Sligo North Leitrim is the first constituency in Ireland to vote in favour of same sex marriage.
Just before 3 pm the result was released with 53 per cent of voters in the West of Ireland constituency.
Ireland now looks set to become the first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote.
Counting is continuing in centres around the country but tallies show the amendment to the constitution will be approved by a comfortable majority.
There's been emotional scenes with gay rights campaigners hailing the vote as an extraordinary day for Ireland.
Shortly after 10 am the Iona Institute conceded defeat.
Congratulations to the Yes side. Well done. #MarRef
— David Quinn (@DavQuinn) May 23, 2015
In a statement the Institute said the Yes side fought a very professional campaign that began long before the official campaign started.They thanked those who help campaign for a NO vote
David Quinn said: “We believe a fought a good campaign. It was always going to be an uphill battle. However, we helped to provide a voice to the hundreds of thousands of Irish people who did vote No. The fact that no political party supported them must be a concern from a democratic point of view."
A short time later Mothers and Fathers Matter issues a statement conceeding defeat.
“We offer our warm congratulations to the YES campaign on their victory. There are thousands of people who worked hard for them to achieve this result, and they can be justifiably happy with their efforts today. Though at times this campaign was unpleasant for people on all sides, nobody who involves themselves in a campaign does so with anything but the good of their country at heart. There is no better way to resolve difference than the way we are using today.
From our point of view, we have represented a proportion of the population greater than those who support any political party. One in three Irish people in this campaign was not represented by the political establishment, the media, or the institutions of state.
We are proud to have fought on behalf of those voices when nobody else would.
Today’s result was achieved by the Government after they issued certain promises about surrogacy, adoption, and a range of other issues. A lot of voters believed those assurances and they must now be kept.
