Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Emotions have been running high during the campaign

Counting has started in the Irish abortion referendum, hours after exit polls suggested a landslide vote in favour of liberalising the law.

Polls by The Irish Times and RTÉ suggested about 69% voted to repeal a part of the constitution that effectively bans terminations.

One of the main anti-abortion campaigns has already conceded defeat.

"The unborn child no longer has a right to life recognised by the Irish state," said John McGuirk, from Save the 8th.

Counting began at 09:00 local time and the result is expected by the evening.

Those taking part in Friday's referendum were asked whether they wanted to repeal or retain a part of the constitution known as the Eighth Amendment, which says an unborn child has the same right to life as a pregnant woman.

'Broken-hearted'

Mr McGuirk, communications director of the anti-abortion Save The 8th campaign, conceded defeat and said No campaigners were "deeply broken-hearted".

"Shortly, legislation will be introduced that will allow babies to be killed in our country," his statement said.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The Eighth Amendment was introduced after a referendum in 1983

However, he vowed that No campaigners would continue to protest, "if and when abortion clinics are opened in Ireland".

"Every time an unborn child has his or her life ended in Ireland, we will oppose that, and make our voices known," he added.

Earlier, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar, who supported the reforms, said it looked as if the country was about to "make history".

Broadcaster RTÉ's exit poll suggested 69.4% in favour of the Yes side and 30.6% for No. In Dublin, 79% of people voted for repeal, according to the RTÉ poll.

An exit poll released by The Irish Times points to 68% Yes to 32% for No.

Tweeting on Friday night, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "Thank you to everyone who voted today. Democracy in action. It's looking like we will make history tomorrow... "

In other reaction:

Irish health minister Simon Harris tweeted: "Will sleep tonight in the hope of waking up to a country that is more compassionate, more caring and more respectful"

Prominent No campaigner Cora Sherlock expressed disappointment at the exit polls but said the pro-life movement would "rise to any challenge it faces". She added: "Let's go into tomorrow with this in mind"

Penny Mordaunt, the UK's minister for women and equalities, called it a "historic and great day for Ireland and a hopeful one for Northern Ireland". Northern Ireland's abortion laws are much stricter than the rest of the UK

The leader of Northern Ireland's centrist Alliance Party, Naomi Long, said it appeared to be an "incredible result" for the Yes campaign

Currently, abortion is only allowed when a woman's life is at risk, but not in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "Legislation will go as quickly as possible"

The turnout looks to have been higher than that for the country's referendum on same-sex marriage and its most recent general election.

More than 3.2 million people were registered to vote in the referendum, with more than 100,000 new voters registering ahead of the poll.

The referendum was the result of a decades-long debate about abortion in the Republic of Ireland and was the country's sixth vote on the issue.

Where does the law stand?

The now-controversial Eighth Amendment was introduced after a referendum in 1983.

It "acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right" - meaning the life of the woman and the unborn are seen as equal.

Since 2013, terminations have only been allowed in Ireland when the life of the mother is at risk, including from suicide.

Image copyright Brian Lawless Image caption Young and old have been turning out at count centres

The maximum penalty for accessing an illegal abortion is 14 years in prison.

In 2017, the Citizens' Assembly, a body set up to advise the Irish government on constitutional change, voted to replace or amend the part of Ireland's Constitution which strictly limits the availability of abortion.

So the Irish people were asked if they wanted to remove the Eighth Amendment and allow politicians to set the country's abortion laws in the future.

The wording on the ballot paper was: "Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancies."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The background and potential outcomes to the Republic of Ireland's abortion referendum

The ballot paper did not mention the Eighth Amendment or abortion, instead asking: "Do you approve of the proposal to amend the Constitution contained in the undermentioned Bill?"

Those who wanted to retain the Eighth Amendment voted No, while those who wanted to replace it voted Yes.

If a majority has voted yes - as appears to be the case - then the Irish government's recommendation is that women will be able to access a termination within the first 12 weeks of their pregnancy.

However, beyond 12 weeks, abortions would only be permitted where there is a risk to a woman's life or of serious harm to the physical or mental health of a woman, up until the 24th week of pregnancy.

Terminations would also be permitted in cases of fatal foetal abnormality. </s> Voters throughout Ireland have begun casting votes in a referendum that may lead to a loosening of the country’s strict ban on most abortions.

The referendum Friday will decide whether the eighth amendment of the constitution is repealed, which would open the way for more liberal legislation.

READ MORE: What you need to know about Ireland’s bitterly-debated abortion vote

The amendment, in place since 1983, requires authorities to equally protect the right to life of a mother and that of a fetus, from the moment of conception.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar tweeted his support for the bill before a moratorium on campaigning took effect Thursday. He urged people to vote “yes” in favour of repeal.

Results are not expected until Saturday afternoon or evening. Voting has already taken place on Ireland’s offshore islands so that paper ballots can be taken to the mainland and counted in time.

There was good weather Friday morning in the capital, Dublin, and much of the country, a factor that could help the “yes” forces in favour of repeal get the heavy turnout they seek.

“Yes” campaigners were handing out stickers at several major pedestrian crossroads Friday morning. Many people voted on their way to work and sported “I voted” buttons.

They didn’t sway Vera Rooney, who voted in favour of keeping the ban in place.

“It is a hard decision but I just feel I don’t have the right to take life. I think life is sacred and for that reason I had to vote no,” said Rooney, who voted early Friday at the North Grand Church polling station in Dublin.

READ MORE: Irish in Canada are flying #HomeToVote in Ireland’s abortion referendum

Graffiti saying “Trust Women” by “yes” backers was scrawled on the pavement outside the polling station in Dublin as voting opened. An opponent of the abortion clause repeal wrote: “Mama, save me, I love you.”

Letters to the editor published Friday in the Irish Independent newspaper contained emotional arguments urging voters to reject the repeal movement.

“If we vote ‘yes’, every unborn, wanted and unwanted, will have zero rights,” wrote one woman. “I do not believe the smart people of Ireland want this unrestricted, abortion-on-demand bill. I will be voting no.”

If citizens vote in favour of repeal, new abortion laws will then be discussed in parliament. The government proposes that terminations be allowed during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Later abortions would be allowed in special cases. </s> Garda Alan Gallagher and Presiding Officer Carmel McBride carry a polling box, used, a day early, by the few people that live off the coast of Donegal on the island of Inishbofin on May 24, 2018 in Donegal, Ireland.

DUBLIN — Prime Minister Leo Varadkar urged people voting Friday in Ireland's abortion referendum to remove the country's "legacy of shame" toward women by overturning the strict abortion law that fiercely divides this Catholic nation.

"If we don't remove the (Eighth) Amendment from the constitution, our doctors and lawmakers can't do anything for women. They can't do anything for women who have been raped, who are children themselves or who have been given the heartbreaking news of fatal fetal abnormality," Varadkar said.

The vote was expected to be an extremely close contest, with polls closing at 10 p.m. local time (5 p.m. ET). The result of the highly controversial issue is expected Saturday afternoon.

But the Irish Times predicted that voters, 68% to 32%, backed repealing Ireland’s Eighth Amendment that affords a fetus the same protections as the woman.

The exit poll by the Irish Times was conducted by Ipsos/MRBI among 4,000 respondents at 160 polling stations in 158 Irish constituencies.

A second exit poll published Friday on Ireland’s abortion referendum, this time by the nation’s state broadcaster, showed that voters who support women’s abortion rights won a landslide victory.

RTÉ, which commissioned the poll in association with several Irish universities, found that Irish voters 69.4% to 30.6% want the country to change its constitution so that abortion is legal up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Both polls, from RTÉ and the Irish Times newspaper, indicated a far wider margin of victory for the “Yes” side than forecast in the run up to the vote after a long and divisive campaign.

Support to overturn Ireland’s Eighth Amendment was driven by large numbers of younger voters, according to the exit polls.

Fully legalized abortion is perhaps the last significant cultural taboo that Catholic-majority Ireland has grappled with following earlier votes on contraception, divorce, homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

The vote count begins on Saturday morning, with an official result expected in the early afternoon, although it could come later if turnout is especially high.

About 3.3 million people are registered to vote.

Ireland has held six referendums on various issues over the last decade.

The last one was in 2015, on same-sex marriage. Voters endorsed it.

Fine weather over much of the country, including the capital Dublin, helped feed the high turnout.

Currently, abortion is only allowed in Ireland if a women's life is at risk. A "Yes" vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment, which states that a fetus has an equal right to life as the woman, would mean that Irish women would be able to get an abortion at up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

It would be a major step for a country where almost 80% of the population still strongly identify as Catholic.

An average of nine women travel every day from Ireland to the United Kingdom, where abortion is legal, to terminate pregnancies, according to the Irish government. Three women each day take abortion pills bought online, risking a 14-year jail sentence.

"If the referendum doesn't pass, these women will continue to have to travel abroad in their thousands," Varadkar said.

John McGuirk, a prominent Irish abortion rights opponent, noted that Friday is an international missing children's day.

"In the U.K., 8 million children have gone missing since the abortion law was introduced. I hope Ireland will not make the same mistake today," McGuirk said.

Save The 8th, an organization that opposes abortion, sent an email Friday morning to supporters and media targeted at undecided voters. "Abortion does one thing, and one thing only — it kills a baby," it said.

In Dublin, "Yes" campaigners handed out stickers at major pedestrian crossroads. And many people who voted on their way to work wore "I voted" buttons.

More: Both sides in Irish landmark abortion vote make final pleas to voters

More: Ireland to be tested by abortion vote on whether to overturn near-total ban

The major newspapers carried "letters to the editor" from concerned citizens.

"If we vote 'Yes,' every unborn, wanted and unwanted, will have zero rights," wrote Frances Kelleher, from Killarney, in the Irish Independent. "I do not believe the smart people of Ireland want this unrestricted, abortion-on-demand bill. I will be voting 'No.' "

If the vote passes it would be another social-change milestone for Ireland after it legalized contraception (1979), divorce (1995) and same-sex marriage (2015).

It would also leave just three places in Europe where abortion is illegal unless a woman’s life is at risk: the micro-states of Andorra and San Marino, and Malta.

In the United States, President Trump plans to cut funding to family-planning clinics that offer abortion services. He has also vowed to appoint enough Supreme Court justices who oppose abortion to overturn Roe v. Wade, the abortion rights decision from 1973.

Thousands of Irish nationals traveled home to cast their vote in Friday's referendum. Their stories, and journeys, have been filling up social media platforms using the #hometovote hashtag.

"No flights left from London, so I have a 4 hour train, 4 hour wait and 3 hour ferry to make it home to vote- which is a walk in the park in comparison to the journey that Irish women are making every day to the UK," @MichelleMarleyy wrote.

Liam Dunne, 63, a farmer who lives south of Dublin and supports a woman's right to abortion, said he was confident his side would prevail. He believes that abortion should be a personal decision and not up to the government to decide.

"The way it is now, it's a bit like in America where sometimes there's nothing to prevent your neighbor from buying a gun. It leaves you feeling a little bit powerless," he said. </s> The Latest on the Irish abortion referendum (all times local):

Ireland's Minister for Children and Youth Affairs says she is grateful and emotional over with the apparent decision of voters to repeal the constitutional ban on abortions in Friday's landmark referendum.

Katherine Zappone said Saturday she is confident new abortion legislation can be approved by parliament and put in place before the end of the year.

"I feel very emotional," she said. "I'm especially grateful to the women of Ireland who came forward to provide their personal testimony about the hard times that they endured,?the stress and the trauma that they experienced because of the eighth amendment."

The eighth amendment requires authorities to treat a fetus and its mother as equals under the law, effectively banning abortions. Currently, terminations are only allowed when a woman's life is at risk.

Exit polls predict overwhelming support for the repeal of the constitutional ban. Officials results are expected Saturday afternoon.

One of Ireland's leading anti-abortion groups says the abortion referendum result is a "tragedy of historic proportions" in a statement that all but admits defeat in the historic vote.

Spokesman John McGuirk of the Save the 8th?group — which refers to the Eighth Amendment in the constitution that bans abortions — told Irish television Saturday that many Irish citizens will not recognize the country they are waking up in.

The official vote tally for Friday's vote has not been finished but exit polls predict a massive victory for repealing the constitutional ban.

McGuirk said it will now be relatively easy for the government to pass more liberal abortion laws in the parliament.

"There is no prospect of the legislation not being passed," he says.

The government proposes that women be allowed to terminate pregnancies in the first 12 weeks.

Official counting is set to begin in Ireland's historic abortion rights referendum, with two exit polls predicting an overwhelming victory for those seeking to end the country's strict ban.

The Irish Times and RTE television exit polls suggest the Irish people have voted to repeal a 1983 constitutional amendment that effectively bans abortions. Currently, terminations are only allowed when a woman's life is at risk.

The exit polls are predictions only, with official results expected Saturday afternoon. Paper ballots must be counted and tallied.

If the "yes" forces seeking a constitutional change prevail as the polls suggest, Ireland's parliament will be charged with coming up with new abortion laws.

The government proposes to allow abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy with later terminations allowed in some cases. </s> A member of the public holds a sign in favor of abortion rights in Dublin, on May 25, 2018.

DUBLIN — Irish voters overwhelmingly backed a repeal of Ireland's constitutional ban on abortion in a sweeping cultural change representing a move away from the nation's conservative Catholic roots.

The final tally showed that 66.4% supported the repeal out of 2.1 million votes cast on Friday according to election official Barry Ryan.

Donegal was the only county to vote "no," with 51.9% voting against the repeal and 48.1% in favor.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar called the result the culmination of a “quiet revolution.”

“The people have spoken,” said Varadkar, a medical doctor who campaigned for repeal in the historic referendum. “The people have said that we want a modern constitution for a modern country, that we trust women and we respect them to make the right decision and the right choices about their health care.”

As a result of the vote, Ireland's government will now seek to pass legislation that allows abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The current law prohibits all abortions in Ireland, except in cases when the woman’s life is at risk, and having an illegal abortion is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

For thousands of Irish women, the repeal will end their need to travel abroad – mostly to neighboring Britain – for abortions.

Supporters of the repeal were jubilant, particularly at Dublin’s Intercontinental hotel, where the Together For Yes group,buoyed by exit polls, was celebrating its apparent victory.

“This is a monumental day for women in Ireland,” said Orla O’Connor, co-director of the Together for Yes group. “This is about women taking their rightful place in Irish society, finally.”

The vote is a “rejection of an Ireland that treated women as second-class citizens,” she said, adding: “This is about women’s equality and this day brings massive change, monumental change for women in Ireland, and there is no going back.”

More than 1,000 people gathered outside Dublin Castle, singing, chanting, and toasting one another with champagne as they waited for the official announcement.

John McGuirk, spokesman for the Save the 8th group, told Irish television Saturday that many Irish citizens will not recognize the country they are waking up in. The group said on its website that Irish voters have created a “tragedy of historic proportions,” but McGuirk said the vote must be respected.

“You can still passionately believe that the decision of the people is wrong, as I happen to do, and accept it,” he said.

More: Abortion ban vote chance to throw off oppressing legacy of Catholic Ireland

Related: Ireland to be tested by abortion vote on whether to overturn near-total ban

John Aidan Byrne, 58, an Irishman who has lived in the United States for more than 30 years and runs a group called Irish Pro-Life USA, said that doing away with the ban would mean "fewer protections" for his friends and family in Ireland.

"Once you introduce legalized abortion it changes the entire dynamic of society. And it divides it politically, socially and — let's be frank — spiritually," he said.

But others viewed the vote as evidence that Ireland, for years held back by traditional voices in the church, was embracing tolerance and progressiveness as well as continuing down a path of liberalization after national votes in recent years that ushered in legalizing contraception, divorce, homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

"We woke up this morning to a new Ireland. Ireland’s changed," said Deidre Duffy, one the organizers of the campaign to change Ireland's abortion law.

"One by one, the manacles imposed by clerical control and society's deference to it have been removed, and Ireland has altered beyond recognition," said Martina Devlin in a column for the Irish Independent newspaper Saturday.

Lawyer Anna McCarthy, 35, was standing near a Dublin mural on Saturday of Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old Indian dentist who died in Galway in 2012 due to blood poisoning resulting from a miscarriage after she was denied an abortion.

"This is something to be celebrated," McCarthy said.

"Finally, we're not shaming women, we're not punishing them, or judging them — we're just going to have a law that supports people in crisis. This is a win for everybody."

Messages of condolence were affixed to a wall next to the image of Halappanavar.

"This should NEVER have happened to you," read one. "Our babies were only six weeks apart, you inspired me and the whole nation to say NEVER AGAIN."

Repealing Ireland's Eighth Amendment that gives equal protection to a fetus and the woman would bring the once-staunchly Catholic country in line with abortion practices in the United States and the majority of Europe.

It would leave only three places in Europe where abortion is illegal unless the woman's life is at risk: tiny Andorra and San Marino, and Malta. Four countries around the world do not allow abortions under any circumstances, according to the Pew Research Center. They are the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Vatican City.

"It’s a very emotional day," said Simon Harris, Ireland’s minister for health, speaking to media at Dublin Castle, where the results of the vote will be announced.

More: World watches as Ireland holds historic vote to overturn strict abortion law

"Over the last 20-30 years the idea of Ireland as a Catholic country has been changing," said Mary McAuliffe, a gender studies expert at University College Dublin.

"We're no longer an isolated country on the edge of Europe hidebound by outdated ideas about morality, femininity and controlling women's bodies," she said. </s> A leading campaigner for repealing Ireland's constitutional ban on abortions says it's a "monumental day for women in Ireland" after voters appeared to have overwhelmingly backed liberalizing the country's strict abortion laws.



Orla O'Connor, co-director of the Together for Yes group, said Saturday: "This is about women taking their rightful place in Irish society, finally."

Votes for Friday's historic referendum are still being counted, but two exit polls predict a landslide victory for those who want to repeal the constitutional ban on abortions. A leading anti-abortion group admitted defeat Saturday.

O'Connor said the vote is a "rejection of an Ireland that treated women as second-class citizens. This is about women's equality and this day brings massive change, monumental change for women in Ireland, and there is no going back."

___

12 noon

Ireland's Minister for Children and Youth Affairs says she is grateful and emotional over with the apparent decision of voters to repeal the constitutional ban on abortions in Friday's landmark referendum.

Katherine Zappone said Saturday she is confident new abortion legislation can be approved by parliament and put in place before the end of the year.

"I feel very emotional," she said. "I'm especially grateful to the women of Ireland who came forward to provide their personal testimony about the hard times that they endured, the stress and the trauma that they experienced because of the eighth amendment."

The eighth amendment requires authorities to treat a fetus and its mother as equals under the law, effectively banning abortions. Currently, terminations are only allowed when a woman's life is at risk.

Exit polls predict overwhelming support for the repeal of the constitutional ban. Officials results are expected Saturday afternoon.

___

10:40 a.m.

One of Ireland's leading anti-abortion groups says the abortion referendum result is a "tragedy of historic proportions" in a statement that all but admits defeat in the historic vote.

Spokesman John McGuirk of the Save the 8th group — which refers to the Eighth Amendment in the constitution that bans abortions — told Irish television Saturday that many Irish citizens will not recognize the country they are waking up in.

The official vote tally for Friday's vote has not been finished but exit polls predict a massive victory for repealing the constitutional ban.

McGuirk said it will now be relatively easy for the government to pass more liberal abortion laws in the parliament.

"There is no prospect of the legislation not being passed," he says.

The government proposes that women be allowed to terminate pregnancies in the first 12 weeks.

___

7 a.m.

Official counting is set to begin in Ireland's historic abortion rights referendum, with two exit polls predicting an overwhelming victory for those seeking to end the country's strict ban.

The Irish Times and RTE television exit polls suggest the Irish people have voted to repeal a 1983 constitutional amendment that effectively bans abortions. Currently, terminations are only allowed when a woman's life is at risk.

The exit polls are predictions only, with official results expected Saturday afternoon. Paper ballots must be counted and tallied.

If the "yes" forces seeking a constitutional change prevail as the polls suggest, Ireland's parliament will be charged with coming up with new abortion laws.

The government proposes to allow abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy with later terminations allowed in some cases. </s> DUBLIN — Ireland's referendum Friday represented more than a vote on whether to end the country's strict abortion ban. It was a battle for the very soul of a traditionally conservative Roman Catholic country that has seen a wave of liberalization in recent years.

The country's leaders support a "yes," an outcome that would repeal a 1983 constitutional amendment requiring authorities to treat a fetus and its mother as equals under the law. They say it's a once-in-a-generation opportunity to liberalize abortion rules.

It's also a key indicator of Ireland's trajectory, three years after the country voted to allow same-sex marriages and a year after it elected a gay prime minister.

Theresa Sweeney, a repeal supporter, was one of the first people to arrive at the North Grand Church polling station in Dublin.

"I'm not usually an early riser, but I couldn't wait to get down here to vote," she said. "I feel like I've waited all of my adult life to have a say on this."

Vera Rooney cast her ballot at the same polling place.

"It is a hard decision but I just feel I don't have the right to take life," she said. "I think life is sacred and for that reason I had to vote no."

The referendum will decide whether the eighth amendment of the constitution is repealed or stays in place.

The amendment requires authorities to equally protect the right to life of a mother and that of a fetus, from the moment of conception. Abortion in largely Catholic Ireland is illegal except in cases when the woman's life is in danger, and several thousand Irish women travel each year to get abortions in neighbouring Britain.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, a doctor, voted in favour of repeal Friday morning at Laurel Lodge in Castleknock. </s> Garda Alan Gallagher and Presiding Officer Carmel McBride carry a polling box, used, a day early, by the few people that live off the coast of Donegal on the island of Inishbofin on May 24, 2018 in Donegal, Ireland.

DUBLIN — Prime Minister Leo Varadkar urged people voting in Ireland's abortion referendum to remove the country's "legacy of shame" over the way it has treated women by overturning an abortion ban that has fiercely divided this Catholic nation.

"If we don't remove the (Eighth) Amendment from the constitution our doctors and lawmakers can't do anything for women. They can't do anything for women who have been raped, who are children themselves or who have been given the heartbreaking news of fatal fetal abnormality," Varadkar said Friday, as voting stations opened across Ireland in what is expected to be an extremely close contest over a highly emotive issue. "If the referendum doesn't pass these women will continue to have to travel abroad in their thousands," Varadkar said.

Voting finishes at 10 p.m. (5 p.m. ET) and the result is expected Saturday afternoon.

Abortion is only allowed in Ireland if a women's life is at risk. A "Yes" vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment, which states that a fetus has an equal right to life as the woman, would mean that Irish women would be able to get an abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. It would be a controversial step for a country where almost 80% of the population still identify themselves as Catholic even though the church's reputation has been severely dented in recent decades by a series of abuse and sex scandals.

An average of nine women travel every day from Ireland to the United Kingdom, where abortion is legal, to terminate pregnancies, according to the Irish government. Three women each day take abortion pills bought online, risking a 14-year jail sentence.

More: Both sides in Irish landmark abortion vote make final pleas to voters

More: Ireland to be tested by abortion vote on whether to overturn near-total ban

"Today is an international missing children's day. In the U.K., 8 million children have gone missing since the abortion law was introduced. I hope Ireland will not make the same mistake today," John McGuirk, a prominent Irish abortion rights opponent, said.

Save The 8th, an organization that opposes abortion, sent an email Friday to supporters, media and any undecided voters.

"Abortion does one thing, and one thing only — it kills a baby," it said.

If the vote passes it would be another social-change milestone for Ireland after it legalized contraception (1979), divorce (1995) and same-sex marriage (2015).

It would also leave just three places in Europe where abortion is illegal unless a woman’s life is at risk: the micro-states of Andorra and San Marino, and Malta.

In the USA, President Trump plans to cut funding to family-planning clinics that offer abortion services. He has also vowed to appoint enough Supreme Court justices who oppose abortion to overturn Roe v. Wade, the abortion rights decision from 1973. </s> Referendum follows vote to overturn abortion ban, as Michael Higgins set for second term

This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

Ireland has voted to remove the crime of blasphemy from its constitution by a significant majority, according to exit polls.

The national broadcaster, RTÉ, suggested that just over 71% had voted yes on the question of whether or not to repeal the constitutional ban. The Irish Times poll predicted that 69% had backed the proposal.

Official counting of the votes beings on Saturday.

The blasphemy referendum was held alongside a presidential election, in which exit polls suggested the incumbent, Michael D Higgins, had won by a landslide.

Ireland to vote on removing blasphemy as an offence Read more

Should the referendum figures be confirmed, the move would be the latest sign of the weakening of religious conservatism in the country.

The last prosecution for blasphemy in Ireland was in 1855, but three years ago Irish police investigated comments made by Stephen Fry on television in which the comedian described God as “capricious”, “mean-minded”, and an “utter maniac”. The investigation was later dropped after police decided insufficient numbers of people had been outraged.

Ireland voted to allow same-sex marriage in 2015, and nearly two-thirds of Irish voters backed the repeal of the country’s abortion ban in May this year, leading the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, to proclaim the “culmination of a quiet revolution for the past 10 or 20 years”.

Rights groups push for yes vote in Irish blasphemy referendum Read more

An RTÉ exit poll on the presidential election suggested Higgins had secured more than 56% of the vote.

The results put the controversial businessman and former Irish Dragons’ Den investor, Peter Casey, in second with about 20% of the first-preference vote. It means Higgins is likely to be easily re-elected for a second seven-year term on the first count.

The results also indicate that the Sinn Fein MEP Liadh Ni Riada received 7.4% of the vote, senator Joan Freeman 6.3%, the businessman and former Dragons’ Den panellist Sean Gallagher 5.5% and businessman Gavin Duffy 2%.

Ireland to vote over constitution clause on women's role in the home Read more

The Irish Times poll, conducted by Ipsos/MRBI, questioned more than 4,300 voters outside 160 polling stations across the country. It produced broadly similar projections.

The results of both polls were published at 10pm as polling stations closedMore than 3.2 million people were entitled to vote in 40 constituencies across the country.

Opinion polls throughout the campaign consistently placed Higgins as the favourite, despite being plagued by questions over presidential expenses.If re-elected, the 77-year old will become the fifth Irish president to serve for two terms.
Ireland holds a referendum which will decide whether to repeal the constitutional prohibition of abortion. Exit polls suggest the results shall be 68% "yes" and 32% "no". The results will be released at 09:00 UTC tomorrow.