Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland this referendum is equality under the Constitution and anything else is extraneous." However, some religious-affiliated groups were in favour of the referendum. In January 2015, the Church of Ireland LGBT group "Changing Attitude Ireland" welcomed the publication of the wording of the Marriage Equality Referendum. Dr Richard O’Leary, the organisation's chair, said that marriage should be "available to couples without distinction as to their sex", just as civil marriage "may be contracted by two persons without distinction as to their race or religion". On 7 May, at a "Changing Attitude Ireland" event, former Archdeacon of Dublin, Gordon Linney said "We
Islam in Northern Ireland Islam in Northern Ireland Islam in Northern Ireland details Islam in Northern Ireland since its creation as a separate country within the United Kingdom on 3 May 1921, under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. While there were a small number of Muslims already living in what became Northern Ireland in 1921, the bulk of Muslims in Northern Ireland today come from families who immigrated during the late 20th century. At the time of the 2001 Census there were 1,943 living in Northern Ireland, though the Belfast Islamic Centre claims that as of January 2009, this number had increased to