#marref #hometovote pic.twitter.com/PgYwg9iBMA
— Annie West (@anniewestdotcom) May 22, 2015
How much do you wish you could be at Dublin Castle right now to celebrate Ireland's history-making vote to legalize gay marriage? What a party it must be. Actually, there are plenty of Irish expats who might
be on the scene as we speak, because part of the effort to get out the vote for
the referendum involved getting people to come back to their home country to
cast their ballots.
Of the 3
million eligible voters in the country, 60,000 were expats who'd left the
country within 18 months. Those who heeded the call began posting about their
journeys #HomeToVote all over Twitter. According to The Irish Times, Twitter said the hashtag was mentioned 72,000 times between Thursday and Friday.
Though there are no official tallies of how many of the yes votes came from these emigres, we sure have enjoyed this beautiful collection of
photos of people in their parents' rainbow-decorated homes, festive trains and
airports full of equality-loving strangers, and lots of notes on last-minute travel. No doubt, many with stakes
in the country's future are hoping those folks will stay home, rather than
spreading their talents elsewhere, now that marriage equality is the law.
Came #hometovote all the way from London and found my mum had made some subtle changes to my room for me #VoteYes pic.twitter.com/BOdxqXhJoN
— Kevin Beirne (@KevBeirne) May 21, 2015
Hey look, the @gettheboat2vote team have arrived #HomeToVote! pic.twitter.com/cMOKsSnaGa
— We're Coming Back (@WCBIreland) May 22, 2015
This is the scene on the 9:10 London to Holyhead train as Irish abroad return #hometovote #marref pic.twitter.com/spVfkb5sIT
— Naomi O'Leary (@NaomiOhReally) May 22, 2015
On the way- from Bangkok airport #hometovote pic.twitter.com/NmpzHE8e1F
— Carol Hunt (@carolmhunt) May 21, 2015
Currently waiting for my flight cuz I'm on my way #hometovote pic.twitter.com/iGHfJU3TLf
— Kevin Beirne (@KevBeirne) May 21, 2015
I'll be #hometovote on May 22nd!! Every vote matters! #VoteYes #MarRef #YesEquality pic.twitter.com/GjhMHbENVF
— Eadaoin McClean (@iodine87) May 9, 2015
Éire! Have some hrs free, flying in to vote tomorrow. It's the most important thing you'll do. Don't forget! #MarRef pic.twitter.com/RSuR4lWTgP
— Hozier (@Hozier) May 21, 2015