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Thank you to the amazing volunteers on the YesEquality Limerick team who worked so hard to tally almost every box of votes!

This tally is also available as a .csv file, which can be opened in a spreadsheet.

The tally for the Limerick constituency (county) is also available.

Box	% YES	Turnout	Yes	No	Spoilt	EA
Parteen NS 1	61%	41	25	16	0	Killaloe
Parteen NS 2		0	0	0	0	Killaloe
Parteen NS 3	68%	394	267	125	2	Killaloe
Scout Hall Shannon Banks 1	67%	451	295	145	11	Killaloe
Scout Hall Shannon Banks 2	66%	454	300	152	2	Killaloe
Scout Hall Shannon Banks 3		0	0	0	0	Killaloe
JF Kennedy NS 1	60%	283	169	114	0	Limerick City North
JF Kennedy NS 2	56%	373	207	165	1	Limerick City North
JF Kennedy NS 3	61%	436	266	167	3	Limerick City North
JF Kennedy NS 4	63%	441	276	163	2	Limerick City North
JF Kennedy NS 5		0	0	0	0	Limerick City North
JF Kennedy NS 6	52%	387	201	182	4	Limerick City North
Caherdavin Girls NS 1	71%	192	124	51	17	Limerick City North
Caherdavin Girls NS 2	62%	226	139	87	0	Limerick City North
Caherdavin Girls NS 3	64%	356	226	129	1	Limerick City North
Caherdavin Girls NS 4	61%	383	230	150	3	Limerick City North
Caherdavin Girls NS 5	60%	441	261	173	7	Limerick City North
Caherdavin Girls NS 6	62%	272	165	103	4	Limerick City North
Caherdavin Girls NS 7	63%	317	191	114	12	Limerick City North
Caherdavin Girls NS 8	65%	319	203	108	8	Limerick City North
Caherdavin Girls NS 9	64%	403	253	145	5	Limerick City North
Corpus Christi NS 1	70%	258	179	77	2	Limerick City North
Corpus Christi NS 2	72%	252	179	69	4	Limerick City North
Corpus Christi NS 3	70%	106	72	31	3	Limerick City North
Ballynanty Girls NS	72%	379	271	107	1	Limerick City North
St. Lelia’s NS Kileely 1	71%	328	228	94	6	Limerick City North
St. Lelia’s NS Kileely 2	65%	292	186	102	4	Limerick City North
Unitas Club High Road 1	59%	312	182	126	4	Limerick City North
Unitas Club High Road 2		0	0	0	0	Limerick City North
Hassett’s Cross CBS 1	61%	222	135	87	0	Limerick City North
Hassett’s Cross CBS 2	58%	256	146	106	4	Limerick City North
St. Munchin’s Temp Hall	57%	296	167	125	4	Limerick City North
St. Mary’s G Sch Bishop St 1	66%	127	82	42	3	Limerick City North
St. Mary’s G Sch Bishop St 2	68%	246	159	75	12	Limerick City North
St. Mary’s G Sch Bishop St 3	55%	200	109	91	0	Limerick City North
Scoil Ide 1	68%	253	171	82	0	Limerick City North
Scoil Ide 2	75%	333	250	83	0	Limerick City North
Scoil Ide 3	61%	408	246	160	2	Limerick City North
Scoil Ide 4	68%	292	198	92	2	Limerick City North
Scoil Ide 5	56%	306	172	133	1	Limerick City North
Scoil Ide 6	60%	326	190	128	8	Limerick City North
St. Patrick’s Boys NS 1	74%	293	214	75	4	Limerick City North
St. Patrick’s Boys NS 2	69%	243	166	75	2	Limerick City North
St. Patrick’s Boys NS 3	66%	233	154	79	0	Limerick City North
St. Johns GNS & Boys Sch 1	64%	309	196	112	1	Limerick City East
St. Johns GNS & Boys Sch 2	64%	320	200	114	6	Limerick City East
St. John Baptist Killalee 1	55%	157	85	70	2	Limerick City East
St. John Baptist Killalee 2	58%	201	115	82	4	Limerick City East
St. John Baptist Killalee 3	68%	287	191	90	6	Limerick City East
St. Brigid’s NS Singland 1	68%	314	213	99	2	Limerick City East
St. Brigid’s NS Singland 2	62%	347	215	131	1	Limerick City East
St. Brigid’s NS Singland 3	64%	250	161	89	0	Limerick City East
St. Brigid’s NS Singland 4	59%	307	180	125	2	Limerick City East
St. Brigid’s NS Singland 5	63%	312	192	114	6	Limerick City East
St. Brigid’s NS Singland 6	63%	367	225	134	8	Limerick City East
St. Enda’s Community Sch 1	64%	212	135	76	1	Limerick City East
St. Enda’s Community Sch 2	64%	164	103	59	2	Limerick City East
St. Enda’s Community Sch 3	78%	299	231	65	3	Limerick City East
Southill NS	68%	201	130	60	11	Limerick City East
Presentation Galvone	64%	372	238	134	0	Limerick City East
Gaelscoil Seoirse 1	63%	135	84	50	1	Limerick City East
Gaelscoil Seoirse 2	61%	120	72	47	1	Limerick City East
Our Lady QoP NS O’Donog 1	58%	314	179	130	5	Limerick City East
Our Lady QoP NS O’Donog 2	60%	321	192	127	2	Limerick City East
Our Lady QoP NS O’Donog 3	65%	277	179	96	2	Limerick City East
Presentation NS Sexton St 3	60%	257	151	102	4	Limerick City East
Presentation NS Sexton St 4	55%	141	78	63	0	Limerick City East
Donoughmore NS	56%	387	216	168	3	Limerick City East
Ahane NS	60%	370	223	146	1	Limerick City East
Lisnagry NS 1	65%	280	183	97	0	Limerick City East
Lisnagry NS 2	63%	431	265	158	8	Limerick City East
Castleconnell NS 1	68%	349	234	111	4	Limerick City East
Castleconnell NS 2	71%	352	249	103	0	Limerick City East
Castleconnell NS 3	64%	376	239	132	5	Limerick City East
Castleconnell NS 4	65%	276	179	95	2	Limerick City East
Milford NS 1	72%	226	160	61	5	Limerick City East
Milford NS 2	61%	240	145	94	1	Limerick City East
Milford NS 3	64%	286	182	102	2	Limerick City East
Milford NS 4	58%	281	160	117	4	Limerick City East
Milford NS 5	53%	258	136	120	2	Limerick City East
Montpelier Comm Ctr	58%	146	84	60	2	Limerick City East
Monaleen NS 1	76%	390	291	93	6	Limerick City East
Monaleen NS 2	79%	434	343	89	2	Limerick City East
Monaleen NS 3	68%	374	251	116	7	Limerick City East
Monaleen NS 4	70%	355	243	106	6	Limerick City East
Bohermore NS	68%	301	206	95	0	Limerick City East
Gaelscoil Caladh an Treo 1	69%	382	264	118	0	Limerick City East
Gaelscoil Caladh an Treo 2	75%	349	260	88	1	Limerick City East
Gaelscoil Caladh an Treo 3	74%	327	241	86	0	Limerick City East
Gaelscoil Caladh an Treo 4	65%	369	235	126	8	Limerick City East
Roxborough NS	59%	109	64	45	0	Limerick City East
OLOL CSG Ballinacurra 3	66%	67	44	23	0	Limerick City East
OLOL CSG Ballinacurra 1	56%	414	228	182	4	Limerick City West
OLOL CSG Ballinacurra 2		0	0	0	0	Limerick City West
OLOL CSG Ballinacurra 4	62%	173	106	66	1	Limerick City West
Scoil Mathair Dé 1	62%	354	219	135	0	Limerick City West
Scoil Mathair Dé 2	56%	343	190	151	2	Limerick City West
Scoil Mathair Dé 3	54%	226	119	103	4	Limerick City West
Model NS 1	61%	248	147	95	6	Limerick City West
Model NS 2	62%	222	136	84	2	Limerick City West
St. Michael’s NS 1	62%	259	160	98	1	Limerick City West
St. Michael’s NS 2	52%	217	111	104	2	Limerick City West
St. Michael’s NS 3	64%	280	178	99	3	Limerick City West
Presentation NS Sexton St 1	77%	95	72	22	1	Limerick City West
Presentation NS Sexton St 2	58%	93	54	39	0	Limerick City West
St. Paul’s NS Dooradoyle 1	67%	375	251	124	0	Limerick City West
St. Paul’s NS Dooradoyle 2	64%	368	233	133	2	Limerick City West
St. Paul’s NS Dooradoyle 3	68%	349	238	111	0	Limerick City West
St. Paul’s NS Dooradoyle 4	58%	359	207	150	2	Limerick City West
St. Paul’s NS Dooradoyle 5	61%	364	216	139	9	Limerick City West
St. Paul’s NS Dooradoyle 6	59%	405	236	166	3	Limerick City West
Co. Library Dooradoyle 1	74%	477	352	125	0	Limerick City West
Co. Library Dooradoyle 2	55%	278	152	126	0	Limerick City West
Co. Library Dooradoyle 3	65%	408	261	142	5	Limerick City West
St. Nessan’s NS 1	62%	481	293	178	10	Limerick City West
St. Nessan’s NS 2	60%	477	285	190	2	Limerick City West
St. Nessan’s NS 3	63%	434	274	158	2	Limerick City West
St. Nessan’s NS 4	63%	392	247	145	0	Limerick City West
St. Nessan’s NS 5	65%	424	273	148	3	Limerick City West
St. Nessan’s NS 6	66%	499	331	168	0	Limerick City West

Thank you to the amazing volunteers on the YesEquality Limerick team who worked so hard to tally almost every box of votes!

This tally is also available as a .csv file, which can be opened in a spreadsheet.

Box	% YES	Turnout	Yes	No	Spoilt	EA
Roxborough NS 1	53%	442	233	203	6	Castleconnell (W)
Roxborough NS 2	57%	56	32	24	0	Castleconnell (W)
Ballybrown NS 1	56%	243	135	107	1	Adare (W)
Ballybrown NS 2	60%	299	180	118	1	Adare (W)
Ballybrown NS 3	52%	392	200	184	8	Adare (W)
Patrickswell NS 1	52%	293	150	138	5	Adare (W)
Patrickswell NS 2	56%	271	147	116	8	Adare (W)
Patrickswell NS 3	57%	211	119	90	2	Adare (W)
Killinure NS	59%	279	163	113	3	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Anglesborough NS	56%	306	170	136	0	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Ballylanders NS 1	60%	258	156	102	0	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Ballylanders NS 2	66%	156	103	53	0	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Galbally Comm Ctr 1	52%	237	122	112	3	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Galbally Comm Ctr 2	58%	266	142	104	20	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Ardpatrick Comm Ctr	48%	259	124	135	0	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Kilmallock Girls NS 1	46%	250	113	132	5	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Kilmallock Girls NS 2	52%	286	144	134	8	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Kilmallock Girls NS 3	50%	235	115	115	5	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Kilmallock Girls NS 4	52%	174	87	80	7	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Athlacca NS	53%	65	30	27	8	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Effin NS 1	55%	152	83	68	1	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Effin NS 2	55%	314	173	141	0	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Bilboa NS	57%	293	165	126	2	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Doon CBS 1	77%	195	150	44	1	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Doon CBS 2	55%	361	195	162	4	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Bruff NS 1	60%	358	213	144	1	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Bruff NS 2	61%	252	150	97	5	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Bruff NS 3	49%	284	139	142	3	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Bruree NS 1	58%	383	218	157	8	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Bruree NS 2	59%	395	232	160	3	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Martinstown NS	54%	182	96	81	5	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Knocklong NS 1	58%	419	240	177	2	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Knocklong NS 2	57%	254	142	105	7	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Caherline NS	60%	358	212	144	2	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Cloverfield NS	49%	214	104	108	2	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Caherconlish NS 1	66%	400	264	135	1	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Caherconlish NS 2	57%	344	195	146	3	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Herbertstown NS	56%	373	204	163	6	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Cappamore Comm Ctr 1	55%	340	175	142	23	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Cappamore Comm Ctr 2	53%	310	165	144	1	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Murroe NS 1	57%	419	237	181	1	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Murroe NS 2	57%	470	266	201	3	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Murroe NS 3	67%	419	279	140	0	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Knockadea NS	45%	84	38	46	0	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Glenroe Parish Hall	58%	222	116	83	23	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Dromin Comm Ctr	56%	263	145	115	3	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Glenbrohane NS	52%	170	88	81	1	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Knockea NS	59%	224	133	91	0	Cappamore-Kilmallock
P’green Comm Ctr 1	54%	323	169	146	8	Cappamore-Kilmallock
P’green Comm Ctr 2		0	0	0	0	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Hospital NS 1	45%	332	150	182	0	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Hospital NS 2	52%	266	136	125	5	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Kilbehenny NS	50%	216	108	106	2	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Kilfinane Pr Sch 1	64%	270	171	97	2	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Kilfinane Pr Sch 2	65%	262	170	91	1	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Ballyorgan NS	55%	139	72	60	7	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Kilteely NS	53%	268	140	125	3	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Knockainey NS		0	0	0	0	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Oola NS 1	51%	323	163	154	6	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Oola NS 2	50%	288	143	142	3	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Garrydoolis NS	46%	146	66	78	2	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Meanus Comm Ctr	55%	219	119	98	2	Adare-Rathkeale
Adare NS 1	59%	398	233	162	3	Adare-Rathkeale
Adare NS 2	58%	431	248	179	4	Adare-Rathkeale
Adare NS 3	58%	371	213	155	3	Adare-Rathkeale
Askeaton NS 1	56%	355	197	157	1	Adare-Rathkeale
Askeaton NS 2	54%	311	167	144	0	Adare-Rathkeale
Foynes NS 1	49%	272	131	139	2	Adare-Rathkeale
Foynes NS 2	51%	283	143	136	4	Adare-Rathkeale
Ballingarry NS 1	57%	162	92	70	0	Adare-Rathkeale
Ballingarry NS 2	52%	201	102	94	5	Adare-Rathkeale
Ballingarry NS 3	48%	207	97	104	6	Adare-Rathkeale
Rathkeale GNS 1	46%	331	150	177	4	Adare-Rathkeale
Rathkeale GNS 2	46%	246	113	131	2	Adare-Rathkeale
Rathkeale GNS 3	58%	222	125	92	5	Adare-Rathkeale
Coolcappa Comm Ctr 1	53%	256	133	120	3	Adare-Rathkeale
Coolcappa Comm Ctr 2	59%	281	165	116	0	Adare-Rathkeale
Caherelly NS 1	65%	380	248	132	0	Adare-Rathkeale
Caherelly NS 2	58%	475	275	199	1	Adare-Rathkeale
Caherelly NS 3	64%	169	99	56	14	Cappamore-Kilmallock
Kilfinny NS	49%	344	169	173	2	Adare-Rathkeale
Banogue NS	46%	170	76	91	3	Adare-Rathkeale
Kildimo NS 1	63%	413	259	152	2	Adare-Rathkeale
Kildimo NS 2	61%	362	218	142	2	Adare-Rathkeale
Ballysteen NS	49%	201	98	100	3	Adare-Rathkeale
Pallaskenry NS 1	58%	365	208	152	5	Adare-Rathkeale
Pallaskenry NS 2	59%	353	205	141	7	Adare-Rathkeale
Granagh NS	53%	211	111	100	0	Adare-Rathkeale
Croom NS 1	51%	216	101	97	18	Adare-Rathkeale
Croom NS 2	62%	220	135	82	3	Adare-Rathkeale
Croom NS 3	51%	331	168	163	0	Adare-Rathkeale
Croom NS 4	56%	126	71	55	0	Adare-Rathkeale
Croagh NS 1	54%	298	159	135	4	Adare-Rathkeale
Croagh NS 2	55%	324	165	133	26	Adare-Rathkeale
Kilcolman NS	55%	230	123	100	7	Adare-Rathkeale
Ballyhahill NS	57%	181	103	78	0	Adare-Rathkeale
Fedamore NS 1	60%	240	141	95	4	Adare-Rathkeale
Fedamore NS 2	51%	214	109	105	0	Adare-Rathkeale
Kilcornan NS	59%	428	247	173	8	Adare-Rathkeale
Crecora NS	51%	433	219	211	3	Adare-Rathkeale
Loghill NS	52%	173	85	79	9	Adare-Rathkeale
Cappagh (Nant) NS	53%	381	201	177	3	Adare-Rathkeale
Shanagolden NS 1	62%	166	102	63	1	Adare-Rathkeale
Shanagolden NS 2	50%	234	116	118	0	Adare-Rathkeale
Shanagolden NS 3	59%	198	116	81	1	Adare-Rathkeale
Ashford NS	51%	139	70	68	1	Newcastle
Raheenagh NS	46%	159	73	84	2	Newcastle
Ballyagran NS	53%	400	208	184	8	Newcastle
Kilmeedy NS	49%	262	126	132	4	Newcastle
Cloncagh Library	49%	293	139	147	7	Newcastle
Broadford Comm Ctr 1	49%	247	120	124	3	Newcastle
Broadford Comm Ctr 2	47%	262	122	138	2	Newcastle
Mahoonagh NS 1	50%	341	159	160	22	Newcastle
Mahoonagh NS 2	56%	225	125	98	2	Newcastle
Dromcollogher NS	43%	413	173	230	10	Newcastle
Feenagh NS	56%	297	165	132	0	Newcastle
Knockaderry Comm H	48%	263	124	134	5	Newcastle
Courtney BNS NCW 1	54%	386	207	178	1	Newcastle
Courtney BNS NCW 2	55%	323	174	145	4	Newcastle
Courtney BNS NCW 3	55%	343	187	156	0	Newcastle
Courtney BNS NCW 4	52%	224	104	96	24	Newcastle
Scoil Iosaf NCW 1	59%	343	199	139	5	Newcastle
Scoil Iosaf NCW 2	62%	310	191	115	4	Newcastle
Scoil Iosaf NCW 3	65%	327	211	114	2	Newcastle

There are 6 days to go until Ireland votes whether to allow same-sex marriage.

The Limerick branch of the YesEquality campaign have been out knocking on doors every weeknight since 9th April. I’ve probably made it out for just over a third of those nights. I am by no means the most prolific, many more have been out more often than I have.

We usually meet at 6pm, after a brief set of introductions and a run through talking points, we head out and knock on doors. Anybody new is warmly welcomed and paired up with someone who has canvassed before. For 2 hours we knock on doors around an estate in Limerick City. About a half of people won’t be in or won’t feel like coming to the door. For the other half we get to have a conversation.

That conversation will go a number of different ways but overwhelmingly it is respectful. If someone comes to the door, invariably we apologise for bothering them. Whether a voter indicates that they are voting yes, or voting no, or are undecided, we ask them if they have any questions or concerns. And at the end of the conversation we thank them for their time.

I have witnessed the incredible strength and dignity of my fellow canvassers as they knock, smile, and ask; night after night. Most people, whether they are voting yes or no, are absolutely lovely. A small proportion are not. But I’m proud to say that I’ve not heard of one canvasser losing their cool. Think of how you would feel to knock on a stranger’s door to ask them for something that you desperately needed, only for them to call you abnormal, or unnatural. Even though this doesn’t happen very often, the fact that it always gets answered with ‘well sorry to bother you and thanks for taking the time to talk to me’ fills me with awe at my fellow canvassers strength and dignity.

I’m a little shy, and even though I have canvassed before as a member of the Green Party, it’s not something that comes naturally to me. I think most of my fellow canvassers are the same: the organisation of this campaign has been remarkably free of ego, we’re not the type of people who are naturally inclined to shout from the rooftops, but we’re at your door because we want to ask, as respectfully as possible, for your vote.

There are times in your life when you make a lot of friends: when you start school or college, your work, or maybe a sport or hobby that you like to do with others. I’m old enough to have finished my education, I run a very small company, and most of my hobbies are fairly solitary, so I never thought that I would have one of those moments where I would make a lot of friends.

But I think and hope that I have. I have met so many absolutely wonderful people over the past 6 weeks. They have reminded me that marriage is not just about love for your spouse, but about the friends beside you who enrich and support that relationship.

As I write this I am tired and sunburnt, my house is a mess, my feet have blisters and I haven’t seen my wife properly in a month (I am not unique – the irony of a marriage referendum campaign putting extreme stress on so many marriages and hoped-for-marriages is not lost on any of us…). But I think of my new friends, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to meet such a wonderful set of people.

This referendum is going to be very close. Despite what the polls say, I’ve knocked on enough doors to realise that nothing can be taken for granted.

The enemy of equality is not prejudice. The enemy of equality is complacency.

Please vote yes.

Irish voters will be asked on May 22nd 2015 if they want to allow equal access to marriage for all its citizens.

Many people are complacent that this referendum will pass with a huge majority.

I think they’re wrong.

A low turnout, coupled with the fact that people who are against marriage equality are very likely to vote, would result in a win for the No side.

With that in mind, I joined the first door-to-door canvass of the Limerick Yes Equality campaign this evening.

Research shows that the primary thing that changes voters minds is being canvassed.

The weather was glorious, we had a lovely group of people canvassing, and our message that a Yes vote couldn’t be taken for granted was getting a positive reception with people.

Four of us had canvassing experience (two of us were from the Green Party, one from Labour, and one who had canvassed for an Independent candidate), and so we paired off with people who were knocking on doors for the very first time.

Normally I wouldn’t be conscious of peoples’ sexual orientation, but this time it was different.  It was different because those of us who were straight were simply doing some campaigning on a political issue.

The people in our group who are gay were asking people for permission to have the right to get married.

That seems wrong to me.  They shouldn’t have to ask.  Those of us that already have the right to marry should be working as hard as we can to ensure our gay friends, brothers and sisters have the same right.

So even if you think the marriage equality referendum doesn’t directly affect you, please think about joining your local canvassing team for the Yes Equality campaign. If you’re in Limerick, a quick email to yesequalitylimerick@gmail.com will get a quick response.  If you live elsewhere in Ireland, you can find your local group at https://www.yesequality.ie/yes-equality-map/

The day I got married was the happiest day of my life.  I passionately believe in marriage, and being married has been a consistent and powerful force for good in my life.

Those of us who have the right to get married need to step up to the plate and go door to door on behalf of those who don’t have that right.

 

 

 

I’m going to a party tonight.

Friends of ours in Limerick are having a party tonight. A young couple, just about to buy their own house. They are successful in their careers, are active in helping to make Limerick a better place. My wife and I are lucky to be friends with them. We were delighted when they came back from holiday recently and announced they were engaged. There’s not much to be cheerful about these days, but two fantastic people looking to commit their lives to each other is surely something to be celebrated.

Except they can’t.

Two people in love, people of integrity, intelligence and a deep-rooted commitment to making their communities better. Two people in love looking to get married.

Except they can’t.

They can’t because we as a society seem to believe because they are of the same gender, they are less equal than heterosexual couples and can’t get married.

I’m a bit ashamed that I live in a society where some couples are less equal than me and my wife. And it’s about time we changed that.

I’ve read a lot of arguments on why we should continue to discriminate against gay couples. I know that some religious people have a difficulty with gay marriage, but I would respectfully suggest that religious beliefs, even when they are in a majority, are not a licence to discriminate against our fellow citizens.

There are two other arguments that I wanted to touch on however, and they both centre around children.

The first is that marriage is primarily about children, therefore gay people shouldn’t be allowed to get married. This argument pushes my buttons a bit because I am in a marriage where we cannot have children, and I would be extremely upset if anyone insinuated that my marriage was in any way less valid than my friends’ just because we don’t have kids. The love I have for my wife and my commitment to my marriage is no less strong because we can’t have kids, and I think it’s faintly ridiculous to view marriage purely in terms of reproduction.

The second is that kids suffer if they don’t have a mummy and a daddy. It’s true that kids can be cruel to each other some times. And some kids, no doubt picking up on the intolerance of their parents, may tease kids whose circumstances are that little bit different to their own. I remember being about six or seven and having stones thrown at me on the way home from school with the words “Proddy” followed by epithets that seven year-olds probably shouldn’t have been using. But the concept that we might stop members of the Church of Ireland, like my parents, from getting married because of the possible reaction from some County Limerick yokels is surely ridiculous. And it’s a cheap trick to use children as an argument to promote intolerance.

It’s no longer conscionable that we continue to discriminate against gay couples. The restriction of marriage to heterosexual couples is an embarrassing anachronism. I hope that my friends, and gay couples around the country, do not have to wait for too much longer before they are allowed to get married.

Every Tuesday evening I volunteer with the St. Vincent de Paul, giving leaving certificate Maths grinds to secondary school students in Moyross, Limerick.  It’s been ten years since I last taught in a classroom setting and it’s a nice reminder of the buzz you get when teaching, getting to witness that ‘aha’ moment when one of the students grasps a concept.

Moyross is an area known to many Irish people as one of the most disadvantaged areas in Ireland and the statistics bear this out: according to the Census 2011 Small Area data, the area around Corpus Christi primary school where I go to give the grinds has well over 50% unemployment, nearly 80% of families have only one parent, and less than 5% of adults have a third level eduction [1].  Yet despite the fact that many people from Limerick would never venture this direction it’s actually quite a pleasant place to stroll through: one of the few places you would ever see kids kicking a ball around on the street for example.

Teaching for two hours a week in Moyross isn’t going to drastically change the education landscape, granted, but for me it’s an important contribution.  The culture of ‘grinds’ is well-embedded in the Irish education system, and it’s almost compulsory to get some form of extra tuition to help you through your leaving cert.  This works well for kids who have parents wealthy enough to pay for it (and, anecdotally, many working teachers seem happy to accept payment in cash for this work without bothering the taxman), but for kids who don’t have access to wealthy parents, it puts them at an immediate disadvantage.  I used to rent a house in Dublin where over 75% of my neighbours had a third level education: again the equivalent statistic for the area around the primary school where I teach is less than 5%.  It’s sad to think that our system might be serving to maintain or even widen that gap, rather than close it.

It would be naive to assume that there are easy solutions here, but it’s always struck me that we’ve never managed to have a good discussion about education in this country.  We spend a lot of time talking about inputs (e.g. teacher’s salaries, class sizes and the size of the education budget), but little time thinking about educational outputs and outcomes.  Focusing on our standardised test results in literacy, numeracy and science might be a start.  The 2009 OECD PISA report (results of a standardised test of 15 year-olds across 65 countries) ranks Ireland 21st out of 65 for reading, 32 out of 65 for maths, and 20 out of 65 for science (data taken from this PDF report, from the table on page 15).  Perhaps not extremely shabby, but not exactly wonderful either, especially for a small society hoping to get out of a recession through reaping the benefits of the knowledge economy.

One of our problems is that the debate about education in Ireland is mostly about the producers (i.e. the teachers) rather than the consumers (i.e. the students).  Not that I’m trying to apply some third-rate business thinking to our education system, it’s just that when most of the discussion about education comes from teacher’s unions, who for good reason are concerned primarily about their members’ pay and conditions, we end up missing the point a bit. I don’t have an irrational hatred for the teaching profession or their trade unions – for the record I think the teaching unions do a great job in advocating for their members (indeed, their professional approach makes me think that we’re not making the best of the organising ability of some of our best teachers…), I just think we as a society need to shift the debate a bit on to how we can improve educational outcomes for all our children, but particularly those who live in the country’s most disadvantaged areas.

When I was in first year in college, I shared with an American, Tim, who is now president of TNTP, an American non-profit which focuses on working “with schools, districts and states to provide excellent teachers to the students who need them most and advance policies and practices that ensure effective teaching in every classroom”.  I’d love to see a similar organisation in Ireland, advocating for more effective teaching, including better teacher evaluation systems.  Another innovation across the water that I’d love to see in Ireland is Teach for America, a programme which recruits graduates (mostly from the top Ivy League schools – competition is fierce to get in) to teach for two years in inner-city schools.

I did supply teaching for a few months in Ireland before I headed off to Ghana to do volunteer work for two years – I loved the teaching but it was the atmosphere in the staff room which put me off any notions I had of training to be a teacher when I returned from Africa.  It wasn’t just that I was the only one with a lesson plan and a scheme of work, but the pervasive atmosphere of cynicism and unprofessionalism put me off.  My heart goes out to committed teachers who have to put up with that every day.

The kids that I teach every week in Moyross are great, they’re eager, intelligent, funny, and ambitious for their future.  Teaching them makes me optimistic about the future.  I only hope we can give them the education system they deserve to fulfil their potential.

[1] – see http://maps.pobal.ie – you’ll need a Silverlight plugin and a few hours to waste – really this is nerdvana for stats-minded political people…