Minister raised concerns about Government ‘hiding’ in divorce debate
By Cillian Sherlock, Press Association
A junior minister urged the Government not to be “hiding” from debate during the divisive 1995 divorce referendum campaign, which passed by the slimmest of margins.
Government files from 30 years ago made public by the National Archives of Ireland this weekend reveal details of government plans for the vote.
The November 1995 referendum passed by 50.28 per cent to 49.72 per cent, leading to amendment of the Constitution to allow for divorce under certain conditions.
The contentious campaign was marked by slogans like “hello divorce, goodbye daddy” and “give someone you know a second chance”.
The high-profile nature of the vote – and ambiguity on the approach of Government – led Ireland’s ambassador to the Holy See seeking advice on how to approach the matter with the Vatican.
In a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs secretary general almost two years before the referendum, ambassador Gearoid O Broin wrote: “I note references in the press from time to time about a possible referendum on the question of divorce in Ireland next year.
“As you can imagine, this is a matter in which the Holy See authorities can be expected to take a keen interest and I would expect them to take their line from that adopted by the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland.
“There is a possibility the secretariat of state may raise the matter with me directly at some stage. In the event that they do, it occurs to me that it would be useful for me to have a background brief on the issues,” Mr O Broin wrote.
In a follow-up letter in January 1994, from the department’s secretary general Noel Dorr to his counterpart in the Department of Equality and Law, Bernard McDonagh, Mr Dorr said it would be “desirable” to give Mr O Broin some guidance.
“You will be conscious, I am sure, of the potential political importance of the position which will be taken by the Roman Catholic hierarchy on the issue, and this will no doubt be influenced by – and will in turn influence – the views of the authorities in the Holy See.
“At first sight one might be inclined to respond that the question of holding a referendum to effect constitutional change on this issue is one which the government should regard as purely internal and domestic.
“Nevertheless, it may be desirable at the right time, and without prejudice to positions of principle, to allow the ambassador to brief the secretariat of state in the Holy See on the government’s proposals as this may, indirectly, help to facilitate the acceptance of these proposals by the electorate here.”
In a separate file, Labour TD and minister of state at the Department of Equality and Law Reform Mervyn Taylor urged his Government colleagues to engage in open debate ahead of the vote.
He wrote to Jim Higgins, the chief whip of the “rainbow coalition” of Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and Democratic Left, opposing the proposal to take the divorce Bill to a limited committee instead of a more usual Dáil debate.
He said: “This Bill is exceptionally important and the government should not be seen to be hiding from debate on it.
“Every member who so wishes should be entitled to contribute on committee stage, and while this would be possible in a special committee, it would be much more appropriate to have the debate in the full Dail.
“The government should not leave itself open to the suggestion it was avoiding a full debate in Dail Eireann.”
– This article is based on documents contained in the files labelled 2025/115/85, 2025/115/86, 2025/115/82, 2025/115/830, 2025/115/8 2025/1/1090, and 2025/115/83 in the National Archives of Ireland.
