Ireland’s divorce referendum has passed with a landslide majority

A great day.

On Friday, the people of Ireland took to the polls for a number of reasons. There were local elections, European elections, and a very important divorce referendum.

The referendum proposed two potential changes to the strict laws on divorce in this country.

As of Friday, in order to file for divorce, a couple had to be living separately for five years.

A long time.

The referendum proposed a change in this time frame, bringing it down to a far more reasonable two years.

Anyway, as of this morning, we know that the referendum to the Irish constitution has passed with a landslide majority.

Referendum on divorce passes with 82.1% voting 'Yes' - via @rtenews #DivorceRef #VotedYES ?https://t.co/g50K3wjNo0

— ⚖️Josepha Madigan (@josephamadigan) May 26, 2019

At 5am this morning, the official result was released after final counts came in from Galway. The vote passed by 82.1 percent (1,384,192 votes) to 17.9 percent (302,319 votes). A pretty staggering majority, when you consider that divorce was only legalised in Ireland in 1995. Speaking about the results, The Minister for Culture, Josepha Madigan, said: "I think it’s a really strong endorsement from the Irish people for the referendum and it demonstrates their kindness and their understanding of the situation people find themselves in when they are separating or divorcing." "I think there’s a deep well of kindness in the Irish people." "It wasn’t about rocking the system. It was about humanising it." Wonderful news for the people of Ireland.