The Rev. Vincent Twomey has penned an article in the Irish Times, giving his earnest assessment of the gay marriage debate.
As one can guess by the presence of the word Rev before his name, he holds a certain viewpoint on the issue.
His contention is that the Irish people (or at least the 62% of the electorate who voted Yes) let the heart rule the head when they ratified gay marriage.
Controversially, he says, in a rather matter of fact fashion, that the No side won the debates.
The spokespersons of the No campaign won the public debates. They had reason on their side, the bedrock of society. But they failed to touch the hearts of the electorate.
Ironically, he blamed the failings inherent in Irish Catholicism for securing the Yes vote. Irish Catholicism's besetting weakness is the 'conformism' which it engenders. He contends that it was this conformism combined with the usual 'post-colonial inferiority complex (which has left us with a pathetic yearning to please and impress outsiders) which delivered the majority for the Yes side.
Twomey's column has provoked an unsurprisingly hostile reaction on social media. His placing of the word 'gay' inside inverted commas has generated the most bemusement.
I read the Vincent Twomey article again.It's rare that I disagree with every single sentence in something, but by jove, I think he's done it
— Jen Keane (@zenbuffy) June 15, 2015
Vincent Twomey has a ridiculously self-serving and arrogant article today. Despite losing #MarRef the smug sense of superiority remains.
— Robert Nielsen (@rapn21) June 15, 2015
Puzzled by why Vincent Twomey felt the need to put air quotes around "Gay", "Out", "human rights" and "equality" http://t.co/zIKxKrgpad
— Philip Boucher-Hayes (@boucherhayes) June 15, 2015
Vincent Twomey or "Vinny" to his pals is "trending" on "Twitter"
— focusfan (@focusfan) June 15, 2015
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