Five films premiere advocating for a Yes vote because marriage and family matter. Booklet featuring film families & friends launched at premiere will be delivered to one million homes

7 May 2015

Yes Equality Press Release

Five films premiere advocating for a Yes vote because marriage and family matter. Booklet featuring film families & friends launched at premiere will be delivered to one million homes.

Thursday, 7th May 2015: Yes Equality today premiered a series of five short online films in the Irish Film Institute (IFI) supporting a Yes vote in the Marriage Equality Referendum. Each film, less than two minutes in length, features a range of people from all walks of life in Ireland. At the premiere, a booklet featuring the families and sports stars in the films, was launched which will be delivered to one million homes across Ireland. Links to the five films and the booklet are in the Editor’s notes.

Grainne Healy, Co-Director of Yes Equality said:
“These films show the diversity of support for marriage equality across Ireland featuring families, older people, married couples and young sportsmen all saying why they want people to vote Yes. These films show that marriage equality means a great deal not just to gay and lesbian people, but to their parents, children, friends, neighbours, and teammates.

“The booklet captures the stories in the films and brings them to homes across Ireland. This is especially important for people who aren’t online. The Marriage Referendum conversation needs to be taken to all parts of Ireland and to all people. With two weeks to go, we hope the booklet, capturing real stories from real Irish people, gets people to seriously consider a Yes vote.”

The diverse voices featured include:
Madeline Connolly, a mother, grandmother and great grandmother: “I’m 90. I have 14 children, 25 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren. I’m a practicing Catholic…God made us all and he made us all equal… Now is an opportunity for everybody to get out and vote Yes.”

Paddy and Pat O’Brien: “We’ve been married 55 years and we’ve experienced the joy and fulfilment of marriage… Our children deserve the same recognition and protection that Pat and I shared”.

Sam and Lorrainie Khalaf, parents of a gay son Riyadh Khalaf: “We treat every member of our family the same, and we expect our country to do so too. That is why we will be voting yes.”

For more information, contact:
Print/Online: Jeanne McDonagh, 087 246 9855 / jeanne@yesequality.ie
Broadcast: Walter Jayawardene, 087 998 1574 / walter@yesequality.ie
Images from the screening will also be filed to photo desks by Paul Sharp (Tel: 086 6689087)

ENDS
EDITORS’ NOTES
• Event begins at 11am at the IFI in Eustace Street in Dublin. Screening begins at 11.30 am sharp.
• Families and participants from all videos will be available on the day for media interviews including:

Videos available here.

Booklet available here.