UpdateIreland has voted to legalise gay marriage, campaign leaders say

Ireland has voted resoundingly to legalise gay marriage in the world’s first national vote on the issue, leaders on both sides of the Irish referendum declared on Saturday even as official ballot counting continued.

Senior figures from the “no” campaign, who sought to prevent Ireland’s constitution from being amended to permit same-sex marriages, say the only question is how large the “yes” side’s margin of victory will be from Friday’s vote.

“We’re the first country in the world to enshrine marriage equality in our constitution and do so by popular mandate. That makes us a beacon, a light to the rest of the world of liberty and equality. So it’s a very proud day to be Irish,” said Leo Varadkar, a Cabinet minister who came out as gay at the start of a government-led effort to amend Ireland’s conservative Catholic constitution.

“There is going to be a very substantial majority for a yes vote. I’m not at all surprised by that to be honest with you,” said Irish Senator Ronan Mullen, one of only a handful of politicians who campaigned for rejection.

Political analyst Noel Whelan noted that “yes” majorities were being reported even in conservative rural districts and suggested the only question was how large the “yes” majority would be when all ballots in this predominantly Catholic nation of 4.6 million are counted.

Varadkar, who personally watched the votes being tabulated at the County Dublin ballot centre, said the Irish capital looks to have voted around 70 per cent in favour of gay marriage, while most districts outside the capital also were reporting strong “yes” leads. He said not a single district yet had reported a “no” majority. Official results come later Saturday.