In March 2024 the Irish electorate rejected two proposed amendments to the Irish Constitution. Known as the ‘family’ and ‘care’ amendments respectively, the referenda chiefly proposed an extension of the definition of family to include the term ‘durable relationships’ and proposed a change to the constitutional reference to a woman’s ‘life within the home’. By examining reader response data to coverage of the referenda by the online news organisations Gript and The Journal, this article offers a rationale for their failure to be carried at the ballot box despite the seemingly progressive ambitions behind the changes. By applying the Appraisal framework to readers’ comments in Gript and The Journal, the reasons why the Irish public refused to support these constitutional changes will be assessed. How readers and voters evaluated the motivations behind the referenda and the politicians who spearheaded the campaigns provides an important insight into both these referenda and the dominant issues across the Irish political landscape at a time when the far right is increasingly viewed as a challenge to the traditional political status quo.