With same-sex sexual activity only being decriminalised in 1993 and marriage equality finally passing in 2015, LGBTA activism in Ireland has been crucial in securing equal rights for some of the most marginalised and discriminated against groups within Irish society. Ailbhe Smyth is one of the first names that comes up when discussing LGBTA rights and history in Ireland.
Smyth’s life began in Dublin. A self-described feminist and lesbian activist, she has been fighting the good fight since the 1970’s. She became a part of the women’s liberation movement while she was still a student attending UCD. Her political and social views were inspired by the politics of the student movement in France of the 1960’s. Although she would now describe herself as an activist, during the inception of her active political life she would have described herself as a militant due to how radical her views would have been considered at the time.
These same views are more commonly shared now, and people involved in the same movements would consider themselves left-leaning activists. The women’s liberation movement was where Smyth began her activism, and her aims remain very similar as to when she first began. She works with women, for the liberalisation of women. This aim is evident in the campaigns that Smyth chooses to align herself with and support. Her activism is blatant, when she chooses to become involved in a campaign she will become as active as possible.
A great example of this is her involvement in the campaign for marriage equality. She was one of the founding members of the movement that eventually saw marriage equality achieved in formally conservative Ireland. Marriage Equality Ireland was founded in 2008 and fought a seven-year battle which eventually saw the legalisation of marriage for all couples across Ireland, in a landmark referendum.
One could easily say that this referendum was the one that signified the collapse of the old institutionalised Ireland that once held such a firm grip on the social norms of the country, and this would not have been achieved without the marriage equality network that Smyth co-founded. Smyth also has been vocal about the fact that Marriage Equality Ireland was formed through joint efforts from already existing LGBTA advocacy groups and feminist organisations.
Another notable, and very recent, movement which Smyth was endlessly involved in was the coalition to repeal the eighth amendment of the Irish constitution. The eighth amendment equated the life of a pregnant person to the life of an embryo or fetus, subsequently making it incredibly difficult for the general population of Ireland to access safe abortions. Smyth acted as a spokesperson and convenor for the coalition. The eighth amendment was repealed in May 2018, and it passed by a landslide after a bitter campaign. The population who saw the 1983 amendment voted in never believe they would live to see the amendment be repealed, and they did thanks to the tireless efforts put in from people such as Ailbhe Smyth.
Smyth has many other notable achievements. She is a convenor of Feminist open forum, an organiser for Action for choice, she was the director for women’s education, research and resource centre in UCD, a board member of equality and rights alliance, former chair for the national LGBT federation and has even received a lifetime achievement award at the Galas in 2015. She is a true trailblazer in issues that would have once been considered taboo in Ireland. Without her efforts, many of us would still not have been afforded the rights that we now have. Ailbhe Smyth is, without a doubt, a forerunner.
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