Irish abortion referendum: 66.4% win for Repeal marks 'the day Ireland stepped out from under the last of our shadows', Leo Varadkar says

Two-thirds of voters in Ireland have backed a historic change in the country’s abortion laws, deciding overwhelmingly to repeal the eighth amendment to its constitution 35 years after it was brought into force.

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”.

His government is expected to introduce legislation allowing terminations in some circumstances by the end of the year, now that the amendment giving unborn children an equal right to life with women has been quashed.

“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.

Yes campaigners in Dublin chanted “we made history” as the result was announced – 66.4 per cent of voters having backed repeal. The crowd at Dublin Castle also chanted the name of Savita Hallappanavar, who died in 2012 after doctors refused a termination.

Among those celebrating were cousins Fiona McEvoy, Rachel Jones and Aidan Brophy. Like many Yes voters, who were quietly confident, they said they had believed in the electorate all along.

“There’s a huge sense of relief and a sense of pride that our small country has proved itself to be as compassionate as we knew it was,” Ms McEvoy said. “So much has changed around Ireland’s attitudes to sex and morality and religion, and people don’t adhere to that anymore.”

“We made our own decisions now,” Ms Jones added. “We don’t listen to the church. Most Irish people trust women now more than they trust archaic laws.”

The pro-life cause was defeated in all Ireland’s constituencies bar Donegal, where No came out ahead with 51.87 per cent of ballots. The final tally across Ireland was 1,429,981 Yes votes to 723,632 No votes, returning officer Barry Ryan announced shortly after 6pm on Saturday.

Ministers now plan to allow terminations up to the 12th week of pregnancy without restriction, and in cases where there is a risk of life to the mother or a fatal foetal abnormality.

Health minister Simon Harris, who oversaw the new proposals, has fought to defend them in the face of No campaigners who felt it was too extreme, and soft voters who appeared at times uncertain about the 12-week limit.

“I think today was a very important day for women,” he told The Independent, “but I also think it was a very important day for our country. I think it’s a resounding endorsement that Irish people want to be able to care for their own women in a compassionate way. I think we’ve found that a lot of people in their hearts and their minds knew what they believed, but hadn’t had a chance to air it.

“The silent people, the people who kept their views to themselves, clearly in their heart of hearts knew that this was the right thing to do.”

The two-to-one margin mirrored the result by which the eighth amendment was passed more than three decades ago.

Sixty-seven per cent of Irish voters backed the restriction in 1983, meaning that for more than three decades women requiring a termination have been forced to travel abroad, or to carry their pregnancies to term, including in cases where it was believed their foetuses would not survive after birth.

The landmark repeal follows the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Ireland in 2015, when 62 per cent of people supported allowing the unions, and marks another step in the country’s social liberalisation – and the waning influence of the Catholic Church.

Such a wide margin of victory for the Yes campaign – though slightly less huge than predicted by exit polls on Friday – came as a surprise following a sometimes volatile six-week campaign that led many observers to expect a close result.

Calling the referendum paid off for Mr Varadkar, who strongly backed repeal, and his his Fine Gael party. But in opposition, Fianna Fail are in disarray.

Their voters appear to have been split almost down the middle on this issue, and leader Michael Martin came under fire for dithering on his position.

Sinn Fein, whose new leader Mary Lou McDonald decided immediately upon taking charge that her party would back a Yes vote, also appeared to have gained from its position.

When Ms McDonald arrived to hear the result on Saturday she was greeted with applause. Women gathered to hug her, shake her hand and thank her.

“I don’t share the view of some of the others that because this was a matter of conscience that you don’t as a party take a considered, collective position. This is about women’s health,” she told The Independent.

Yet a full third of the country voted No. While campaigners for the anti-abortion cause were visible on the streets on Friday, once it became apparent that Yes had won, a celebratory atmosphere set in, and No voters were a rare find.

Leaving a hotel on the outskirts of the city, one woman told The Independent the powerful story behind her No vote. “I think the legislation goes too far – it’s a blank canvas,” she said, shaking her head.

“I first gave birth at 35. I was in an abusive relationship, but I still cherished that child. I have a sister who had a baby as a result of rape, and she’s in her 30s now, and we love her. She has children of her own now. I’m scared that children like these won’t be born in the future. I’m scared about how far it’s going to go.”

That future was on the minds of many who voted, but its direction has been determined by those who voted Yes.

Sitting in the forecourt of Dublin Castle with her three-year-old daughter Esme, Jessica Hutchins said: “I felt it was important for me to bring my daughter. It’s a moment I’ll tell her about when she grows up. I brought her to vote with me yesterday too, part of why I voted was for her.

“I was 19 when I found myself facing a crisis pregnancy and I was misinformed about the Eighth,” the 29-year-old said. “I didn’t know it could stop me getting adequate healthcare if I was in trouble.

“In the end, I had a miscarriage, but I went on to have my daughter and looking forward, I want more children. And when my daughter grows up, if she faces a crisis pregnancy, I sure as hell won’t let anything stand in the way of her getting the help she needs.”

Attention has now turned to Northern Ireland, where abortion is still tightly restricted. Hundreds of women cross the Irish Sea to England every year to access the procedure.

Ms McDonald held up a banner with the words “The North is next” during celebrations on Saturday, while international development secretary Penny Mordaunt tweeted following the release of Friday’s exit polls: “A historic & great day for Ireland, & a hopeful one for Northern Ireland. That hope must be met. #HomeToVote stories are a powerful and moving testimony as to why this had to happen and that understanding & empathy exists between generations. #trustwomen”.