Panti Bliss says referendum result shows Ireland is not "ruled by the Catholic Church"

Panti Bliss has said that the same-sex referendum result shows that Ireland is no longer “ruled by the Catholic Church”.

While the official result is not due until 6pm, early figures have predicted a possible 2:1 victory for the ‘Yes’ vote, which will provide marriage equality.

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Panti, real name Rory O’Neill, said: “I think the outsiders are still hung up on the idea that Ireland is some sort of very conservative country ruled by the Catholic Church.

“That has become more and more annoying for Irish people over the years that foreigners see us in this kind of 1950s version of ourselves. I think this sort of says to the international community that, look, Ireland changed long ago and the vote today is confirmation of that change.”

Huge cheers for @pantibliss at Dublin castle #Marref pic.twitter.com/0tWnRiZ7RO

— Martina Fitzgerald (@MartinaFitzg) May 23, 2015

Speaking on RTÉ, Panti celebrated the result, adding: “In a way it’s like we asked the whole country to marry us; and they said yes!”

Panti Bliss says referendum result shows Ireland is not “ruled by the Catholic Church”

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