Irish abortion referendum - LIVE: Official result confirms overwhelming win for Yes vote as Ireland rejoices
Latest news and discussion as the official result is announced
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Ireland has voted 'Yes' to end the country’s ban on abortion after a historic referendum.
Voters were deciding whether to repeal the eighth amendment of the country’s constitution, which recognises the equal right to life of both mother and unborn child, effectively banning terminations.
This amendment has been in place since 1983, and the campaign to repeal it rapidly picked up steam in recent years, spurred on by cases such as the death of Savita Halappanavar in 2012.
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Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar said the referendum result marked “the day Ireland stepped out from under the last of our shadows and into the light”, and he hailed the vote as a “quiet revolution”.
Repealing the amendment will allow the Irish government to legislate on abortion as they see fit, most likely allowing terminations within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The two biggest parties in the country, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, allowed members to take a free position on the issue, while Sinn Fein and Labour officially backed a Yes vote.
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Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald holds up a sign saying "The North is next".
The remaining constituency results are apparently being held back until after the national result is announced.
The Donegal result is reportedly being held up by fax machine problems. But the crowd at Dublin Castle isn't letting the arrival of rain dampen their spirits.
The announcement of the official turnout suggests the result should be following shortly...
The crowd at Dublin Castle is chanting "Savita, Savita", a reference to the death of Savita Hallappanavar.
The final results confirm that Donegal was the only constituency to vote No.
Sligo-Leitrim: 59.38% Yes, 40.62% No
Cork East: 64.12% Yes, 35.88% No
Donegal: 51.87% No, 48.13% Yes
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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has described the result as "resounding".
He said: "When we went to the polls yesterday, many people voted yes with enthusiasm and pride, but also many others voted yes in sorrowful acceptance, with heavy hearts.
"The X marked on the ballot paper represented much more than an individual vote.
"In 1983, 841,000 people voted to insert the eighth amendment into our constitution. In 2018, 1.4 million voted to remove it."
He added: "We are not a divided country, the result is resounding and it gives us as a government the mandate that we need now to bring forward the legislation as soon as possible and to secure its passage."
Mr Varadkar said the referendum result marked "the day Ireland stepped out from under the last of our shadows and into the light".
It was "the day we came of age as a country" and "the day we took our place among the nations of the world".
"Today, we have a modern constitution for a modern people," he said.
Referencing the poet Maya Angelou's words that history "cannot be unlived" but "if faced with courage, need not be lived again", Mr Varadkar said: "The wrenching pain of decades of mistreatment of Irish women cannot be unlived.
"However, today we have ensured that it does not have to be lived again."
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