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The counts - Ireland votes Yes

The counts - Ireland votes Yes

Dan Griffin with updates and reactions as same sex marriage is approved by strong majority

Dan Griffin Fri, May 22
 
LIVE: The counts - Ireland votes Yes

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  • This event has now ended
  • 08:06
    Join Hugh Linehan and Dan Griffin for live coverage of counting in the same-sex marriage and presidential age referendums and in the Carlow-Kilkenny bylection. Boxes will be opened at 9am with the result of the same-sex marriage referendum becoming clear by lunchtime.
  • 08:29
    Good morning and welcome to the Irish Times live coverage of the count for the referendums on marriage and eligibility for election to the presidency, along with the Carlow-Kilkenny byelection. I'm Hugh Linehan and I'll be bringing you updates throughout the day as soon as we get them from our reporters and from tallies around the country.
  • 08:33
    There's half an hour to go still before boxes are opened, but already it seems to be clear that turnout has surpassed most experts' expectations. Fiach Kelly reports that:

    'Just before polls closed, the average turnout across Dublin county was an estimated 65 per cent and 53 per cent in the Dublin city council area. Turnout in Cork city was above 60 per cent.
    However, in other areas of the State, initial turnout was in line with recent referendums, or only slightly up.'

    Read Fiach's full article here.
  • 08:36

    Final turnout will not be known until all votes are counted for the same-sex marriage referendum, as well as the referendum to cut the age eligibility for presidential candidates. However, we should start getting some strong indications by mid-morning at the latest. Fiach Kelly notes some historical figures for turnout in elections and referendums:

    'The turnout for the last general election in 2011 was 70 per cent, with 52 per cent of eligible voters casting their ballots in last year’s local elections.
    The referendums on the proposed abolition of the Seanad and the establishment of a court of appeal, which took place in October 2013, had a turnout of 39 per cent.
    The turnout for the children’s referendum in November 2012 was 33 per cent, while 51 per cent voted in the fiscal treaty referendum in May 2012.
    The referendum to approve the 1937 constitution had a 76 per cent turnout, while 71 per cent turned out for the 1971 vote on joining the then European Economic Community.'

  • 08:42


  • 08:47

    Over the next 48 hours our political team will be anaylsing the results as they emerge.
    • Political editor Stephen Collins will look at what the results mean politically.
    • Fintan O’Toole will examine the meaning of the result of the same-sex marriage referendum.
    • Political Correspondent Fiach Kelly will analyse the Yes and No campaigns and what impact these had on the same sex marriage result.
    • Ruadhán MacCormaic will explain what happens next in terms of same sex marriage?
    • We will also look at whether the opinion polls got it right?
    • Political Correspondent Harry McGee will analyse the results of the Carlow-Kilkenny byelection.
    • Irish Times Deputy Editor Denis Staunton, Breda O’Brien and Noel Whelan will look at the implications of the same sex-marriage referendum result.

     


    Plus we'll have video reports from the RDS, Dublin Castle and from the Carlow-Kilkenny count, which will be happening at the same time as the referendum counts.

  • 08:49


  • 08:51


  • 08:57

    With less than five minutes to go before boxes are openned, the tallypeople are standing by. They're the ones who'll be telling us about early trends, and they're probably the ones who'll be calling the results before anyone else.

     


  • 09:02
    Cyril Byrne has just sent this photograph of people waiting to get into the RDS count in Dublin.
    Cyril Byrne has just sent this photograph of people waiting to get into the RDS count in Dublin.
  • 09:04


  • 09:09
    Lest we forget, there is a referendum on changing the age limit at which people may run for the presidency from 35 to 21. Here's my head-to-head with Arthur Beesley on the issue (although I think it'll be a miracle if it passes).
  • 09:13
    It's harder to predict the outcome in the Carlow-Kilkenny byelection caused by the appointment of Phil Hogan to the European Commission. While Fianna Fail's Bobby Aylward is still favourite to take the seat, strong challenges are anticipated from Fine Gael, Sinn Fein and Renua. Here's Rory Costello's analysis.
  • 09:14
    BREAKING: strong indications from a reputable (neutral) source that early indications from Dublin North Central are that it's 65 to 70 per cent Yes there.
  • 09:17


  • 09:20


  • 09:20


  • 09:22

    This picture tells the story so far.

     


  • 09:26

    Claire Quinn reports on early indications of yes vote in Waterford:

     



    'Counting is well underway in Waterford with two out of 167 boxes tallied.
    Early indications suggest that the yes vote in the marriage equality referendum is in the lead. The first box to be tallied came from Waterford city centre. Here the yes vote won out with 54 votes while 45 no votes were recorded.
    Meanwhile, in the St. Paul's area of the city 81 yes votes were counted compared to 48 no votes.'

  • 09:31
    Our correspondent Fiach Kelly reports that Tiernan Brady of YesEquality  says Ballyshannon and Bundoran  in his native Donegal are going Yes. Fiach also says Nenagh is 60-40 Yes on early tallies, and Carrick-on-Suir is 77-33 in the first box
  • 09:32


  • 09:34


  • 09:37
    Our political correspondent Mary Minihan reports that in Ringsend the vote is approximately 66 per cent Yes, according to tallymen.  
  • 09:39


  • 09:41

    Elaine Keogh reports from Louth:

     

     


    'Too early for anything close to a 10 percent tally yet but…

    Two boxes in East Meath, from Laytown/Bettystown have shown a 2 to 1 vote in favour of Yes to marriage amendment.

    One box from Rathmullen, Drogheda has a similar majority
    However a rural box from Ardee has the Yes and No’s being very close together with the possibility that the No vote will shade it.

    Very early days yet.'

  • 09:43

    Our reporter Marie O'Halloran in CityWest has this:

     

     

    'In Dublin West with 13 per cent of boxes opened it is 73 per cent Yes to the marriage equality referendum.

    In Dublin Mid West the percentage in favour has increased to 70 per cent for, 30 per cent against.'

  • 09:45
    An indication of how quickly the result is emerging is that we're hearing the Taoiseach is expected to arrive soon at the count centre in Castlebar, where 14 boxes have been opened, and the tally is 56% Yes, 44% No.

     

  • 09:49
    The general consensus emerging is that the amendment to extend the right to marry to all couples regardless of gender will be passed with a two to one majority across the country.
  • 09:49
    jim mcmanus Irish and proud!
  • 09:51

    Over a third of boxes have been opened in Longford.



    51% Yes. 49% No.

    Split is
    60-40 Urban Yes
    60-40 Rural No

  • 09:53

    And here's Enda.

     


  • 09:56


  • 09:59


  • 10:03

    Bryan O'Brien has just sent us this video from the RDS with Aodhan O'Riordan and David Norris.

     


  • 10:05
    Local broadcaster KCLR is liveblogging the Carlow-Kilkenny byelection. It reports that with all Carlow boxes open, the tallies are: FF 24% FG 20 SF 19 LAB 17 REN 5.5 PBP 6
  • 10:09

    And this appears to be the official concession of defeat by the No campaign's most prominent spokesman.

     

     


  • 10:14

    More tallies from Mary Minihan in Dublin:

     

    Tallymen figures: Ballyboden 78%
    Ballinteer 74%
    Rathfarnham 68%
    Knocklyon 68

  • 10:19

    In Wicklow they've opened 50 boxes.
    Tallies are running at 67% yes,
    Arklow 63%, Bray 73%, Greystones 74%, Wicklow Town 71%

  • 10:19
    Seán Dissington Watching with bated breath and growing excitement from current home in England. I can't wait for Ireland to be the first country for the people to vote for equal marriage #proud
  • 10:19
    Gavin given this result, I wonder if Labour are thinking they jumped the gun in ousting Gilmore? Any word on the by-election?
  • 10:19
    Jean Mac. Great day for Ireland and for the future of all our children
  • 10:25


  • 10:28
    David Quinn of the Iona Institute and Mothers and Fathers Matter tells RTE he is 'quite philosophical' about the outcome, given that it was going to be an uphill battle against all the political parties, major corporations etc. Agrees that it looks like a two to to one Yes majority and congratulates the Yes campaign. He says he would hate to see something like the Ashers Bakery case happen in the Republic.
  • 10:33
    Ryan Mangan To me this has never been just about gay rights; it's been about wellbeing; anti-bullying; hope. It's been about acceptance. Tearing up at the tallies so far, I can almost taste victory.
  • 10:35
    The Referendum Commission anticipates an official result will be announced at around 4pm.
  • 10:37


  • 10:41

    Michael O'Regan reports from the Carlow-Kilkenny byelection count:

     

    'Fianna Fáil candidate Bobby Aylward appears to be heading the poll, as the votes are sorted in the Carlow-Kilkenny byelection count.
    With a number of Carlow boxes open, tally figures indicate Bobby Aylward is at 24 per cent, followed by Fine Gael’s David Fitzgerald at 20 per cent.
    Sinn Féin’s Kathleen Funchion is at 19 per cent.
    Labour’s William Quinn, whose base is Carlow, is at 17 per cent, while Renua Ireland’s Patrick McKee is at six per cent.
    Party activists stress the tally figures are based on a small sample of the Carlow vote.
    With 13 candidates and a large electorate, the count is likely to be long, with transfers deciding the outcome.
    While Mr Aylward is favourite, none of the main parties are prepared to predict the destination of the crucial transfers.

  • 10:43


  • 10:48

    I hope she's brought sandwiches.

     


  • 10:51


  • 10:55

    If this tweet turns out to be correct, is there a chance that every constitituency in the country could vote Yes?


  • 10:58


  • 10:59


  • 11:03


  • 11:08


  • 11:12


  • 11:16

    This just in from our correspondent in Carlow-Kilkenny, Michael O'Regan:


    '

    Fianna Fail’s Bobby Aylward is heading the poll at 23.5 per cent as most of the Carlow boxes are sorted in the Carlow-Kilkenny byelection count.
    He is followed by Fine Gael’s David Fitzgerald at 18 per cent, Sinn Fein’s Kathleen Funchion at 17 per cent, Labour’s William Quinn, whose base is Carlow, at 15 per cent, and Renua Ireland’s Patrick McKee at 8.5 per cent.
    Party activists stress that Kilkenny, with two-thirds of the vote, will play a crucial role in the outcome and that it is early days yet in the count.
    The Green Party once held a seat in the five-seat constituency, but its candidate Malcolm Noonan is reported to be polling poorly.'

     

  • 11:17
    Julianne & Victoria Duffy-Gillen (to be) We are getting married in the morning! Ding dong! Ireland's gonna chime: let us say YES one time! Whoop! Thank you Ireland!
  • 11:21
    Fiach Kelly tells us the latest figures from the RDS tallies  show Yes at 67% in Dublin North Central, 72% in Dublin North East, 74% in Dublin South, with Dublin Central at 75%
  • 11:24

    Fiach Kelly's analysis of the Yes victory:



    '


    'The counting is continuing, but the smiles of all those who voted Yes are widening.
    The chests of Yes campaigners are being pushed out; the tears and celebrations are likely to follow when confirmation of the results are announced in Dublin Castle.
    Not only has Ireland has agreed to same-sex marriage, it has done so in a louder voice than many could have imagined, carried on the back of a remarkable turnout and an engagement by younger people not seen in years.
    Following years of the politics of recession and bailout, the young were given something they could believe in, campaign for and vote for. And they did.'



    Read the full article here.

  • 11:25


  • 11:46

    Stephen Collins analyses the political impact of today's resounding Yes:


    'Success has many fathers, and all the political parties will be claiming a share of the credit for the overwhelming victory of the Yes side in the same-sex marriage referendum.

    The Labour Party will feel that it deserves a greater return than anybody else for pushing the referendum onto the political agenda and effectively forcing its coalition partners, Fine Gael, to run with it.
    The holding of a referendum on same-sex marriage was part of the Labour Party’s manifesto at the election, but it was not included as a commitment in the programme for government.
    Former tánaiste Eamon Gilmore initially got a chilly response from Fine Gael when he suggested that same-sex marriage was the civil rights issue of this generation.
    It was only after the Constitutional Convention recommended the change that the holding of a referendum in the lifetime of the Government became inevitable.'

     


    Read the full article here.

  • 11:46


  • 12:00


  • 12:11
    Steven Smyrl David Norris has been proved right when he said that accepting Civil Partnership would be the best and most expedient way to achieve marriage equality. ????
  • 12:12


  • 12:17

    “I’ve no plans to get married or anything like that at the moment,” a very happy Minister for Health Leo Varadkar quipped as he described the expected Yes vote in the gay marriage referendum as an historic day for Ireland.
    “I wanted to be an equal citizen in my own country and today I am,” he told reporters at the Citywest referendum count centre in south west Dublin.


    Read Marie O'Halloran's full report here.

  • 12:19
    156 boxes of 254 opened in Cavan-Monaghan and the tally men say it’s perfectly balanced – 50:50.  
  • 12:27

    Enda O'Dowd is out and about in Dublin city centre this sunny afternoon, capturing the atmosphere.

     


  • 12:31
    Mary Minihan has the final tally from Dublin South East.  74 per cent Yes vote, according to final tally in the constituency.
  • 12:42

    With 62 per cent of boxes tallied in Carlow-Kilkenny, we have the following numbers:


    Aylward (FF) 25.5%


    Fitzgerald (FG) 21%


    Funchion (SF) 16.5%


    Some boxes yet to come from strong Aylward country in south Kilkenny, so it's looking good for Fianna Fail.

  • 12:48

    Weather forecast: it might be a little frosty in parts of Inishbiggle tonight.

     


  • 12:51


  • 12:52

    Conor Kane has been speaking to Independent TD and 'No' voter Mattie McGrath.

     

    Independent TD Mattie McGrath was one of few Oireachtas members to declare himself a “no” voter in the referendum and said today he “never expected” the no side to do much better than they have.
    “The people have spoken,” Mr McGrath said today [Saturday] as he headed into RTÉ. “It’s great to see a good turnout. We have to congratulate the ‘yes’ side on their victory and hopefully the promises that were made by the government ministers will be kept now.”
    Asked if he made a political mistake by opting for a “no” vote, even as his Tipperary South constituency looks to be approving same-sex marriage by a decisive margin, the TD said “no” and that opponents of the referendum were always up against it.
    “I never expected it to be much better, with the whole weight of the political establishment and public sector [in favour], Google, you name it, the Garda Representative Association. You couldn’t fight that and move that mountain… I thought it might be even worse.”
    He said that, for example, if 40pc of the people of Tipperary voted against the referendum, “that’s more than the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil support combined. Who’s going to represent them?”

  • 12:55


  • 13:11

    Yes, this campaign pointed up some of the oddities of our broadcasting legislation, including the moratorium.

     


  • 13:14

    Here's the latest from Michael O'Regan at the Carlow-Kilkenny byelection count:


    Fianna Fail’s Bobby Aylward is four points ahead of his Fine Gael rival David Fitzgerald, with 60 per cent of the boxes open in the Carlow-Kilkenny byelection.
    According to tally figures, Mr Aylward has 25 per cent, Mr Fitzgerald 21 per cent, Sinn Fein’s Kathleen Funchion 17 per cent, Renua Ireland’s Patrick McKee 9.5 per cent, Labour’s William Quinn 9 per cent.
    The boxes open are from Carlow, north Kilkenny, and some of those from Kilkenny city west and east.
    The Kilkenny south boxes, yet to be opened, are expected to favour Mr Aylward, given that he comes from there.
    Party activists say it is impossible so far to determine a pattern of transfers which will determine the outcome.
    “Some kind of picture might emerge later, but so far transfers appear to be going in all directions,’’ said one of the tally people.
    With 13 candidates and a large electorate, a final result is not likely to be known until, possibly, late tonight.
    There are indications that Ms Funchion might be transferring significantly to Mr Fitzgerald as a strategic Sinn Féin tactic to block Mr Aylward. This would be on the basis that Fianna Fáil represents a greater threat to the onward electoral march of Sinn Féin than Fine Gael.
    However, party activists on all sides stress it is too early to determine a definitive pattern.
    The vacancy in the five-seat constituency was caused by the nomination of Fine Gael TD and minister for the environment Phil Hogan to the European Commission.

  • 13:21


  • 13:22


  • 13:28

    First official result is in.

     


  • 13:35

    'That generosity the Yes Equality campaign was depending on came through. The decency of the Irish people was not limited to the liberal leafy suburbs of Dublin, nor the solidarity from the flats, but that decency came from the cliffs of Donegal, the lakes of Cavan, the farmyards of Kildare, the lanes of Kerry.'


    From Una Mullaly's article on her experience of the campaign. Read the full piece  here.

  • 13:36

    Coffee will be required. And sugar.

     


  • 13:48


  • 13:54


  • 14:09


  • 14:14

    'The proposal to reduce the minimum age for presidential candidates was always going to be the orphan referendum as the nation focused on the more intriguing same-sex marriage poll.'


    Read Mary Minihan's full article here.

  • 14:20


  • 14:23
    Latest tallies from Carlow-Kilkenny, with 97% of boxes tallied: FF 28% FG 21% SF 16% Renua 9.4% Lab 6.5% Grn 5.3%
  • 14:27

    The Irish Times is inviting readers abroad to share their reaction to the results. Are you proud of Ireland today? Does it change your opinion of the country in any way? If you are a LGBT person living abroad, would it affect your decision to stay abroad or come back here to live? Or if you supported the No side, are you disappointed?

    Have your say on the results here.

  • 14:32


  • 14:34

    Longford-Westmeath full tally

    Yes 53.92%
    No 46.08%

    Turnout 50.6%

  • 14:38


  • 14:52

    It's all kicking off at Dublin Castle

     


  • 14:55


  • 14:57


  • 15:07

    RESULT: Sligo-North Leitrim Turnout: 57.78 Yes: 53.57 No:46.43


    Waterford Turnout: 59.37 Yes: 60.33 No: 39.67

  • 15:13
    If you want to keep an eye out for real-time results from the marriage referendum, you'll find our interactive constituency map and results table here.
  • 15:19
    Peter Coghlan So delighted to see such a positive result. Ireland has set a terrific example to the rest of the world; so proud!
  • 15:23
    Based on a rough estimate by the few tally people that are here, across the two constituencies in Tipperary the breakdown is expected to be 55.6pc Yes and 44.4pc No, reports Conor Kane.
  • 15:23


  • 15:25


  • 15:33

    Quite a trio at Dublin Castle.

     


  • 15:38
    Sinead Borgersen @queenborgtweets: May23rd2015 the day the Irish changed the world #MarRef #proudtobeirish #wishiwasthere #TaForGra
  • 15:45

    Joyous scenes at Dublin Castle in this video tweeted by Senator David Norris.

     


  • 15:47

    Forget Eurovision. They're cheering for Ireland in Vienna today.

     


  • 15:54

    Cork North-Central: Yes 63.77% , No 36.23%, Turnout 59.87%


    Mayo: Yes 52.02%, No 47.98%, Turnout 57.48%

  • 15:56


  • 16:05

    The results are rolling in to applause and cheers from the crowd at Dublin Castle.

     


  • 16:06
    Wexford: Yes 63.59%, No 36.41%, Turnout 57.82%
  • 16:07


  • 16:12

    Here's the Senator again.

     


  • 16:26
    This is one of the more remarkable results today. Donegal North-East has voted Yes 52.54%, No 47.46%, Turnout 51.44%. The word is that Donegal South-West is too close to call, with less than 30 votes between the two sides.
  • 16:27
     Louth: Yes 63.46%, No 36.54%, Turnout 59.92%
  • 16:31
    And here's that result from Donegal South-West: Yes 50.1%, 49.9% Turnout 51.6% with just 36 votes between Yes and No.
  • 16:35

    Harry McGee argues that this has been the moment where the social media phenomenon has come into its own in an Irish electoral contest.


    'There is no doubt digital platforms have played an increasing role in Irish election campaigns over the past decade, but their impact has been relatively limited compared to more traditional means of communication such as broadcasting and newspapers (although increasing numbers now consume news online).'


    Read the full article here.

  • 16:42


  • 16:44
    First results of presidency referendum are coming in now. Tipp North and South have voted No with 77% voting No in each constituency.
  • 16:50
    One constituency in Ireland has voted No in the marriage referendum. In  Roscommon-South Leitrim, the result is: No 51.42%, Yes 48.58%, Turnout 61.49%.
  • 17:01


  • 17:05
    I'm going to hand over now to Dan Griffin, who'll be covering the results and reaction for the rest of the evening,  
  • 17:20

    Thanks for that, Hugh.

    With an official declaration of a Yes vote due shortly we'll also be providing updates through the evening and into the night as counting continues in the Presidential age referendum and the Carlow-Kilkenny by-election.

  • 17:24
    Cavan Monoghan votes in favour of same-sex marriage--just. 50.6 per cent for Yes there and 49.4 per cent voting No.
  • 17:31
    Dublin South Central returns a somewhat more emphatic Yes vote with 72.3 per cent.
  • 17:34
    With just a handful of constituencies yet to declare, the imminent outcome of the same-sex marriage referendum has garnered global attention, leading news sites on both sides of the Atlantic. The Guardian says a historic Yes vote is certain while the referendum is also the main story on the homepage of the New York Times.
  • 17:34
    New York Times homepage this afternoon.
    New York Times homepage this afternoon.
  • 17:43
    It looks extraordinary – little Ireland becoming the first country in the world to support same sex marriage by direct popular vote. But actually it’s about the ordinary. Ireland has redefined what it means go be an ordinary human being, writes Fintan O'Toole.
  • 17:49
  • 17:50
    Dublin South East had the highest Yes vote in the country with 74.9 per cent.
  • 17:54
  • 18:00
    With the Six One bulletin about to begin on RTÉ1, time to pause for the Angelus and reflect on the outcome of Ireland's historic same-sex marriage vote...
  • 18:01
  • 18:05
    With three constituencies yet to declare the current tally is 62.3 per cent Yes and 37.7 per cent No with Roscommon-South Leitrim the sole constituency to return a majority No vote.
  • 18:15
    The UK Independent has compiled a run down of the British celebrities expressing their admiration for the Irish Yes vote, Ian McKellen, Sam Smith, Richard Branson, Stephen Fry...
  • 18:15
  • 18:23

    It will be interesting to see whether the referendum result will lead to the "wake up" call that Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin was now required. Speaking to RTÉ earlier, Martin, who never came across as a particularly enthusiastic No voter, said "this is a social revolution... the church has a huge task in front of it get its message across to young people ... The church needs to do a reality check.”

  • 18:27
    Meanwhile, in Carlow-Kilkenny, it looks like Bobby Aylward is set to edge the by-election. The result of the first count is yet to come but the  Fianna Fáil candidate is ahead according to the tallies. That will obviously come as a relief to Micheál Martin, whose party has been on the losing end of a string of by-elections in recent years.
  • 18:33

    Iona patron and Irish Times columnist Breda O'Brien  says the No side were always facing an uphill battle and concedes that today is the Yes campaign's day

    But she adds that the 700,000 people who voted no were trying to make a point about the importance of mothers and fathers. She adds that it's important now to look at them and ask what's happening to democracy when 700,000 people are only supported by six parliamentarians.

  • 18:33
  • 18:35
  • 18:38
    The official declaration should--SHOULD--be made in the next few minutes as the three outstanding Cork results have been sent to Dublin.
  • 18:42
  • 18:46
    They're belting out the national anthem now in Dublin Castle with the final result announcement imminent.
  • 18:51
    Leo Varadkar, who seems have slipped into a more casual jacket and t-shirt combo, is on the news now, saying the Irish people as a whole have embraced the values of our republic. He says the result seems to mark an end of the traditional cultural divide with a big Yes vote in Dublin and one or two of the other cities and a No in the rest of the country.
  • 18:51
    Leo is actually performing pretty well as a news reporter here too.
  • 18:53
    Here we go now... the final declaration...
  • 18:57

    The total poll: 1,949,725

    Invalid votes: 13,818

    Valid poll: 1,935,907

    Yes: 1,201,607

    No: 734,300

    Majority of votes in favour: 467,307

  • 19:00
    And now, national returning officer Riona Ni Fhlanghaile announces to inexplicable guffawing from the floor, we come to the main event: the referendum on the age of presidential candidates.
  • 19:06
  • 19:06
  • 19:11
  • 19:13
  • 19:18
    There will be a press conference with Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Joan Burton taking place shortly, if you've any interest in that at all.
  • 19:24

    Here's the one we've been waiting for: Longford Westmeath has resoundlingly, comprehensively said NO NO NO to reducing the age of eligibility for candidates in presidential elections from 35 to 21.

    76 per cent of voters there were having none of it.

  • 19:33
  • 19:38
    Tánaiste Joan Burton references California gay rights trailblazer Harvey Milk who said hope will never be silent. "Today hope in Ireland is louder than it's ever been," she says.
  • 19:41
  • 19:44
    Enda Kenny, asked whether Ireland is now "the best small country in which to be gay", says for gay men and lesbian women "it's certainly better than it was yesterday".
  • 19:57
  • 20:00
    And with eight of the 43 constituencies counted in the presidential age referendum it looks like the nays have it: Yes 24 per cent, No 75 per cent.
  • 20:07
    Here are some images of the day's celebrations in Dublin.
  • 20:07
  • 20:08
  • 20:08
  • 20:08
  • 20:08
  • 20:10
    Unless some very unusual voting patterns emerge, Fianna Fáil's Bobby Aylward is going to win that Carlow-Kilkenny seat, writes Harry McGee.
  • 20:17
  • 20:22
    There are 20 constituencies in now for the presidential age vote. No is way ahead, way way ahead.
  • 20:29
    I wonder will anything be said after that proposal is officially rejected. Possibly not, it might get lost in all the excitement of the same-sex result but the Government was, in theory, campaigning for a Yes vote. In normal circumstances such a defeat would be embarrassing to say the least. I suppose these are far from normal circumstances though.
  • 20:30
    Anyway, the results of the second count in Carlow-Kilkenny have just been announced with no candidate reaching the quota.
  • 20:40
    35 constituencies done in the presidential referendum. "They've just dumped a pile of them in one go there," says my colleague here in the office.
  • 20:46
    And what do they say? Well, 74 per cent for No which means we'll continue to only have salty old veterans of age 35 and older as our presidents. The turnout, of 60.41 per cent appears to be marginally, as in just about, lower than the same-sex referendum (60.52 per cent) so does that mean some people voted in the marriage poll and didn't bother voting in the presidential age one?
  • 20:52
    They're flying through the presidential age count. Only three constituencies left. There must be a declaration on the way shortly. I wonder how many people are left in Dublin Castle though.
  • 21:02
  • 21:07
    And here comes the official declaration in the presidential age referendum.
  • 21:10

    Total poll: 1,948438

    Invalid ballots: 15, 938

    Valid ballots: 1,933, 500

    Yes: 520,898

    No: 1,412,602

    Majority against: 891,704

  • 21:21
    Three counts in and Bobby Aylward is still holding firm with a lead of about 5,000 or so votes in Carlow-Kilkenny.
  • 21:26
    So here are maps showing the results of the two referendums: same-sex marriage on top, age of presidential eligibility below. Blue = Yes, Red = No.
    So here are maps showing the results of the two referendums: same-sex marriage on top, age of presidential eligibility below. Blue = Yes, Red = No.
  • 21:35
    Taoiseach Enda Kenny has hailed the passing of the Same-sex Marriage Referendum as a “sound of pioneering leadership” from Ireland to the rest of the world, writes Fiach Kelly.
  • 21:36
    Gay priest Fr Martin Dolan has said he now feels accepted in Irish society following the Yes vote in the marriage equality referendum.
  • 21:37
    Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said the presidential age referendum got “sidelined” because attention was focused on the same-sex marriage poll, writes Mary Minihan.
  • 21:44
  • 21:57
    We'll leave it there for today. It looks now like Fianna Fail's Bobby Aylward will take the seat in the Carlow-Kilkenny by-election and there'll be updates on that story through the night on our main site. Thanks for reading, check irishtimes.com again tomorrow for new articles by Noel Whelan, Breda O'Brien and Denis Staunton.