Ahead of National Coming Out Day, we meet the women who drove the Yes campaign in Ireland

John Meagher meets Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan, the women who sparked the debate for marriage equality when they fought to have their Canadian union recognised.

LMOST five months after 62% of the population voted in favour of the Marriage Referendum and for Katherine Zappone and her wife Ann Louise Gilligan, its powerful glow has not dimmed.

“It was probably the most significant thing in our lives to date in the context of social change,” says Katherine, who became the first openly lesbian member of the Oireachtas when she was appointed to Seanad Éireann in 2011.