Kildare's two constituencies – Kildare North and Kildare South – have voted Yes in the referendum on whether to repeal the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits abortion.
Between the two constituencies, Kildare has an electorate of 148,777, and of those 93,329 voted, giving a turnout of 62.7 per cent.
Kildare North, which has the urban centres of Leixlip, Celbridge and Maynooth, voted Yes by 73.55 per cent, while in Kildare South, which is a more rural constituency, there was a Yes vote of 70.65 per cent.
The official results closely reflected the initial tally, which was compiled as the votes were sorted. Campaigners on both sides of the referendum worked side by side on the tally along with party representatives from across the political spectrum.
The results, which were announced at approximately 3pm on Saturday, were greeted by applause, cheers, hugs and tears of joy by the group of Yes campaigners who had gathered at the count centre from 9am on Saturday morning.
Campaigners from the LoveBoth organisation, which opposed repealing the Eighth Amendment, left the count centre as soon as the tally was completed and weren’t present when the results were announced.
Kildare Together for Yes co-ordinator Mel Bracken said she was "absolutely over the moon" with the result.
“I am incredibly grateful to all of those who voted Yes and trusted women. The response on the doorsteps to campaigners who knocked on doors and started conversations was overwhelmingly positive.
“It was positive from very early on, and where we met a high proportion of people who were undecided, we discovered that they wanted to talk it out with us. In the last two weeks we noticed a shift.
“It was the grassroots campaign that caused that shift; the media debates weren’t being talked about. Instead, people were talking to and listening to each other. The Kildare Together For Yes campaign are the hardest-working, most dedicated bunch of people and this result is due to their efforts.”
