McGrath: It could have been worse for No side
By Conor Kane
Independent TD Mattie McGrath was one of few Oireachtas members to declare himself a No voter in the referendum and said today he “never expected” the No side to do much better than they have.
“The people have spoken,” Mr McGrath said today as he headed into RTÉ.
“It’s great to see a good turnout. We have to congratulate the Yes side on their victory and hopefully the promises that were made by the government ministers will be kept now.”
Asked if he made a political mistake by opting for a No vote, even as his Tipperary South constituency looks to be approving same-sex marriage by a decisive margin, the TD said no and that opponents of the referendum were always up against it.
“I never expected it to be much better, with the whole weight of the political establishment and public sector [in favour], Google, you name it, the Garda Representative Association. You couldn’t fight that and move that mountain… I thought it might be even worse.”
He said that, for example, if 40% of the people of Tipperary voted against the referendum, “that’s more than the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil support combined. Who’s going to represent them?”
