News

It's been 5 years since Ireland's same-sex marriage referendum

It's been 5 years since Ireland's same-sex marriage referendum

Today marks five years since the same-sex marriage referendum in Ireland.

Since the legislation was introduced in 2015 there has been a total of 3,210 same-sex marriages in Ireland.

On the 22nd May 2015, Ireland became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote.

It was approved at a referendum by 62% of voters on a turnout of 61%.

Advertisement

A photo in Dublin Castle of a couple kissing under a 'yes' balloon made front pages around the world.

Cormac Golloghly and Richard Dowling were the first couple to get married following the referendum.

Richard says Ireland is a different place now: "People don't stare at you anymore like they once did."

He continued, "I think the referendum was a very important change for the gay community in Ireland."

Advertisement

Tourism Ireland shared a video earlier today on how life has changed for people since then...

Advertisement