Five years ago today, people in Ireland went out in their droves and voted in favour of same-sex marriage. Ultimately, 62 per cent of the public voted in favour of amending the constitution to allow same-sex couples the right to marry, with 38 per cent voting against. It was a seismic moment for a country that was well-known internationally as being socially conservative. Homosexuality was still illegal in Ireland until 1993; divorce was illegal until 1997 – and abortion remained the subject of a constitutional ban until 2018. The historic marriage equality referendum on May 22, 2015 was an essential part of that process of change. But that change was not won overnight – LGBT+ activists had spent years fighting for change in the hope that one day, they would be able to marry their partners.