What the Irish Referendum Really Means

That really happened. Three days after the results of Ireland’s referendum on abortion were confirmed, many supporters are still pinching themselves at the overwhelming 66 percent victory for the campaign in favor of repealing the country’s eighth amendment, which effectively bans all abortions and has been part of the Republic of Ireland’s constitution since 1983.

In the referendum run-up, however, media coverage often framed the vote as being about far more than abortion rights. It’s been presented as reflecting a battle between urban Ireland and its more traditional, rural heartland. And it’s been considered—infuriatingly to many Irish people—a litmus test for Ireland’s modernity. In Britain, some commentators have even tried to shoehorn it into somehow reflecting the result of the Brexit referendum.