button in the committee when I voted on those issues, because I really didn’t know where we were going to go on this. Certainly the narrative was always that Mayo is extremely conservative and it was said to me that I was going to lose my seat because of this, that I wouldn’t be elected again. That pressure was there, I was nervous but I could never have done anything else because I knew it was the right thing to do.”
Minister for Health Simon Harris is expected to bring a memo to cabinet today (Tuesday) to get permission to draft the bill. The Mayo TD believes a substantial amount of work can be done on the draft bill before the DΡil breaks for summer recess, and believes in a timeline of having legislation in place by the end of the year is achievable.

Grateful
Richael Carroll from Mayo Together4Yes said she and over 50 volunteers across the county were ‘grateful’ that their work had paid off, as they welcomed the announcement that Mayo had voted Yes at the count centre at the TF Royal Theatre on Saturday.
“It’s not very often that you get a win, especially one that’s not expected by so many people. I wasn’t really looking at polls beforehand, but they were kind of writing Mayo off.”
Asked if they had believed there was a ‘silent Yes’ within the county, the campaigner said there were indications.
“In the last week, people were a lot more forthcoming about how they were going to vote. I think we could tell who the silent Yes voters were. When we went to the last Mayo game a lot of people were coming over to us really quickly and grabbing a badge and walking on, or they might wink when they walked past. I don’t think we ever doubted we’d get it in Mayo, based on our interaction with people,” said Ms Carroll.  
While waiting on a draft bill, Together4Yes is now setting its sights on helping those seeking assistance during a crisis pregnancy.
“Until this all becomes a reality, we want to link up with the Abortion Service Network and do fundraising to help them fill in the gaps between now and when the legislation is in place.
“We also want to set up some sort of care group, for women who may not have a support network or [be able to] go to a doctor on their own, or who might want to talk to somebody in a safe space.”

‘Things have changed’
Commenting on the referendum outcome, general practitioner, former Independent TD and No advocate Jerry Cowley said he has to respect that the people have spoken.
“Donegal rejected it, and Mayo was third nearest, so that’s a consolation in that the people did think along the same lines. I know the people wanted to do good, and people voted hugely two to one, and I’ve to respect that.”
Describing it as a ‘complete reverse’ to that of the 1983 referendum to install the Eighth Amendment, the Mulranny-based doctor added that ‘things have changed’.
“I recognise that and accept that the people have spoken, and it’s two to one and that’s a strong endorsement for the Government. I’m sure it’ll help them bring forward legislation that is expected now.”
Asked if he expected the result in Mayo, the former TD said he believed it would fit in to the nationwide trend, despite the county being ‘conservative’ and having an ageing population.
Dr Cowley’s focus is now set on the legislation.
“I am just hoping that it will be as people would like it to be, that it won’t be a free for all and won’t be like the UK. I would hope that will never happen.”
Dr Cowley concluded that people would ‘have to move on from it’, and he said he is confident that many of his colleagues would not be providing the proposed GP-led service.
“I’m sure there’ll be lots of doctors that won’t cooperate with giving people abortion pills, but then there will be others who will,” he added. “We’re obliged to refer people on to doctors that will do that,” he also acknowledged.  

Home to vote
Many Mayo Citizens felt so strongly about voting that they travelled home from all over the country, from the UK, and from further afield.  
Niamh Kelly from Newport travelled home especially to vote from Hanoi, Vietnam – a journey that took 20 hours.
“I kind of knew when I went travelling in January that there was a good chance a referendum would be held while I was away, so I was always prepared to travel,” she told The Mayo News.
“It was important to me because there are so many real human tragedies behind the Eighth Amendment for the last 35 years. So many women who have had to lay their stories out there just to be heard and to make a change in this country. I felt like I had to make the effort for them. We couldn’t go on making healthcare refugees of our own citizens. It had to end. I feel so happy now, like a huge weight has been lifted.”