Ireland must learn to "bring the EU home" to the public to avoid future defeats in European referendums, leading Yes campaigner Prof Brigid Laffan has said.
Prof Laffan, who greeted the result by hoisting a Tricolour in the midst of celebrating supporters in Dublin Castle, said: "We must learn from this and not forget it. We can't take the Irish electorate for granted, and we have to work on bringing the EU home, on involving people more in its workings, before future referenda."
Expressing "relief and delight" at the outcome, she said: "I don't think we could have looked for more when we started out six months ago."
Prof Laffan, chairwoman of the Irish Alliance for Europe, said the No campaign, and the way it was perceived by the public, had a major impact on the result.
"I think Justin Barrett was a key development in that it was clear where he was coming from. A second thing was the question of Sinn Féin and their emphasis on neutrality and the militarism of the EU which, I think people saw, was not a credible position on their behalf.
"A third issue was division in the Green Party, something which was illustrated by the fact that some of the party's TDs were not as active as others. People saw that the Greens were out of line with the majority of Greens in Europe, and that their position on neutrality was not credible.
"Overall, the Nos did not look like the cohesive force of concerned citizens they looked like the last time. Instead, they looked a bit like opportunistic political parties," she said.
Also at the results centre was SIPTU president Mr Des Geraghty who said: "It was won by argument, which is a very healthy thing. People did want to support the expansion of Europe. I think in the end they realised it was the key issue, and that a lot of the other issues were red herrings."
He said he believed the trade union movement would remain unified in its support for Europe. Of the decision by SIPTU's Dublin regional conference to advocate a No vote in defiance of the union's leadership, he said: "I think that was more to do with annoyance with the Government and employers than Europe."
The president of the Irish Farmers' Association, Mr John Dillon, thanked farm families for their support in voting Yes. He said the result strengthened the Government's hand in the CAP review negotiations in Brussels.
Mr Dillon said the IFA intended to pursue its farm income campaign and a number of other issues directly with the Government now the referendum was over.
Welcoming the result, the European Movement called for continued debate on Europe. "This must not stop now the referendum is over. Important decisions remain to be discussed," said the group's chairman Mr Gerry Maguire.
"There is a need for all of us to ensure that we have ongoing provision of information on EU matters in the future. The survey carried out by Prof Richard Sinnott, following last year's referendum, showed only too clearly the feeling amongst a large number of Irish citizens that EU issues had not been presented to the public in a clear and coherent manner.
"Many also expressed concern that EU decisions had been taken without sufficient discussion here in Ireland. It is the duty and responsibility of all of us to redress this deficit and to ensure that EU issues are highlighted and discussed in as open a manner as possible from now on," he said.
Describing yesterday as "a great day for Ireland", Mr Roger Caplin, spokesman for yestonice.com said: "This allows EU enlargement to proceed on time, creating mutual benefits and opportunities for the citizens of the applicant countries and for Irish jobs, the Irish business community and investment in Ireland."
