Sir, – Eoghan McDermott's piece "The No side will win the marriage referendum if campaigns don't change" (Opinion, April 1st) made some very valid points about the marriage equality campaign – warning the Yes side against complacency and advising that connecting emotionally with the undecided voters is an important winning strategy.
I have no doubt that the No campaign will indulge in a concerted visceral campaign particularly as the date of the referendum draws nearer.
However this strategy will not be as effective as it has been in the past.
The divorce referendum was 20 years ago and Ireland is now a much more open and tolerant society with the influence of the church much diminished.
With the divorce referendum it was much easier to instil fear since it did change the institution of marriage and had the potential to alter the fabric of society.
The Yes campaign is running a cohesive and well-thought out campaign – it does understand the need to connect emotionally with the undecided.
At grassroot level, conversations are happening within families, among friends and work colleagues that this does matter to people.
Supporters of the Yes campaign are asking those undecided voters to vote yes and this is a cornerstone to the marriage equality strategy.
It is crucial that the Yes campaign maintains the “Big Mo” – an American term refererenced by McDermott, the “Mo” being momentum – and embraces being the front-runner for now and uses that postion to its advantage. – Yours, etc, Dr DES CROWLEY Ranelagh, Dublin 6. Sir, – Eoghan McDermott (Opinion, April 1st) mentions how Yes spokespeople often typify the No side with baffled contempt, or speak of them as little better than subhuman bigots.
Reasonable people realise that these persistent attempts to ridicule and demonise the No side are unjustified and foolish.
The No side is characterised by good and sincere people who are profoundly unsettled by the notion of same-sex marriage. They see it as contrived and seriously misguided, and without any natural or rational basis that stands up to scrutiny. They dread the consequences of pretending that a man-man relationship is the same and no different from a man-woman relationship, and of inserting this anomaly into the Constitution.
Holding something to be true when plainly it is not must result in endless difficulties, which is why the Constitution must be kept free of it.
Their anxiety is for the welfare of present and future generations of all children and young people in Ireland, including those who are gay.
Their ultimate concern is for the wellbeing of society as a whole.
Unfortunately the No side finds itself opposed to the might of the State machine.
It is also up against the wider political establishment which, for the most part, is gravely deceived in supporting this unnecessary and unwise referendum.
The media too is overwhelmingly pro Yes.
At bottom, this referendum represents a formidable assault on the meaning and purpose of marriage, on the family based on marriage, and on all that flows from them. These are true values that we have always cherished.
This makes this referendum an attack on our hearts as well as on the integrity of the Constitution.
This is arguably the most important and far-reaching decision faced by the Irish people since the foundation of the state. All the more reason to get it right. – Yours, etc, BARRY JONES Rathgar, Dublin 6.