The issue of gay rights sparked a national conversation in Ireland recently. We look at the role played by social media.
Over 3 months ago Rory O’ Neill appeared on the Saturday Night Show, a variety show on Ireland’s national broadcaster. The interview which followed triggered a chain reaction of debate and controversy around same sex marriage and the exact definition of homophobia. The fallout from all this led to a Bill amendment being put to a Dáil (Irish Parliament) vote yesterday. It was defeated 44 to 76.
Irregardless of the legislative outcome this is a story that has been fuelled from the outset by social media. From protests to speeches this story has received international coverage from Fox News to news outlets in France and Sweden.
The breadth of coverage is particularly notable given the media blackout that originally took place in Ireland, as videos containing the interview were stripped from the internet following legal concerns.
There have been over 320 articles written and 340,000 social interactions around the story to date. Here is the video we made showing its evolution through social media.
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