I currently live in a part of inner city Dublin populated by little old ladies who walk dogs wearing hand-knitted coats. It’s hardly an enclave of conservatism – fewer statues of Our Lady than White Ladies on the Rocks – but the sweatshirt still feels confrontational. In recent months, I’ve also had one or two rather volatile conversations with people close to me on the subject of abortion. I worry what their responses will be.But wearing it for a week, nothing remarkable happens. I got a few looks of puzzlement – possibly because they didn’t get what “REPEAL” referred to, possibly because they didn’t approve. But mostly what I noticed was smiles, with several people asking me where they can buy shirts of their own. What surprised me was the lack of reaction: was it apathy, or are we all just ready to repeal the Eighth already? And another question: does it diminish a cause to plaster it across an item of clothing?