Equality campaigner

INDEPENDENT PEOPLE: DEIRDRE BUSHELL

A well known member of Athlone’s business community, Deirdre Bushell is currently at the heart of the local campaign to see a Yes Vote pushed through in the upcoming Marriage Equality Referendum, which takes place around the country on Friday, May 22

Raised in the Retreat Park area of Athlone, Deirdre, a daughter of well-known business-people Regina and Ronan Bushell, of Grovelands Childcare, is heavily involved in the push to promote a yes vote in the Referendum in the Westmeath area.

Having initially struggled to come to terms with her sexuality, keeping it from her parents until her mid-twenties, Deirdre now feels that the passing of the referendum is critically important for gay people in Ireland, and particularly for those wishing to marry.

Deirdre has lived in Athlone with her partner, Tracey Frampton, for almost two years. They have been together for close to eight years, having initially met in Waterford, where Deirdre attended Waterford Institute of Technology, and Tracey’s nine-year-old daughter, Teagan, lives with mother and Deirdre in Athlone.

“The next step in our lives is to get married. Obviously, until now, gay couples can get married in a civil partnership.

'Plenty of people probably think that’s enough, but the important thing, which I don’t think everybody is aware of, is that if it is a Yes vote, it will still be marriage in a registry office but the main difference is it will give gay couples constitutional equality,” said Deirdre.

“I am not a big right’s activist or anything, but this Referendum is an important one, to me. I really don’t feel I should have any less rights than any other person, as an Irish citizen.

“I have had plenty of conversations with people against the Yes vote and that’s their opinion, as everybody is entitled to their opinion, but I think people need to look at the bigger picture in this Referendum. Everybody should be treated equally.

'If we look back 20 years or so, there were issues which people didn’t talk about, and issues which people thought would never happen in Ireland, but they have.

“I recently saw an article by Anne Rigney in the Westmeath Independent, where she spoke as a parent and encouraged voters to think of their own children when voting. What people are going to vote on could very well impact their own children in ten and 20 years time, and I think people should be cognisant of that fact,” she added.

One of the issues raised by No campaigners in recent months has been the topic of young children growing up with two gay people, and without the more traditional make-up of parents.

But Deirdre, who works in marketing, finance and in promoting the social media side of the family business, believes the argument is completely flawed.

“I can speak from personal experience, as Tracey’s daughter has lived with us for seven years. She is growing up in a positive environment and her father is absolutely fantastic and has a very active and admirable role in Teagan’s life.

“Teagan has lived the majority of her life with Tracey and I, and she is a brilliant young girl; very polite and likeable and with great manners. I believe it is important for children to have a strong opposite figure in their life, so in our case it’s vital for us that Teagan has a strong father figure.

'If it’s two gay men together, I feel it’s important for a strong women to feature in the child’s life, be it in the form of an aunt or grandmother.

“Look at it this way, people don’t say that a single mother or father are incapable of raising a child, so why is there suspicion that a gay couple cannot raise a child properly?

“They most certainly can, in my opinion, if the they are living with two loving parents that put the well-being of the child first in everything they do. We are hoping to get married next year and Teagan is as excited about it as we are, and will play a huge role in the organisation of the wedding.

'We are hoping that when we do get married, that it will give us the same constitutional rights as when a man and woman get married in Ireland.”

In the lead-up to the Referendum, the Yes Equality Westmeath group, with which Deirdre and fellow Athlone native Seamus Carey are helping to get going, will host a Pledge to Vote Day in Athlone Towncentre.

They are also hoping to get enough volunteers on-board to be able to get out there and speak to voters about their intentions, and the potential future consequences of the vote.

A former pupil at Our Lady’s Bower in Athlone, who also studied in Wolverhampton, England in her late teens, Deirdre said that a huge number of young people are struggling with their sexuality, and that this is another reason why voters should carefully consider which way they vote on May 22.

“It is never easy for gay people to tell others about their sexuality. In my own case, I was 25 when I told my parents, and it was quite hard for them to come to terms with, initially. I could fully understand that, but as time went by it became easier for everyone to accept. My parents, family and friends couldn’t be more supportive move, if they tried!

“My mother, for example, will say that she noticed a huge difference in me since I told them. Before then, she says, they were worried about me, because I had become quite withdrawn and wasn’t doing anything with my friends and so on. It is a difficult thing to keep secret for so long, especially when I really knew my sexuality all my life, but there comes a point when you need to be true to who you are, and where you need to be able to live your life the way you should be,” said Deirdre.

The Yes Equality Westmeath group will be, according to Deirdre, the main channel through which Yes campaigners can reach out to voters in a bid to win their hearts and minds.

Deirdre said the Westmeath campaign will really pick up pace in the coming weeks and that they are keen to enlist the help and support of all people, not just gay people, to help promote the Yes vote.

“Every bit of help we receive will be really appreciated and we feel that anyone who contributes to the campaign will be doing so for the future benefit of everybody in Ireland,” she said.

“If it happens to be a No vote - and there is certainly no formality about this Referendum - then I think I will really lose faith in Irish people. The Irish are regarded as a welcoming people all around the world, and are certainly capable of being open-minded, both young and old.

“I have absolutely no qualms about somebody who firmly believes, because of their religion or upbringing, that this Referendum is not for them, or that they choose to vote No. But I think we all should live in a society where people are equal and at the moment that cannot be said for gay people in Ireland.

'I am very hopeful that’s going to change in the near future, hopefully after May 22,” she added.