Polyamorists in Ireland claim they are suffering from the lack of legal recognition of their relationships and the negative judgements of their lifestyle choices. ‘Polyamory’ involves three or more people in a sexual relationship.

In The Irish Times, Sile Walsh, who specialises in ‘integrative coaching psychology’ and has a special interest in polyamory is quoted as saying that cultural non-acceptance of polyamory is one of the major stresses on poly relationships: “In Ireland, many poly people keep their lifestyle private and out of the public eye, with private groups and meet-ups for those choosing a poly lifestyle. There are a number of cultural barriers to poly[amory], one being no legal position in law for poly marriage . . . Another being ideas about what successful relationships look like and obviously religious influences.”

Apart from giving legal recognition to polyamory, the article also speaks about the parallel task of normalising the practice: “The true signifier that something has been accepted into mainstream culture is indifference; the luxury of having no particular feelings indicates a phenomenon’s normality”.