On November 24, 1995, the Irish people voted to end the country’s longstanding ban on divorce.

The referendum on divorce was very close, with 50.28% in favor and 49.79% against. Divorce had been outright banned in the Irish constitution since its adoption in 1937. There was a previous referendum on liberalizing divorce laws in 1986, which the Irish people voted strongly against by a margin of 25%.

At the time of the 1995 divorce referendum, Ireland was the only country in Europe where divorce was still illegal, an indication of the strong influence that the Catholic Church still had.

As a New York Times article published four days before the vote explained, there were massive public campaigns by both sides leading up to the vote.

John Bruton, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) at the time, considered it imperative that Ireland amend its constitution to allow divorce, worried that another ‘no’ vote would damage Ireland’s image as a tolerant, progressive country and increase tensions in Northern Ireland linked to the Catholic Church’s influence over Irish society.

He encouraged the Irish people to vote ‘Yes’ in an impassioned radio speech: “The core of the Catholic faith is especially that it shows forgiveness. It would be very wrong not to allow our law to express forgiveness to those whose conscience allows them to marry about himself with.

“The case I’m making about Northern Ireland is that we need to have a way of governing that includes both communities, that includes the minority community. If we don’t show tolerance for minorities here, we’re going to find it harder to argue for tolerance elsewhere .

“Is it the Ireland that we like to present to the world as a place that has very strong beliefs but doesn’t have to enforce them by law, that welcomes people with a different point of view and treats them well? Or an Ireland that is so afraid that it has to use the criminal and civil law to uphold a particular set of beliefs?”

Church officials and anti-divorce advocates waged an equally fierce campaign, with warnings that divorce was “un-Catholic” and would lead to instability in Irish society. Thomas Flynn, who was Bishop of Achorny at the time, suggested that Catholics who divorced or remarried could be denied sacraments such as Holy Communion and Confession. However, the Church confirmed that it would not be a sin for Catholics to vote yes, as long as they did so in good conscience.

On November 24, 62.15% of Ireland’s registered voters turned out to cast their ballots and approved the 15th Amendment to the Irish Constitution by a margin of just over 0.5%. The amendment was signed into law on June 16, 1996.

* Originally published in 2014, last updated in November 2024.