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7 September 2017 2:29 AM

Election ad suggests Gerry Adams and Micheál Martin are gay couple

By Troy Nankervis

A draft advertisement for the upcoming Republic of Ireland General Election that shows politicians Gerry Adams and Micheál Martin as a gay couple has been hit with backlash online.

Published by the Labour Party in the Sunday Independent on January 3, a cropped image of the pair cutting a wedding cake is captioned with “this is one marriage we should vote NO to this year”, reports The Journal IE.

Featured alongside Adams and Martin is Opposition TDs Paul Murphy, Mick Wallace, Clare Daly and Richard Boyd Barrett.

While the newspaper said the advertisement was intended to make a “serious point in a humorous way”, former political adviser Gerald Howlin said the ad could be slammed for inciting a campaign of negativity, reports Newstalk.

“It’s dangerous politics in the sense that people feel very entitled to be quite cutting about their politicians,” he said.

“They don’t necessarily thank political parties for attacking and being cutting and being negative.

“Some politicians who are very acerbic, who can land punch after punch after punch, can often be extremely poor at bringing people with them.”

Across social media there has been an equal amount of criticism for the image, from politicians and election frontrunners.

“Civil rights campaign of our generation sacrificed for puerile playground politics. Tax payers resources squandered,” writes Colm Keaveney.

“I can only imagine how upsetting it is for lgbt citizens to see their triumph, our triumph, disparaged by Labour”, Cllr Réada Cronin tweeted.

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