Challenges to equality vote result rejected

Two men have been refused permission by the High Court to bring petitions challenging the result of last month’s marriage equality referendum.

The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, said neither Gerry Walshe nor Maurice J Lyons had met the requirements for bringing a petition as set out in the 1994 Referendum Act. The critical test was whether the issues referred to were such as would have had a material effect on the result as a whole, he said.

This was a high threshold as was appropriate when it was sought to interfere with the will of the people, the judge said.