#TheWeightOfTheEighth

The referendum is just around the corner and campaigning has become intense. A few weeks ago I heard murmurs from people saying that the 'yes side' are late to the game and that they haven't done enough. Well, whatever the case was before, you cannot say that now. In the past week pro-choice campaigners and yes campaigners have gone above and beyond to project their voice onto the people of Ireland. There have been concerts, marches, gigs, comedy nights, talks, dinners and even pop-up-shop- launches.

Ireland is going through something truly wonderful; an identity shift. The foundations of this country were built on religion, the church, the government and reform. I am all for respecting an honouring our culture, but we also need to adapt with the times.
The 8th amendment was created in a time that doesn't exist anymore, and it is effecting OUR WOMEN in ways that do not match the current times.

A new generation and a new country has been born. An Ireland that has been oppressed for many years and subsequently built up a lot of frustration and anger has given birth to this movement of young activists that want to re-identify the country as an Island that speaks for itself through the people of the country, rather than the government, stay or church. We proved this with the marriage referendum. We were the first country in the history of the world to legalise gay marriage by popular vote, how wonderful is that? How wonderful that we were the first country in the world to celebrate that- we will always have that. But do we always want to be known as one of the countries in Europe that doesn't have supportive healthcare for it's own pregnant women seeking abortion? To be a country that turns a blind eye to the dark and difficult times of it's women, yet still claim righteousness with other liberal acts such as same-sex-marriage? No- and that is why we need to keep moving forward, and repeal the 8th.

On Thursday night, a projection appeared on the side of the Treasury Building's 'Aspiration" statue, adding a powerful new meaning to the figure of a woman climbing the building. The art, which was created in 1995 by artist Rowan Gillespie, had a ball-and-chain added to the climbing woman, with a heavy metallic 8 dangling from the chain. Looking at the image, it's almost self explanatory; it's a reminder of the fight for reproductive rights for the women of Ireland, and the incredible burden of the 8th amendment.

The projection artists noted; "The original intention of the sculpture was to represent the country struggle fro freedom, and this remix continues that narrative with a shift toward the struggle of Irish women to gain reproductive freedom."
The projection adds to a growing collection of Repeal art appearing around the city, including the Repeal mural on the Amnesty Building and the Repeal jumpers that have become an omnipresent icon of the movement.

The clock is ticking, please make sure you are registered to vote and on the day, please make sure you make the right choice. If not for yourself, think of your daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, aunts and girlfriends. Please give the women of Ireland, the right to make a decision that ultimately only effects them. Let us stand together on May 25th and make history happen, together. Together, let's say YES