Nearly 3,000 people marched through Dublin yesterday to demand that same-sex couples be given equal rights to their straight counterparts.
It was the second March for Marriage organised by gay rights organisation LGBT Noise after the success of last year’s event, which boasted nearly 5,000 protesters. The group argues that current legislation in Ireland treats gay couples as second-class citizens and does not provide equality.
The march began at Dublin City Hall and ended at the Department of Justice on St Stephen’s Green.
Although the country’s Civil Partnership Bill was passed in July of this year, it does not accord same-sex couples the same rights as civil marriage does to heterosexual couples, specifically regarding parental claims and the rights of children of same-sex couples.
Max Krzyzanowski, the event organiser, was quoted by the Irish Independent as saying: "This is unacceptable in 2010 when country after country around the world is opening the institution of civil marriage to their gay citizens".
Same-sex marriage is legal in both Argentina and Spain, which are also predominantly Catholic countries.