The people have spoken – Yes to marriage equality

A chara, – I’ve always been proud to be Irish but May 23rd took that pride to a whole other level. The colour and the joy of the crowds in Dublin and all around the country were so incredibly overwhelming.

Today is a day I will never forget. A day that I will hopefully be able to tell my grandchildren about. A day for the history books.

Thank you from the bottom of mine and every other person’s heart to all those who travelled home and to every person who got out to vote. The difference you have made in countless lives will never be forgotten. – Is mise,

SARAH CURRAN,

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Donaghmede,

Dublin 13.

Sir, – I would like to congratulate Enda Kenny and Joan Burton on the massive Yes vote in the marriage equality referendum. Labour and Fine Gael showed great political courage in bringing this referendum to the people and actively campaigning for a Yes vote. The other political parties should also take credit for supporting this initiative. It would be great if this sort of responsible politics became the norm. – Yours, etc,

T O’SULLIVAN,

Dublin 5.

A chara, – Who would have thought when I left Dublin in the 1980s to seek employment in London, then a beacon of progressive thinking, that I would see moves to abolish the UK Human Rights Act and start making sheep’s eyes at a liberal Ireland able to loosen its religious shackles? – Yours, etc,

GILLIAN TRAVERS,

Harrow, Middlesex.

Sir, – Well, thank God that’s over! – Yours, etc,

PN CORISH, Rathgar,

Dublin 6.

Sir, – My 18-year-old daughter, who to date never expressed any interest in politics, registered to vote in the marriage referendum and duly cast her Yes vote with pride. On Saturday, she and her group of friends, which includes one gay teenager, went out to celebrate the result.

A new, better era for Ireland, together with a new generation of politically aware young adults, has arrived. – Yours, etc,

KEVIN McDONNELL,

Berrings, Co Cork.

Sir, – To the people of my country, young and old, urban and rural, although I didn’t need your approval, I’m glad to have it and I thank you. – Yours, etc,

DESMOND FitzGERALD,

Canary Wharf, London.

Sir, – As a Canadian of Irish parentage, I have long been proud of my heritage. Never, however, have I been more fiercely proud of the land of my forefathers than I am today, upon hearing that Ireland has registered a resounding Yes to the human rights issue of legalising same-sex marriage – the first nation to do so by a vote of its citizens.

To the bishops of Ireland and the other No campaigners who fear for the foundations of family and even society, may I suggest a post-referendum holiday in Canada? Here you will find that, more than a decade after the legalisation of same-sex marriage, society has not crumbled and family life continues to flourish.

Bravo, Ireland! – Yours, etc,

MAUREEN GALLAGHER

Toronto, Ontario.

Sir, – During a time when we are celebrating equality and change in our country, I find it ironic that the people of Ireland have reverted to their age-old conservatism by voting No in the presidential referendum. We are denying those below a certain age the right to lead this country, which is apparently the forefront of a “social revolution”. Surely if there is one thing the young “Yes Equality” campaigners have demonstrated throughout this campaign, it is that they are more than capable of inspiring and leading others? – Yours, etc,

ANDREW TYRRELL,

Donnybrook, Dublin 4.

Sir, – Like all Yes voters in the referendum, I am dizzyingly delighted at the generous, fear-rejecting and historic result. As the 19th-century American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Yours, etc,

OLIVER McGRANE,

Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.

Sir, – Following the call by its bishops to “reflect and pray”, the Irish people, of all generations, did just that and emphatically voted to enshrine same-sex marriage in the Constitution. In light of the result, I would now hope that the bishops themselves would “reflect and pray” about the significance of what the people of Ireland have to say, and carry its impact and message back to the deliberations of the synod on the family what it reconvenes in Rome next October. And may God, in his heaven, continue to rejoice!– Yours, etc,

Fr ADRIAN EGAN,

Redemptorists,

Mount St Alphonsus,

Limerick.

Sir, – I detect the Rainbow shoots of recovery! – Yours, etc,

ORLA MAGORRIAN,

Clontarf,

Dublin 3.

Sir, – The complete control of the Catholic Church on the mindset of this nation officially ended at the weekend, and that is what I am celebrating. Religion is no longer the opium of the people. Social media is! – Yours, etc,

BRENDAN QUINN,

Enniscrone,Co Sligo.

Sir, – Many thanks to the many brave and inspiring people from the LGBT community who helped Ireland to learn to truly treasure all of its citizens equally. Now we really have something to celebrate in 2016. – Yours, etc,

BARBARA CULLINAN,

Dublin 6W.

Sir, – The first referendum I voted in was in 1986. It was the first divorce referendum and I can still remember being so disappointed with the result. I left Ireland the following year and I was so happy to leave. The first referendum that I voted in when I came back was in 1995. This was the second divorce referendum which was passed by a tiny majority. I am so proud today being Irish and seeing what we have done as a country and how far we have travelled. – Yours, etc,

ED WALSH,

Kilpedder,

Co Wicklow.

Sir, – I feel like a Berliner who has just witnessed the tearing down of the the Wall. Thank you, Ireland. – Yours, etc,

DECLAN COLEMAN,

Dublin 6.

Sir, – Enda's Kenny's quote from the Johnny Nash song I Can See Clearly Now confirms how low politics has sunk. His speechwriters must be at an all-time low if this is the best they can do.

Whatever about the referendum about the age of candidates for the presidency, the age for taoiseach has most definitely gone to the kindergarten age group! – Yours, etc,

CATHERINE PORTER,

Dublin 16.

Sir, – Mrs Mary McAleese was by common consent a great president and builder of bridges. Her intervention in the equality referendum debate was beyond question her finest hour. – Yours, etc,

Fr IGGY

O’DONOVAN,

Limerick.

A chara, – Yes – 37.5 per cent; No – 23 per cent; Don’t care – 39.5 per cent. – Is mise,

LOMAN Ó LOINGSIGH,

Dublin 24.

Sir, – A fabulous beauty is born. – Yours, etc,

DIEGO FASCIATI,

Dublin 8.

Sir, – Is this a victory for equality and democracy? Or just political correctness gone mad?

I believe the latter.

Can I freely and honestly express such an opinion? Media coverage would suggest not. But I do and I will. – Yours, etc,

DAVID SWEENEY,

Crest,

France.

Sir, – St John of the Cross wrote, “In the evening of life we will be judged on love alone”. After our new bright dawn this weekend, Ireland can be confident of a positive adjudication. – Yours, etc,

DAVE O’SULLIVAN ,

Athgarvan, Co Kildare.

Sir,– Trailblazers seldom survive to see their efforts rewarded. One of the joys of Saturday’s referendum celebrations was surely the reception give to Senator David Norris, whose initiative and singular courage have done so much to spread tolerance in Ireland.Congratulations to him and all those who – without bibles or bombs – have made our country a place of which to be proud. – Yours, etc,

BRENDAN LYNCH,

Dublin 7.

Sir, – I am almost certain I saw a shoal of red herrings swimming out to sea. – Yours, etc,

NORA SCOTT,

Churchtown,

Dublin14.