Tiernan Brady is an expert in winning big referendums. He is a gay rights campaigner, United Irelander and a member of Fianna Fáil. He now brings his winning formula, energy and wealth of experience to winning a Border poll. He was the key speaker at our Westminster debate – How do we achieve and win an Irish Unity Referendum? The piece below first appeared in the Belfast Irish News on Tue, October 13th.
There has been a lot of focus in recent months about the nature of a referendum on a United Ireland: when will it happen and what is the mechanism? That focus is distracting from the cause and delivery of the goal. We find ourselves arguing about unknowables when there is so much else to be done today to achieve that goal. It often feels like we are discussing the next hand of cards we might be dealt whilst we are not concentrating on the hand we have currently and there is so much to be done, and can be done, right now.
Whatever the actual process will be, what is clear is that there is no real scenario where a referendum will be called until people and politicians think it is likely to pass. Currently the polls clearly show that we have more work to do to get to that point. They suggest that the support levels are somewhere in the 40s . We can argue about whether it is 41% or 49% but neither figure is enough.
The real mission at this stage for those of us who support a United Ireland is how do we get that support level up into the 50s so that we can demonstrate that a United Ireland is the will of the majority of the people. That campaign should be our priority. The focus on setting a date distracts us from that. The focus on the date also misses the point that the more we persuade now, the faster the referendum will come. The conversations can be a catalyst that are constantly bringing that moment closer. I believe the case for a United Ireland is immensely positive and that it offers the people of Northern Ireland a real say in their lives and the futures of their families and communities. We do not need to wait for a referendum to be called.
Referendums are not won in the last eight weeks of a campaign (although they certainly can be lost). Referendums are won in the years running up to the campaign. There is no official moment where someone waves the starting flag. We are already in the campaign and the good news is that each of us can do something about it today.
Referendums are unique moments in any society. They are crossroads about who we think we are and who we want to be tomorrow. They go much deeper than elections. Politicians and political parties of course have their role to play but the real power sits with each of us. The truly effective conversations that will achieve a United Ireland will not take place on the airwaves or in parliaments. They will happen in family homes, at kitchen tables, workplaces and in our communities. They are conversations rather than debates. Empowering and equipping all of us to have these conversations should be our focus.
I witnessed this close up in my roles in both the Irish and the Australian referendums for equal marriage. We knew that we needed to empower people across both countries to be able to talk and to listen to each other. In a polarised and turbulent world the spaces where people feel they can ask genuine questions without fear of it dissolving into an argument are disappearing. Yet people do have genuine questions, after all the proposal is a major (and I believe positive) change to all of our lives. If people feel they are open to the idea but also feel they can’t ask anyone about a few issues that they worry about, then they are more likely to vote no even though they could have been persuaded.
The time for those conversations is not in the last few weeks of a referendum, it is now. Each of us sits in multiple circles in life: our family, our friends, our colleagues, our community. In these circles we have more influence than any politician. Today is the best day to start those conversations. When we create the space for people to talk to us we can hear and respond to their questions.
If we allow the more polarised global world we live in to dictate the tone then we will all get into our tribal camps and stop listening to each other. If you believe, as I do, that a United Ireland is not just desirable but should happen as soon as possible then for that to happen we will need thousands of people who have some doubts and who do not identify as Irish Nationalists to vote yes with us. They need to hear from us and we need to hear from them. Don’t wait for permission on false deadlines to reach out. Each of us is the ambassador for the tomorrow we want today. The campaign is here.
Tiernan Brady was Political Director of Yes Equality, the successful Irish campaign for marriage equality when Ireland became the first country in the world to introduce equal marriage by a public vote. He subsequently was Director of the Equality Campaign, the successful Australian marriage equality campaign. Ireland and Australia are the first two countries in the world to enact marriage equality by public vote.
Tiernan Brady is an expert in winning big referendums. He is a gay rights campaigner, United Irelander and a member of Fianna Fáil. He now brings his winning formula, energy and wealth of experience to winning a Border poll. He was the key speaker at our Westminster debate – How do we achieve and win an Irish Unity Referendum? The piece below first appeared in the Belfast Irish News on Tue, October 13th.
There has been a lot of focus in recent months about the nature of a referendum on a United Ireland: when will it happen and what is the mechanism? That focus is distracting from the cause and delivery of the goal. We find ourselves arguing about unknowables when there is so much else to be done today to achieve that goal. It often feels like we are discussing the next hand of cards we might be dealt whilst we are not concentrating on the hand we have currently and there is so much to be done, and can be done, right now.
Whatever the actual process will be, what is clear is that there is no real scenario where a referendum will be called until people and politicians think it is likely to pass. Currently the polls clearly show that we have more work to do to get to that point. They suggest that the support levels are somewhere in the 40s . We can argue about whether it is 41% or 49% but neither figure is enough.
The real mission at this stage for those of us who support a United Ireland is how do we get that support level up into the 50s so that we can demonstrate that a United Ireland is the will of the majority of the people. That campaign should be our priority. The focus on setting a date distracts us from that. The focus on the date also misses the point that the more we persuade now, the faster the referendum will come. The conversations can be a catalyst that are constantly bringing that moment closer. I believe the case for a United Ireland is immensely positive and that it offers the people of Northern Ireland a real say in their lives and the futures of their families and communities. We do not need to wait for a referendum to be called.
Referendums are not won in the last eight weeks of a campaign (although they certainly can be lost). Referendums are won in the years running up to the campaign. There is no official moment where someone waves the starting flag. We are already in the campaign and the good news is that each of us can do something about it today.
Referendums are unique moments in any society. They are crossroads about who we think we are and who we want to be tomorrow. They go much deeper than elections. Politicians and political parties of course have their role to play but the real power sits with each of us. The truly effective conversations that will achieve a United Ireland will not take place on the airwaves or in parliaments. They will happen in family homes, at kitchen tables, workplaces and in our communities. They are conversations rather than debates. Empowering and equipping all of us to have these conversations should be our focus.
I witnessed this close up in my roles in both the Irish and the Australian referendums for equal marriage. We knew that we needed to empower people across both countries to be able to talk and to listen to each other. In a polarised and turbulent world the spaces where people feel they can ask genuine questions without fear of it dissolving into an argument are disappearing. Yet people do have genuine questions, after all the proposal is a major (and I believe positive) change to all of our lives. If people feel they are open to the idea but also feel they can’t ask anyone about a few issues that they worry about, then they are more likely to vote no even though they could have been persuaded.
The time for those conversations is not in the last few weeks of a referendum, it is now. Each of us sits in multiple circles in life: our family, our friends, our colleagues, our community. In these circles we have more influence than any politician. Today is the best day to start those conversations. When we create the space for people to talk to us we can hear and respond to their questions.
If we allow the more polarised global world we live in to dictate the tone then we will all get into our tribal camps and stop listening to each other. If you believe, as I do, that a United Ireland is not just desirable but should happen as soon as possible then for that to happen we will need thousands of people who have some doubts and who do not identify as Irish Nationalists to vote yes with us. They need to hear from us and we need to hear from them. Don’t wait for permission on false deadlines to reach out. Each of us is the ambassador for the tomorrow we want today. The campaign is here.
Tiernan Brady was Political Director of Yes Equality, the successful Irish campaign for marriage equality when Ireland became the first country in the world to introduce equal marriage by a public vote. He subsequently was Director of the Equality Campaign, the successful Australian marriage equality campaign. Ireland and Australia are the first two countries in the world to enact marriage equality by public vote.