Ireland’s decision to join the EU was a popular one. Following a popular referendum in 1972, we became an official member of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973, and did so alongside our neighbours, the UK – who have since changed their minds…

The Vote

‘The decision which the Irish people will make on 10 May will be recorded either as an unprecedented opportunity which we chose to grasp with incalculable gain, or which we chose to throw away with irreparable loss’
—Taoiseach Jack Lynch, April 1972

Entry to the EEC required a change in the Constitution, and so a referendum was held on 10 May 1972. The Fianna Fáil government and Fine Gael called for a ‘Yes’ vote, while the Labour Party, trade unions and Sinn Féin campaigned for a ‘No’ vote. In the lead up to the referendum An Taoiseach Jack Lynch commented that ‘the decision which the Irish people will make on 10 May will be recorded either as an unprecedented opportunity which we chose to grasp with incalculable gain, or which we chose to throw away with irreparable loss’. Not everyone supported Ireland’s eventual entry into the EEC and in late December 1972 the Sinn Fein party planned a day of mourning to mark the occasion.

The Decision

The referendum was held on the 10 May 1972.The Third Amendment was approved with 83.1% in favour to 16.9% against. Four out of five people (83.09% of the electorate) voted in favour of the referendum. Turnout for the referendum was high at 70.3%.It was the first amendment to the Constitution to be approved by Irish voters in a referendum.

The Amendment

The European Communities Act 1972 was signed into law on 6 December 1972. This provided a legislative basis for the primacy and direct effect of European Community law. On 1 January 1973, Ireland, Denmark and the United Kingdom became member states of the European Communities (Norway had rejected membership in a referendum).

Unlike in the United Kingdom where the issue of membership to the European Communities was the subject of fierce political debate for decades which would eventually lead to Brexit in 2020 after a referendum was held in 2016 which ended 47 years of British membership in Ireland the outcome of the referendum on the Third Amendment immediately settled the issue of Ireland’s place in Europe amongst both the Irish people and its politicians and in the decades that followed Irish support for continued membership would in fact continue to grow.

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