“Why didn’t we do this years ago?”: Ireland’s Journey to Prohibiting All Corporal Punishment of Children

Abstract

In December 2015, Ireland became the 47th country to prohibit all corporal punishment of children, abolishing the common law defence of “reasonable chastisement”. This article tells the story of this momentous cultural and legislative change from the perspective of the Senator who championed the reform in the Irish Parliament. From the roots of the English common law defence through revelations of endemic violence against children to human rights rulings and courageous tenacity, the journey to ultimately achieving equal protection for children in Ireland is fully documented.