History of the Republic of Ireland and secular-minded people, urban and rural, middle and working classes. Issues such as divorce, contraception and homosexuality have since become accepted by many and have ceased to be matters of serious political debate. However, legalising abortion remained controversial. Opinion poll evidence on the subject of abortion is mixed. On May 25, 2018 Ireland voted to repeal the ban on abortion. Legislation is expected by the end of the year to allow abortion on demand up to 12 weeks and under restrictions after that. In 2015, Ireland became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by means of
Sunday football in Northern Ireland the NIWFA's fixtures. A year later, the request was made again and members of the IFA voted in favour of it 69-28 however they failed to reach a 75% majority needed due to the NIWFA's clubs voting against it and thus the Sunday football ban remained in place. Maintaining the ban meant that Northern Ireland was the only country in UEFA which had a ban on Sunday football. This decision was criticized in the media who viewed the ban as outdated. Howard Wells, the IFA chief executive, took legal advice after it was suggested that the ban on Sunday football