Ruth Coppinger speaks at pro-choic rally at the Dail

A significant feature of the thousands strong march on 29 September in Dublin to mark International Decriminalisation of Abortion Day was the number of young people, especially young women, who participated – young people who frequently make the point that they are shocked at the backward laws that exist in Ireland in the 21st century and who correctly feel that women should be afforded the basic right to choose when and if they have children.

On Sunday the 14th of August thousands of people marched in Dublin in opposition of the continued denial of marriage rights for same-sex couples in Ireland.

With important victories this year for the LGBT community in Ireland, it was with an air of celebration and progress that an estimated 25,000 marched in the Dublin Pride Parade this June.

The issue of racism has reared its ugly head as it recently made news headlines. The conviction of Stephen Lawrence’s killers gave us a sinister reminder of the worst consequences of racism. Just as with the brutal murder of Toyosi Shittabey in 2010, we must use these incidents as a wake-up call to stamp out the possibility of such horrific tragedies happening.