Thomas Lyons
Repeal of the Eighth Amendment has carried in Cavan Monaghan, but by a far tighter margin than in most of the rest of the country.
The electorate was put at 91,062, the turnout at 58,067 (63.8 per cent), and there were 163 spoiled votes – leaving a total valid poll of 57,904.
Ballot papers marked Yes numbered 32,115 (55.5 per cent), while No votes totalled 25,789 (44.5 per cent).
Final numbers were greeted with cheers from campaigners when all was done and dusted at the Sports and Leisure Centre Drumalee in Cavan.
As Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin of Sinn Féin read out the results, the group that thronged around the TD consisted exclusively of Yes campaigners. Even before he got to the Yes vote numbers, tears of joy were streaming down the faces of some of the supporters.
Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Smith, a supporter of the No vote in the campaign, said that even before the conclusion of voting it looked as if the amendment would be repealed: "I thought it would be at least in the high 50s," he said.
He had campaigned for what he believed in, he added. "This was a matter of conscience. We [the Fianna Fáil party] had a free vote in the protection of life legislation that came before the Oireachtas in 2013.
“We will respect the decision of the electorate,” he said, adding, “The detail of the legislation will be gone through line by line at committee and report stage.”
Mr Smith anticipated there will be “tweaking” of the legislation as it moves through the Oireachtas.
