THE COUNTS IN DUBLIN: Awkward allies, the No campaign leaders avoided eye contact as they stood beside the returning officer, writes Frank McNally
The morning after the referendum was always going to be awkward. Politics makes for strange bedfellows at the best of times, but as they stared at each other across the pillow yesterday, the two sides in the victorious No campaign seemed to be mutually appalled at what they saw.
The circumstances which had thrown them together in three weeks of madness were now almost forgotten. The embarrassing situation was highlighted at the final declaration in the Custom House, where Dana and Ruairí Quinn avoided eye contact as they flanked the returning officer.
It had been even more uncomfortable at the Dublin counts in the RDS, where the dangerous liaison threatened to turn ugly. From early morning, both sides were quietly attempting to claim a resounding No victory. But by the time the margin narrowed to a repeat of the divorce referendum, the partners were experiencing irreconcilable difficulties.
As the mutual heckling among the No campaigners grew louder, a veteran Labour supporter told a veteran Family Solidarity member to "get back to the relics". Meanwhile, a woman from the Socialist Workers Party predicted it would be "pro-lifers leaving the country in droves from now on, instead of pregnant women".
The pro-choice campaigners were winning the decibel battle, until a group of Youth Defence supporters arrived. Suddenly, to the delight of the overseas media, the debate became concentrated into a bitter but photogenic row between a young man and a young woman, both wearing No badges.
"The electorate has again rejected limited abortion," the Youth Defence man shouted. "The pro-life movement is dead," countered the SWP woman. "How many leaflets did you send out?" the young man asked. "Tens of thousands," came the reply. "Can you produce printers' receipts?" And so on.
Dana, who speaks softly but carries a big electoral threat, arrived at the RDS to call for reunification of the anti-abortion campaign. With equal calm, law professor Ivana Bacik argued that while the those against abortion could claim some of the credit, it was "no coincidence" that the biggest No votes were in the "more liberal" constituencies.
There was no denying that, nor the fact that in the constituencies with the highest Yes votes, the turn-outs had been some of the worst.
A stark contrast showed between Dún Laoghaire, where a 53 per cent turn-out voted more than 2-1 No, and Donegal North East, where the result was heavily Yes but on a paltry 33.5 per cent vote. In a sign of the shifting alliances in Irish politics, a Labour activist claimed divine intervention: "It was the rain in the west that won it."
The overall declaration took place in the old ballroom of the Custom House, but at 5 p.m. yesterday no one was dancing, least of all Fine Gael campaign director Nora Owen, who was on crutches after breaking an ankle.
The declaration was held up by a delay in the Galway West count, but when that finally arrived, the die was cast, like Nora's plaster. Unfortunately, the handicap meant she could only finish third in the race to flank the returning officer (Fianna Fáil was a non-runner).
While Peter Greene officially declared the result, another Greene - veteran anti-abortion campaigner Richard - sought to interpret it, loudly, for the Irish and overseas TV crews.
His version was contested, equally loudly and again by the SWP, while again the mainstream campaigners settled for quiet interviews.
Then the ballroom emptied. The estranged partners went their separate ways. The brief affair was over and everybody involved just wanted to forget it.