Síona Cahill is the President of the Union of Students in Ireland. She was appointed to the LGBTI+ youth strategy committee by Minister Katherine Zappone, and last year won a GALA for her work as a student LGBT+ advocate. For the Marriage Equality Referendum, she coined the term #MakeGráTheLaw. Síona speaks here about the power of youth activism and what drives those involved.

In 2015, the youth of Ireland, driven by the politically active young queers of Ireland, made grá the law, and in 2018 we did it again -and made mná the law.

As a 26 year old lesbian myself, who sort of stumbled ‘out’ during Marriage Equality as was campaigning between where I’m from in rural Longford and my college at the time in Maynooth University, have seen a generation of queer young people fight to just be themselves. We are still fighting. Fighting for gender neutral bathrooms and spaces, for recognition, for access to decent healthcare, against bullying in schools and workplaces and even at home. We’re fighting to be included in the story of Ireland even still, right down to the relationships and sexuality education we have (or sort of have) and representation in books and on screen.

Yet somehow, it doesn’t matter how many young people you mobilise, bring out canvassing, have visiting their TDs, protest on campus, protest on the streets, get registered to vote or vote in an election or referendum. Or so you’d be lead to think, when talking to the political parties or even some parts of the media. You would be hard pressed to find an established politician who either understands or seeks to understand the political desires of young people. It’s like we’re some novel species whose votes they’d like if only they could work out how to communicate with us.

Why then, do so many young people bother? Why do so many students seek to register to vote year after year in drive after drive on campus and in schools? Why do so many young people put their head over the parapet to seek change?

Because we know it matters, and we won’t be shut up.

I believe young people in Ireland have a view of the needs of the future. We were clear as part of the LGBTI Youth strategy, which worked on with amazing young people through Belong To. Some might term us idealists, as if desiring the ideal was somehow worth nothing. reckon though, that idealism is absolutely necessary - but only if it’s coupled with activism and persistence. You can wear your activist t-shirt to bed, but do you live it?

The Union of Students in Ireland mobilised thousands of young people out on to the streets, handing out leaflets and stickers across the last two referendums, marching through the towns and cities, having tough conversations. For Repeal, we had taken the baton passed to us from generations of activists working on the issue for over 35 years, and decided to get it over the line - not just for those who could get pregnant, but for society itself and how we treat and respect people’s bodies and decisions.

As a nation we’ve changed for the better, and that pace of change is accelerating. defy anyone to describe what Ireland will be in 20 years time other than ‘radically different from today’. Young people have seen and driven that acceleration and have opted to embrace it and demand the right to shape it. We will keep arguing for ourselves and for those who have been marginalised, and we won’t stop.

We have a battle around our environmental responsibilities - we need to lead, ethically and respectfully, on climate change and ending the pollution of our seas and atmosphere. Young people have seen the faltering first steps that previous generations have taken to care for our planet and decided to think globally and act locally, for instance campaigning to reduce the use of plastic bottles and straws.

But finally, some words about complacency. It’s easy to get cozy and assume that we’ve done our bit. The challenge for young LGBTI activists like us is to ensure that we keep going, keep mobilising, and keep supporting each other. Being an activist of any kind, and of any capacity, isn’t easy. It’s not about yelling at people from microphones or wearing a high-vis jacket - it’s about committing to a cause and showing up, time and time again until we get what we want. And we want a lot - as we should.