The No side in the referendum were headed by the Iona Institute, a rigidly right-wing, anti-liberal Catholic body with links to Opus Dei, Legatus and American ultra-Catholic groups.

The Catholic bishops said little during most of the campaign. In its last week, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said that he was going to be a "reluctant no". A pastoral letter went out from the bishops to be read in the churches on the Sunday before the vote; it was received with less than radiant enthusiasm by many priests; one was described as having told his parishioners that there was a letter at the back of the church from the bishop, and they were welcome to pick it up or read it as they went out, but he was voting Yes.

It must be remembered that priests and nuns have a higher proportion of gay people in their ranks than most professions, since these are among the few good secure jobs you can have in which nobody's going to ask questions if you're not married. While this doesn't mean they'll have an attitude to gay marriage as such, it is likely to sway them towards a decision that will definitely normalise gay people and give them a new place in society.

It must also be remembered that there has been an epidemic of male suicides in Ireland. While very many of these are what is described as "financials", caused by the deep insecurity of negative equity, the crash of many businesses and the lack of good and secure work as the economy tanked with the help of the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, many others - especially in the case of double suicides of young men - are understood to have been gay men killing themselves rather than live with the shame and fear. Legislating for equality of marriage means that men and women will be able to come out into the light at last, and be normal respectable people like everyone else.

The precursor of this has been the sensational in impact yet quiet and graceful coming out of public figures, including the young Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, and the respected broadcaster Una Mullally. The latter had mentioned that she was diagnosed with cancer recently; an anonymous letter arrived to her suggesting that her cancer was the "will of God" because she was gay…

So it's not as simple as the Catholic Church trying to force people to vote against this.