Man! I feel like a woman!’ a proposal for the legal recognition of transsexualism in Ireland

On 9 July 2002, the High Court missed an opportunity to bring Irish jurisprudence on marriage law and human rights in line with other common law jurisdictions and the European Convention on Human Rights. In Foy v An tArd Chláiritheoir, McKechnie J ruled that people living with transsexualism were not entitled to rectify their birth certificates to acknowledge their new gender, and, as a result, not entitled to remarry in their new identity. This paper examines the stark divergence of Irish law from other Western jurisdictions in light of the Foy case. The authors contend that Irish law in this area is in serious need of legislative reform in order to accord proper human rights to people suffering from transsexualism.