“I loved working on the Marriage Equality campaign in 2015. It was one of those occasions where my work and personal life blended seamlessly. Usually, in my work as a journalist, I have to remain impartial, but on the campaign, I could be a passionate advocate, and the response was amazing.
My role was regional press officer; I thought it would be a hard sell with some papers, but only once was copy from me declined, and the editor in question explained that they were being balanced and they already had a local Yes story!
The day of the Count was so emotional my daughter (who had also volunteered for the campaign) came with me to the RDS. On the way in, we met David Norris, who posed for a photo with us. It was obvious from an early stage that the Yes side would win.
All my campaign colleagues were there, including numerous same-sex couples. We were all in floods of happy tears. Later at the campaign party in the Burlington Hotel, we danced, hugged, and cheered to the speeches from Dublin Castle on the big screen and were thrilled that we had played a small part in such a historical event.
The friends I made on the campaign remain close to this day. You don’t go through something like that without bonding. It was my best work experience ever. I now volunteer with HIV Ireland with a gang from the campaign. Our big annual event is the Red Ball; we call ourselves the Red Ball Dancers!!”.