How did Ireland change from being one of the most Catholic countries in the world to a now secular society?

In 1984, nearly 90 percent of Irish Catholics went to Mass every week. By 2011, only 18 percent did. It's a massive cultural shift that explains why 62% of the voters on Friday said YES to making same sex marriage a part of their country's Constitution. Ireland has been so Catholic that its Constitution begins with the words "In the name of the Most Holy Trinity.." and includes the words "obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ."*

During this century the dark secret of priests molesting children by the thousands was reveled. At a nunnery serving unwed mothers, four hundred unmarked graves were found. In church orphanages, children were often beaten, starved, and raped by priests. After these revelations the iron fist of Catholicism that had ruled the government and the people since the 6th Century began its downward spiral.

In the span of one generation, Ireland evolved from a deeply and religiously controlled country to a democracy that could make legal same sex marriage a public referendum. Talk about secular miracles, this is a record setter. Thanks, Ireland. You have done something to support gay people that no other country has done in this century.

*(For the record and because most American do not know their own Constitution, it never mentions God and instead begins with "We the People." There is no "In God we Trust" in the US Constitution; there is no, "So help me God" in any swearing in ceremony, including the President's; there is no requirement to put one's hand on the Bible in court. In every incident in the Constitution of swearing to tell the truth, the Constitution says "by oath or affirmation." All these additions were at the behest of fundamentalist Protestants and conservative Catholics.)