A same-sex couple from Ireland have vowed to continue their
fight against the country's gay marriage rules.
Senator Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan married in
Canada in 2003 and sought to have the union formally recognised in
Ireland.
However, when the State and the Revenue Commissioners failed to
do so, the pair launched a legal case on the grounds that it
breached their rights.
Specifically, they appealed the 2006 High Court judgment of Miss
Justice Elizabeth Dunne who stated that marriage must be
exclusively opposite-sex.
Yet, despite becoming one of the most high-profile marriage
equality fights in Ireland, it suffered a set-back yesterday when a
judge used a technicality to block the chance of the pair
fortifying their appeal.
The Court said amending their appeal to include a section of the
Civil Registration Act 2004 is unconstitutional, the Irish Times
report.
In refusing yesterday's motion to amend, Mrs Justice Fidelma
Macken said the matter involved "a piece of constitutional and
legislative history" and had to be "fully ventilated" at High Court
level.
