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After the Republic of Ireland last Friday became the first nation to legalize gay marriage through a popular vote, a Dublin social worker named Maeve O’Sullivan put the triumph into perspective.

“We are making history, but that is not what it is about,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s about supporting people and being inclusive. It is accepting people on the most basic level.”

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Precisely. Ireland, known until recently for Guinness, poets and repressive Catholicism, has now became a world leader in simple tolerance and common sense. Step by step, the old bonds are breaking.

The events in Ireland are relevant because the announcement made by the Montreal Alouettes on the day of the Irish vote is also global. By signing the openly gay Michael Sam to a two-year contract, the Als have made a statement that will echo around the world — and they have reached back through the decades to form a symbolic bond with baseball’s Montreal Royals, where Jackie Robinson once broke the colour barrier.